PROBLEM SOLVING

STRATEGIES
 Refers to the mental process that people go through to
discover, analyze and solve problems.
George Polya
 Hungarian mathematician who defined the Problem Solving
is an act to find a way out of difficulty. Find a way around an
obstacle, find a way where none is known, and attained a
desired end that is not immediately attainable by direct
means.
 COMMON PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES
Heuristics
-are procedures or strategies that do not guarantee a solution to a
problem but provide a more highly probable method for discovering
the solution to a problem.
Problem Solving Strategies
1.Working Backwards 6. Divide and Conquer
2. Guess and Check 7. Solve a Simpler Problem
3.Make a Diagram 8. Act it out
4. Make a List 9. Adopting a Different Point of View
5. Look a Pattern
 WORKING BACKWARDS

 This used to solve problems that include a number of linked factors or events,
where some of the information has not been provided, usually at the beginning
of the problem.

 This entail starting with the end results and reversing the steps you
need to get those results, in order to figure out the answer to the
problem.
 WORKING BACKWARDS EXAMPLE
In a dancing competition, all the contestants started dancing together.
After 3 minutes, half the people were eliminated. During the next 10
minutes, half of the remaining were eliminated. At the 15 minute
mark, half again were eliminated, and at the 20 minute mark, half of
those still remaining were eliminated. In the last 2 minutes, one more
contestant was eliminated, leaving a winner of the competition. How
many dancers were there in the beginning?.
 SOLUTION

Winner: 1 person dancing

Last 2 minutes (1 contestant was eliminated so add 1): 1+1=2
dancers
After 20 minutes (the contestant was halved, so double): 2x2=4
dancers
After 15 minutes (halved, so double): 2x4=8 dancers
After 10 minutes (again halved, so double): 2x8= 16 dancers
After 3 minutes (halved, so double): 2x16 = 32 dancers
Hence, 32 dancers entered in the competition
 GUESS AND CHECK

Often referred to as “trial and error”. It is important to recognize that

an error really isn’t a mistake at all.
It helps to guide the problem solver to the next attempt at the
answer. The following are the essential features of the guess and check
strategy.
Make an “educated” guess at the solution.
Check the guess against the condition of the problem.
Use the information obtained in checking to make a better guess.
Continue this procedure until the correct answer is obtained
 GUESS AND CHECK EXAMPLE
Joy went to her grandfather’s farm. Her grandfather has chicken
and goats on his farm. She asked him how many chickens and how
many goats his farm has. He told that his animals has 26 heads and
68 legs and from that information she could calculate the number
of chickens and the number of goats. If
you were Joy, how would you solve the problem.
 SOLUTION
• To use the guess and check strategy, think about the problem and
start by making a guess. Expect that the first guess will be wrong
but it will give some information to make better guess next time.
One may start by guessing 13 chickens and 13 goats.
Guess Chickens Goats Number of Number of
head legs

1 13 13 26 78
 SOLUTION
• Observe that the number of legs guessed is too high, because Joy’s
grandfather said that there are 68 legs. So guess again; add more
chickens and subtract some goats.
Guess Chickens Goats Number of Number of
Heads Legs

1 13 13 26 78
2 20 6 26 64
 SOLUTION
• Now there are 64 legs; four are still missing. But one can’t add any
more heads, since 26 is the correct number of heads. So, take away
two chickens (two heads and four legs) and add two goats (two
heads and eightChickens
Guess legs). Goats Number of Number of
Heads Legs
1 13 13 26 78
2 20 6 26 64
3 18 8 26 68
 3) MAKE A DIAGRAM
• Drawing a diagram is the most common problem solving strategy.
Very often, a problem solver needs to draw a diagram just to
understand the meaning of the problem.
• The diagram represents a problem in a way we can see it,
understand it and think about it while looking for the next step.

When you draw a diagram, you organize information spatially, which

then allows the visual part of your brain to become more involved in the
problem-solving process.
 EXAMPLE
• An insect crawls along the edge of a rectangular swimming pool
with the length of 27 m and width of 21 m. if it crawls from one
edge to the opposite edge of the pool. What is the displacement
from the insects starting point up to its final position.
SOLUTION

c2 = a2 + b2
c2= (27)2 + (21)2
= 729 + 441
= √1170
C = 34.21m

Thus, the displacement from the insects

starting point up to its final position is
34.21m.
 4) MAKE ALIST
• Making a list is a systematic method of organizing information in
rows and/or columns.
• By putting given information in an organized list, you can clearly
analyze this information and then solve the problem by
completing the list.
• It should be emphasized that one should make a systematic list.
By making a systematic list, one will see every possible
combination.
 EXAMPLE
A baseball team won two out of their
last four games. In how many different
orders could they have two wins and two
losses in four games?
 SOLUTION
There are many different orders. The team may have won two
straight games and lost the last two (WWLL). Or maybe they lost
the first two games and won the last two (LLWW). Of course there
are other possibilities, such as WLWL. An organized list is a list that
is produced using a system that ensures that each of the different
orders will be listed once and only once. Each entry in our list must
contain two Ws and two Ls.
 SOLUTION
One such strategy is to always write a W unless doing
so will produce too many Ws or a duplicate of one of
the previous orders. If it is not possible to write a W,
then and only then to do we write an L. This strategy
produces the six different orders shown below.
 SOLUTION
A. WWLL (start with two wins)
B. WLWL (Start with one win)
C. WLLW
D. LWWL (start with one loss)
E. LWLW
F. LLWW (start with two losses)
 5) LOOK FOR A PATTERN
This strategy entails looking for a patterns in the data in order to
solve the problem, that is, the solver looks for items or numbers
that are repeated, or a series of events that repeat.
This can be used to solve many math problems and can be used
in combination with many other strategies, including make a
table, make a list, or simplify the problem.
 EXAMPLE
In the song “ The Twelve Days of Christmas,” a person receives a
set of gifts each day for 12 days. On the first day, she received one
gift – a partridge in a pear tree. On the second day, she received
two turtle doves and another partridge in a pear tree – a total of
three new gifts. On the third day, she received a new gift (three
French hens) plus the gifts given on the second day, for a total of
six new gifts. This continues for 12 days. How many gifts did she
receive on the 12th day?
 SOLUTION
Day No. of gifts received
1 1
2 1+2=3
3 1+2+3=6
4 1+2+3+4=10
5 1+2+3+4+5=15
………
12 1+2+3+4+…+12=78
 6) DIVIDE AND CONQUER
If a problem can’t be solved right away, divide it into
parts, and solve one part at a time. A problem which at
first seems difficult becomes easier if you divide it into
parts and solve one part at a time.
EXAMPLE
A mixture is 25% red paint, 30% green paint, and 45%
water. If 4 L of red paint are added to 20 L of the mixture,
what is the percentage of red paint in the new mixture?
 SOLUTION
We divide the solution into parts.
A. Find the volume of red paint in the original mixture:
25% of 20L is 5L of red paint
B. Find the total volume of red paint: 4L + 5L = 9L of red
paint
C. Find the total volume of the whole mixture: 20L + 4L =
24L of the mixture
D. Calculate the new percentage: (9/24)100 = 37.5 Thus,
37.5% of the new mixture is red paint
 SOLVE A SIMPLER POBLEM
Sometimes you can find the answer to a problem
by solving another problem that has simpler
numbers or fewer cases.
To use this strategy, first use a simpler or more
familiar case of the problems. Then use the same
concepts and relationships to solve the original
problem.
 EXAMPLE
What is the remainder when 6 x 6 x 6 x 6 x 6 x 6 x
6x6x6x6x6x6x6x6x6x6x6x6x6x6x
6 x 6 x 6 is divided by 5?
SOLUTION
There is a pattern. The remainder is 1 when 6
divided by 5. So, if the given product is divided
by 5, the remainder will also be 1.
 8) ACT IT OUT
Act out the problem by trying to do
what the people or things in a
problem do.

This strategy works because you are

actually doing the problem.
 EXAMPLE
Three missionaries and three cannibals wish to
cross a river. There is a boat that can carry up to
three people, and either missionaries or cannibals
can operate the boat. However, it is never
permissible for the cannibals to outnumber the
missionaries either in the boat or on the shore.
How are the cannibals and missionaries going to
get to other side.
 SOLUTION
Five crossing are needed.
1. Send 3 cannibals across.
2. Then 1 cannibal comes back
3. Then 3 missionaries row across.
4. Then 1 missionary comes back.
5. The missionary and cannibal row across.
 ADOPTING A DIFFERENT POINT OF
VIEW
Sometimes, a problem can be solved in a more efficient
and interesting manner if we approach it from a
different point of view.
 That is, instead of considering the problem in the most
direct and obvious manner, a different approach may
yield the answer quickly and more efficiently.
It also might reveal some interesting reasoning.
 EXAMPLE
There are 16 children entered in the ping-pong
tournament at Visca Elementary School. The
tournament is a single elimination tournament.
This means that if you lose a game, you’re out
of the tournament. If you win a game, you
move on to the next round. How many games
must be played to have a winner?
 SOLUTION
Instead of counting directly the number of games by
making a diagram of the possible matchups, one may
focus on the winner’s point of view. Noting that the
tournament is single elimination – once you lose, you
are out, and the tournament proceeds until only one
person is left. This means to have a winner, 15 players
should be eliminated and that requires 15 games.
Hence, there will be 15 games in the tournament.
TRY THIS!
One night, the King could not sleep. He went to the royal kitchen, where
he found a bowl full of mangoes. Being hungry, he took 1/6 of the
mangoes in the bowl. . Later that same night, the Queen could not
sleep, and she was hungry. She found the mangoes and took 1/5 of
what the King had left in the bowl. Still later, the youngest Prince awoke,
went to the kitchen, and ate ¼ of the remaining mangoes. Even later,
the second Prince ate 1/3 of what his younger brother had left. Finally,
the third Prince, the heir to the throne, ate ½ of what his younger
brothers had left, and then there were only three mangoes left in the
bowl. How many mangoes were in the bowl when the King found them?
SITUATION NO. OF MANGOES IN THE JAR
At the end 3
Before the third Prince ate ½ of the remaining mangoes 3x2=6
Before the second Prince ate 1/3 of the mangoes 6 divided by 2/3 = 9
Before the youngest Prince ate ¼ of the remaining mangoes 9 divided by ¾ = 12
Before the Queen ate 1/5 of the remaining mangoes 12 divided by 4/5 = 15
Before the King ate 1/6 of the mangoes in the jar 15 divided by 5/6 = 18

Therefore, there were originally 18 mangoes in the jar when the King found them.
The product of the ages, in
years, of three teenagers is
4590. None of the teens are
the same age. What are the
ages of the teenagers?
The possible ages of the teenagers are 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19. From this
list, we choose three numbers whose product is 4590. If we let x, y and z be the
ages, then xyz = 4590. However, no other information is given that will enable us
to solve this equation. Hence, we solve this problem by guessing and checking.
To have an educated guess, note that the product ends in zero. So, 4590 has 2
and 5 as factors, which means that one of the numbers we seek must be an even
number and at least one number must have 5 as a factor. This means that 15 is
one of the numbers.
AGE 1 AGE 2 AGE 3 PRODUCT
15 16 18 4320 Too small
15 16 19 4560 Too small
15 17 18 4590 Correct
The furniture in a classroom consists of
tables and chairs. The homeroom teacher is
making a seat plan. If two students sit at
each table, eight students will be left without
a place. If three students sit at each table,
four tables will be left empty. How many
students are there in the homeroom?
A. Choose a variable: Let x be the number of desks
B. Write an expression for the number of students when they sit in 2s: 2x +8.
C. Write an expression for the number of students when they sit in 3s: 3(x – 4)
D. Write an equation: expressions in (b) and (c) both give the number of students. Thus
3(x – 4) = 2x + 8
E. Solve the equation: 3(x – 4) = 2x + 8
3x – 12 = 2x + 8
3x – 2x = 8 +12 X = 20 ( number of chairs)
X = 20 ( number of chairs)
F. Find the number of students:
2x + 8 = 2(20) + 8 = 48students
3(x – 4) = 3(20 – 4) = 3(16) = 48 students
THANK YOU!
 Submitted by:
Joy A. Almanon