PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES Primary Education 

  Boğaziçi University 

Problem Solvers Acknowledgements Eng

It's much more wonderful to know what something is really like than to sit there and simply, in ignorance, say, "Oooh,
isn't it wonderful?"

--Richard Feynman
 STRATEGY 4: DIVIDE AND CONQUER

There is a folk tale about a rich farmer who had seven sons. He was afraid that when he
died, his land and his animals and all his possessions would be divided among his seven
sons, and that they would quarrel with one another, and that their inheritance would be
splintered and lost. So he gathered them together and showed them seven sticks that he
had tied together and told them that any one who could break the bundle would inherit
everything. They all tried, but no one could break the bundle. Then the old man untied the
bundle and broke the sticks one by one. The brothers learned that they should stay
together and work together and succeed together.

The moral for problem solvers is different. If you can't solve the problem, divide it into
parts, and solve one part at a time.

An excellent application of this strategy is the magic squares problem. It is well known.
You have a square formed from three columns and three rows of smaller squares.

Part 1: Draw a Diagram

   
 

 
     

 
     

 
 

Into these squares you will enter the numbers from 1-9 in such a way that the sum of each
column, each row, and each diagonal is 15. Since we know the way to solve problems is
to start, let's start by guessing and checking.

Part 2: Guess and Check

Begin by entering the numbers in order, just to see what happens:

   
 
2 3
1
     

4  5 6
 Problems:
Strategies
1-Draw a Diagram Problem 1: Another Magic Square
2-Make a List
3-Guess and Check Problem 2: Making a Profit(A)
4-Divide and Conquer
Problem 3: Making a Profit(B)
5-Look for a Pattern
6-Start at the End Problem 4: Jogging
7-Mixed Problems
Problem 5: The Car Bargain

Problem 6: Arranging the Classroom

Problem 7: Parquet Floor Problem

Problem 8: Make the Table Bigger

Problem 1: Another Magic Square

Can you solve a magic square problem in which there are five columns and five rows?
Use all the numbers from 1 to 25, and the sum of each row, each column, and each
diagonal should be 65.

Solution -->

Problem 2: Making a Profit(A)

Joe Curry owns a furniture shop. He sets his prices at 20% above wholesale. When he
reduces his prices for a sale, he still wants to make at least 10% profit on each item. The
regular price for a couch was $240. During the sale, he reduces this price by 10%. Will
Joe make his 10% profit?

Solution -->

Problem 3: Making a Profit(B)

A more challenging version of Problem 2 omits the price of any one item. Everything is
priced at 20% over wholesale. During the sale, Joe reduces everything by 10%. Will he
make at least a 10% profit on each item?

 
 Solution -->

Problem 4:Jogging

When Laura goes to the gym, she jogs for 20 minutes on the treadmill, equivalent to a
distance of 2.5 kms. In good weather, instead of going to the gym she jogs from
Arnavutkoy to Rumeli Hisar, a distance of 3 kms. If she wants to jog at the same speed as
in the gym, how long should it take her to go from Arnavutkoy to Rumeli Hisar and back
again?

Solution -->

Problem 5: The Car Bargain

Paul went to the car dealer to buy a car. He wanted the same car that his friend Barbara
had bought the day before, which had a sticker price of $15,000. The salesman said he
could give a discount and offered Paul a significantly reduced price. But Paul knew that
Barbara had received a 30% discount, and the salesman was offering him only a 20%
discount. When he pointed out that his friend had received a 30% discount the day before,
the salesman took another 10% off the 20% discounted price. Paul was satisfied with the
new price and bought the car, thinking he had paid the same price as Barbara. Was he
right? Did they both pay the same price?

Solution -->

Problem 6: Arranging the Classroom

The furniture in a classroom consists of tables and chairs. The homeroom teacher is
making a seating plan. If 2 students sit at each table, 8 students will be left without a
place. If 3 students sit at each table, 4 tables will be left empty. How many studens are
there in the homeroom.

Solution -->

Problem 7: Parquet Floor Problem