Republic of the Philippines

WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Science and Mathematics
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS
San Jose Road, Zamboanga City 7000

Names: Carpio, Joezerk A. Date: 01/29/2022

De Asis, Trisha Gaile G.
Villacruz, Pilar P.
Course & Year: BS MATH IV
FREE ELECTIVE II
TEACHING METHODS IN MATHETICS
GROUP ACTIVITY 4
1. Define problem solving and give one math problem with corresponding solution.
What is problem solving?
The process of detecting and finding the cause of any type of problem is known as problem-
solving. Following the identification of the cause, the following stage is to select and implement
alternative solutions for the problem. All of these processes are referred to as a problem-solving
process. Every work necessitates problem-solving. It is critical that children learn problem-solving
abilities as well as personal resilience to meet the obstacles and pressures that may arise as a result
of an issue.
Problem-solving necessitates a combination of analytical and creative thinking abilities.
Which is employed is determined by the role in the organization and the nature of the problem.
Problem-solving entails utilizing both of these skill sets to assist pupils in evaluating and making
decisions. Identifying realistic answers requires logic and a problem-solving strategy. To look at
problems and solve them in a new way, you must be creative. Because not every student will have
developed these two types of talents, teamwork is an important component of problem resolution.
Students gain the capacity to make decisions, interpret, formulate, model, and investigate
issue situations, and effectively communicate answers. When students use mathematics to
represent unfamiliar or meaningful situations, when they design investigations and plan their
approaches, when they apply their existing strategies to seek solutions, and when they verify that
their answers are reasonable, they formulate and solve problems.
Math problem:
In the afternoon, a salesman sold twice as many pears as he did in the morning. How many
kilos did he sell in the morning and how many in the afternoon if he sold 360 kilograms of pears
that day?
Solution:
Let 𝑥 be the number of kilograms he sold in the morning, and 2𝑥 kilograms in the
afternoon. As a result, the total is 𝑥 + 2𝑥 = 3𝑥. This must be a multiple of 360.
 Republic of the Philippines
WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Science and Mathematics
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS
San Jose Road, Zamboanga City 7000

3𝑥 = 360
360
𝑥=
3
𝑥 = 120
Therefore, the salesman sold 120 𝑘𝑔 in the morning and 2 ∙ 120 = 240 𝑘𝑔 in the
afternoon.
2. What is an open-ended problem? Give an example of math problem that is open-ended.
Give the solutions/answers and explain why it is open-ended problem.
What is open-ended problem?
An open-ended problem is one that includes multiple valid answers and multiple paths to
the proper answer (s). The Open-Ended Problem Solving is based on Shimada S.'s research, which
is titled "The Open-ended Approach." Many open-ended issues and lesson plans have been devised
by Japanese teachers.
An open-ended problem is a learning activity that is designed to teach course content within
the context of a practical dilemma. These are especially well suited for courses whose primary
goal is to assist students improve critical thinking and analyzing skills.
Open-ended math problems are those with more than one possible solution. These tasks
may give an end result and then challenge students to work backward to determine how that end
result was obtained, or they may ask students to compare two concepts that can be compared in a
variety of ways. However, regardless of how they are presented, the goal of open-ended math
problems is to enable students to utilize higher order thinking abilities to solve problems and
understand that some problems can be solved in a variety of ways, with a variety of solutions.
Example and solution of open-ended math problem and why it is open-ended problem
An open-ended arithmetic issue for pre-k or kindergarten students might be: "You have
two shapes with different numbers of sides. What are the two possible shapes? "Show and name
the shapes." You'd give them crayons, paper, pattern blocks, or whatever other manipulative
they're used to utilizing when discussing shapes, and kids would utilize these manipulatives to
come up with as many answers as they could. Your children may respond in a variety of ways
depending on their present skill level. Depending on what each student understands about shapes,
you can get replies like "triangle and square," "hexagon and parallelogram," or "a circle is a shape."
This is an excellent method for reinforcing what students already know and rapidly assessing
where they stand in their knowledge.
For example, if you teach first grade, an open-ended arithmetic issue could be: "I'm
thinking of the number 8." What two integers could be combined to form the number 8? ” Again,
 Republic of the Philippines
WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Science and Mathematics
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS
San Jose Road, Zamboanga City 7000

you would give them manipulatives like counters, little erasers, counting bears, unifix cubes, or
even playdoh balls that they would ordinarily use for constructing and decomposing numbers. The
added benefit of this type of problem is that it is relatively simple for children to demonstrate their
arithmetic skills. Some may use addition, some subtraction, and you may even come across a child
or two who can utilize multiplication to reach the answer. Give pupils a few options for how to
display their thoughts, regardless of how they choose to examine all the possibilities for answers.
This may be as simple as writing equations, drawing drawings with them, or even creating the
number with a manipulative and then photographing it with an iPad.
In second and third grade, as the students’ progress to more abstract thinking, you might
include more word problems, such as: "The difference in temperature between Monday and
Tuesday was 13 degrees." What may the daily temperature have been? "Penelope sees 37
youngsters playing in a corn maze. Find and explain at least 5 different responses." How many
children could be divided into four groups if those children were divided into four groups? Find
and explain at least five distinct answers." As always, provide students with manipulatives, paper
and pencils, dry erase markers and whiteboards, or whatever you normally use to help them solve
problems, and then let them go to work! By giving these types of word problems, you will
introduce kids to a range of math concepts (such as division in this example) just by enabling them
to consider how to solve the problem on their own. When these concepts are explicitly taught,
some pupils should feel more at ease with them.