GE1707

Name: Shamaiah Mark B. Arano Section: BSHM 101

Date: Score:

Direction: Use Polya’s four-step problem-solving strategy to solve the following problems.
(8 items x 2 points)

1. If six (6) people greet each other at a meeting by shaking hands with one another, how
many handshakes will take place?

Understand the Problem:

Each handshake involves two people. A person shakes another person's hands once.

Devise a Plan:
Let the 6 people be A, B, C, D, E and F.

List down the handshakes where one person shakes another hands once. The same person does
not shake his own hands.

A⇒ B, C, D, E, F  (5 handshakes)

B ⇒ C, D, E, F  (4 handshakes)

C ⇒ D, E, F  (3 handshakes)

D ⇒ E, F  (2 handshakes)

E ⇒ F or F ⇒ E  (1 handshake)

Carry Out the Plan:

adding all of the handshakes

(5) + (4) + (3) + (2) + (1) = 15 handshakes

Revise the Solution:

Total handshakes = n/2 (n - 1)

Where:

n = number of people

2 = number of people per handshake

(n-1) = the number of handshakes one person does to another excluding himself

 2. The product of the ages, in years, of three (3) teenagers is 4590. None of them have the
same age. What are the ages of the teenagers?

Understand the Problem:

We need to determine three (3) distinct counting numbers from the list 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,
18 and 19 that have a product of 4590.

Devise a Plan:
 If we represent the ages by x, y, and z, then xyz = 4590. We are unable to solve this
equation, but we notice that 4590 ends in a zero. Hence, 4590 has a factor of 2 and a factor
of 5, which means that at least one (1) of the numbers we seek must be an even number and
at least one (1) must have 5 as a factor. The only number in our list that has 5 as a factor is
15. Thus, 15 is one (1) of the numbers, and at least one (1) of the other numbers must be an
even number. At this point, we try to solve by guessing and checking.

Carry Out the Plan:

15×16×18=4,320 No. This product is too small. 15×16×19=4,560 No. This product is too
small. 15×17×18=4,590 Yes. This is the correct product.

Revise the Solution:

Because 15×17×18=4,590, and each of the ages represents the age of a teenager, we know that
our solution is correct. None of the numbers 13, 14, 16, and 19 is a factor of 4590, so there are no
other solutions.