Module IV:

PROBLEM SOLVING AND REASONING

Prepared by: Mrs. Susana T. Ebido, LPT
Ms. Marilyn R. Suero , LPT
I. Introduction
Problem solving implies finding a solution to reach a goal to a particular situation. And to
find solutions means to break all barriers and hindrances so you can reach your goal.

II. Learning Objectives

1. Use different types of reasoning to justify statements and arguments made about mathematics
and mathematical concepts
2. Write clear and logical proofs
3. Solve problems involving patterns and recreational problems following Polya’s four steps
4. Organize one’s methods and approaches for proving and solving problems

III.Topics and Key Concepts

A. INTRODUCTION TO POLYA

There was this man named George Polya, known as the Father of Modern Problem Solving
and he did extensive studies and wrote numerous mathematical papers and books about
problem solving. He made an outline of the different steps in solving a problem namely:

Step I: Understand the problem

It is important that the students understand the nature of the problem and its related goals.
Students are encouraged to rephrase or frame the problem in their own words. This is to
create awareness and better understanding of the barriers preventing them to reach their goal.
What is the unknown? Is the other information related to the variable? The students will
assign a variable to their unknown.

Step 2: Devise a plan (translate).

After having identified the barriers, the student starts to plan and strategize on how to
overcome that problem. There are many strategies they can choose from and different problems
require different strategies. Strategy is a plan of action or policy designed to achieve the major
goal. Here also, the students need to decide what tactics and tools they will use. Tools refer to the
materials, gadgets, equation, formulas and mathematical procedure they will use.
Step 3: Carry out the plan (solve).
This part will be the bigger bulk of the procedure. When trying to work out the strategy
or the combination of strategies you have selected, feel comfortable in rejecting strategies that
does not work and try another one during the quest for solutions. Do not rush. Think clearly.
Carefully assess your answer.

Step 4: Look back (check and interpret).

This is reviewing the results. What went wrong? What is the result of the implementation
of the plan? Go over what solution worked and which one did not work and what impact does the
solution had. This will help you improve long term problem solving skills.

NUMERIC WORD PROBLEMS

A lot of numeric types of word problems revolve around translating English statements
into mathematical ones.

Example 1: Twice the difference of a number and 1 is 4 more than that

number. Find the number.

Step 1: Understand the problem.

Make sure that you read the question carefully several times.

Since we are looking for a number, we will let

x = a number

Step 2: Devise a plan (translate).

Twice the difference of a number and 1 is 4 more than that

number

2 (x – 1) = x + 4

Step 3: Carry out the plan (solve).

• Remove the grouping symbol by using

distributive property
• Combine similar terms on one side
• Apply Addition Property of Equality by adding
2 to both sides
Step 4: Look back (check and interpret).
 If you take twice the difference of 6 and 1, that is the same as 4
more than 6, so this does check.

FINAL ANSWER: The number is 6.

Example 2: One number is 3 less than another number. If the sum of the two
numbers is 177, find each number.

Step 1: Understand the problem.

Make sure that you read the question carefully several times.

We are looking for two numbers, and since we can write the one number
in terms of another number, we will let

x = another number

the number is 3 less than another number:

x - 3 = one number

Step 2: Devise a plan (translate).

The sum of two numbers is 177

( x-3 ) + x = 177

Step 3: Carry out the plan (solve).

x – 3 + x = 177 combine similar terms 2x - 3 = 177

2x - 3 + 3 = 177 + 3 apply Add Prop. of Equality 2x = 180
���� ������
�� =
�� apply Division Prop. of Eq.

x = 90

Step 4: Look back (check and interpret).

 x – 3 = 90 – 3 = 87 and x = 90

FINAL ANSWER: One number is 87. Another number is 90.

PERCENTAGE PROBLEMS

PERCENT FORMULAS
-is a ratio where a set is compared to 100 P = RB

50% = 50
1 ��
100 or 2 �� (100%)= R
2% = 2100 or 150 ���� = B
112% = 112
28
100 or

25 or 1 325
Problem Solving:
1) Andrea answered 16 out of 20 items correctly. What % did she get correct?
Let P = 16 ; B = 20 Solution : R = ����(100%) = 16
20(100%) = 80%

2) TJ missed the last practice of a series of 5 .What percent of practice did he attend? 3)
Four out of 20 players got benched in the last game. What % of the team got benched? 4)
Noemi has 15 pesos. She spent 12 pesos for lunch. What % of her money did she spend? 5)
One out of 4 people get sick of flu annually. What % of the population catches flu? 6) In a
survey of 100 respondents, 68 expressed optimism about the future of the Philippines.
What % expressed otherwise?
7) What is 24% of 75?
Let R = 24% = 0.24 ; B = 75 Solution: P = RB = (0.24)(75) = 18

8) What is 75% of 24?

9) What is 150% of 80?
10) What is 16% of 324?
11) 45 is what % of 180?
12) 90 is what % of 45?
13) 30 is 6% of what number?
 14) 54 is 30% of what number?
15) At a department store, 35 out of 50 customers buy Filipino-made products. What % of the
customers patronize Filipino products?
16) Nicole needs 500 pesos for a bicycle. She has already saved 420 pesos. What % of the
needed amount has Nicole saved?
17) What % of the needed amount does Nicole still have to save?
18) Alyssa found that of her 40 guava seedlings, only 28 grew. What % of the seedlings
grew?
19) Daisy has 30 cassette tapes. Of these, 26 tapes are Original Pilipino Music (OPM). What
% of the tapes are OPM?
20) In a fund-raising campaign, 208 tickets were sold by freshmen students. This was 65% of
the total number of tickets sold. How many tickets were sold?
21) Natalie got 92% in her math exams. If she got 46 items correctly, how many items were
there in the test?
Let R = 92% = 0.92 ; P = 46 Solution: B = ���� = 46
0.92 = 50

22) A truck carrying softdrinks lost its brakes and sideswiped a tree. As a result, 112 cases of
softdrinks broke. If this was 28% of the total cases of softdrinks, how many softdrinks
cases were in the truck?
23)Ronald sold 39 pieces of ice candy. This was 78% of what he started with. How many
pieces of ice candy did he have at the beginning?
24) Vida gives 60% of her weekly pay to mother. Every week, she gives mother 54 pesos.
How much does Vida earn in a week?
25) Flor got 85% correct on a 20 items test. How many correct answers did she get? 26)
In Mrs. Villas class, 90% of the students are present. If there are 50 students in class,
how many are present?

RATIO AND PROPORTION

RATIO
- is a comparison of two numbers
- can be expressed as a fraction

examples:
1) P 20 a dozen 20 : 12
2) 60 km/h 60 : 1
3) 3 boys to 5 girls 3 : 5
4) 1 out of 4 pieces of cake 1 : 4
PROPORTION
- the product of the extremes (a*d) is equal to the product of the means (b*c) .
a: b = c: d or ���� = ����
KINDS:
1) Direct Proportion
Example:
At the stadium, the ratio of adults watching the game is 5 to 3. How many children are
there if there are 70 adults?

Solution: 53 = 70��
5n = 210
n = 42 therefore, there are 42 children

2) Continuous or Partitive Proportion

Example:
A philanthropist donated P 225 million to orphanages A, B, and C in a ratio 2:3:4 . Find the
share of each orphanage.
Solution:
2 ��
9=
3 �� ��
225 9 = 225 9= 225
4
9A = 450 9B = 675 9C = 900 A = 50 B = 75 C = 100 Orphanage A got P 50M ;
Orphanage B got P 75M ; Orphanage C got P 100M

3) Inverse Proportion
Example:
Three men can paint a school building in 20 days. The principal wants the painting job
finished in 12 days. How many men should he hire?

Solution: 312 = ��20

60 = 12n
60

12��
12 =
 12

5 = n Therefore, 5 men have to be hired to finish the job in 12 days.

Problems:
1) Working alone, Aaron can mow a lawn in 3 hours. Alden can complete the same job in 2
hours. How long will it take them working together?
Solution :
Aaron Alden together
1 1 1
3 + 2 = ��
[ 13 + 12 = 1��] (6x)
2x + 3x = 6
5x = 6
x = 65 or 1 15
Therefore, it will take them 1 15 hours or 1 hour, 12 minutes.

2) Pipe A can empty a tank in 3 hours. It takes 4 hours for pipe B to complete the same job.
How long will it take to empty the tank if both pipes are used?
3) Working together, Alyssa and Athena can paint their room in 3 hours. If it takes Alyssa 5
hours to do the job alone, how long would it take Athena to paint the room working by
herself?
4) A rope 20 feet long is to be cut into 2 pieces. The ratio of the smaller piece to the larger
piece is 3:5. Find the length of the shorter piece.
Solution : Let 3x = shorter piece ; 5x = larger piece

3x + 5x = 20
8x = 20
8��
20
8= 8
5
x = 2 or 2 12
Therefore, the length of the shorter piece, 3x = 3 ( 52) = 152 or 7.5 meters

5) Aethan takes twice as long as Wally to complete a certain job. Working together, they
can complete the job in 6 hours. How long will it take Aethan to complete the job by
himself?