CHRISTIAN JAMES A.

SOTELO BSA 1 – AA

Activity
Solve the given problem by applying Polya’s Four-Step Problem-Solving and Working Backward Strategies.

Problem: Stacy picks a number. She doubles the number, squares the result,
divides the square by 3, subtract 30 from the quotient, and gets 18. What are
the possible numbers that Stacy could have picked?

POLYA’S FOUR-STEP PROBLEM SOLVING

I. UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM

 Determine the possible numbers that Stace could have picked.

II. DEVISE A PLAN

 Given that Stacey doubles the number, squares the result, divides the square by 3,
subtracts 30 from the quotient, she gets 18. Thus, (2x)2 ÷ 3 – 30 = 18.

Let x be the number that Stacy picked.

III. CARRY OUT THE PLAN

(2x)2 ÷ 3 - 30 = 18
4x2 ÷ 3 = 18 + 30
4x2÷ 3 = 48
4x2 = 48 x 3
4x2 = 144
4 4
x2 = 36
x = 6 and x = -6

We can conclude that 6 and -6 are the possible numbers Stacy picked when she doubled the number, squared the
result, divided the square by 3, subtracted 30 from the quotient, and got 18.

IV. LOOKING BACK

Substitute x = 6 and x = -6 to the original equation (2x)2 ÷ 3 - 30 = 18 thus;
Let x = 6
(2x)2 ÷ 3 - 30 = 18
 (2(6))2 ÷ 3 - 30 = 18
4(36) ÷3 - 30 = 18
144 ÷3 - 30 = 18
48 - 30 = 18
18 = 18 ✔
Let x = -6
(2x)2 ÷ 3 - 30 = 18
(2(-6))2 ÷ 3 - 30 = 18
4(36) ÷3 - 30 = 18
144 ÷3 - 30 = 18
48 - 30 = 18
18 = 18 ✔

WORKING BACKWARD STRATEGIES

I. UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM

 Determine the possible numbers that Stace could have picked.

II. DEVISE A PLAN

 Plan: We could guess and check, but we might need to make several guesses
before we found the correct solution. An algebraic method might work, but
setting up the necessary equation could be a challenge. Since we know the
end result, let’s try the method of working backwards.

III. CARRY OUT THE PLAN

 We start at the very end of the problem. Take note that when working
backwards, the mathematical operations must be the opposite of what is in the
problem.

We start with adding 18 and 30 since the opposite of subtraction is addition, thus
we get 48
Then we multiply 48 to 3 since the opposite of division is multiplication, we get
144
Next we'll get the square root of 144 since the opposite of squaring a number is
getting its square root so we obtain an answer of 12 and -12.
Lastly, we will divide 12 and -12 by 2 since the opposite of doubling a number is
dividing it by 2, thus we get 6 and -6.

IV. REVIEW THE SOLUTION

(±6)2 = 12
 (12) = 144
144 ÷ 3 = 48
48 – 30 = 18