Lesson 10:

Mathematical
Investigation
Reymond Recto
Rico Morcoso
Objective:
Generate investigation task and
anticipate problem that may
arise from the task.
INTRODUCTION:
Contemporary leaders in
mathematics education
revolutionized the goal
mathematics teaching learning
from a passive transfer to
knowledge to an active process
where students are developed to
think like mathematicians.
Mathematics investigation is a
strategy that may be
implemented to achieve this.
 There are 10 children at the
playground and each child high five with
each of the other children. Find the total
number of high fives.
 There are children's playing at the
playground and each child high-
fives with each of the children.
Investigate.
 Mathematical Investigation
it refers to sustained of a
mathematical situation. It
distinguishes itself from problem
solving because it is open-
ended.
 Three Phases of
Mathematical Investigation
 1. Problem-posing
The students explore the given situation and come up
with a mathematical problem that they would want to
engage in.

Example:
Joining 2 points on a circle determine a
chord. A chord is a line segment that joins any
2 points on a circle. Investigate the
relationship between the number of points n
on the circle and the maximum number of
chords c that can be drawn.
 2. Conjecturing

The conjecturing phase involves collecting and

organizing data, looking for patterns, inferencing and
generalizing.
 Organize and Record Data

Figure 1
Number of Points Maximum No. of Chords
 Organize and Record Data

Figure 1
Number of Points Maximum No. of Chords
1 0
2 1
3 3
4 6
5 10
3. Justifying Conjectures
The students are to justify and explain
their inferences and generalization.

1 = 0 chords

2 = 1 chords

3 = 3 chords

4 = 6 chords

5 = 10 chords
 Example:
When n=10
c=?

=
Therefore, the number of
chord is 45.
=

= 45
 N=10

No. of No. of
points chords
1
9
2
8
3
7
4
6
5
5
6
7 4
8 3
9 2
10 1
Total 0
45
‘As the number of points increases the number of chords
increases too.’
Challenge

Pose a problem, make a conjecture, and justify your

conjecture given the following situation.

Investigate the following number tricks:

854
-458
396
+693
1089
 Investigate the following number tricks:
854
-458
396
+693
1089

Problem:
How do we find 1089 as the answer?
Conjecturing:
We subtract 854 from 485 and add the
answer by 693.
Justifying Conjectures:
First, we subtract 854 from 458 and the
answer we will get is 396, then add 693 and
we got the answer 1089.
Summary
Mathematical investigation is an open-ended
teaching strategy that capitalizes on the students
ability to identify a problem. Any word problem
can be transformed in to a mathematical
investigation by limiting the given information
and omitting the specific question that is asking.
Assess
Use the Venn Diagram below to compare and contrast
problem-solving and mathematical investigation.
Thank You
