Problem

Solving and
Reasoning
Module 3
Objectives
 Use different types of reasoning to justify
statements and arguments made about
Mathematics and Mathematical Concepts
 Apply logical reasoning in making sound
decisions
 Identify the steps in solving Mathematical
Problems
 Develop critical, analytical and creative thinking
Module 3: Problem Solving and
Reasoning
 Section 1: Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
 Section 2: Problem-Solving Strategies
 Section 3: Pattern Recognition as a Problem-
Solving Strategy
Inductive Reasoning
 Inductive reasoning is the process of reaching a
general conclusion by examining specific
examples. The conclusion formed by using
inductive reasoning is often called a conjecture,
since it may or may not be correct.
When you examine a list of numbers and predict
the next number in the list according to some pattern
you have observed, you are using inductive
reasoning.
 Example. Use inductive reasoning to predict the
most probable next number in each of the
following lists.
 (a) 3, 6, 9, 12, 15,?
 (b) 1, 3, 6, 10, 15,?
 Example Consider the following procedure: Pick
a number. Multiply the number by 8, add 6 to the
product, divide the sum by 2, and subtract 3.
Complete the above procedure for several different
numbers. Use inductive reasoning to make a
conjecture about the relationship between the size
of the resulting number and the size of the original
number.
 In the next examples, let us use inductive
reasoning by examining a sequence of figures and
predict the next figure in the sequence.
Deductive Reasoning
 Deductive reasoning is the process of reaching a
conclusion by applying general assumptions,
procedures, or principles.
Example
 Use deductive reasoning to show that the
following procedure produces a number that is
four times the original number.
 Procedure:
 Pick a number. Multiply the number by 8, add 6 to
the product, divide the sum by 2, and subtract 3. 
Example
 All numbers ending in 0 or 5 are divisible by 5.
The number 35 ends with a 5, thus 35 must be
divisible by 5.
 Acute angles are less than 90 degrees. The given
angle is 40 degrees, thus the given angle must be
an acute angle.
Example
 In the next example, we will use deductive
reasoning to solve a latin square puzzle.
Inductive Reasoning vs. Deductive
Reasoning
 Example Determine whether each of the following
arguments is an example of inductive reasoning or
deductive reasoning. a. During the past 10 years, a
tree has produced plums every other year. Last year
the tree did not produce plums, so this year the tree
will produce plums. b. All home improvements cost
more than the estimate. The contractor estimated my
home improvement will cost $35,000. Thus my
home improvement will cost more than $35,000. 
Logical Puzzle
 Logicpuzzles can be solved by using deductive
reasoning and a chart that enables us to display the
given information in a visual manner.
Example
 Each of four neighbors, Sean, Maria, Sarah, and Brian, has a different
occupation (editor, banker, chef, or dentist).
From the following clues, determine the occupation of each neighbor.

 Clue 1: Maria gets home from work after the banker but before the
dentist.

 Clue 2: Sarah, who is the last to get home from work, is not the editor.

 Clue 3: The dentist and Sarah leave for work at the same time.

 Clue 4: The banker lives next door to Brian.

 Editor Banker  Chef Dentist
Sean X O X X
Maria O X X X
Sarah X X O X
Brian X X X O
Problem Solving with Patterns
 Definition. A sequence is an ordered list of
numbers. The numbers in a sequence that are
separated by commas are the terms of the
sequence.
Examples
 Consider the sequence 5, 14, 27, 44, 65, ...
 The following table is a difference table for the
sequence 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, …
 The following table is a difference table for the
sequence 5, 14, 27, 44, 65, …
 Use a difference table to predict the next term in
the sequence 2, 7, 24, 59, 118, 207, …
nth Term Formula for a Sequence
 Example Consider the formula. This formula
defines a sequence and provides a method for
finding any term of the sequence.
nth Term Formula for a Sequence
 Example Assume the pattern shown by the square tiles in the
following figures continues.
 What is the nth term formula for the number of tiles in the
nth figure of the sequence?
 How many tiles are in the eighth figure of the sequence?
 Which figure will consist of exactly 320 tiles?
Polya’s 4-Steps in Problem Solving
 One of the foremost recent
mathematicians to make a study of
problem solving was
George Polya (1887–1985). He was
born in Hungary and moved to the
United States in 1940.
Polya’s Four-Step Problem-Solving
Strategy
 Understand the problem.
 Devise a plan.
 Carry out the plan.
 Review the solution.
UNDERSTAND THE
PROBLEM
First we need to understand the problem.
     •What is the unknown? What are the data? What is
the condition?
     • Is it possible to satisfy the condition? Is the
condition sufficient to determine the unknown? Or is it
insufficient? Or           redundant? Or contradictory?
     • Draw a figure. Introduce suitable notation.
     • Separate the various parts of the condition. Can
you write them down?
DEVISING A PLAN
 Second, find the connection between the data and the unknown.
You
may be obliged to consider auxiliary problems if an immediate
connection
cannot be found. You should obtain eventually a plan of the
solution.
 Have you seen it before? Or have you seen the same problem in a
slightly
different form?
 Do you know a related problem? Do you know a theorem that could
be
useful?
DEVISING A PLAN
 Look at the unknown! Try to think of a familiar problem
having the same
or a similar unknown.
 Here is a problem related to yours and solved before. Could
you use it?
Could you use its result? Could you use its method? Should
you introduce
some auxiliary element in order to make its use possible?
 Could you restate the problem? Could you restate it still
differently? Go
back to definitions.
DEVISING A PLAN
 If you cannot solve the proposed problem, try to solve first
some related
problem. Could you imagine a more accessible related
problem? A more
general problem? A more special problem? An analogous
problem? Could
you solve a part of the problem? Keep only a part of the
condition, drop
the other part; how far is the unknown then determined, how
can it vary?
DEVISING A PLAN
 Could you derive something useful from the data? Could you
think of
other data appropriate to determine the unknown? Could you
change the
unknown or data, or both if necessary, so that the new
unknown and the
new data are nearer to each other?
 Did you use all the data? Did you use the whole condition?
Have you
taken into account all essential notions involved in the
problem?
CARRYING OUT THE PLAN
 Third, carry out your plan.
• Carrying out your plan of the solution, check
each step. Can you see clearly
that the step is correct? Can you prove that it is
correct?
LOOKING BACK
 Fourth, examine the solution obtained.
• Can you check the result? Can you check the
argument?
• Can you derive the solution differently? Can you
see it at a glance?
• Can you use the result, or the method, for some
other problem?
 Determine the digit 100 places to the right of the
decimal point in the decimal representation 2/27.
 The product of the ages, in years, of three
teenagers is 4590. None of the teens are the same
age. What are the ages of the teenagers?
 A hat and a jacket together cost $100. The jacket
costs $90 more than the hat. What are the cost of
the hat and the cost of the jacket?