Chapter 3

Problem Solving
1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning – is the process of

reaching a general conclusion by
examining specific examples. A
conclusion based on inductive
reasoning is called a conjecture. A
conjecture may or may not be correct.

PROBLEM SOLVING
1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

EXAMPLE 1:
Use inductive reasoning to predict the next
number in each of the following lists.
a) 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, ?
b) 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, ?

PROBLEM SOLVING
1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

EXAMPLE 2:
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. 4

PROBLEM SOLVING
 1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
EXAMPLE 3:
Length of pendulum, in Period of pendulum, in
units heartbeats
1 1
4 2
9 3
16 4
25 5
36 6
The period of a pendulum
is the time it takes for the
Use the data in the table and inductive reasoning to answer pendulum to swing from
each of the following questions. left to right and back to its
a) If a pendulum has a length of 49 units, what is its period? original position.
b) If the length of a pendulum is quadrupled, what happens to 5
its period?

PROBLEM SOLVING
1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Deductive Reasoning – is the process of

reaching a conclusion by applying
general assumptions, procedures, or
principles.

PROBLEM SOLVING
1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
EXAMPLE 4: Solve a Logic Puzzle
Each of the four friends, Donna, Sarah, Nikkie, and
Xhanelle, has a different pet (fish, cat, dog, and snake). From
the following clues, determine the pet of each individual.
1) Sarah is older than her friend who owns the cat and
younger than her friend who owns the dog.
2) Nikkie and her friend who owns the snake are both of the
same age and are the youngest members of their group.
3) Donna is older than her friend who owns the fish.
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PROBLEM SOLVING
 SOLUTION:
From Clue 1, Sarah does not own a cat nor a dog.
In the following table, write X1(which stands for
rule out by clue1) in the cat and dog column for
Sarah

Fish Cat Dog Snake

Donna

Sarah X1 X1

Nikkie

Xhanelle
From Clue 2, Nikkie does not own a snake and a
dog being the youngest. And since Sarah is not
the youngest from Clue 1, then Sarah does not
own a snake as well.Write X2 n snake column for
Nikkie
And X1 in snake column for Sarah.There are now
Xs in the 3 pets in Sarah’s row, therefore Sarah
owns the fish.Put a √ which means Sarah’s pet is
a fish.So, Donna, Nikkie and Xhanelle do not
own the fish.
 Fish Cat Dog Snake
Donna X2
Sarah √ X1 X1 X1
Nikkie X2 X2 X2
Xhanelle X2
From Clue 3, Donna is older than Sarah, hence
Donna owns the dog. Write X3 in cat snake
columns for Donna.There are now Xs in snake
column for Donna, Sarah, and Nikkie;
therefore, Xhanelle owns the snake.
Put a check in that box. Write X3 the cat column
for Xhannele, hence Nikkie owns the cat. Put a
check in that box.
 Fish Cat Dog Snake
Donna X2 X3 √ X3
Sarah √ X1 X1 X1
Nikkie X2 √ X2 X2
Xhanelle X2 X3 X3 √

Thus, Sarah owns the fish, Donna owns the dog,

Xhanelle owns the snake and Nikkie owns the cat.
Try this:
Each of the four siblings (Edmund, Genalyn, Madelyn, and
Sonia) bought four different cars. One chooses a Honda, a
Mitsubishi, a Toyota, and a Suzuki car. From the following
clues, determine which sibling bought which car.
1.) Edmund, living alone stays next door to his sister who
bought the Honda car and very far from his sister who bought
the Suzuki car.
2.) Genalyn, also living alone, is younger than the one who
bought the Mitsubishi car and older than her sibling who
bought the Toyota car.
3.) Madelyn did not like Toyota and Suzuki cars.But she and
her sibling, who bought the Toyota car,live in the same house.
1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

A statement is a true statement provided it

is true in all cases.
If you can find one case in which a
statement is not true, called a counterexample,
then the statement is a false statement.

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PROBLEM SOLVING
2. Problem Solving with Patterns

Sequences
A sequence is an ordered list of numbers.
Each number in a sequence is called a term of
the sequence. The is used to designate the term
of a sequence.
A formula that can be used to generate all
the terms of a sequence is called an formula.

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PROBLEM SOLVING
2. Problem Solving with Patterns

EXAMPLE 1: Predict the Next Term

Use a difference table to predict the next
term in the sequence.
2, 7, 24, 59, 118, 207, …

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PROBLEM SOLVING
What is the next term of the sequence, -1, 4, 21, 56, 115, 204?
 What is a problem?
It is a question that motivates a
person to search for a solution.
1. It implies that one wants or
needs to solve the problem.
2. One has to search for a way
to find a solution.
3. Problem-Solving Strategies

One of the foremost recent mathematicians

to make a study of problem solving was George
Polya (1877-1985). He was born in Hungary
and moved to the United States in 1940. the
basic problem-solving strategy that Polya
advocated consisted of the following four steps.

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PROBLEM SOLVING
3. Problem-Solving Strategies

Polya’s Four-Step Problem-Solving Strategy

1) Understand the problem.
2) Devise a plan.
3) Carry out the plan.
4) Review the solution.

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PROBLEM SOLVING
3. Problem-Solving Strategies

Polya’s four steps are deceptively simple.

To become a good problem solver, it helps to
examine each of these steps and determine what
is involved.

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PROBLEM SOLVING
 3. Problem-Solving Strategies
You must have a clear
understanding of the
Once you have found a problem.
solution, check the solution. “Can you restate the problem
Ensure that the solution is in your own words?”
consistent with the facts of
the problem.

Successful problem solvers

• Work carefully. use a variety of techniques
• Keep an accurate and neat when they attempt to solve a
record of all your problem.
attempts. 2
• Realize that some of your 3

initial plans will not work

andPROBLEM
modify SOLVING
your plan.
 3. Problem-Solving Strategies
EXAMPLE 5: Apply Polya’s
Strategy
In consecutive turns of a Monopoly
game, Stacy first paid $800 for a hotel.
She then lost half her money when she
landed on Boardwalk. Next, she
collected $200 for passing GO. She then
lost half her remaining money when she
landed on Illionois Avenue. Stacy now
has $2,500. How much did she have just
2
before she purchased the hotel? 4

PROBLEM SOLVING
 3. Problem-Solving Strategies

EXAMPLE 7: Solve a
Deceptive
Problem
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?
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PROBLEM SOLVING
Reference:

Aufmann, R. N., Lockwood, J. S., Nation, R.

D. & Clegg, D. K. (2013).
Mathematical Excursions,
Third Edition. CA: Brooks/Cole,
Cengage Learning.

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PROBLEM SOLVING