Republic of the Philippines

Sorsogon State College

EDUCATION, ACCOUNTANCY, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MIDWIFERY DEPARTMENT
Sorsogon City
First Semester, SY 2021 - 2022

Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Mathematics (BSEd – Math)

Third Year

Topic 1: Problem Solving, Strategies and Principles

Anthony L. Madrazo
Instructor I

PSMIM – Problem Solving Strategies and Principles, Madrazo, A. @2021, anthonymadrazo5@gmail.com | 1

 Problem Solving Strategies and Principles

This is an overview of the different problem solving strategies and principles as suggested by Polya, and Grieser.

Learning outcomes:
1. Determine, compare and contrast problem solving strategies by Polya and Grieser.
2. State and apply fundamental problem-solving strategies.
3. Apply basic mathematical principles to problem solving.

LESSON PROPER
There is no single procedure that works all the time in a problem solving which often makes it difficult.
Furthermore, it requires practical knowledge about the situation. If the problem or the situation we are prone
to make mistakes or incorrect assumptions. To this end we will discuss framework or procedure for problem
solving.

George Polya’s Problem – Solving Method, 1945 (Polya, 2004)

Step 1. Understand the problem
Step 2. Devise a plan
Step 3. Carry out your plan
Step 4. Check your answer

1 Understand the Problem

o You have to understand the problem.
o 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?
o Draw a figure. Introduce suitable notation.
o Separate the various parts of the condition. Can you write them down?
2 Device a Plan
o 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
o Have you seen it before? Or have you seen the same problem in a slightly different form?
o Do you know a related problem? Do you know a theorem that could be useful?
o Look at the unknown! And try to think of a familiar problem having the same or a similar unknown.
o 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?
o Could you restate the problem? Could you restate it still differently? Go back to definitions.
o 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? 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 the 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?

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3 Carrying out the Plan
o Carry out your plan.
o 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?
4 Looking Back
o Examine the solution obtained.
o Can you check the result? Can you check the argument?
o Can you derive the result differently? Can you see it at a glance?
o Can you use the result, or the method, for some other problem?

Daniel Grieser’s Problem – Solving Strategies (Grieser, 2018)

Step 1. Understand the problem
Step 2. Investigate the problem
Step 3. Write up the solution properly
Step 4. Review your solution

1 Understand the problem

o Read the problem carefully
▪ What is given?
▪ What are we looking for?
▪ What are the premises?
2. Investigate the problem
o Suppose you are feeling ‘I have no idea what to do!’ What should you do?
o Keep going, be stubborn but also flexible: if one strategy does not work then try another. Work step by
step.
o General Strategies
▪ Get a feel for the problem, get well acquainted with it: Consider special cases or examples, make
sketches and tables
▪ Have I seen a similar problem before?
▪ Is there a simpler problem that I could consider first?
▪ How can I use what is given? – Working forward
▪ How can I reach the goal? – Working backward
▪ Can I formulate useful interim goals?
▪ Introduce notation
▪ Formulate conjectures
Here are some other questions that you may ask yourself:
▪ Is there a pattern?
▪ What is essential, what matters (and what doesn’t)?
o Special Strategies
Special strategies are useful for particular classes of problems.
▪ Recursion, induction
▪ Counting by bijection, counting in two ways
3 Write up the solution properly
o Be very careful to:
▪ Argue conclusively, use correct logic
▪ Structure sensibly
▪ Write understandably (mention ideas and motivations, make a sketch etc.)

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4 Review your solution
o When you have solved the problem you should ask yourself more questions, for example:
▪ What have I learned?
▪ Is the solution reasonable?
▪ Is there a different or even a better way to do it?
▪ Did I use all the premises? How did they matter?
▪ Can I find interesting problems by modifying the question, the premises?
Problem – Solving Strategies
1. Draw pictures
Problems usually contains several conditions that must be satisfied. You will find it useful to draw pictures to
understand these conditions before trying to solve the problem.

2. Choose good names for unknowns

It is a good practice to name the objects in a problem so you can remember their meaning easily.

3. Be systematic
If you approach a situation in an organized, systematic way, frequently you will gain insight into the problem.

4. Look for patterns

If you recognize a pattern in a situation you are studying, you can often use it to answer questions about that
situation.

5. Try simpler version of the problem

You can begin to understand a complex problem by solving some scaled – down versions of the problem. Once you
recognize a pattern in that way you are solving the simpler problems, then you can carry this insight to attack the
full blown problem.

6. Guessing is OK
Once of the difficulties in solving word problems is that you can be afraid to say something that may be wrong and
consequently sit staring at a problem, writing nothing until you have the full – blown solution. Making guesses,
even incorrect guesses, is not a bad way to begin. It may give you some understanding of the problem. Once you
make a guess, evaluate it to see how close you are to meeting all the conditions of the problem.

7. Convert a new problem to an older one

An effective technique in solving a new problem is to try to connect it with a problem you have solved earlier. It is
often possible to rewrite a condition so that the problem becomes exactly like one you have seen before.
Some Mathematical Principles
1. The always principle
When we say statement is true in mathematics, we are saying that the statement is true 100% of the time. One of
the great strengths of mathematics is that we do not deal with statements that are “sometimes true” or “usually
true.”

2. The counterexample principle

An example that shows that a mathematical statement fails to be true is called a counterexample. Keep in mind that
if you want to use a mathematical property and someone can find a counterexample, then the property you are trying
to use is not allowable. A hundred examples in which a statement is true do not prove it to be always true, yet a
single example in which statement fails make it a false statement. Be careful to understand that when we say
statement is false, we are not saying that it is false. We are only saying that the statement is not always true. That
is, we can find at least one instance in which it is false.

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 3. The order principle
When you read mathematical notation, pay careful attention to the order which operations must be performed. The
order in which we do things in mathematics is as important as it is in everyday life. When getting dressed in the
morning, it makes a difference whether you first put on your socks and then your shoes, or first put your shoes and
then your socks. Although the difference may not seem as dramatic, reversing the order of mathematical operations
can also give unacceptable results. Note that we are not saying that it is always wrong to reverse the order of
mathematical operations; we are saying that if you reverse the order of operations, you may accidentally change the
meaning of your calculations.

4. The splitting – hairs principle

You should “split hairs” when reading mathematical terminologies. If two terms are similar but slightly different,
they usually do mean exactly the same thing. In everyday English, we may use the words “equal” and “equivalent”
interchangeably; however, in mathematics they do not mean the same thing. The same is true for notation. When
you encounter different – looking or terminology, work hard to get a clear idea of exactly what the difference is.
Representing your ideas precisely is part of good problem solving.

5. The analogies principle

Much of the formal terminology that we use in mathematics sounds like words that we use in everyday life. This is
not a coincidence. Whenever you can associate ideas from real life with mathematical concepts, you will better
understand the meaning behind the mathematics you are learning.

6. The three – way principle

Whether you are learning a new concept or trying to gain insight into a problem, it is helpful to use the ideas we
have discussed to approach mathematical situations in three ways.
▪ Verbally – Make analogies. State the problem in your own words. Compare it with situations you have
seen in other areas of mathematics.
▪ Graphically – Draw a graph. Draw a diagram.
▪ By example – Make numerical or other kinds of examples to illustrate the situation.

REFERENCES
Grieser, D. (2018). Exploring Mathematics. Springer International Publishing, Switzerland, ISSN 2197-4144,
ISBN 978-3-319-90321-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90321-7
Pearson Education, Inc. (2014). Problem Solving Strategies and Principles.
Polya, G. (2004). How to Solve It: A New Aspect of Mathematical Method, Expanded Princeton Science Library
Edition. Princeton Science Library, USA, ISBN-13: 978-0-691-11966-3.

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