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Chapter 3.3 Problem-Solving Strategies

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336 views25 pages

Chapter 3.3 Problem-Solving Strategies

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Gray Panie Asis
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CHAPTER

3
Problem Solving

Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.


3.3 Problem-Solving Strategies
Section

Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.


Polya’s Problem-Solving Strategy

3
Polya’s Problem-Solving Strategy
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.

The basic problem-solving strategy that Polya advocated


consisted of the following four steps.

4
Polya’s Problem-Solving Strategy
In Example 1 we apply Polya’s four-step problem-solving
strategy to solve a problem involving the number of routes
between two points.

5
Example 1 – Apply Polya’s Strategy
Consider the map shown in Figure 3.2. Allison wishes to
walk along the streets from point A to point B. How many
direct routes can Allison take?

City Map
Figure 3.2

6
Example 1 – Solution
Understand the Problem: We would not be able to
answer the question if Allison retraced her path or traveled
away from point B.

Thus we assume that on a direct route, she always travels


along a street in a direction that gets her closer to point B.

7
Example 1 – Solution cont’d

Devise a Plan: The map in


Figure 3.2 has many extraneous
details.

City Map
Figure 3.2

Thus we make a diagram that


allows us to concentrate on the
essential information. See the
figure at the right. A simple diagram of the
street map in Figure 3.2
8
Example 1 – Solution cont’d

Because there are many routes, we consider the similar but


simpler diagrams shown below.

Simple street diagrams

The number at each street intersection represents the


number of routes from point A to that particular intersection.
9
Example 1 – Solution cont’d

Look for patterns. It appears that the number of routes to


an intersection is the sum of the number of routes to the
adjacent intersection to its left and the number of routes to
the intersection directly above.

For instance, the number of routes to the intersection


labeled 6 is the sum of the number of routes to the
intersection to its left, which is 3, and the number of routes
to the intersection directly above, which is also 3.

10
Example 1 – Solution cont’d

Carry Out the Plan: Using the pattern discovered earlier in


the example, we see from the figure below that the number
of routes from point A to point B is 20 + 15 = 35.

A street diagram with the number of


routes to each intersection labeled

11
Example 1 – Solution cont’d

Review the Solution: Ask yourself whether a result of 35


seems reasonable.

If you were required to draw each route, could you devise a


scheme that would enable you to draw each route without
missing a route or duplicating a route?

12
Reading and Interpreting Graphs

13
Reading and Interpreting Graphs
Graphs are often used to display numerical information in a
visual format that allows the reader to see pertinent
relationships and trends quickly.

Three of the most common types of graphs are the bar


graph, the broken-line graph, and the circle graph.

14
Reading and Interpreting Graphs
Figure 3.3 is a bar graph that displays the average U.S.
movie theatre ticket prices for the years from 2008 to 2014.
The years are displayed on the horizontal axis. Each
vertical bar is used to display the average ticket price for a
given year. The higher the bar, the greater the average
ticket price for that year.

Average U.S. movie theatre ticket prices


Figure 3.3
15
Reading and Interpreting Graphs
Figure 3.4 shows two broken-line graphs. The red
broken-line graph displays the median age at first marriage
for men for the years from 2005 to 2013.

U.S. median age at first marriage


Figure 3.4

The green broken-line graph displays the median age at


first marriage for women during the same time period. The
symbol on the vertical axis indicates that the ages between
0 and 25 are not displayed. 16
Reading and Interpreting Graphs
This break in the vertical axis allows the graph to be
displayed in a compact form.

The segments that connect points on the graph indicate


trends. Increasing trends are indicated by segments that
rise as they move to the right, and decreasing trends are
indicated by segments that fall as they move to the right.

The blue arrows in Figure 3.4 show that the median age at
which men married for the first time in 2006 was 27.5 years,
rounded to the nearest half of a year.

17
Reading and Interpreting Graphs
Figure 3.5 is a circle graph or pie chart that uses circular
sectors to display the percentage of the 180,000,000 U.S.
Facebook users in selected age groups as of January 2014.

Classification of the 180,000,000 U.S.


Facebook users by age: January 2014
Figure 3.5
18
Example 8 – Use Graphs to Solve Problems

a. Use Figure 3.3 to determine the minimum average U.S.


movie theatre ticket price for the years from 2008 to
2014.

Average U.S. movie theatre ticket prices


Figure 3.3
19
Example 8 – Use Graphs to Solve Problemscont’d

b. Use Figure 3.4 to estimate the median age at which


women married for the first time in 2011. Round to the
nearest half of a year.

U.S. median age at first marriage


Figure 3.4

20
Example 8 – Use Graphs to Solve Problemscont’d

c. Use Figure 3.5 to estimate the number of U.S. Facebook


users in the 18–24 age group. Round to the nearest
hundred thousand.

Classification of the 180,000,000 U.S.


Facebook users by age: January 2014
Figure 3.5
21
Example 8(a) – Solution
The minimum of the average ticket prices is displayed by
the height of the shortest vertical bar in Figure 3.3.

Average U.S. movie theatre ticket prices


Figure 3.3

Thus the minimum average U.S. movie theatre ticket price


for the years from 2008 to 2014 was $7.18. 22
Example 8(b) – Solution cont’d

To estimate the median age at which women married for


the first time in 2011, locate 2011 on the horizontal axis of
Figure 3.4 and then move directly upward to a point on the
green broken-line graph.

U.S. median age at first marriage


Figure 3.4

23
Example 8(b) – Solution cont’d

The height of this point represents the median age at first


marriage for women in 2011, and it can be estimated by
moving horizontally to the vertical axis on the left.

Thus the median age at first marriage for women in 2011


was 26.5 years, rounded to the nearest half of a year.

24
Example 8(c) – Solution cont’d

Figure 3.5 indicates that 23.3% of the 180,000,000 U.S.


Facebook users were in the 18–24 age group.

0.233  180,000,000 = 41,940,000

Thus, rounded to the nearest


hundred thousand, the number of
U.S. Facebook users in this age
group was 41,900,000 in
January 2014.

Classification of the 180,000,000 U.S.


Facebook users by age: January 2014
Figure 3.5
25

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