Problem Solving and

Reasoning
Chapter III
 Objectives
1. At the end of this Chapter, students should be be able to:

2. Use different types of reasoning to justify statements and

arguments made about mathematics and mathematical
concepts;

3. Write clear and logical proofs;

4. Organize one’s methods and approaches for proving and

solving problems.
 Introduction
1. Problem-solving and critical thinking are
the key goals of the K-12 curriculum in the
area of mathematics. How else can the
problem-solving and critical thinking skills of
students be established, strengthened and
maximized, but exposed to quality non-
routine word problems.
“We cannot solve our problems with the
same thinking we used when we create
them.”

—Albert Einstein
What is a
Problem?
"A question is deemed a problem if the
approach or method of answer is
unknown and involves the application
of imagination and prior knowledge in
a novel and unfamiliar scenario.”

A problem is defined as "the conscious

quest for some activity appropriate to
achieve some clearly defined but not
immediately accessible goal." -George Polya
Problem Solving The ability to make decisions,
view, construct, model, and
analyze difficult situations, as well
as successfully communicate
solutions, is referred to as problem
solving.

In layman's terms, problem solving is

the capacity to overcome or remove
obstacles so that we can achieve our
goals.
 Uses sets of prescribed or known
Routinary procedures (rules) to solve the them

Problems

Uses strategies that do not

guarantee a solution to the problem
but provide a more highly probable
Non-Routinary
method of solving them Problems
Types of Non-routine Problems

STITAC

STATIC
Types of Non-routine Problems

Static
Fixed, known goal
and elements
Types of Non-routine Problems

CATIVE

ACTIVE
Types of Non-routine Problems

Active
Result is actively changing
as we further investigate
and analyze the problem
 Reasoning
Topics
Logic Puzzle

Polya’s Problem Solving

Strategy
 Reasoning
A practice of stating ideas
clearly and precisely to
arrive at a conjecture.
01 INTUITION 03 INDUCTIVE
REASONING

02
ANALOGY
04 DEDUCTIVE
REASONING

Kinds Reasoning
 Intuition
Similar to guessing
Reasoning by guessing or
reasoning by common sense.

Ability to acquire knowledge without proof,

evidences, or conscience reasoning, or without
understanding how the knowledge was
acquired.
 Examples
1. Which is bigger?
 Examples
2. Dog or Panda?
 Examples
3. Is it a 9 or 6?
 Examples
4. Rabbit or Duck
Analogy
Reasoning by comparison

A form of reasoning in which other similarities

are inferred from a particular similarity
between two or more things.
 Examples
1. Tree is to leaf as Flower is to Petal.
2. Hammer: Nail :: Comb : hair
3. Finding a Good Man is like Finding A
Needle in a Haystack
 The process of gathering
specific information, usually
through observation and
measurement and then
making a conjecture based on
the gathered information.

Inductive Reasoning
 Examples
1 is an odd number
11 is an odd number
21 is an odd number
Therefore, all number ends
with 1 are odd numbers.
 Examples
Use inductive reasoning to predict the
next number in each of the following:
a. 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, …?
b. 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, …?
a. 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, …? Examples
Solution:
6-3=3
9-6=3
12 - 9 = 3
15 – 12 = 3
Each successive number is 3 larger than the
previous number. Thus, we predict that the next
number in the list is 3 larger than 15, which is 18.
b. 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, …? Examples
3-1 = 2
6-3 = 3
10-6 = 4
15-10 = 5
The difference between any two numbers is 1 greater than the
difference before it. Because the difference between 10 and 15 is 5, we
anticipate that the next number on the list will be 6 greater than 15,
which will be 21.
 Deductive
Reasoning

The process of showing that a

certain statements follow logically
from agreed upon assumptions
and proven facts.
 Examples
Every Filipino of age 18 and
above can vote.
Wendy Adams is 24 years old
Therefore Wendy can Vote
 Examples
Pick a number. Multiply the number by 6, add 10 to
the product, divide the sum by 2, subtract 5 from
the quotient.
Let n be the original number. n
Solution
Multiply the number by 6: 6n
Add 10 to the product: 6n + 10
Divide the sum by 2: (6n +10) / 2
3n+5
Subtract 5: 3n + 5 – 5 =
Answer 3n
We started with n and ended with 3n. The
procedure given in this example produces a
number that is 3times the original number.
Logic Puzzles

It 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 the four (4) 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.
1. Maria gets home from work after the banker but before
the dentist.
2. Sarah, who is the last to get home from work, is not the
editor.
3. The dentist and Sarah leave for work at the same time.
4. The banker lives next door to Brian.
Solution: From clue 1, Maria is not the banker or the
dentist. In the following chart, write X1 (which stands
for “ruled out by clue 1”) in the Banker and the Dentist
columns of Maria’s row.

DENTIS
EDITOR BANKER CHEF
T
SEAN
MARIA X1 X1
SARAH
BRIAN
 EXAMPLE

Each of the four (4) 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.
1. Maria gets home from work after the banker but before
the dentist.
2. Sarah, who is the last to get home from work, is not the
editor.
3. The dentist and Sarah leave for work at the same time.
4. The banker lives next door to Brian.
From clue 2, Sarah is not the editor. Write X2 (ruled out
by clue 2) in the Editor column of Sarah’s row. We
know from clue 1 that the banker is not the last to get
home, and we know from clue 2 that Sarah is the last to
get home; therefore, Sarah is not the banker. Write X2
in the Banker column of Sarah’s row.

DENTIS
EDITOR BANKER CHEF
T
SEAN
MARIA X1 X1
SARAH X2 X2
BRIAN
 EXAMPLE

Each of the four (4) 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.
1. Maria gets home from work after the banker but before
the dentist.
2. Sarah, who is the last to get home from work, is not the
editor.
3. The dentist and Sarah leave for work at the same time.
4. The banker lives next door to Brian.
From clue 3, Sarah is not the dentist. Write X3 for this
condition. Since Sarah is the chef, none of the other three
people can be the chef. Write X3 for these conditions.
There are now Xs for three of the four occupations in Maria’s row;
therefore, Maria must be the editor. Insert a  to indicate that Maria is
the editor, and write X3 twice to indicate that neither Sean nor Brian
is the editor.
DENTIS
EDITOR BANKER CHEF
T
SEAN X3 X3
MARIA
X1 X3 X1
SARAH
X2 X2 X3
BRIAN
X3 X3
 EXAMPLE

Each of the four (4) 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.
1. Maria gets home from work after the banker but before
the dentist.
2. Sarah, who is the last to get home from work, is not the
editor.
3. The dentist and Sarah leave for work at the same time.
4. The banker lives next door to Brian.
From clue 4, Brian is not the banker. Write X4 for this
condition. Since there are three Xs in the Banker
Sean is the banker, Maria is
column, Sean must be the banker. Place a  in that the editor,
box.Sarah is cannot
Thus Sean the chef,
be the and
dentist.Brian isinthe
Write X4 that dentist.
box. Since there are 3 Xs in the Dentist column, Brian
must be the dentist. Place a  in that box.

DENTIS
EDITOR BANKER CHEF
T
SEAN X3 X3 X4
MARIA
X1 X3 X1
SARAH
X2 X2 X3
BRIAN
X3 X4 X3
Polya’s Problem
Solving Strategy
 George Polya

One of the foremost recent

mathematicians to make a study of
problem solving was George Polya
(1877-1985).
The basic problem-solving strategy that
Polya advocated considered of the
following four (4) steps.
Polya’s Four-Step Problem Solving Strategy

1. Understand the problem.

2. Devise a plan.
3. Carry out the plan.
4. Review the solution.
 Understand the Problem

This part of Polya’s four-step strategy is often overlooked.

To help you focus on understanding the problem, consider the following

questions:

• Can you restate the problem in your own words?

• Can you determine what is known about these types of problems?
• Is there an extraneous information that is not needed to solve the problem?
• What is the goal?
Devise a Plan
Successful problem solvers use a variety of techniques
when they attempt to solve a problem.

The following are some frequently used procedures:

• Make a list of information that is needed.
• Draw a diagram.
• Make an organized list that shows all the possibilities.
• Make a table or a chart.
• Work backwards.
• Try to solve a similar but simpler problem.
• Look for a pattern.
• Write an equation. If necessary, define what each variable represents.
• Guess at a solution, then check your result.
Carry Out the Plan

Once you have devised a plan, you must carry it

out.

Keep an accurate and neat record of all your attempts.

Realize that some of your initial plans will not work and that
you may have to devise another plan or modify your existing
plan.
Review the Solution

Interpret the solution in the context of the problem.

Ask yourself if there are generalizations of the solution

that could apply to other problems
Example 1: Karl Friedrich Gauss was a scientist and
mathematician. His work encompassed several disciplines
including number theory, analysis, astronomy, and optics. He is
known for having shown mathematical prowess as early as the age
of three. It is reported that soon after Gauss entered elementary
school, his teacher assigned the problem of finding the sum of the
first 100 natural numbers. Gauss was able to determine the sum in
a matter of few seconds.
Understand the Problem

The sum of the first 100 natural numbers is

⋯
represented by 1 + 2 + 3 + + 98 + 99 + 100.
Devise a Plan
Adding the first 100 natural numbers from left to right
would be time consuming. Gauss considered another
method. He added 1 and 100 to produce 101. He noticed
that 2 and 99 have a sum of 101, and that 3 and 98 have a
sum of 101. Thus the 100 numbers could be thought of as
50 pairs, each with a sum of 101.
Carry Out the Plan

To find the sum of the 50 pairs, each with a

sum of 101, Gauss computed 50 × 101 and
arrived at 5050 as the solution.
Review the Solution

Because the addends in an addition problem

can be placed in any order without changing
the sum, Gauss was confident that he had the
correct solution.
 The difference table shows the
Difference Table differences between successive terms
of the sequence. The following is a
difference table for the sequence 2, 5,
8, 11, 14, …

Each of the numbers in row (1) of the table is the difference between the two (2) closest numbers
just above it (upper right number minus upper left number). The differences in row (1) are called
the first differences of the sequence. In this case, the first differences are all the same..

Thus, if we use the above difference table to predict the next number in the sequence, we
predict that 14 + 3 = 17 is the next term of the sequence. This prediction might be wrong;
however, the pattern shown by the first differences seems to indicate that each successive
term is 3 larger than the preceding term.
EXAMPLE The following is a difference table for the sequence 5, 14, 27, 44, 65,
…

In this table, the first differences are not all the same. In such a situation it is
often helpful to compute the successive differences of the first differences.
These are shown in row (2). These differences of the first differences are called
the second differences. The differences of the second differences are called the
third differences.
EXAMPLE The following is a difference table for the sequence 5, 14, 27, 44, 65,
…

To predict the next term of a sequence, we often look for a pattern in a row of
differences. For instance, in the following table, the second differences are all
the same constant, namely 4. If the pattern continues, then a 4 would also be
the next second difference, and we can extend the table to the right ad shown.
 EXAMPLE The following is a difference table for the sequence 2, 6, 13, 23, 36…
find the next two terms in this sequence.

SEQUENCES 2, 6, 13, 23, 36 52 71

1ST DIFFERENCES 4 7 10 13 16 19
2ND DIFFERENCES 3 3 3 3 3
Thank you for listening!