Polya’s Four Step in

Problem Solving
Polya: “The Father of Problem
Solving”
• George Pólya was a
Hungarian mathematician.
• He made fundamental contributions
to combinatorics, number theory,
numerical analysis and probability
theory. He is also noted for his work
in heuristics and mathematics
education.
Heuristics
• Heuristic (Greek: "find" or "discover") refers
to experience-based techniques for problem
solving, learning, and discovery that gives a
solution which is not guaranteed to be optimal.
• Where an exhaustive search is impractical,
heuristic methods are used to speed up the
process of finding a satisfactory solution via
mental shortcuts.
• Examples of this method include using a rule of
thumb, an educated guess, an intuitive
judgment, stereotyping, or common sense.

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Polya's Problem Solving
Techniques
• In 1945 George Polya published the
book How To Solve It which quickly
became his most prized publication.
• It sold over one million copies and
has been translated into 17
languages.
• In this book he identifies four basic
principles of problem solving.
1. Understand the problem
• Do you understand all the words used in
stating the problem?
• What are you asked to find or show?
• Can you restate the problem in your own
words?
• Can you think of a picture or diagram that
might help you understand the problem?
• Is there enough information to enable you
to find a solution?

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2. Devise a plan
• There are many reasonable ways to
solve problems.
• The skill lies in choosing an
appropriate strategy.
• This best learned by solving many
problems. You will find choosing a
strategy increasingly easy.

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3. Carry out the plan
• This step is usually easier than devising
the plan. In general, all you need is care
and patience, given that you have the
necessary skills.
• Persist with the plan that you have
chosen.
• If it continues not to work discard it and
choose another. Don't be misled, this is
how mathematics is done, even by
professionals.

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4. Look back

• Much can be gained by taking the

time to reflect and look back at what
you have done, what worked, and
what didn't.
• Doing this will enable you to predict
what strategy to use to solve future
problems.

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http://www.3vadmin.com/problem-solving-skills/ 9
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Problem Solving Strategies
• Guess and check • Use a model
• Look for a pattern • Consider special
• Make an orderly cases
list • Work backwards
• Draw a picture • Use direct
• Eliminate reasoning
possibilities • Use a formula
• Solve a simpler • Solve an equation
problem • Be ingenious
• Use symmetry
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Problem Solving Strategy 1 (Guess and Test)
Example: Mr. Jones has a total of 25 chickens and cows
on his farm. How many of each does he have if all
together there are 76 feet?

Step 1: Understanding the problem

• We are given in the problem that there are 25
chickens and cows.
• All together there are 76 feet.
• Chickens have 2 feet and cows have 4 feet.
• We are trying to determine how many cows and how
many chickens Mr. Jones has on his farm.

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Problem Solving Strategy 1 (Guess and Test)
Step 2: Devise a plan
• Going to use Guess and test along with making a table
• Many times the strategy below is used with guess and
test.
• Make a table and look for a pattern:

Procedure: Make a table reflecting the data in the problem.

If done in an orderly way, such a table will often reveal
patterns and relationships that suggest how the problem
can be solved.

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Problem Solving Strategy 1 (Guess and Test)
Step 3: Carry out the plan:

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Problem Solving Strategy 1 (Guess and Test)

Step 4: Looking back:

• Check: 12 + 13 = 25 heads
• 24 + 52 = 76 feet
We have found the solution to this problem. I
could use this strategy when there are a
limited number of possible answers and when
two items are the same but they have one
characteristic that is different.

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Problem Solving Strategy 2 (Working Backwards)
Example: Karen is thinking of a number. If you
double it, and subtract 7, you obtain 11. What is
Karen’s number?
1. We start with 11 and work backwards.
2. The opposite of subtraction is addition. We will
add 7 to 11. We are now at 18.
3. The opposite of doubling something is dividing
by 2. 18/2 = 9
4. This should be our answer. Looking back: 9 x 2 =
18 -7 = 11
5. We have the right answer.

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Problem Solving Strategy 3 (Looking for a Pattern)
Definition: A sequence is a pattern involving an ordered
arrangement of numbers.

We first need to find a pattern.

Ask yourself as you search for a pattern – are the numbers

growing steadily larger? Steadily smaller? How is each number
related?

Example 1: 1, 4, 7, 10, 13…

Find the next 2 numbers. The pattern is each number is

increasing by 3. The next two numbers would be 16 and 19.

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Problem Solving Strategy 4 (Process of Elimination)
This strategy can be used when there is only one
possible solution.

Example:
I’m thinking of a number.
The number is odd.
It is more than 1 but less than 100.
It is greater than 20.
It is less than 5 times 7.
The sum of the digits is 7.
It is evenly divisible by 5.

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Problem Solving Strategy 4 (Process of Elimination)
a. We know it is an odd number between 1 and 100.
b. It is greater than 20 but less than 35
(21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35. These are the possibilities.)
c. The sum of the digits is 7

21 (2+1=3) No
23 (2+3 = 5) No
25 (2 + 5= 7) Yes
Using the same process we see there are no other
numbers that meet this criteria. Also we notice 25 is
divisible by 5. By using the strategy elimination, we have
found our answer.
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Problem Solving Strategy 5 (Solve a Simpler Problem)
Example: Geometric Sequences:
• How would we find the nth term?
• Solve a simpler problem: 1, 3, 9, 27
1. To get from 1 to 3 what did we do?
2. To get from 3 to 9 what did we do?
3. Let’s set up a table:
Term Number what did we do
1 1
2 3 1x3
3 9 3x3
4 27 9x3

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Problem Solving Strategy 5 (Solve a Simpler Problem)
4. Looking back: How would you find the nth
term?

Nth term = 1 times 3𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑠

Find the 10th term of the above sequence.

Let L = the tenth term

L = 1 times 310 = 19,683

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Activity: Answer the following using
appropriate strategies

(5 points)
1. Jose is thinking of a number.
The number is not odd.
The sum of the digits is divisible by 2.
The number is a multiple of 11.
It is greater than 5 times 4.
It is a multiple of 6
It is less than 7 times 8 +23
What is the number?
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Activity: Answer the following using
appropriate strategies

2. Christina is thinking of a number.

If you multiply her number by 93, add 6, and
divide by 3, you obtain 436. What is her
number? Solve this problem by working
backwards. (5 points)

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Activity: Answer the following using
appropriate strategies

3.

Place the digits 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13 in the

circles to make the sums across and vertically
equal 31. (5 points)
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Activity: Answer the following using
appropriate strategies

4. Mr. Smith has 250 chickens and goats in

the barnyard. Altogether there are 760
feet. How many of each animal does he
have? Make sure you use Polya’s 4 problem
solving steps. (5 points)

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