Problem Solving and

Reasoning
Mathematics in the Modern World
Module 3
by Prof. A.L.G.Baguio
Overview:
Problem is one of the difficult or hated task by most students in any
mathematics subjects. But we are aware that most occupations require
good problem-solving skills. Architects and engineers for instance
needs to solve many complicated problems since they design and
construct modern buildings that are aesthetically pleasing, functional
and that meet stringent safety requirements.
In this module we will discuss how to become a better problem
solver using Polya’s problem solving strategies; solve problems that
involves pattern; and enjoy solving recreational math problems.
Topic Outline:

❖ Problem Solving & Reasoning

❖ Inductive & Deductive Reasoning
❖ Polya’s 4–Steps in problem solving
❖ Mathematical problems involving patterns
❖ Recreational problems using mathematics
Learning Objectives:

At the end of the module, the students will be able to:

➢ Compare and contrast inductive and deductive reasoning;

➢ Solve problems involving patterns and recreational problems
following Polya’s four steps; and
➢ Organize methods and approaches for proving and solving
problems.
Preliminary Activity

How would you react if you see these signage on the road ???
“Word
Problems
make me
nervous!”
“Word
Problems?
I just skip
them!”
What is problem?

A problem is a question that motivates a

person to search for an answer.
What is problem solving?

It is finding solutions and not just answers to problems.

SOLUTION = METHOD + ANSWER

This means that in solving problems, particularly in mathematics, we have to

show our complete solution and must also answer what is being asked in the
problem. In some cases, students will just show their solution but failed to
answer the main question, or sometimes they just answer the question but do not
show how they arrived with their answer. So please be reminded that in solving
word problems, both solution and answer must be presented.
Inductive and Deductive
Reasoning
Lesson 1
Inductive Reasoning

1. 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.
Inductive Reasoning
Example: 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,…
c. 2, 5, 10, 17, 26,…

Solution:
a. 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18
__
+3 +3 +3 +3 +3

The common difference is 3, thus the next number in the sequence is 18.
Inductive Reasoning

Solution:
b. 1, 3, 6, 10, 15,__21_

+2 +3 +4 +5 +6
There is no common difference but the pattern is adding consecutive number, thus the
next number in the sequence is 21.

c. 2, 5, 10, 17, 26,__37___

+3 +5 +7 +9 +11

Again, there is no common difference but the pattern is adding consecutive odd number,
thus the next number in the sequence is 37.
 Problem:
The following table shows some results obtained for pendulums of various
lengths. A length of 10 inches has been designate as 1 unit.

Length of Period of
pendulum, in units pendulum, in
heartbeats
1 1
4 2
9 3
16 4
25 5
36 6

Use the data in the table and inductive reasoning to answer each of the following
questions:
a. If a pendulum has a length of 49 units, what is its period?
b. If the length of the pendulum is quadrupled, what happens to its period?
Inductive Reasoning

Example: Consider the following procedure: Choose 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.
Inductive Reasoning
Let say the number is 5.

Procedure:
Multiply the no. by 8 : 40
Add 6 to the product : 46
Divide the sum by 2: 23
Then, Subtract 3 : 20
Inductive Reasoning
If the number is 9.

Procedure:
Multiply the no. by 8 : 72
Add 6 to the product : 78
Divide the sum by 2: 39
Then, Subtract 3 : 36
Inductive Reasoning

From the two results 20 and 36 we can conclude that the

result is divisible by 4 or the resulting number is four times
the original number.

Note:
When you use inductive reasoning, you have no guarantee
that your conclusion is correct.
Deductive Reasoning

2. Deductive reasoning is the process of reaching a

conclusion by applying general assumptions, procedure or
principles.
Deductive Reasoning

Example: Consider the following procedure: Choose a number.

Multiply the number by 8, add 6 to the product, divide the
sum by 2, and subtract 3.

Use deductive reasoning to show that the following

procedure produces a number that is four times the original
number.
Deductive Reasoning
Deductive Step
 Let x = be the number
 Multiply the number by 8 : 8x
 Add 6 to the product : 8x +6
8𝑥+6 2(4𝑥+3)
 Divide the sum by 2 : 2
= 2
= 4𝑥 + 3

 Subtract 3 : 4𝑥 + 3 − 3 = 4𝑥

C𝑜𝑛𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒: 𝐴𝑛𝑦 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 8, 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑦 6, 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑦 2 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔

𝑏𝑦 3, will result to a number that is four times the original number.
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
More Examples:
Tell whether the following arguments is an example of inductive or
deductive reasoning:
1) During the past years, a tree has produced plums every other year,
Last year the tree did not produced plums, so this year the tree will
produced plums,
2) All home improvement cost more than the estimate. The contractor
estimated that my home improvement will cost Php350,000. Thus
my home improvement will cost more than Php350,000.
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
Answer:
1) The conclusion of the first argument was based on specific
example, thus the statement is an example of inductive reasoning.

2) Since the conclusion of the second statement is a general

assumption, then it is deductive reasoning.
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Example: Logic puzzles.

Each of four 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.
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
Solution: You may construct a table to
answer this logic puzzle.
Clues: Editor Banker Chef Dentist

1. Maria gets home from work after the banker Sean x3 / x3 x4

but before the dentist. Maria / x1 x3 x1
This means that Mariah is not a banker and a dentist. Sarah x2 x2 / x3
2. Sarah, who is the last to get home from work, Brian x3 x4 x3
is not the editor. /
So, Sarah is not the editor and if she is the last one to get home then she is not the banker.

3. The dentist and Sarah leave for work at the same time.
This implies that Sarah is not the dentist. Since she is not the banker or editor, nor dentist, then she is the CHEF.
Then put X to the rest of the column of CHEF since Sarah is the chef, notice that the row of Maria has three X’s, then
it means that she is the editor.
4. The banker lives next door to Brian.
This implies that Brian is not a banker, thus he is a dentist and Sean is the banker.
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Editor Banker Chef Dentist

Sean x3 / x3 x4
Maria / x1 x3 x1
Sarah x2 x2 / x3
Brian x3 x4 x3 /

Based on the result, we can conclude that Sean is the

banker, Maria is the editor, Sarah is the chef and Brian is
the dentist.
Polya’s Problem Solving Strategy
Lesson 2
Problem-Solving Strategies

Polya’s Problem-Solving Strategy

George Polya (1887-1985) was born in Hungary and
moved to US in 1940. The basic problem solving strategy that
he advocated consisted of the following four steps:
1. Understand the problem
2. Devise a plan
3. Carry out the plan
4. Review the solutions
Polya’s Problem Solving Strategy

Example #1
Copy the figure below and place the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
in these circles so that the sums across (horizontally) and
down (vertically) are the same. Is there more than one
solution?
Polya’s Problem Solving Strategy
Solution:
1. Understand the problem- The problem says, to place the digits 1 to 5
in the circles so that the sum of the horizontal and vertical are the same
and also to determine if there is more than 1 solution.
2. Devise a plan- In this type of problem we may use guess and check.
3. Carry out the plan
11 2

22 33 44 3 1 4

55 5
4. Review the solutions : The answer make sense. And to answer the question,
“yes” there are more than 1 solution.
 Apply Polya’s Strategy
Example #2.
A baseball team won two out of their last four games. In how many
different orders could they have two wins and two losses in four games?

Solution:
Understand the Problem : There are many different orders. The team
may have won two straight games and lost the last two (WWLL). Or
maybe they lost the first two games and won the last two (LLWW). Of
course there are other possibilities, such as WLWL
Devise a plan: We will make an organized list of all the possible orders.
An organized list is a list that is produced using a system that ensures
that each of the different orders will be listed once and only once.
 Apply Polya’s Strategy
Carry out the plan Each entry in our list contain two Ws and two Ls with no
duplication. Always write a W unless doing so will produce too many Ws or a
duplicate of one of the previous orders. If it is not possible to write a W, then and
only then do we write an L.
1. WWLL (Start with two wins)
2. WLWL (Start with one win)
3. WLLW
4. LWWL (Start with one loss)
5. LWLW
6. LLWW (Start with two losses)

Review the solution: This strategy produces the six different orders :

Therefore, we can conclude that there 6 different orders where the team won 2
games and losses the other 2.
 Apply Polya’s Strategy
Example #3
Two apples weigh the same as a banana and a cherry. A banana weighs
the same as nine cherries. How many cherries weigh the same as one
apple?

Solution:
Understand the Problem : The problem asked for the number of
cherries that would corresponds to the weight of the apple.
Devise a plan: Introduce variables and create an equation.
Carry out the plan:
Let A = the weight of an apple
B = the weight of a banana
C = the weight of a cherry
 Apply Polya’s Strategy
The equation is : 2A = B + C
B = 9C
Substituting: 2A = 9C + C
2A = 10C
A = 5C
Answer: 5 Cherries weigh the same as 1 apple

Review the solution: Check whether the equation would equal.

2𝐴 = 𝐵 + 𝐶
2(5𝐶) = 9𝐶 + 𝐶
10𝐶 = 10𝐶
Try This!
Teacher Sarah has a basket of 70 pieces of cookies. There are
more than 7 pupils in her class. The basket was passed equally
among the pupils. After the basket was passed around, 4 cookies
were left. How many pupils are there in Teacher Sarah’s class? How
many cookies does each pupil got?
Solution:
Understanding the Problem: The problem says that Teacher Sarah has a basket of
70 pieces of cookies. She gave them to her pupils equally and their was 4 cookies
left. What is asks were: the number of pupils in teacher Sarah’s class and the
number of cookies each pupils got.
Devise a Plan: Use working backward strategy.
Carry out the Plan:
70 – 4 = 66 cookies were distributed
66 is divisible by 11, and 11 is larger than 7, thus teacher Sarah has 11 pupils.
66 ÷ 11 = 6 , each pupils got 6 cookies.
Review The Solution:
6 x 11= 66 +4 = 70 cookies
The answer make sense!
Mathematical Problems Involving
Patterns
Lesson 3
Problem Solving with Patterns

A sequence is an ordered list of numbers. Each number

in a sequence is called a term of the sequence.

One solution to find the next term of the sequence is by

using the difference table – a table which shows the
differences between successive terms of the sequence.
Problem Solving with Patterns
Difference Table
Use a difference table to predict the next term in the
sequence.

a.) 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, …

b.) 5, 14, 27, 44, 65, …
c.) 2, 7, 24, 59, 118, 207, …
d.) 1, 14, 51, 124, 245, 426, …
Problem Solving with Patterns
Solution:
Get the difference of the consecutive terms to know the pattern:
a.) 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17
3 3 3 3 +3

b.) 5, 14, 27, 44, 65, 90

9 13 17 21 +25

4 4 4 +4
Problem Solving with Patterns
Solution:
c.) 2, 7, 24, 59, 118, 207 332

5 17 35 59 89 +125

12 18 24 30 +36

6 6 6 +6
Problem Solving with Patterns
Solution:
d.) 1, 14, 51, 124, 245, 426 679

13 37 73 121 181 +253

24 36 48 60 +72

12 12 12 +12
 Problem Solving with Patterns
Another solution to find the next term of the sequence is by
using the Formula of finding the nth term.

Example. Consider the formula: 𝑎𝑛 = 3𝑛2 + 𝑛

We can generate the first 6 terms by replacing n with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6.
𝑎1 = 3(1)2 +1 = 4; 𝑎2 = 3(2)2 +2 = 14 ; 𝑎3 = 3(3)2 +3 = 30;
𝑎4 = 3(4)2 +4 = 52; 𝑎5 = 3(5)2 +5 = 80 ; 𝑎6 = 3(6)2 +6 = 114

Thus, the first 6 of the sequence are 4, 14, 30, 52, 80 & 114.
 Polygonal Numbers
The ancient Greek mathematicians were interested in the
geometric shapes associated with numbers. For instance, they noticed
that triangles can be constructed using 1, 3, 6, 10 or 15 dots…they call
the numbers as triangular numbers. The Greek called the numbers 1,
4, 9, 16, 25,…square numbers and the numbers 1, 5, 12, 22, 35, …
pentagonal numbers.
Polygonal Numbers
An nth-term formula for the triangular numbers is:
𝑛(𝑛 + 1)
𝑇𝑛 =
2

The square numbers have an nth-term formula is:

𝑆𝑛 = 𝑛2

The nth-term for the pentagonal numbers. is:

𝑛(3𝑛 − 1)
𝑃𝑛 =
2
 Polygonal Numbers
Examples:
1. Find the 8th triangular number.
8(8+1)
Solution: 𝑇8 =
2
= 4 9 = 36

2. Find the 11th square number.

Solution: 𝑆11 = (11)2 = 121

3. Find 7th pentagonal numbers.

7[3(7)−1]
Solution: 𝑃7 = 2
= 70
Recreational Problem Using
Mathematics
Lesson 4
Mini Sudoku
Sudoku is a deductive reasoning, number-placement
puzzle. The objective in a 6 x 6 mini Sudoku puzzle is to fill
all empty squares so that the counting numbers 1 up to 6
appear exactly once in each row, each column, and each of
the 2 by 3 regions, which are delineated by the thick line
segment. Solve the following mini Sudoku:

6 4

4 2

6 5 4
1 3

1 6 2 5

4 1 6
Try this 9 x 9 Sudoku!

55
References:

• Auffmann et al, Mathematical Excursions (2018)

• Rodriguez, MJ., Powerpoint – St. Louis College (2017)
• Sollano, A., Powerpoint – University of San Jose - Recolletos

 Videos
https://study.com/academy/lesson/reasoning-in-
mathematics-inductive-and-deductive-reasoning.html