Problem-Solving Strategies

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are

essential skills in both school and work. A
model for problem solving was established by
the charismatic teacher and mathematician
George Polya (1887–1985) in How to Solve It
(Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ,
1957). This book, first published in 1945, has
sold more than one million copies and is
available in 17 languages. Using a four-step
procedure for problem solving, Polya’s book
demonstrates how to think clearly in any field.
George Polya
 Problem-Solving Strategies
Polya’s Four-Step Problem –Solving Strategy
1. Understand the problem
2. Devise a plan
3. Carry out the plan
4. Look back

Polya’s four steps are deceptively simple. To become a good problem

solver, it helps to examine each of these steps and determine what is
involved.
 Problem-Solving Strategies
Step 1: Understand the problem
This part of Polya’s four-step strategy is often overlooked. You must have a
clear understanding of the problem. 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 missing information that, if known, would allow you to solve the
problem?
 Is there extraneous information that is not needed to solve the problem?
 What is the goal?
 Problem-Solving Strategies
Step 2: Devise a Plan
Successful problem solvers use a variety of techniques when they attempt to solve a problem. Here
are some frequently used procedures:
 Make a list of the known information.
 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.
 Perform an experiment.
 Guess at a solution and then check your result.
 Problem-Solving Strategies
Step 3: Carry out the Plan
Once you have devised a plan, you must carry it out.
 Work carefully.
 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.
 Problem-Solving Strategies
Step 4: Review the solution
Once you have found a solution, check the solution.
 Ensure that the solution is consistent with the facts of the problem.
 Interpret the solution in the context of the problem.
 Ask yourself whether there are generalizations of the solution that could apply to
other problem.
 Example 1 (Make an organized list)
 Example 1 illustrates the technique of using an organized list.

Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.

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.
 Example 1 (Continuation…)
Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.
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:
Carry Out the Plan. Each entry in our list must contain two Ws and two Ls. We will use a
strategy that makes sure each order is considered, with no duplications. One such strategy is to
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 W, then and only then do we write L. This strategy
produces the 6 different orders shown below.
1. WWLL 4. LWWL
2. WLWL 5. LWLW
3. WLLW 6. LLWW
 Example 1 (Continuation…)
Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.
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:
Review the Solution. We have made an organized list. The list has no duplicates and the list
considers all possibilities, so we are confident that there are six different orders in which a
baseball team can win exactly two out of four games.
 Example 2 (Guess and check)
 Some problems can be solved by making guesses and checking. Your first few guesses may not
produce a solution, but quite often they will provide additional information that will lead to a
solution.
Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.
The product of the ages , in years, of three teenagers is 4590. None of the teens are the
same age. What are the ages of the teenagers?
Solution:
Understand the problem. We need to determine three distinct counting numbers from the list
13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19, that have a product of 4590.
Devise a Plan. If we represent the ages by x, y, and z, then xyz = 4590. We are unable to solve
this equation, but we notice that 4590 ends in a zero. Hence, 4590 has a factor of 2 and a
factor of 5, which means that at least one of the numbers we seek must be an even number
and at least one number must have 5 as a factor. The only number in our list that has 5 as a
factor is 15. Thus 15 is one of the numbers, and at least one of the numbers must be an even
number. At this point we try to solve by guessing and checking.
 Example 2 (Continuation…)
Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.
The product of the ages , in years, of three teenagers is 4590. None of the teens are the
same age. What are the ages of the teenagers?
Solution:
Carry Out the Plan.
(15)(16)(18) = 4320 *No. This product is too small.
(15)(16)(19) = 4560 *No. This product is too small.
(15)(17)(18) = 4590 *Yes. This is the correct product.

Review the Solution. Because (15)(17)(18) = 4590 and each of the ages represents the age of a
teenager, we know our solution is correct. None of the numbers 13, 14, 16, and 19 is a factor
(divisor) of 4590, so there are no other solutions.
 Example 3 (Write an equation)
 Some problems are deceptive. After reading one of these problems, you may think that the
solution is obvious or impossible. These deceptive problems generally require that you
carefully read the problem several times and that you check your solution to make sure it
satisfies all the conditions of the problem.

Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.

A hat and a jacket together cost P100. The jacket costs P90 more than the hat. What
are the cost of the hat and the cost of the jacket?
Solution:
Understand the problem. After reading the problem for the first time, you may think that the
jacket costs P90 and the hat costs P10. The sum of these costs is P100, but the cost of the
jacket is only P80 more than the cost of the hat. We need to find two amounts that differ by
P90 and whose sum is P100.
 Example 3 (Continuation…)
Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.
A hat and a jacket together cost P100. The jacket costs P90 more than the hat. What
are the cost of the hat and the cost of the jacket?

Solution:
Devise a Plan. Write an equation using h for the cost of the hat and h + 90 for the cost of the
jacket.
h + h + 90 = 100
Carry Out the Plan. Solve the above equation for h.
2h + 90 = 100 (Collect like terms
2h = 10 (Solve for h)
h=5
The cost of the hat is P5 and the cost of the jacket is P90 + P5 = P95.
 Example 3 (Continuation…)

Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.

A hat and a jacket together cost P100. The jacket costs P90 more than the hat. What
are the cost of the hat and the cost of the jacket?

Solution:
Review the Solution. The sum of the costs is P5 + P95 = P100, and the cost of jacket is P90
more than the cost of the hat. This check confirms that the hat costs P5 and the jacket costs
P95.
.
 Example 4 (Work backwards)
 Example 4 illustrates the method of working backwards. In problems in which you know a
final result, this method may require the least effort.

Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.

In consecutive turns of a Monopoly game, Stacy first paid $800 for a hotel. She then
lost half her money when she landed on Boardwalk. Next, she collected $200 for passing GO.
She then lost half her remaining money when she landed on Illinois Avenue. Stacy now has
$2500. How much did she have just before she purchased the hotel?

Solution:
Understand the problem. We need to determine the number of dollars that Stacy had just
prior to her $800 hotel purchase.
 Example 4 (Continuation…)
Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.
In consecutive turns of a Monopoly game, Stacy first paid $800 for a hotel. She then
lost half her money when she landed on Boardwalk. Next, she collected $200 for passing GO.
She then lost half her remaining money when she landed on Illinois Avenue. Stacy now has
$2500. How much did she have just before she purchased the hotel?
Solution:
Devise a Plan. We could guess and check, but we might need to make several guesses before
we found the correct solution. An algebraic method might work, but setting up the necessary
equation could be a challenge. Since we know the end result, let’s try the method of working
backwards.
Carry Out the Plan. Stacy must have had $5000 just before she landed on Illinois Avenue;
$4800 just before she passed GO; and $9600 prior to landing on Boardwalk. This means she
had $10,400 just before she purchased the hotel.
 Example 4 (Continuation…)
Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.
In consecutive turns of a Monopoly game, Stacy first paid $800 for a hotel. She then
lost half her money when she landed on Boardwalk. Next, she collected $200 for passing GO.
She then lost half her remaining money when she landed on Illinois Avenue. Stacy now has
$2500. How much did she have just before she purchased the hotel?

Solution:
Review the Solution. To check our solution, we start with $10,400 and proceed through each of
the transactions. $10,400 less $800 is $9600. Half of $9600 is $4800. $4800 increased by $200
is $5000. Half of $5000 is $2500.
 Example 5 (Using a Diagram)
 Sketches and diagram are sometimes useful in problem solving.

Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the

following problem.
Four runners are in a one-
mile race: Maria, Aretha, Thelma, and
Debbie. Points are awarded only to
the women finishing first or second.
The first-place winner gets more
points than the second-place winner.
How many different arrangements of
first- and second-place winners are
possible?
 Example 5 (Continuation…)
Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.
Four runners are in a one-mile race: Maria, Aretha, Thelma, and Debbie. Points are
awarded only to the women finishing first or second. The first-place winner gets more points
than the second-place winner. How many different arrangements of first- and second-place
winners are possible?
Solution:
Understand the Problem. Three possibilities for first and second position are
Maria – Aretha
Maria – Thelma
Aretha – Maria
Notice that Maria finishing first and Aretha finishing second is a different outcome than Aretha
finishing first and Maria finishing second. Order makes a difference because the first-place
winner gets more points than the second-place winner. We must count all possibilities for first
and second position.
 Example 5 (Continuation…)
Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.
Four runners are in a one-mile race: Maria, Aretha, Thelma, and Debbie. Points are
awarded only to the women finishing first or second. The first-place winner gets more points
than the second-place winner. How many different arrangements of first- and second-place
winners are possible?
Solution:
Devise a Plan. If Maria finishes first, then each of the other three runners could finish second:

Similarly, we can list each woman as the possible first-place runner. Then we will list the other three
women as possible second-place runners. Next we will determine the possibilities for first and second
place. This diagram will show how the runners can finish first or second.
 Example 5 (Continuation…)
Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.
Four runners are in a one-mile race: Maria, Aretha, Thelma, and Debbie. Points are awarded
only to the women finishing first or second. The first-place winner gets more points than the second-
place winner. How many different arrangements of first- and second-place winners are possible?
Solution:
Carry Out the Plan. Now we complete the diagram started in Step 2. The diagram below shows possible
ways for four runners to finish first and second.

Count the number of possibilities shown under

the third column, “Possibilities for first and
second place.” Can you see that there are 12
possibilities? Therefore, 12 different
arrangements of first- and second place
winners are possible.
 Example 5 (Continuation…)

Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.

Four runners are in a one-mile race: Maria, Aretha, Thelma, and Debbie. Points are
awarded only to the women finishing first or second. The first-place winner gets more points
than the second-place winner. How many different arrangements of first- and second-place
winners are possible?

Solution:
Review the Solution. Check the diagram in Step 3 to make sure that no possible first- and
second-place outcomes have been left out. Double-check your count for the winning pairs of
runners.
 Try This!  (Practice Exercise 1)
Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.
How many squares are in the following figure? (Not just the number of little squares)
Try This!  (Practice Exercise 1) ANSWER
Size of Square Number of Squares
1x1 (8)(8) = 64
2x2 (7)(7) = 49
3x3 (6)(6) = 36
4x4 (5)(5) = 25
5x5 (4)(4) = 16
6x6 (3)(3) = 9
7x7 (2)(2) = 4
8x8 (1)(1) = 1
Total: 204

There are 204 squares in the figure.

Try This!  (Practice Exercise 2)
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