What is

?
 A problem is a task for which:
1. The person confronting it wants or needs to find a
solution.
2. The person has no readily available procedure for finding
the solution.
3. The person must make an attempt to find a solution.
 is when you are presented
with a problem and you have
to figure out a way to answer
the question that the
problem is asking you.
Or you are like
Why teach Problem Solving Skills?
• Help students deal with problems
creatively and effectively
• Stimulate students and help
develop thinking skills and problem
solving strategies in both new and
unfamiliar situations
 Why teach Problem Solving Skills?
• Develop, reinforce, enhance,
and extend mathematical
concepts and skills in students
• Help students engage in
imaginative and creative work
arising from mathematical
ideas
What are the GOALS of Problem Solving?

The ultimate goal of any problem-solving

program is to improve students'
performance at solving problems correctly.
The specific goals of problem-solving in
Mathematics are to:

1. Improve students' willingness to try

problems and improve their
perseverance when solving problems.
What are the GOALS of Problem Solving?
2. Improve students' self-concepts with
respect to the abilities to solve problems.

3. Make students aware of the

problem-solving strategies.

4. Make students aware of the

value of approaching problems in
a systematic manner.
What are the GOALS of Problem Solving?
5. Make students aware that many problems
can be solved in more than one way.
6. Improve students' abilities to select
appropriate solution strategies.

7. Improve students' abilities to

implement solution strategies accurately.

8. Improve students' abilities to get more

correct answers to problems.
What to do with word problems?
Focus on the
“Meaning” of the
problem, not just
the numbers.

Identify the
numbers that
are “Important”.
 In solving any problems, it helps to have a working
procedure. You might want to consider this four-step
procedure:

and
 George Polya is known as the greatest
solver and is the author of the four-step
process for problem solving.
 Before you can solve a problem
you must first understand it.
Read and re-read the problem
carefully to find all the clues and
determine what the question is
asking you to find.
• Identify what you are trying to find.
• Summarize the information that is
available in your own words.
• Determine if the information
available is enough, ie. Do you
need a formula, etc.?
• Strip the problem of
irrelevant details.
• Don’t impose conditions that
do not exist.
Once you understand the question and the clues,
it's time to use your previous experience with
similar problems to look for strategies and tools
to answer the question.
Do you know a related problem?
What operation/s should be used?
What problem solving strategy
will I choose to use?
• Implement the strategy or strategies that you
have chosen until the problem is solved or until a
new course of action is suggested.

• Give yourself a reasonable amount of time in which to

solve the problem. If you are not successful, seek hints
from others or put the problem aside for awhile.

• Don’t expect to solve correctly and immediately all

problems. Problem Solving takes time and persistence.
Once you've tried it and found an answer, go
back to the problem and see if you've really
answered the question. Sometimes it's easy
to overlook something. If you missed
something check your plan and try the
problem again.
 • Interpret the results into a
sentence with your own
words.
• Check the results to be sure
the solution is correct.
• Does your answer satisfy the statement of the
problem? Does it make sense?
• Ask if there is another way to solve the problem.
• Ask if there are other problems that can be solved by
using the same techniques used in this problem.
• Make a point of thinking about the strategy that
finally worked for this type of problem for future
reference.
 1. Explicit instruction with
students who have
mathematical difficulties has
shown consistent positive
effects on performance with
word problems and
computation
2. Student receive
extensive practice in 3. Students are provided
use of newly learned with the opportunity to
strategies and skills think aloud, talk through
decisions, and get
immediate feedback
 Draw a picture or Graph
Act it Out
Work Backwards
Simplify the Problem
Make an Organized List or a Table
Look for a Pattern
Guess and Check
Using a Formula
Strategy 1: Making an Organized List

Making an organized list strategy is used to solve

problems that have multiple solutions and this is
done by writing down all the combinations or
possibilities in an organized list.
Problem 1: Anna has 2 blouses, 2 skirts and
2 pairs of sandals. How many different
outfits does she have?
Solution:
Step 1: Understanding the Problem
The problem tells us that Anna has 2 blouse, 2
skirts, and 2 pairs of sandals. Now she has
each of the blouses, skirts and sandals to
come up with an outfit.
Step 2: Devising a Plan
For us to answer the problem easily, we will
utilize the Making Organized List Strategy. We
will help us ensure that no answer will be
repeated.
Step 3: Carrying Out the Plan
In each of our combination, there must be one blouse, one skirt and one pair
of sandals. So we will now construct a tree diagram to make sure that
there will be no duplication.(trial & error)
Sn1

Sn2

Sk1 Sn1

Sk2 Sn2
Anna B1
Sn1
B2 Sk1
Sn2

Sk2 Sn1
Considering the diagram above, we can see that the possible
Sn2
Combinations are (B1, Sk1, Sn1), (B1, sk1, sn2), (B1, sk2, sn1)
(B1, sk2, sn2), (B2, sk1, sn1), (B2, sk1, sn2), (B2, sk2, sn1), (B2, sk2, sn2)
HENCE, THERE ARE 8 POSIIBLE OUTFITS THAT ANNA COULD HAVE
STEP 4. Our answer is correct because if we try
to look back in the list of possible outfits, we
can say that all clothes were paired and each
outfit considered of a blouse, a skirt, and a
pair of shoes.

checking>>>>counting techniques 2.2.2=8

Problem 2: There are 8 people in a party. If
everyone at the party shakes hands with
everyone else, how many handshakes
would there be?
 A B C D E F G H

B AB

C AC BC

D AD BD CD

E AE BE CE DE

F AF BF CF DF EF

G AG BG CG DG EG FG

H AH BH CH DH EH FH FG

SOLUTION: 28
 EXERCISES
1. A baseball coach has 4 pitchers, 3 catchers, and 2 shortstops
on his team. How many different combinations of players can
he use for the positions?
2. You are taking a 5-question true/false test. How many
possible combinations of answers are there?
3. You are planning a small game booth at the local street fair.
You have a choice of 3 games and 4 different prizes. How
many combinations of games and prizes are there?
4. A survey of 120 people was conducted to determine who have watched from the
three different television networks. The results are shown in the table below. How
many of the 120 people did not watch any of the three television networks?

TV NETWORK NO.OF PEOPLE

ABS-CBN 55
GMA 30
TV5 40
ABS-CBN AND TV5 10
ABS-CBN AND GMA 12
GMA AND TV5 8
ABS-CBN, GMA AND TV5 5
5. Ayah forgot the combinations of numbers of
his locker. Though he remembered some
clues:
a. It is a three-digit number.
b. The digit in the tens place is less than 5.
c. The digit in the ones place is an odd number
less than 7.
d. The number can be evenly divided by 3.
What could be the locker number of Ayah?
 ANSWERS
1. A baseball coach has 4 pitchers, 3 catchers, and 2 shortstops on his team. How many
different combinations of players can he use for the positions? 24
2. You are taking a 5-question true/false test. How many possible combinations of answers
are there? 10
3. You are planning a small game booth at the local street fair. You have a choice of 3 games
and 4 different prizes. How many combinations of games and prizes are there?12
4. A survey of 120 people was conducted to determine who have watched from the three
different television networks. The results are shown in the table below. How many of the
120 people did not watch any of the three television networks? 20 people who do not
watch any of the 3 networks

5. 813, 915, 825, 921, 831, 933, 843, 945…this means that Ayah’s locker number must be one
of those remaining numbers
 Finding a Pattern is a strategy in
which students look for patterns
in the data in order to solve the
problem. Students look for items
or numbers that are repeated, or
a series of events that repeat. The
following problem can be solved
by finding a pattern:
What is the First 8 rows?
What number comes next in
1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ____?
50, 53, 47, 50, 44, 47, ___, ___
 Find a pattern for the
following numbers.
1, 3, 5, 8, 11, 15, 19, . . . . . .
 Exercises
Analyze the given sequence for its rule and
identity the next three terms.
1.) 1, 10, 100, 1000, _____, _____, ____

2.) 2, 5, 9, 14, 20, ______, _____, ____

3.) 16, 32, 64, 128, _____, ______, ____

4.) 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, ____, ______, ______

• The Ross family are working on a fitness program. On the first
day, they cycle around the oval three times; on the second day,
seven times; and on the third day, eleven times, and so on.
How many days must they exercise before they reach their goal
of cycling around the oval 31 times?
 ANT FARM
Laura was given an ant farm by her
grandparents for her 13th birthday. The farm
could hold a total of 100,000 ants. Laura’s
farm had 1500 ants when it was given to her.
If the number of ants in the farm on the day
after her birthday was 3000 and the number
of ants the day that was 6000, in how many
days will the farm be full?
Solution:
 DAY NUMBER OF ANTS
O 1 500

7 1
2
3
4
3 000
6 000
12 000
24 000
Days 5 48 000
6 96 000
7 192 000
 Find a pattern for the
following numbers.
1, 3, 5, 8, 11, 15, 19, . . . . . .

Pattern: +2, +2, +3, +3, +4, +4, +5, +5, . . .

Find the number that should
be in the blank space.

1, 24, 2, 23, 3, 22, 4, . . . . . . 12, 13, 13, __

Find the number that should
be in the blank space.

1, 24, 2, 23, 3, 22, 4, . . . . . . 12, 13, 13, __

12
 The draw a picture
strategy is a problem-
solving technique in
which students make a
visual representation
of the problem.
 SNAIL
A snail is at the bottom of
a 10-meter well. Each day
he climbs up 3 meters.
Each night he slides down
1 meter. On what day will
it reach the top of the
well and escape?
You may draw the problem
this way!

D5
N4
N3 D4

N2 D3
N1 D2
D1
 frog
A frog is at the bottom of a
10-meter well. Each day he
climbs up 3 meters. Each
night he slides down 1
meter. On what day will he
reach the top of the well
and escape?
Five families are building project
homes in an isolated area. Roads
will have to be built to connect each
house with all the other houses.
How many roads have to be built?
 (8+11) – 1=18
In a queue, John is 8th from the front and 11th
from the back. How many are in the queue?

JOHN
FRONT BACK
Ten marbles form a triangle. What is the least
number of marbles you need to change position in
order to turn the triangle upside down?
Addition would indicate an increase, a putting together,
or combining.

Addition phrases:
increased by
added to
the sum of
more than
plus
Subtraction would indicate a lessening, diminishing
action.

Subtraction phrases:
decreased by
subtracted from
the difference of
less than
Fewer than
minus
diminished by
Multiplication would indicate a multiplying action.
Multiplication phrases:
multiplied by
n times
the product of
twice
Division would indicate partitioning, a quotient, and a
ratio.

Division phrases:
divided by
the ratio of
the quotient of
 is
is equal to
the same as
yields
results to
become
< is less than
> is greater than
is less than or equal to
is at most
is greater than or equal to
is at least
is not equal to
 Tricky Ones!
5 plus x 5+x
add 5 and x 5+x
the sum of 5 and x 5+x
5 increased by x 5+x

5 more than x x+5

5 added to x x+5
 Tricky Ones!
5 minus x 5-x
5 less x 5-x
the difference of 5 and x 5-x
5 decreased by x 5-x

5 less than x x-5

5 subtracted from x x-5

Translate each phrase into a mathematical expression.

1) 5 subtract x 5-x
2) the product of 10 and y 10y
3) 20 decreased by a number t 20 - t
4) 6 added to the product of 11 and m 11m + 6

5) the quotient of y and 9 y 9

6) 8 less than 7 times k 7k - 8

 A special word in each column refers not to the
operation itself but the outcome of the operation.

+
_  
plus minus times divide
add subtract multiply quotient
increased by decreased by product
sum diminished by …of...
total difference twice ( 2)
less
more than less than
added to subtracted from
Translate each phrase into a mathematical expression.
1) six less than twice a number x
2x - 6
2) five times the sum of y and 4
5(y + 4)
3) twice the difference of m and 3
2(m - 3)
4) the quotient of 7 and a number x less 2
7 x-2
5) the difference of 6 and k divided by 9
(6 - k) 9
6) 4 times the sum of 12 and y
4(12 + y)
Match each phrase with its variable expression.
d 1) Twice the sum of x and 3 a) 2x  3

e 2) Two less than the product b) 3  x  2

of 3 and x c) 3x  2
b 3) Three times the difference
d) 2  x  3
of x and 2
a 4) Twice a number x less 3 e) 3x  2

c 5) Two more than 3 times a

number x
Define a variable to represent the unknown and
write the phrase as a variable expression.
1) 10 mph faster than the Honda
Let x = the speed of the Honda
x + 10
2) 7 inches shorter than Jill’s brother
Let b = the height of Jill’s brother
b-7
3) 5 acres larger than twice the size of my lot
Let k = the size of my lot
2k + 5
4) $7.50 times the number of people plus a
$20 group registration
Let y = the number of people
$7.5y + $20
 WRITING AN EQUATION AND USING A VARIABLE
Example
Find two numbers whose sum is 28 and whose product is 192.
Solution: x + y =28 and xy = 192
28y – y^2 = 192
y^2 -28y + 192 = 0
(y-12)(y-16)=0
y=12, y=16
Thus, the two numbers are 12 and 16.
Example:
Manong Tasyo has some ducks and some goats
in the farm. Altogether the ducks and goats
have 40 legs and 14 heads. How many ducks
and goats are there on the farm?
In this strategy, students
are the one acting or
they simple take the role
of the objects for the
solution.
 CROSSING THE RIVER
8 adults and 2 children wish to cross a river
in a canoe that can only hold 1 adult or
two children at any one time. How many
trips will it take to cross the river?
 (8 x 4) + 1 = 33
FORWARD Two children cross
BACK One child returns
FORWARD One adult crosses
BACK One child returns

FORWARD Two children cross

BACK One child returns
FORWARD One adult crosses
BACK One child returns

FORWARD Two children cross

BACK One child returns
FORWARD One adult crosses
BACK One child returns
 A farmer is going to market with his hungry dog,
two fat geese and three bags of corn. Unless the
farmer is present to stop them, the geese will eat
the corn and the dog will eat the geese. The
farmer has managed to avoid any trouble until he
comes to a river that must be crossed in a small
rowboat which has only enough room for him and
two of the six thing he has to bring with him. How
can get all his possessions across the river without
one of the animals eating something?
At first look some problems
may appear too complex to
solve. Often the advice is to
begin with simpler problem.
You have to start with the
simplest case.
 DIAGONALS
How many
diagonals in a
regular 100-sided
polygon (centagon)
 We should begin with the
simplest example.

Sides 3 4 5 6 7 8 … 100 n
Diagonals 0 2 5 9 14
From the simplest example, start n(n  3)
looking for equation that will help
you get the answer. 2
 Is the strategy of
undoing key
elements in the
problem in order
to find a solution.
 BIRDS
Sixteen birds were sitting in two trees.
Two flew away from the second tree,
and five flew from the first to the
second tree. Then there was the same
number of birds in each tree. How many
were in each tree at the beginning?
 12 birds 4 birds
TREE 1 TREE 2
 Finding a Pattern is a strategy in
which students look for patterns
in the data in order to solve the
problem. Students look for items
or numbers that are repeated, or
a series of events that repeat. The
following problem can be solved
by finding a pattern:
 ANT FARM
Laura was given an ant farm by her
grandparents for her 13th birthday. The farm
could hold a total of 100,000 ants. Laura’s
farm had 1500 ants when it was given to her.
If the number of ants in the farm on the day
after her birthday was 3000 and the number
of ants the day that was 6000, in how many
days will the farm be full?
 DAY NUMBER OF ANTS
O 1 500

7 1
2
3
4
3 000
6 000
12 000
24 000
Days 5 48 000
6 96 000
7 192 000
 Find a pattern for the
following numbers.
1, 3, 5, 8, 11, 15, 19, . . . . . .

Pattern: +2, +2, +3, +3, +4, +4, +5, +5, . . .

Find the number that should
be in the blank space.

1, 24, 2, 23, 3, 22, 4, . . . . . . 12, 13, 13, __

12
Find the number that should
be in the blank space.

1, 24, 2, 23, 3, 22, 4, . . . . . . 12, 13, 13, __

12
Is a problem solving strategy which
enables students to organized data
and visually consider their options
when answering problem. In the
attempt to organized the list,
students will encounter frequent
and repeated patterns.

 How many solutions are there?

 How will you know when you have
found them all?
 HUNGER PAINS
A restaurant advertised a three-
course set menu consisting of soup,
main course and dessert. If there
were two choices for soup, three main
courses to choose from and two
desserts. How many combinations of
meals could be chosen?
 D1
D2
MC1 D1
D2
MC2
D1
S1 MC3 D2
D1
S2 MC1 D2
MC2 D1
D2
MC3
D1
D2
 1. S1-MC1-D1
2. S1-MC1-D2
3. S1-MC2-D1
4. S1-MC2-D2
5. S1-MC3-D1
6. S1-MC3-D2
7. S2-MC1-D1
8. S2-MC1-D2
By listing all the possible 9. S2-MC2-D1
combinations, we have 12 10. S2-MC2-D2
combinations in all. 11. S2-MC3-D1
12. S2-MC3-D2
 OUTFITS
A poor university student studying to
become a teacher has a very limited
wardrobe consisting of four tops, three
pair of shoes and two pairs of jeans.
How many outfits can you make by
mixing and matching the available
clothing?
 Is a problem solving
strategy that students can
use to solve mathematical
problems by guessing the
answer and then checking
that the guess fits the
conditions of the problem.
 A farmer has cows
and chickens on her
farm. Together the
animals have 50
heads and 172 legs.
How many cows are
there?
 You can use this solution
for younger students

COWS CHICKEN TOTAL LEGS

(4 legs) (2 legs)
25 x 4 25 x 2 150
30 x 4 20 x 2 160
35 x 4 15 x 2 170
36 x 4 14 x 2 172
Note: You can use other strategy to solve this problem.
 Older students may use
algebra to solve this
problem.

You can use these two equations to solve the given

problem; Let a be the number of chickens
And b be the number of cows

a  b  50
2a  4b  172