Chapter 3

Problem Solving and Reasoning

Midterm Period
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the chapter, the
students should be able to:
1. Identify two types of reasoning;
2. Employ inductive and deductive reasoning in
problem solving;
3. Use four steps of Polya in problem solving;
4. Apply the different problem solving
strategies in solving real life problems; and
5. Solve accurately recreational math problems
such as logic puzzles and math tricks. 2
 Week 1
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

3
 CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
After the discussion, you can be able to identify the type of
reasoning that was used in each case and decide whether the
conclusion would stand up as a proof in court.
4
CASE 1
After a violent crime,
the investigators
identify a recently
paroled suspect living
in an area who had
previously committed
three very similar
crimes. 5
CASE 2
A homeless man is found
dead from exposure after
being roughed up. His wrists
look like he had been
handcuffed, and fingerprints
on his ID lead them to a
local police officer.

6
CASE 3
A murder victim grabbed a
cellphone from the killer
while being attacked and
threw it under the couch.
With the suspect identified,
the investigators found that
his DNA matched DNA
found under the victim’s
fingernails. 7
CASE 4
A series of five bodies
are found posed like
mannequins in public
places. The lead
suspect is an artist that
is found to have
sketches matching the
poses of all five
victims.
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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.
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Examples of Inductive Reasoning
1. Markus leaves for school at 6:00 AM.
Markus is always on time. Markus assumes
then, that he will always be on time if he
leaves at 6:00 AM.
2. The cost of goods was Php100. The cost
of labor was Php50. The selling price of the
item is P300; so the item always provides a
good profit.
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3. Every windstorm in this area comes
from the North. I can see a big cloud of
dust caused by a windstorm in the
distance; so, a new storm is coming from
the North.
4. Red is a football player. All football
players weigh more than 170 lbs. Red
weighs more than 170 lbs.
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5. During the past 15 years, a tree has
produced mango fruits every other year. Last
year, the tree did not produce mango fruits,
so this year the tree will produce mango
fruits.
6. I know I will win a jackpot on this slot
machine in the next 10 tries, because it has
not paid out any money during the last 30
tries.

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Example 2
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. 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ?
d. ½, 2/3, ¾, 4/5, ?
e. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, ?
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Example 3
Use inductive reasoning to make a Conjecture
Consider the following procedure:
Pick 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. 14
Solution
Let n represent the original number
Multiply the number by 8 8n
Add 6 to the product 8n + 6
Divide the sum by 2 (8n + 6)/2 = 4n + 3
Subtract 3 4n + 3 – 3 = 4
We started with n and ended up with 4n. The
procedure given in this example produces a number
that is 4 times the original.
Conjecture
The resulting number is four times the original number. 15
Example 4
Use Inductive reasoning to solve an application

Length of pendulum, in Period of pendulum, in

units heartbeats
1 1
4 2
9 3
16 4
25 5
36 6
The period of a
Use the data in the table and inductive reasoning to
answer each of the following questions. pendulum is the time it
a. If a pendulum has a length of 49 units, what is its takes for the pendulum
period? to swing from left to
b. If the length of a pendulum is quadrupled, what right and back to its
happens to its period?
original position. 16
 SEATWORK 1
Inductive Reasoning

17
Problem 1
Use inductive reasoning to predict the
next number in each of the following lists.
a. 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, ?
b. 5, 11, 17, 23, 29, ?
c. 3, 5, 9, 15, 23, ?
d. 1, 8, 27, 64, 125, ?
e. 1, 5, 12, 22, 35, ?
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Problem 2
Use inductive reasoning to make a Conjecture
Consider the following procedure:
Pick a number. Multiply the number by 6, add
10 to the product, divide the sum by 2, and
subtract 5.
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. 19
Problem 3
Use Inductive reasoning to solve an application
Velocity of tsunami, in feet Height of tsunami, in feet
per second
6 4
9 9
12 16
15 25
18 36
21 49
A tsunami is a sea wave produced by an underwater earthquake. The
height of the tsunami as it approaches land depends on the velocity of the
tsunami. Use the data in the table and inductive reasoning to answer each
of the following questions.
a. What happens to the height of the tsunami when its velocity is doubled?
20
b. What should be the height of the tsunami if its velocity is 30 feet per
second?
DEDUCTIVE REASONING
is the process of reaching a conclusion
by applying general assumptions,
procedures, or principles

21
Examples of Deductive Reasoning
1. All men are mortal. Jakob is a man.
Therefore, Jakob is mortal.
2. All integers ending in 0 or 5 are
divisible by 5. Therefore, 905 is divisible
by 5.

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Examples of Deductive Reasoning
3. To earn a Master’s Degree in Mathematics, a
graduate student must earn 42 units. Mr. Karlos
B. Lopez, a mathematics graduate student, has
earned 32 units. Hence, Mr. Lopez still needs 10
units to earn a Master’s Degree.
4. All home renovations cost more than the
estimate. The contractor estimated that my
home renovation will cost P200,000. Thus, my
home renovation will cost more than
Php200,000. 23
 EXERCISE
Determine whether the type of reasoning
used is Inductive or deductive reasoning:

24
Problem 1
I am going to be rich some day. I know
this because everyone in my family
who graduated from college is rich,
and I just graduated from college.

INDUCTIVE REASONING
25
Problem 2
On Christmas Day, movie theaters and malls
are always open, so this Christmas Day, we
can go to a movie and go window shopping.

DEDUCTIVE REASONING

26
Problem 3
Every time Minji sold back her textbooks, she
got a mere fraction of what she paid for
them; so this second semester she realized it
would not be worth the effort to sell back her
books at all.

INDUCTIVE REASONING
27
Problem 4
Whenever Airah let her friends set her up on
a blind date, the guy turned out to be a total
loser. This time when her friend, Ariel offered
to fix her up, she decided the guy would be a
loser, so she declined.

INDUCTIVE REASONING
28
Problem 5
The professor’s policy is that any USL
student whose cell phone goes off during
class will be asked to leave. So when Gerald
forgot to turn his cell phone off, and it rang
during the quiz, the professor decided to ask
him to leave the class.

DEDUCTIVE REASONING 29
Problem 6
Since Daniella ate a diet of mostly foods high
in saturated fat, she was not surprised when
her doctor said her cholesterol levels were
too high.

DEDUCTIVE REASONING

30
Problem 7
Engr. Nolasco has already lost three
iphones. He didn’t spend a lot of money on
his newest cell phone because he knows he
will eventually lose that one too.

INDUCTIVE REASONING

31
Problem 8
Few alumni showed up at the last alumni
homecoming which was not publicized very
well. So this time, the organizers of the
alumni homecoming went all out with
advertising the event well before the date to
ensure more alumni would attend.

INDUCTIVE REASONING 32
Problem 9
The last several dramas in GMA I’ve followed
have been canceled just when I started
getting into them. So I’m not going to bother
watching the new one they’re advertising
even it looks good, because I don’t want to
be disappointed when it gets cancelled.

INDUCTIVE REASONING 33
Problem 10
Every time Ariel trusted his friend Minji to
return borrowed books in the library on time,
she returned them late and he was stuck
with late charges. So this time, he made sure
to drop – off borrowed books on his way to
school.

INDUCTIVE REASONING 34
Problem 11
The syllabus states that any final raw score
below 50 will result to a final grade of 70. If I
get 27 out of 50 in my final exam, my final
raw score will be 49, so I will get a final
grade of 70.

DEDUCTIVE REASONING
35
Problem 12
My professor has given extra credit to his
students for donating canned goods to
victims of typhoon Ompong during the
prelim exam, so I know I’ll get a chance for
some extra credit on my prelim grade.

INDUCTIVE REASONING
36
Problem 13
A GWA of 90% is required to be in the Dean’s
List. I checked with all my professors to see
what my final grades will be, and my GWA
works out to be 90.75%, so I’ll be in the
Dean’s List this semester.

DEDUCTIVE REASONING
37
Problem 14
To qualify for bowl games, college football
teams have to win at least six games. Our
team finished 5 – 7, so they won’t be playing
in a bowl game this year.

DEDUCTIVE REASONING

38
Problem 15
The fastest time that I’ve ever made it to
class from my apartment is 6 minutes, and
the class starts in 5 minutes, so I’ll be late
today.

INDUCTIVE REASONING

39
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
REVISITED

40
CASE 1
After a violent crime, the investigators identify a recently paroled suspect
living in an area who had previously committed three very similar crimes.
CASE 2
A homeless man is found dead from exposure after being roughed up. His
wrists look like he had been handcuffed, and fingerprints on his ID lead
them to a local police officer.
CASE 3
A murder victim grabbed a cellphone from the killer while being attacked
and threw it under the couch. With the suspect identified, the
investigators found that his DNA matched DNA found under the victim’s
fingernails.
CASE 4
A series of five bodies are found posed like mannequins in public
places. The lead suspect is an artist that is found to have sketches
matching the poses of all five victims.
41
CASE 1
After a violent crime, the investigators identify a
recently paroled suspect living in an area who
had previously committed three very similar
crimes.

Answer:
The suspect was identified by specific incidents
in the past, which makes this inductive
reasoning that would not hold up in court
without further evidence.
42
CASE 2
A homeless man is found dead from exposure
after being roughed up. His wrists look like he
had been handcuffed, and fingerprints on his ID
lead them to a local police officer.

Answer:
Fingerprints positively identify the officer as
having had contact with the victim. This is
deductive reasoning and would be useful in
court.
43
CASE 3
A murder victim grabbed a cellphone from the
killer while being attacked and threw it under
the couch. With the suspect identified, the
investigators found that his DNA matched DNA
found under the victim’s fingernails.

Answer:
Like fingerprints, DNA can positively show that
the suspect had physical contact with the
victim. This evidence, based on deductive
reasoning, would hurt the suspect badly in
court. 44
CASE 4
A series of five bodies are found posed like
mannequins in public places. The lead suspect is an
artist that is found to have sketches matching the
poses of all five victims.

Answer:
While this is compelling evidence, it’s based on
assuming that those five drawings indicate the artist
is the killer. While unlikely, it could be a coincidence
based on five drawings, so this is inductive
reasoning. It might impress a jury to some extent,
but wouldn’t be sufficient for a conviction. 45
 Week 2
Problem Solving

46
LOGIC PUZZLES
can be solved using deductive reasoning
and a chart is used to display the given
information in a visual manner

47
Example 2 Solve a Logic Puzzle
Each of four neighbors, Ariel, Airah, Josephine,
and Jaime, has a different occupation (editor,
banker, chef, or dentist). From the following clues,
determine the occupation of each neighbor.
a. Airah gets home from work after the banker but
before the dentist.
b. Josephine, who is the last to get home from work,
is not the editor.
c. The dentist and Josephine leave for work at the
same time.
d. The banker lives next door to Jaime.
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Example : Logic Puzzle
Editor Banker Chef Dentist
Ariel
Airah X1 X1
Josephine
Jaime

Clue 1
Airah gets home from work after the banker but before the
dentist.
From clue 1, Airah is neither the banker nor the dentist,
write X1 in the banker and dentist columns of Airah’s row.
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Example : Logic Puzzle

Editor Banker Chef Dentist

Ariel
Airah X1 X1
Josephine X2 X2
Jaime

Clue 1
Airah gets home from work after the banker but before the dentist.
Clue 2
Josephine, who is the last to get home from work, is not the editor.

From Clue 2, Josephine is not the editor. Write X2 in the Editor column of
Josephine.
From Clue 1, the banker is not the last to get home, and from clue 2, Josephine is
last to get home; therefore, Josephine is not the banker. Write X2 in the Banker
column of Josephine. 50
Example : Logic Puzzle
Editor Banker Chef Dentist
Ariel X3
Airah X1 X3 X1
Josephine X2 X2 √ X3
Jaime X3

Clue 3
The dentist and Josephine leave for work at the same time.
From clue 3, Josephine is not the dentist. Write X3 in the
Dentist column of Josephine. Thus, Josephine is the CHEF.
Since Josephine is the chef, non of the three can be the
chef. Write X3 for these conditions.
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Example : Logic Puzzle
Editor Banker Chef Dentist
Ariel X3 X3
Airah √ X1 X3 X1
Josephine X2 X2 √ X3
Jaime X3 X3

From the table, Airah is the EDITOR. Write check to indicate

that Airah is the editor. Also, neither Ariel nor Jaime is the
editor. Write X3 for these conditions.

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Example : Logic Puzzle
Editor Banker Chef Dentist
Ariel X3 √ X3 X4
Airah √ X1 X3 X1
Josephine X2 X2 √ X3
Jaime X3 X4 X3 √
Clue 4
The banker lives next door to Jaime.
From clue 4, Jaime is not the banker. Write X4 for this
condition. Hence, Ariel is the BANKER while Jaime is the
DENTIST.
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Solve the following CRYPTARITHMS. In each
problem, letters represent a single digit only.

a. (H E) 2 = S H E
b. WRONG
+ WRONG
RIGHT

54
 A statement is a true statement
provided it is true in all cases.
If you can find one case in which
a statement is not true, called a
counterexample, then the statement is
a false statement.

55
1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
EXAMPLE 5: Find a Counterexample
Verify that each of the following
statements is a false statement by
finding a counterexample.
For all number 𝑥:
a) 𝑥 > 0
b) 𝑥 2 > 𝑥
c) 𝑥2 = 𝑥 56
Reference:

Aufmann, R. N., Lockwood, J. S., Nation, R.

D. & Clegg, D. K. (2013).
Mathematical Excursions,
Third Edition. CA: Brooks/Cole,
Cengage Learning.

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