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Katie Bell
Professor Diaz
Math 2010
October 28, 2016
Polya Problem
Optimal Grilling Time
State the problem: A small grill can hold two hamburgers at a time. If it
takes five minutes to cook one side of a hamburger, what is the shortest time
need to grill both sides of three hamburgers?
Understand the Problem: Each burger needs 10 minutes to cook. With
only a two-burger grill, it will take a little longer to finish the burgers. If you
put the maximum number of burgers on the grill, how long will it take to cook
three burgers?
Devise a Plan: Drawing a picture is the best option for this problem.
AB

CD

EF

GRILL

Each burger has two sides that need to be cooked on the grill. By drawing
out the grill and burgers we can get the right answer.
Carry Out the Plan:

5 Minutes

5 Minutes

5 Minutes

Minutes
Look Back: The total time it takes to cook three burgers on a two-burger
grill is 20 minutes. At first glance, my thought was well of course it will
take 30 minutes. But without drawing out the picture I easily could have

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missed the fact that when you put two burgers on the same grill it cuts the
cook time in half. By drawing pictures, I can see what I am trying to think.