CORBADURA, CAREN JALIPO

BS Social Work 2
0672/ Wed&Thu
September 10, 2020

PROBLEM SET: POLYA’s PROBLEM SOLVING

DIRECTIONS: Solve the ff. Problems ff. Polya’s Four-Step Method and employing the different
strategies discussed. Write the problem and present the solution neatly and organized.

1. Alice, Ben, and Carl collect stamps. They exchange stamps among themselves
according to the following scheme: Alice gives Ben as many stamps as Ben has
and Carl as many stamps as Carl has. After that, Ben gives Alice and Carl
as many stamps as each of them has, and then Carl gives Alice and Ben as many
stamps as each has. If each finally has 64 stamps, how many stamps does Alice
have at the start?

1.Understand the problem:

“If each finally has 64 stamps”

It is said that they all have 64 stamps at the end. So,

A = 64

B = 64

C = 64

2. Develop a Plan

If Carl gives them as many stamps as they have they will have 64 stamps. The trick is, what
number must the giver give and add it to itself to get the amount of 64?

The number is none other than 32.

So, Before Carl gives them the stamps, Alice and Ben have 32 stamps each while Carl has 128.
Why 128? Because, after Carl gives the stamp he must have 64, giving away 32 to Alice and 32
to Ben, adding them up 64 + 32 +32 = 128.

3. Solve the Problem

“Ben gives Alice and Carl as many stamps as each of them has”

After:
Alice (Receiver) = 16 + 16(from Ben) = 32

Ben (Giver) = 112 - 64(given to Carl) - 16(given to Alice) = 32

Carl (Receiver) = 64 + 64(from Ben) = 128

Before:

Alice (Receiver) = 16

Ben (Giver) = 112

Carl (Receiver) = 64

4. Look back (review)

“Alice gives Ben as many stamps as Ben has and Carl as many stamps as Carl has”

After:

Alice (Give) = 104 - 56(given to Ben) - 32(given to Carl) = 16

Ben (Receiver) = 56 + 56(from Alice) = 112

Carl (Receiver) = 32 + 32(from Alice) = 64

Before:

Alice (Give) = 104

Ben (Receiver) = 56

Carl (Receiver) = 32

My Answer is Alice has 104 stamps at the start. (to start with)

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?

1.Understand the Problem:

# of diff. Orders of two wins & two losses in four games.

2.Develop a plan:

4- a total of game

2- wins
2- losses

3.Solve the problem (solution)

# 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

1 W W L L

2 L L W W

3 W L W L

4 L W L W

5 W L W L

6 L W W L

-The table above is the diff. orders of a game.

4. Look back (review)

Therefore, there are 6 different order that has two wins and two losses for four games.

3. In order to encourage his son in the study of Algebra, a father promised the son
P8.00 for every problem solved correctly and to fine him P5.00 for each
incorrect solution. After 26 problems, neither owed any amount to the other. How
many problems did the boy solve correctly?

1.Understand the problem:

The problem that the boy solved correctly

2. Develop a plan:

X- the number of correct problems which is the (8.00)

Y- the number of wrong problems which is the (5.00)

And we have the 26 problems

3.Solve the problem (solution)

8x-5y=0

x+y=26

8x-5=(26x)=0
13x/13=130/13

x = 10

4. Look back (review)

Check:

10*8-16*5=0

80-80=0

therefore, there are 10 problems that the boy solved correctly.

4. How many squares of any size are in an 8x8 checkerboard?

1.Understand the problem:

This is a 6x6 square grid, which means that the biggest square formed has a dimension of 6x6.
All other possible dimensions of squares that are possible here are 5x5, 4x4, 3x3, 2x2, and 1x1.

2.Develop a plan:

To find the total number of squares in the figure, try a solve a simpler version or the same
problem. So, consider a square grid of dimension 4x4 as shown below:

Now, there is one 4x4 square, four 3x3, nine 2x2 squares, and sixteen squares of 1x1.

3. Solve the Problem

size horizontal positions vertical positions positions

8 8 22
1x1

2x2 7 7 13
3x3 6 6 10
4x4 5 5 9
5x5 4 4 5
6x6 3 3 4
7x7 2 2 3
8x8 1 1 1
 total
64

4. Look back (review)

There are altogether 64 quares. The Chess Board is so designed that the dimensions are
the same as a square itself. And we know any square is divided by lines, both horizontally
and vertically by equidistant lines, all of them would become smaller squares.

5. The product of the ages, in years, of three teenagers, is 4590. None of the teens are
of the same age. What are the ages of the teenagers?

1.Understand the problem

-to eliminate your range of choices, identify which age is the age of teenagers. The ages of
teenagers range from thirteen years old to nineteen years old.

2.Develop a plan

Coming from step number 1, identify which among 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 is 4590
(the product) is divisible by. You may do this by dividing 4590 (the dividend) by 13, 14, 15,
16, 17, 18, and 19 (the choices for the correct divisors).

If the quotient using a certain divisor is a whole number, then 4590 is divisible by that
identified divisor.

3.Solve the problem:

after doing step number 2, you would have identified the correct answers: 15, 17 and 18
because 4590 is divisible by 15, 17, and 18.

4. Look back (review)

you can recheck your answer by multiplying 15 x 17 x 18. This should be equal to 4590.
 6. If a pup is worth a pooch and a mutt, and a pup and a pooch are worth one
bird dog, and two bird dogs are worth three mutts, how many pooches is a pup
worth?

1.Understand the problem-

-number of pooches

2. Develop a plan

-pup=pooch & mutt

3. Solve the problem

-1 pup =1 pooch +mutt (given)

-1 pup + 1 pooch = 1 bird dog

(1pooch+1mutt)

4. Look back (review)

2 Bird dogs = 3 mutts

1 pooch + 1 mutt

1 pooch + 1 mutt

1 pooch

1 pooch

*therefore, there are five (5) pooches that a pup worth.

7. It is now 10:45 a.m., what time will it be in 143, 999, 999, 995 minutes from now?

1.Understand the problem

-the minutes from 10:45 am

2.Develop a plan
-10:45 am

-143, 999, 995 minutes

3.Solve the problem

-1 day = 24 hrs * 60 minutes per day

=1440 minutes

4. Look back (review)

143,999,999,995 + 5=144,000,000,000 -> (1440 minutes)

*therefore,10:40 is the time by now.

8. Find the units digit for the sum 1325 + 4 81 + 5 411?

1.Understand the problem

-units digit

2.Develop a plan

-let's check for patterns for the individual exponents

3.Solve the problem

-13^25?

13^1 = 13

13^2 = 169

13^3 = 2197

13^4 = 28,561

13^5 = 371,293

13^6 = 4,826,809 ... and so on.

So we can see that there is a cycle with the last digit. If the exponent is 1, 5, 9, .. it will end
in 3. If the exponent is 2, 6, 10, ... it will end in 9.
Now for 13^25, since 25/4 = 6 remainder 1, it will also end in 3 (1,5,9,13,17,21,25).

Next, 4^81:

4^1 = 4

4^2 = 16

4^3 = 64

4^4 = 256, and so on.

So if the exponent is odd, the last digit is 4, if it is even, the last digit is 6. Then since our
exponent, 81, is odd, the last digit is 4.

Finally, 5^411,

5^1 = 5

5^2 = 25

5^3 = 125 ...

For 5, the last digit is always 5.

4. Look back (review)

-Now we simply add 3 + 4+ 5 = 12. Thus, the last digit is 2.

*therefore, the units digit is 2.

9. Ruben has only an 11-liter can and a 5 – liter can. How can he measure out
exactly 7 – liters of water?

1.Understand the Problem

-Since Mang Ruben has only an 11-liter can and a 5-liter can. Here are the steps in which
he can measure exactly 7 liters of water. He has to fill up the 11-liter can and transfer 5
liters to the 5-liter can. After that, he should empty the 5-liter can.

Therefore, the 11-liter can have 6 liters and the 5-liter can is empty.

2.Develop a plan

-From the 6 liters in the 11-liter can transfer 5 liters to the 5-liter can. Again, he should
empty the 5-liter can.

Therefore, the 11-liter can have 1 liter of water left and the 5-liter can is empty.
3.Solve the problem

-Transfer the remaining 1 liter of water from the 11-liter can to the 5-liter can.

Therefore, the 11-liter can is empty and the 5-liter can have 1 liter of water.

4. Look back (review)

-Fill the 11-liter can with water and transfer 4 liters of water to the 5-liter can to fill it. Empty
the 5-liter can.
*Therefore, there are exactly
7 liters of water in the 11-liter can while the 5-liter can is empty.

10. An egg vendor broke all the eggs that he was delivering to a local store. He
could not remember how many eggs there were in all. However, he did
remember that when he tried to pack them into packages of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 he
had one leftover each time. When he packed them into packages of 7, he had
none left over. What is the smallest number of eggs he could have had in the
shipment?

1.Understand the problem

-for 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 packages, only one was left each time...

for packages of 7, none were left over meaning all were broke

2.Develop a plan

-after packaging packages of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, each has 1 egg left and he

packed them to a package of 7 but all were broke.
3.Solve the problem

1.Get LCM of 2,3,4,5 and 6.LCM=60

2.Add 1 to the LCM (since according to the problem he always had 1 egg left)Therefore, we
have 60x+1.

3.Keep in mind that the packages had no remainder when packed into 7
packages.Therefore, 60x+1 = 7y.

4.We can rewrite 60x+1 as (8*7+4)x+1. If 4x+1 is divisible by 7, we can find outhow many
eggs were in the shipment.
5.Find the smallest number for x that makes 4x+1 divisible by 7. When x=5, 4x+1=21,and
21 is divisible by 7.

Substitute x=5 into 60x+1.60(5) + 1 = 301; 301 = 7 * 43This signifies that for 301 eggs,
there were 43 packages.

Therefore, there must be atleast 301 eggs in the shipment.

3. Look back (review)

-Substitute x=5 into 60x+1.60(5) + 1 = 301; 301 = 7 * 43This signifies that for 301 eggs,
there were 43 packages.

*Therefore, there must be at least 301 eggs in the shipment.