PROBLEM SOLVING

WEEK 9
STRATEGIES (II)
LERSAN B. DEL MUNDO, MS
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

use Polya's four-step

apply Polya's four-step problem-solving
explain Polya's four-
problem-solving in strategy to design
step problem-solving
solving certain model solutions to
strategy;
problems; practical problems that
arise in nature.
1. MAKE AN
ORGANIZED
LIST OR TABLE
Make an Organized List or a Table

´Making a list or a table is a way to

organize data presented in a problem.
This problem-solving strategy allows
students to discover relationships and
patterns among data. This strategy helps
students to bring a logical and systematic
development to their mathematics.
Make an Organized List or a Table

´ Example 1:
How many ways can you arrange the letters A, B, C? Find
all the ways.

List of all possible ways:

ABC, ACB, BAC, BCA, CAB, CBA
Make an Organized List or a Table

´Example 2:

Malia has 3 poster-size pictures that she wants

to put on her door, but only 2 pictures will fit.
She has a picture of her dog, a picture of her
hamster, and of a super cool guitar.
How many different ways can she arrange the
posters?
Make an Organized List or a Table

´ Example 2:
First, assign key for each poster: D = dog, H = hamster, G = guitar
Then list all the possible different ways:
D and H D and G H and G
H and D G and D G and H
Since she doesn’t care how to arrange the 2 pictures, having D
and H is the same with H and D. Therefore, there are only 3
ways.

!! &! ( (
C = ($! !%$ !
= ('! &%' !
= (' ) !)
= '
=3
2. WORK
BACKWARD
Work Backward

´This strategy can be used when you know

the end result but you need to find out
something that happened earlier. You
must list a series of events and
computations starting with the end of the
problem and ending with the information
presented at the beginning of the
problem.
Work Backward

´Example1:
If you add 3 to a number, then subtract 2,
you get 4. What’s the number?
Work Backward

´Example2:
Ben is trying to decide when to get up in the morning. He
needs 40 minutes to get ready for school. It takes him 10
minutes to walk to school. If school starts at 8:30 a.m., and
he wants to be on time, what time should he get up?
3. DRAW A
PICTURE/
DIAGRAM/
MODEL
Draw a Picture/Diagram/Model

´Drawing a picture/diagram/model is the

most common problem-solving strategy.
Very often, students need to draw a
picture/diagram/model just to understand
the problem. The picture/diagram/model
represents the problem in a way students
can “see” it, understand it, and think
about it while they look for the next step.
Draw a Picture/Diagram/Model

´Example1:
Dana found a piece of 8 inches rope. She
cut the rope into equal length. She made 3
cuts. How long is each piece of the rope
now?
Draw a Picture/Diagram/Model

´Example2:
Luke wants to fence a lot for his dog,
Charlie. The area to be fenced is a
rectangle with a measurement of 36 feet
long and 24 feet wide. If the fence posts are
to be placed 6 feet apart, how many posts
are needed?
4. USE
LOGICAL
REASONING
Use Logical Reasoning

´This strategy is really used for all problem solving.

In many ways students use this strategy category
as a catch-all because these strategies are not
usually used on their own but in combination
with other strategies mentioned above. In
addition, it also touches on the strategy of
elimination, which is commonly used by people
in everyday life. In problem solving context,
students must list and eliminate possible solutions
based upon information presented in the
problem.
Use Logical Reasoning

´Example1:
What color is needed to
complete the pattern
below?
Use Logical Reasoning

´ Example2:
The farmer feeds all of his animals in the same order each
afternoon. Use the clues below to determine his daily
order.
• The chickens were fed before the pigs, but after the
cows.
• The goats were fed right after the cows.
• The horses were fed after the pigs.
5. ACT OUT THE
PROBLEM
Act Out The Problem

´There may be times when students experience

difficulty in visualizing a problem or the
procedure necessary for its solution. In such
cases, they may find it helpful to physically act
out the problem situation. Acting out the
problem may itself lead students to the answer,
or it may lead them to find another strategy that
will help them find the answer. Acting out the
problem is a strategy that is very effective for
young children.
 Act Out The Problem

´Example 1:
There are 4 people in the room. If each one
shakes hand with one another, how many
handshakes occur?
Students may act out the problem, or they
may use counters, toys, or figures to act out
the problem. They can also draw a picture
showing what happen in the problem.
Act Out The Problem

´Example 2:
Nate has 14 sport cards. He says that half of the
cards are baseball cards. Of the remaining, 4 of
them are hockey cards. The rest are football
cards. How many of each kind of card does
Nate have?
 Act Out The Problem

´Example 2:
6. GUESS AND
CHECK
Guess and Check

´This strategy encourages students to make a

reasonable guess, check the guess, and revise
the guess if necessary. By repeating this process,
a student can arrive at a correct answer that
has been checked. Using this strategy does not
always yield a correct solution immediately, but
it provides information that can be used to
better understand the problem and may
suggest the use of another strategy.
Guess and Check

´Example 1:
I wrote 3 different numbers on 3 cards. The sum of
the numbers is 7. What did I put on the cards?

Try 1+2+3 = 6 (it’s too low)

Try 1+2+4 = 7 (it’s correct)
I put 1, 2, and 4.
Guess and Check

´Example 2:
Tom played darts and the target had 3 sections:
30 points, 14 points, and 8 points. He took 5 tries,
but missed the target twice. His score was 46.
What sections did he hit?

Try 30+14+8 = 52 (it’s too high).

Try 30+8+8 =46 (it’s correct). He hit 30, 8 and 8.
7. LOOK FOR PATTERNS
Look for Patterns

´ When students use this problem-solving strategy, they

are required to analyze patterns in data and make
predictions and generalizations based on their analysis.
They then must check the generalization against the
information in the problem and possibly make a
prediction from, or extension of, the given information. A
pattern may be numerical, visual or behavioral. By
identifying the pattern, students can predict what will
come next and what will happen again and again in
the same way.
Look for Patterns

´ Example 1:
If the following figure is continued, how many letters will
there be in the G row?
A
B B B
C C C C C
D D D D D D D
Students may notice a pattern of adding 2 letters for
each row. Therefore, there will be 13 letters in the G row.
 Look for Patterns

´ Example 2:
Julius used 6 blocks to make this 3-step staircase.
How many blocks will he need to make a 5-step
staircase?
He needs 1 block for 1-step staircase
He needs 3 blocks for 2-step staircase (+2)
He needs 6 blocks for 3-step staircase (+3)
He needs 10 blocks for 4-step staircase (+4)
He needs 15 blocks for 5-steps staircase (+5)