JENNY ROSE S. AGUILA, LPT, M.A.Ed.

Course Instructor
 Module 3:
Problem solving and reasoning
Learning Outcomes
1. Differentiate inductive and deductive reasoning.
2. Understand Polya’s Problem Solving Strategy.
3. Apply different problem-solving strategies in solving
patterns, and recreational activities.
Unit Lesson
Lesson 3.1 Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
Lesson 3.2 Problem Solving Strategies
 Lesson 3.1:
Inductive and deductive reasoning
 Inductive Reasoning
is the process of getting a
general conclusion by observing
the specific examples or set.

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Lecturer II
 CONJECTURE
is the conclusion formed by
using inductive reasoning.

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Lecturer II
 Analyze what
Observe and
is really Make a
look for a
happening in conjecture.
pattern.
the pattern.

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Lecturer II
 Example 1:
Use inductive reasoning to predict the next number.
3,6,9,12,15,?

Solution:
Each successive number is 3 larger than the
preceding number. Thus, we predict that the next
number that 3 larger than 15 is 18.

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Lecturer II
 Example 2:
Use inductive reasoning to predict the next number.
1,3,6,10,15,?

Solution:
The first two numbers differ by 2. The second and third
numbers differ by 3. It appears that the difference between
any two numbers is always 1 more than the preceding
difference. Since 10 and 15 is differ by 5 we predict that the
next in the list will be 6 larger than 15 which is 21.
CLARISSA N. MIRANDA, LPT, M.A.Ed.
Lecturer II
 Example 3:
Use inductive reasoning to make a conjecture about
the relationship between the size of the resulting
number and the size of the original number.

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.

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Lecturer II
 Solution:
For example, we started with 5, and by following the procedure
we got 20 as the result. Starting at 6 as our original number
produces a result of 24. Starting with 10 produces a final result of
40. Starting with 100 produces a final result of 400.

In each of these cases, the resulting number is 4 times the original

number. We conjecture that by following the given procedure
produces 4 times the original number.

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Lecturer II
 Other examples:

Karen always leaves for school at 7:00 AM.

Karen is always on time.

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Lecturer II
 Other examples:

The cost of goods was ₱5.00. The cost of labor

to manufacture the item was ₱3.00. The sales
price of the item was ₱20.00.

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Lecturer II
 Other examples:

Ray is a football player. All the other football

players on the high school team weigh more
than 170 pounds.

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Lecturer II
 Application of Inductive Reasoning
Inductive reasoning is very essential to solve
some practical problems that you may
encounter. With the use of inductive
reasoning, we can easily predict a solution
or an answer to a certain problem.

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Lecturer II
 deductive Reasoning
is the process of reaching a
conclusion by general
assumption, procedures, or
principle.
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Lecturer II
General Ideas

First premise that fits with general truth

Second premise that fits within first premise

Specific conclusion

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Lecturer II
 Example 1:
All numbers ending in 0 or 5 are
divisible by 5.
The number 35 ends with a 5.

Therefore:
Thirty-five is divisible by 5.
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Lecturer II
 Example 2:
All birds have feathers.
All robins are birds.

Therefore:
Robins have feathers.
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Lecturer II
 Example 3:
Elephants have cells in their
bodies, and all cells have DNA.

Therefore:
Elephants have DNA.
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Lecturer II
 Example 4:
A is equal to B.
B is also equal to C.

Therefore:
A is equal to C.
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Lecturer II
 Lesson 3.2:
INTUITION, PROOF, AND
CERTAINTY
 Mathematical intuition
is coming across a problem,
glancing at it, and using your logical
instinct to pull out an answer without
asking further questions.

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Lecturer II
 proof
The old, colloquial meaning of
"prove" is: test, try out, determine
the true state of affairs.

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 certainty
is something that is accurate
and absolute.

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Lecturer II
 Lesson 3.3:
PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES
 George Polya was a Hungarian who
immigrated to the United States in
1940.
His major contribution is his work in
problem-solving.

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Lecturer II
George Polya created his famous four-step process for
problem-solving, which is used all over to aid people in
problem-solving:

1 Understand the problem.

2 Devise a plan. (Translate)

3 Carry out the problem. (Solve)

4 Look back. (Check and interpret)

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Lecturer II
 Example #1: Finding Consecutive integers
Two back-to-back page
numbers in the book have a sum
of 569. What are the page
numbers?
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 Example #2: Finding Consecutive EVEN integers

Find two consecutive even

integers such that six times the
lesser added to the greater gives
a sum of 86.
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Lecturer II
 Example #3: Finding the Value of an Unknown Number

If 5 is added to the product of 9

and a number, the result is 19
less than the number. Find the
number.
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 Example #4: Finding Numbers of Olympics Medals
In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino,
Italy, the United States won 6 more
medals than Norway. The two countries
won a total of 44 medals. How many
medals did each country win?

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Lecturer II
 Example #5: Finding the Number of Orders for Croissants

On that same day, the owner of Terry’s

Coffeehouse found that the number of
orders for croissants was 1/6 the number of
muffins. If the total number for the two
breakfast rolls was 56, how many orders
were placed for croissants?
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 Example #6: Analyzing the Mixture of a Computer User Group

At a meeting of the local computer

user group, each member brought
two nonmembers. If a total of 27
people attended, how many were
nonmembers?
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Lecturer II
 Example #7: Dividing a Pipe into Pieces
A piece of pipe is 50 in. long. It is cut into
three pieces. The longest piece is 10 in.
more than the middle-sized piece, and the
shortest piece measures 5 in. less than the
middle-sized piece. Find the lengths of the
three pieces.
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Lecturer II
End of Module 3

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Lecturer II