MATHEMATICS IN THE

MODERN WORLD

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CHAPTER 3

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PROBLEM SOLVING AND REASONING
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Learning Outcomes
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At the end of this topic, you should be able to:

 State different types of reasoning to justify statement and arguments made

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about mathematics and mathematical concept.

 Write clear and logical proofs.

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 Solve problems involving patterns and recreational problems;

 Organize ones methods and approaches for proving and solving problems.

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 PROBLEM SOLVING AND
REASONING

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LESSON 1

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Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
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Learning Outcomes
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At the end of this topic, you should be able to:

 Define inductive and deductive reasoning.

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 Differentiate inductive reasoning from deductive reasoning.

 Demonstrate the correct way in using the two kinds of reasoning.

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 Apply the concept of patterns in mathematics to solve problems in inductive

and deductive reasoning which lead into correct conjecture by creating their
own reasoning.

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Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning

The type of reasoning that forms a conclusion based on the examination of specific
examples is called inductive reasoning. The conclusion formed by using inductive
reasoning is often called a conjecture, since it may or may not be corrector in other
words; it is a concluding statement that is reached using inductive reasoning.

Inductive reasoning uses a set of specific observations to reach an overarching

conclusion or it is the process of recognizing or observing patterns and drawing a conclusion.

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 is the process of reaching a general conclusion by examining specific
examples.

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Take note that inductive reasoning does not guarantee a true result, it only provides
a means of making a conjecture.

Based on the given definition above, we could illustrate this by means of a diagram.
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Observe and look Analyze what is really
happening in the pattern Make a conjecture
for a pattern
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In inductive reasoning, we use the “then” and “now” approach. The “then” idea is to
use the data to find pattern and make a prediction and the “now” idea is to make a
conjecture base on the inductive reasoning or find a counter-example.
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Example:

1. Use inductive reasoning to predict the next number in each of the

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following lists.

3, 6, 9, 12, 15, ?

Solution

Each successive number is 3 larger than the preceding number. Thus we

predict that the next number in the list is 3 larger than 15, which is 18.

2. Write a conjecture that describes the pattern 2, 4, 12, 48, 240. Then use the conjecture
to find the next item in the sequence.

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 Step 1: Look for a pattern

2 4 12 48 240 …?

Step 2: Analyze what is happening in the given pattern

The numbers are multiplied by 2, then 3, then 4, then 5. The next

number will be the product of 240 times 6 or 1,140.

Step 3: Make a conjecture

Now, the answer is 1,140

3. Write a conjecture that describes the pattern shown below. How many

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segments could be formed on the fifth figure?

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Step 1: Look for a pattern
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3-segments 9-segments 18-segments

Step 2: Analyze what is happening in the given pattern.

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This could be written in a form of:

(3)(2) (3)(3) (3)(4) (3)(5)

The figure will increase by the next multiple of 3. If we add 15, the next or the fifth
figure is made of 45 segments.

Step 3: Make a conjecture.

Hence the fifth figure will have 45 segments.

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Application of Inductive Reasoning (Using inductive reasoning to solve a problem)

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 of a certain problem.

Here, we can see an illustrative example on how to solve a certain problem

using inductive reasoning.

Example 1:

Use the data below and with the use of inductive reasoning to answer each of

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the following questions.

1. If a pendulum has a length of 49 units, what is

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its period?

2. If the length of a pendulum is quadrupled, what

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happens to its period?

NOTE: The period of a pendulum is the time it takes for the pendulum to swing from
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left to right and back to its original position.

Length of pendulum, Period of pendulum,

in units In heartbeats
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1 1
4 2
9 3
16 4
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25 5
36 6

Solution:

a. In the table, each pendulum has a period that is the square root of its length.
Thus we conjecture that a pendulum with a length of 49 units will have a
period of 7 heartbeats.

b. In the table, a pendulum with a length of 4 units has a period that is twice that
of a pendulum with a length of 1 unit. A pendulum with a length of 16 units
has a period that is twice that of a pendulum with a length of 4 units. It
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 appears that quadrupling the length of a pendulum doubles its period.

Example 2:

The diagram below shows a series of squares formed by small square tiles.
Complete the table below.

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Let us make a table.

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Figure 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 10th 15th
Number 4 8 12 16
of Tiles
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Solution:

a. Base on the given figures from the first up to fourth, we need to observe and
analyze what is really happening in the said figures.
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b. Next, take a look if there is a pattern. Is there any pattern that you may
observe? If so, what it is? You could say that from the first figure, each
subsequent square increases by four (4) tiles. How? Let us take a look at this;
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Number of tiles:

Pattern:
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So, if each subsequent square increases by four, we could sat that the 5th ,
6th , 10th , and the 15th figure should have 20, 24, 40 and 60 squares respectively.

Hence, the complete table would be;

Figure 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 10th 15th

Number 4 8 12 16 20 24 40 60
of Tiles

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Deductive Reasoning

Another type of reasoning is called deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is

distinguished from inductive reasoning in that it is the process of reaching a
conclusion by applying general principles and procedures.

Deductive reasoning is the process of reaching a conclusion by applying general

assumptions, procedures, or principles. It is a process of reasoning logically from
given statement to a conclusion.

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The concept of deductive reasoning is often expressed visually using a funnel that
narrows a general idea into a specific conclusion.

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GENERAL IDEAS
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First premise that fits within
general truth
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Second premise that fits within
First premise
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SPECIFIC CONCLUSION

Example 1:
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First Premise: All positive counting numbers whose unit digit is divisible by two are
even numbers.

Second Premise: A positive counting number 1,236 has a unit digit of 6 which is
divisible by two.

Conclusion: Therefore, 1,236 is an even number.

Example 2:

First Premise: If the Department of Education strictly observed health conditions of

the students due to Covid 19, then there is no face-to-face teaching and learning

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activity in a classroom.

Second Premise: The Philippines is currently experiencing Covid 1 pandemic.

Conclusion: Therefore, there will be no face-to-face teaching and learning style in a

classroom.

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