GE 4

Mathematics in the
Modern World

ENGR. MARC FRANCIS M. LABATA, PH.D. Lecture 8

INSTRUCTOR
TOPIC:

PROBLEM SOLVING APPROACH

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INDUCTIVE REASONING

Definition: Inductive reasoning is the process of reaching a general

conclusion by examining specific examples. The conclusion formed is
often called conjecture since it may or may not be correct.

Examples:
• Examining a list of numbers and predicting the next according to
some pattern.

(a) 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, ? 18 (b) 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, ? 21

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INDUCTIVE REASONING
Inductive reasoning can also be used to make conjecture about an
arithmetic procedure.
Example:
• Pick a number.
• Multiply the number by 8.
• Add 6 to the product.
• Divide the sum by 2.
• Subtract 3.
• Repeat the steps for several numbers and try to make a conjecture.
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INDUCTIVE REASONING
Inductive reasoning can also be used to make conjecture about an
arithmetic procedure.
Solution:
• Pick a number: 5
• Multiply the number by 8: 5 x 8 = 40
• Add 6 to the product: 40 + 6 = 46
• Divide the sum by 2: 46 ÷ 2 = 23
• Subtract 3: 23 – 3 = 20
• Repeat the steps for several numbers and try to make a conjecture.
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INDUCTIVE REASONING

Example:
• Galileo Galilei used inductive reasoning to discover the time
required for a pendulum to complete one swing, known as the
period of the pendulum, which depends on the length of the
pendulum.
• Since Galileo did not have a clock, he measured the periods of
pendulums in “heartbeats”. For convenience, a length of 10 inches
is designated as 1 unit.

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INDUCTIVE REASONING

Use inductive reasoning to answer the following:

a. If a pendulum has a length of 25 units, what is
its period? 5 heartbeats
b. If the length of a pendulum is quadrupled, what
happens to its period? Double its period

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 COUNTEREXAMPLES
Definition: A statement is true if and only if the statement is true in all
cases. If you can find one case for which a statement is not true, known
as a counterexample, then the statement is false.

Example: Verify that each of the following statements is false by

finding a counterexample:

a. |x| > 0 b. x2 > x c. √x2 = x

When x = 0, FALSE When x = 1, FALSE When x = -2, FALSE

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DEDUCTIVE REASONING
Definition: Deductive reasoning is the process of reaching a conclusion
by applying general assumptions, procedures, or principles.
Example: Use deductive reasoning to show that the following
procedure produces a number that is four times the original number.
• Pick a number. n
• Multiply the number by 8. 8n
• Add 6 to the product. 8n + 6
• Divide the sum by 2. (8n + 6)/2 = 4n + 3
• Subtract 3. 4n + 3 – 3 = 4n
• Repeat the steps for several numbers and try to make a conjecture.

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INDUCTIVE VS DEDUCTIVE REASONING
Example: Determine if the following argument is an example of
inductive or deductive reasoning:
a. During the past 10 years, a tree has produced plums every other
year. Last year, the tree did not produce plums, so this year the
tree will produce plums. INDUCTIVE
b. All home improvements cost more than the estimate. The
contractor estimated the home improvement will cost PhP 35,000.
Thus, the home improvement will cost more than PhP 35,000.
DEDUCTIVE

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PROBLEM SOLVING WITH PATTERNS
Definition: A sequence is an ordered list of numbers and the numbers
are separated by commas.
Example: Consider the sequence 5, 14, 27, 44, 65,…
The first term is 5. (a1)
The second term is 14. (a2)
The third term is 27. (a3)
The three dots indicate that the sequence continues beyond 65. (an)
What formula or rule can be used
What is the next term? to generate the next term?

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PROBLEM SOLVING WITH PATTERNS
Example: 2, 5, 8, 11, 14 ,…

14 + 3 = 17

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PROBLEM SOLVING WITH PATTERNS
Example: 5, 14, 27, 44, 65, …

65 + 25 = 90

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PROBLEM SOLVING WITH PATTERNS
Example: 2, 7, 24, 59, 118, 207 ,…

207+ 125 = 332

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PROBLEM SOLVING WITH PATTERNS
Example: nth formula for a sequence. We can use patterns to predict a
formula that generates the terms of a sequence.

Consider the formula an = 3n2 + n

Replacing n with: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

The formula generates: 4, 14, 30, 52, 80 and 114.

To find the 40th term, replace n with 40. 4840

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PROBLEM SOLVING WITH PATTERNS
Example: Assume the pattern shown by the square tiles in the following
figure continues:

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PROBLEM SOLVING WITH PATTERNS
Solution: The second figure has 2 tiles on each horizontal sections and
1 tile between horizontal sections. The third figure has 3 tiles on each
horizontal sections and 2 tiles between the horizontal sections. The
fourth figure has 4 tiles on each horizontal sections and 3 tiles between
the horizontal sections.

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PROBLEM SOLVING WITH PATTERNS

an = 2n + (n-1)
a.) an = 3n – 1
b.) For the eighth figure, a8 = 3(8) – 1 = 24 – 1 = 23
c.) To determine the nth figure with 320 tiles,
3n -1 = 320; n = 107

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POLYA’S 4-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY

• George Polya (1887-1985) is one of the

foremost mathematicians known to make a
study of problem-solving.
• Born in Hungary and moved to the US in
1940.
• His problem-solving strategy consists of only
four steps.

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POLYA’S 4-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY

1. Understand the Problem

2. Devise a Plan
3. Carry out the Plan
4. Review the Solution

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POLYA’S 4-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY
1. Understand the Problem
• You must have a clear understanding of the problem.
• Can you restate the problem in your own words?
• Can you determine what is known about these types of problems?
• Is there a missing information, that if known, would allow you to solve
the problem?
• Is there extraneous information that is not needed to solve the
problem?
• What is the goal?

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 POLYA’S 4-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY
2. Devise a Plan
• Make a list of known information.
• Make a list of information that is needed.
• Draw a diagram.
• Make an organized list that shows all the possibilities.
• Make a table or chart.
• Work backwards.
• Try to solve similar but simpler problems.
• Look for a pattern.
• Write an equation.
• Perform an experiment.
• Guess at a solution then check your result.
• Use indirect reasoning.

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 POLYA’S 4-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY
3. Carry out the plan
• Work carefully.
• Keep an accurate and neat record of all your attempts.
• Realize that some of your initial plans will not work and that you
may have to devise another plan to modify your existing plan.
4. Review the Solution
• Ensure that the solution is consistent with the facts of the problem.
• Interpret the solution in the context of the problem.
• Ask yourself whether there are generalizations of the solution that could
apply to other problems.
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POLYA’S 4-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY
Example: Determine the digit 100 places to the right of the
decimal point in the decimal representation of 7/27.

Understand the Problem

• Express the fraction as a decimal.
• Look for a pattern that will help us determine the digit 100 places to the
right of the decimal point.

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POLYA’S 4-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY
Example: Determine the digit 100 places to the right of the
decimal point in the decimal representation of 7/27.

Devise a Plan
• Divide 7 by 27.
• 0.259259259…
• Construct a table to find pattern

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POLYA’S 4-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY
Example: Determine the digit 100 places to the right of the
decimal point in the decimal representation of 7/27.

Carry out the plan

• In column 3, all are divisible by 3.
• From this pattern, we can tell that
99th decimal digit is in column 3.
• Based on the pattern, the 100th digit
must be 2.

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 POLYA’S 4-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY
Example: Determine the digit 100 places to the right of the
decimal point in the decimal representation of 7/27.
Review the Solution
• For each location of the number divided by 3:

Ø Column 1 = remainder 1

Ø Column 2 = remainder 2
• The decimal digit can be found from the

remainder after dividing the location of the

number by 3. Try to find 3200th decimal place? 5

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POLYA’S 4-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY
Example: 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?

Understand the Problem

• We need to know three distinct whole numbers
• Possible ages: 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
• Product of three ages is 4590.

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POLYA’S 4-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY
Example: 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?
Devise a Plan
• Represent the ages by x, y and z.
• xyz = 4590
• 4590 is divisible by 2 and 5, thus one of the ages must be a multiple of 5
and one is an even number.
• Trial and error approach

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POLYA’S 4-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY
Example: 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?

Carry out the plan

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POLYA’S 4-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY
Example: 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?

Review the Solution

• The three ages represent the age of a teenager.
• 15 x 17 x 18 = 4590
• Of the other numbers: 13, 14, 16 and 19 is not a factor of 4590 so
there are no other solutions.

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