Reasoning, Proving

and Problem Solving

Samad T. Sultan
BSAE – 1st Year FHS
GENED28

March 19, 2020

Deductive and Inductive
Reasoning
  Deductive reasoning is sometimes referred to as top-
down logic.
 It starts with a general case and deduces specific
instances.
 It yields conclusive propositions with of great certainty
Deductive when the premises are said to be true.
Reasoning  For example: all men are mortal, and John is a man.
Therefore, John is mortal.
 It can be deduced that if A equals B and B equals C,
therefore A equals C. Mathematically speaking A=B Λ
B=C ∴ A=C
Deductive  
Reasoning
  The term “inductive reasoning” is reasoning from a
specific case or cases to derive a general rule.
 It is sometimes referred to as bottom-up logic.

Inductive  It draws inferences from observations to make

generalizations. In doing so, it recognizes that
Reasoning conclusions may not be certain.
 Most logic and number patterns involve inductive
reasoning.
  Four stages of Inferencing: (done in inductive
reasoning)
 Observation – collecting facts without bias
Inductive  Analysis – classifying the facts; identifying patterns of
regularity
Reasoning  Inference – from the patterns, making generalizations about
the relations between the facts
 Confirmation – testing the inference through further
observation
 Examples of inductive reasoning applications

 The chair in the living room is green. The chair in the dining
room is green. The chair in the bedroom is green. All chairs in
the house are green.
Inductive  Karen leaves for the office at 6:00 a.m. Karen is always on
time. Karen assumes then that she will always be on time if
Reasoning she leaves at 6:00 a.m.
 Every time I eat chocolate, irritations appear on my skin. So, I
am allergic to chocolates.
 All the males in the class live in dormitories; therefore, all
males in the college lives in dormitories
 All kids in my nursery school like to play with clay. All
children, therefore, enjoy playing with clay.
Intuition, Proof and
Certainty
  Intuition, technically speaking, is the ability to
understand and interpret something without the need
for conscious reasoning and perception.
 Mathematically speaking, it can be described as
coming across a problem, glancing at it, and using your
logical instinct to pull out an answer without taking
Intuition further questions.
 It has played major role in the evolution of
mathematical concepts. However, the advancement of
mathematical knowledge periodically reveals flaws in
cultural intuition .
  Consider the following statements: If triangles T1 and
T2 are congruent, then T1 and T2 are similar. Triangles
T1 and T2 are congruent. Therefore, T1 and T2 are
similar.
Proof and  This is an example of an argument. It consists of a
sequence of statements called premises, followed by a
Certainty final statement called the conclusion.
 The statements “if triangles T1 and T2 are congruent,
then T1 and T2 are similar” and “Triangles T1 and T2 are
congruent” are the premises. The statement
introduced by the word therefore is the conclusion.
  If an argument contains more than three different
simple statements as components, it is necessary to
utilize propositional variables in order to indicate the
certainty of the argument. Proving method may be of
Proof and inferential procedures using different known rules of
Certainty inference.
 There are seven (7) rules of inferences; modus ponens,
modus tollens, hypothetical syllogism, disjunctive
syllogism, simplification, conjunction, and addition.
 Rule of Inference Argument Form
Modus Ponens P→Q
P
∴Q
Modus Tollens P→Q
~Q
∴~P
Rule of Hypothetical Syllogism P→Q
Inference Q→R
∴P→R
 Rule of Inference Argument Form
Disjunctive Syllogism PVQ
~P
∴Q
Simplification PΛ Q
∴P
Rule of Conjunction P
Q
Inference ∴PΛQ
Addition P
∴P V Q
Polya’s Problem Solving
Technique
Polya’s  Polya’s problem solving technique consists of four (4)
step procedures which are;
Problem (1) Understand the Problem
Solving (2)
(3)
Devise a Plan
Carry out the Plan
Technique (4) Look Back
  You have to understand the problem.
 What is the unknown? What are the data? What is the
condition?
Understand  Is it possible to satisfy the condition? Is the condition
sufficient to determine the unknown? Or is it
the Problem insufficient?
 Draw a figure. Introduce suitable notation.
 Separate the various parts of the condition. Can you
write them down?
  Polya mentions that there are many reasonable ways
to solve problems. The skill at choosing an appropriate
strategy is best learned by solving many problems. You
will find choosing a strategy increasingly easy. A partial
list of strategies is included:
 Guess and check
Devise a  Make an orderly list
Plan 

Eliminate possibilities
Use direct reasoning
 Solve an equation
 Look for a pattern
 Use a model
 Use a formula
 Work Backwards
  Given the plan that you have devised, one must be
analytical in using the desired strategy or method.
Carry out  The utilization of the method itself can affect the entire
the Plan outcome of the process.
 Persist with the plan that you have chosen. If it
continues not to work discard it and choose another.
  Polya mentions that much can be gained by taking the
time to reflect and look back at what you have done,
what worked, and what didn't. Doing this will enable
you to predict what strategy to use to solve future
Look Back problems.
 Basically, check to see if you used all your information
and that the answer makes sense. If your answer does
check out, make sure that you write your final answer
with the correct labeling.
 A math class has 30 students. Approximately 70%
passed their last math test. How many students passed
the last math test?

Step 1: Understand the problem

We are looking for how many students passed the last math
Sample test, we will let x = number of students

Problem Step 2: Devise a plan

A number that is 70% of 30 is x = 0.7(30)
Step 3: Carry out the plan
x = 0.7(30) = 21
Step 4: Look back
 21 is 70% of 30, therefore 21 students passed the last math
test
Problem Solving Strategies
 The following guidelines can be used to solve a
mathematical problem:

1) Clarify the problem. Read the problem carefully.

Problem 2) Identify the key elements of the problem. It is
important to determine the information necessary
Solving to solve the problem. Important details must be
Strategies identified. Discard useless information.
3) Visualize the problem and draw a picture or diagram.
Identify and visualize the important elements of the
problem, and make sure to show them in the picture
or diagram that you will create. Most people better
understand a problem though visuals.
 4) Create a model of the problem. Model drawing is by
no means exhaustive but it will open a doorway for
someone who has been struggling with math
problems.
Problem 5) Look for a pattern. Determine from the key
Solving elements of the problem if there is a pattern you can
work with.
Strategies 6) Separate or divide the problem into smaller parts.
Any problem has various components. Think of it as
stages: beginning, middle, and end. Then, solve the
problem in stages.
Mathematical Problems
Involving Patterns
 1. What should be the next figure in this sequence?

Every figure consists of four boxes

with respective designs inside it.
We can notice that the pattern
would be 135° diagonals follows
Logical horizontal lines, then 45° diagonals,
then vertical lines, and then back to
Patterns the 135° diagonals. Every first box
in each figure starts with one of the
four mentioned boxes. In that case,
the next figure should start with the
horizontal lines following the
mentioned pattern. Therefore, the
answer is B.
 2. What should be the next figure in this sequence?

The first figure consists of a single

circle; the next figure doubles the
number of circle the first figure has,
thereby having 2 circles. The third
Logical figure again doubles the number of
circles the previous figure has
Patterns which has a total of 4 circles. In that
case, we can say that the pattern is
doubling the number of circles of
the preceding figure. So, the next
figure should have eight circles
since doubling 4 can give 8.
Therefore, the answer is D.
 3. If the word MODERN can be encrypted as OQFGTP,
how can you code the word WORLD?
A. YQSNF C. YQUNF
Logical B. YQTNF D. YQPNF
Patterns
Each letter in MODERN is forwarded two places (+2) in
the alphabetical order to get the encrypted word. So, the
correct answer is B.
 4. What should be the number in the blank?
5, 6, 10, 19, 35, ___

Number The difference between 5 and 6 is 1, between 6 and 10 is

Patterns 4, between 10 and 19 is 9, and between 19 and 35 is 16.
We can see the difference (1,4,9,16) is are consecutive
squares. So, the difference for the next number is 25.
Therefore, the next number would be the sum of 35 and
25 which 60.
 5. The data below shows the instantaneous speed of an
airplane during take-off with respect to time t. What
would be the probable instantaneous speed of the
airplane at t=6
Instantaneou 10 20 30 40 50 ?
s speed (m/s)

Number Time (s) 1 2 3 4 5 6

Patterns
Using mathematical patterns, we can provide the probable
instantaneous speed since there is a constant rise in the
speed with respect to the time given. We can say that at t=6,
the speed is 60 simply. But, we can also make use of a
function describing the relationship of both entities. Let f(t)
be the speed and t be the time; f(t) = 10t
Recreational Problems
Using Mathematics
  Recreational Mathematics is an umbrella term,
referring to Mathematical puzzles, riddles and games.
 This genre of mathematics includes logic puzzles and
Recreational other puzzles that require deductive reasoning, the
aesthetics of mathematics, and peculiar or amusing
Mathematics stories and coincidences about mathematics and
mathematicians. Some of the more well-known topics
in recreational mathematics are magic squares and
fractals.
 1. What comes once in a year, twice in a week, and
never in a day? LETTER E
2. How can you divide 6 blocks of ice among 7 persons
so each will have the same amount? The best way is
to melt those ice blocks and divide evenly.
Sample 3. A frog was at the bottom of a well 30 feet deep. It
Problems jumps 3 feet each day and falls back 2 feet each day.
How many days will it take to reach the top? Each
day the frog will be able to jump 1 foot (3-2 feet).
On the 28th day, the frog is on the 28ft level and
would jump 3 feet before falling 2 feet. By that,
the frog already jumped out of the well. Therefore,
the answer is 29 days.
 4. A census taker asks a woman “how many children do
you have, and what are their ages?”. The mother
answered “I have three children. The product of their
Sample ages is 36, and the sum of their ages is the same as
Problems my house number.” She also added that her oldest
child likes chocolate ice cream. The census taker
looked at the house number which is 13 and started
solving for the ages of the children.
 Ages Sum 4. We list all the 3 possible
numbers whose product is 36,
1,1,36 38 then solve for their sum. Since
1,2,18 21 there are two sets of ages
1,3,12 16 which have the sum of 13
(house number), we can recall
1,4,9 14 that the mother mentioned
Sample 1,6,6 13 that her oldest child likes
Problems 2,2,9 13 chocolate ice cream. In that
case, the set which contains
2,3,6 11 the number 2,2,9 satisfies the
3,3,4 10 condition because there is only
one oldest child as compared
to 1,6,6. Therefore, the ages of
the mother’s three children are
2, 2, and 9 years old.
  Calingasan, R.M., et.al. (2018). Mathematics in the
Modern World. C&E Publishing Inc.
 Gupta, R. (2010). Recreational Mathematics.
References Slideshare.
mathematics
https://www.slideshare.net/recreational-

 UC Berkeley Math. Polya's Problem Solving

Techniques. Published in 2012.