Problem Solving

Monty Hall Problem

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How do people solve problems
they have never seen before?

Key ingredients
Motiv
vi t y ation
ati
Cre
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1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning
the process of reaching a general
conclusion by examining specific
examples. A conclusion based on
inductive reasoning is called a conjecture.
A conjecture may or may not be correct.

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1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

EXAMPLE 1:
Use inductive reasoning to predict the next
number in each of the following lists.
a) 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, ?
b) 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, ?

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1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
EXAMPLE 2:
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.
Complete the above procedure for several
different numbers. Use inductive reasoning to make a
conjecture about the relationship between the size of
the resulting number and the size of the original
number.

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 1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
EXAMPLE 3:
Length of pendulum, in Period of pendulum, in
units heartbeats
1 1
4 2
9 3
16 4
25 5
The period of a pendulum
36 6 is the time it takes for the
Use the data in the table and inductive reasoning to answer each of pendulum to swing from
the following questions. left to right and back to its
a) If a pendulum has a length of 49 units, what is its period? original position.
b) If the length of a pendulum is quadrupled, what happens to its
period?

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1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Deductive Reasoning – is the process of

reaching a conclusion by applying
general assumptions, procedures, or
principles.

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1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
EXAMPLE 4: Solve a Logic Puzzle
Each of four neighbors, Sean, Maria, Sarah, and Brian, has
a different occupation (editor, banker, chef, or dentist). From
the following clues, determine the occupation of each
neighbor.
1) Maria gets home from work after the banker but before the
dentist.
2) Sarah, who is the last to get home from work, is not the
editor.
3) The dentist and Sarah leave for work at the same time.
4) The banker lives next door to Brian. 9
1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

A statement is a true statement provided it

is true in all cases.
If you can find one case in which a
statement is not true, called a counterexample,
then the statement is a false statement.

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 1. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

EXAMPLE 5: Find a Counterexample

Verify that each of the following statements is a
false statement by finding a counterexample.
For all number :
a)
b)
c)

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2. Problem Solving with Patterns
Sequences
A sequence is an ordered list of numbers. Each
number in a sequence is called a term of the sequence.
The is used to designate the term of a sequence.
A formula that can be used to generate all the
terms of a sequence is called an formula.

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2. Problem Solving with Patterns

EXAMPLE 1: Predict the Next Term

Use a difference table to predict the next
term in the sequence.
2, 7, 24, 59, 118, 207, …

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 2. Problem Solving with Patterns
EXAMPLE 2: Find an nth-Term Formula
Assume the pattern shown by the square tiles in the following figures continues.
a. What is the th-term formula for the number of tiles in the th figure of the
sequence?
b. How many tiles are in the eighth of the sequence?
c. Which figure will consist of exactly 320 tiles?

.
𝑎1
𝑎2 𝑎3 𝑎4

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2. Problem Solving with Patterns
Fibonacci’s Rabbit Problem
At the beginning of a month, you
are given a pair of newborn rabbits.
After a month the rabbits have produce
no offspring; however, every month
thereafter, the pair of rabbits produces
another pair of rabbits. The offspring
reproduce in exactly the same manner.
If none of the rabbits dies, how many
pairs of rabbits will there be at the start
of each succeeding month?
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2. Problem Solving with Patterns

EXAMPLE 3: Find a Fibonacci Number

The Fibonacci Numbers
, , and for .
Use the definition of Fibonacci numbers to
find the seventh and eighth Fibonacci numbers.

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2. Problem Solving with Patterns
EXAMPLE 4: Find a Fibonacci Number
Determine whether each of the following statements about
Fibonacci numbers is true or false.
Note: the first 10 terms of the Fibonacci sequence are 1, 1, 2,
3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, and 55.
a. If n is even, then is an odd number.
b. for

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 3. Problem-Solving Strategies

One of the foremost recent mathematicians to

make a study of problem solving was George Polya
(1877-1985). He was born in Hungary and moved to
the United States in 1940. the basic problem-solving
strategy that Polya advocated consisted of the
following four steps.

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3. Problem-Solving Strategies

Polya’s Four-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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3. Problem-Solving Strategies

Polya’s four steps are deceptively simple.

To become a good problem solver, it helps to
examine each of these steps and determine what
is involved.

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 3. Problem-Solving Strategies
Once you have found a
solution, check the solution.
Ensure that the solution is
consistent with the facts of
the problem.
• Work carefully.
• Keep an accurate and neat
record of all your
attempts.
• Realize that some of your
initial plans will not work
and modify your plan.
You must have a clear
understanding of the
problem.
“Can you restate the
problem in your own
words?”
Successful problem solvers
use a variety of techniques
when they attempt to solve a
problem.
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3. Problem-Solving Strategies

EXAMPLE 6: Apply Polya’s Strategy

The product of the ages, in years, of three
teenagers is 4590. None of the teens are the
same age. What are the ages of the teenagers?

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Reference:

Aufmann, R. N., Lockwood, J. S., Nation, R. D. & C

D. K. (2013). Mathematical Excursion
Third Edition. CA: Brooks/Cole, Cenga
Learning.
Smith, Karl J.. (2010) Nature of Mathematics. Tenth
Edition. CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Le

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