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Module 2 Problem Solving Ryan Cerveza
Module 2 Problem Solving Ryan Cerveza
Heuristic: Visual
Lesson 4 Representation
Module II
20
MODULE II
INTRODUCTION
OBJECTIVES
There are four lessons in the module. Read each lesson carefully
then answer the learning activities to find out how much you have
benefited from it. Work on these exercises carefully and submit your
output to your teacher.
Lesson 1
UNDERSTANDING
THE PROBLEM
Understanding Skills
The ‘goal’ is what the problem is asking the solver to do. It can be ‘to
find’ or ‘to prove’. The goal is usually found at the last part of the
problem statement after the conditions were given. The goal could be
in a form of a question, or a direct command ‘find.’ Problem solvers
might finish answering a problem but given a wrong final answer
because of not understanding well the goal. In the last stage ‘going
back’ it is important to make sure that the final answer should satisfy
the goal in the problem.
Problem 1
“The sum of two numbers is 12, and the product of the same two
numbers is 4. Find the sum of the reciprocals of the two numbers.”
• What might be the ideas and skills you could use to solve the
problem? The following statements are products of
understanding the problem:
3. The sum of the two numbers is x + y and the product is xy. The
reciprocal of x and y is 1/x and 1/y. Thus, the sum of reciprocal is
(1/x) + (1/y).
4. The final answer should not end with finding the two numbers but
finding the sum of the reciprocals of the two numbers.
Problem 2
“Determine the sum of the measure of the interior angles of an
icosagon (a 20-sided polygon).”
• What might be the ideas and skills you could use to solve the
problem? The following statements are products of
understanding the problem:
“Find the sum of the measure of the interior angles of all 18 triangles
formed by connecting a fixed vertex to all other vertices of a 20-sided
polygon.”
Problem 3
“Mike was racing in a bike marathon. He was 3/8 of the way across a
narrow bridge when he heard the whistle of the Wabash Cannonball
train approaching the bridge from behind him at 60 miles per hour.
Being an amateur mathematician as well as a marathon biker, Mike
calculated that he could just reach either end of the bridge at the
same time as the train. How fast was Mike pedaling his bike?”
• What might be the ideas and skills you could use to solve the
problem? The following statements are products of
understanding the problem:
2. Mike will reach point A the same time as the train. Similarly, Mike
will reach point B the same time as the train.
4. The question is: If the train is running 60 miles per hour, how about
Mike?
Problem 4
“The divisors of 360 add up to 1,170. What is the sum of the reciprocal
of the divisors of 360?”
• What might be the ideas and skills you could use to solve the
problem? The following statements are products of
understanding the problem:
2. Adding
is seemingly cumbersome.
Lesson 2
WORKING BACKWARD
In this problem condition, ‘the sum of two numbers’ is the process, and
by doing the process, we will get ‘12’ as the output. Moreover, the goal
in is often asking the solver to find the initial value.
The name itself tells us that a solver might want to use first the
‘output’ which refers to the final information. And the work backward
using the ‘inverted process’ to find the initial information. To illustrate
this, let us take a look into the following problem:
Problem 5
“Evelyn, Henry, and Al play a certain game. The player who loses each
round must give each of the other players as much money as the player
has at that time. In round 1, Evelyn loses and gives Henry and Al as
much money as they each have. In round 2, Henry loses and gives
Evelyn and Al as much money as they each then have. Al loses in round
3 and gives Evelyn and Henry as much money as they each have. They
decide to quit at this point and discover that they each have 24 Pesos.
How much money did they each start with?”
You should understand that the problem stated the situation at the end of the story
(they each have P24) and asked for the starting situation (How much money did
they each start with?). This is almost a sure sign that the working backwards
strategy could be used. Understand how this makes your work easier. We start at
the end with each having P24. Look at the table.
Evelyn started with P39, Henry with P21, and Al with P12 –
the same answers we arrived if you try to solve it algebraically.
Problem 6
“The sum of two numbers is 12, and the product of the same two
numbers is 4. Find the sum of the reciprocals of the two numbers.”
You might do the much simpler process by STARTING FROM THE END
of the problem namely we wish to find the sum of the reciprocal of x and y, that is
1 1
+ . Ask yourself, “What do you usually do when you see two fractions to be
x y
x+ y
added? How do I add them?” Getting the sum, you will get . Since x + y is
xy
x+ y 12
12 and xy was given 4. The fraction becomes = 3 . (Notice that you were
xy 4
never asked to find the specific values of x and y; rather you were asked for the sum
of their reciprocals.)
Problem 7
“Three people play a game in which one person loses and two people
win each game. The one who loses must double the amount of money
that each of the other two players has at that time. The three players
agree to play three games. At the end of the three games, each player
has lost one game and each person has $8. What was the original stake
of each player?”
Because the players all finish with the same amount of money, $8, it is
possible to compute their original stake by working backward. We will label the
first losing player P1, the second P2, and the third P3.
At the end of game 3, P1, P2, and P3, each had $8. Working backward
to the end of game 2, P1 must have had $4 and P2 $4, since both won in game 3
(P3 lost), and thus both had their stakes doubled by the results of game 3. Since
P1 and P2 each gained $4 in game 3, P3 must have lost $8 in game 3, so P3 had
$16 at the end of game 2.
Now work backward to determine the stakes of each player at the
beginning of game 1. The table below shows the changes.
Thus, the three people have $13, $7, and $4 at the beginning of game 1.
FINDING A PATTERN
Problem 8
Continuing the figure above in creating triangles yields a pattern that can
help us to our desired goal. These angle sums should be put into a tabular form so
as to make it easier to recognize a pattern.
An inspection of the first seven entries shows a pattern; namely, when the
number of sides increased by 1, the number of triangles increased by 1 and the
angle sum increased by 180o. Thus, for a nonagon, the number of triangles formed
would be 7 and the angle sum would be (7)(180o) = 1,260o. Using this pattern, we
could work our way up to a 20-sided polygon. Thus, for the icosagon, the angle
measure sum is (18)(180) = 3,240o.
Problem 9
“How many digits are there in the expression (111,111,111) 2? What is
the middle digit?”
• How can you solve this problem? Observe how the problem was
constructed and study very carefully the worked-out solution
using ‘Finding a Pattern’:
Problem 10
• How can you solve this problem? Observe how the problem was
constructed and study very carefully the worked-out solution
using ‘Finding a Pattern’:
Lesson 3
“The divisors of 360 add up to 1,170. What is the sum of the reciprocal
of the divisors of 360?”
Identifying all the divisors of 360 might be time consuming. So, a solver
might think of a simpler and analogous problem. A new problem goes
this way,
Notice, that the original problem is similar and analogous to the new
problem. Expert problem solvers usually try to change bigger values to
smaller values. However, a common error in using this heuristic was a
solver often mistakenly used the answer of the new problem as the
answer of the original problem. A solver should remember that the new
problem will not give the answer in the original problem. However, the
new problem will give the solver the idea on how to solve the original
problem – which is actually the goal in using a heuristic. To illustrate
this heuristic, try to understand the subsequent example:
Problem 11
“The divisors of 360 add up to 1,170. What is the sum of the reciprocal
of the divisors of 360?”
• How can you solve this problem? Observe how the new problem
was constructed and study very carefully how this new problem
became very useful to solve the problem:
Aha! The numerator of the fraction is the sum of the divisors, while the
denominator is the number we’re working with. Now we can solve our original
problem.
The sum of the factors of 360 is 1,170. Thus, the sum of the reciprocals
1,170
of the factors must be .
360
Problem 12
• How can you solve this problem? Observe how the new problem
was constructed and study very carefully how this new problem
became very useful to solve the problem:
One obvious solution is to expand the binomial and then add the
coefficients.
Problem 13
“The basketball squad is taking part in a free – throw contest. The 1st
player scored x free throws. The 2nd shooter scored y free throws.
The 3rd shooter made the same number of free throws as the
arithmetic mean of the number of free throws made by the first two
shooters. Each subsequent shooter in the contest scored the
arithmetic mean of the number of free throws made by all the
preceding shooter. How many free throws did the 12th player made?”
• How can you solve this problem? Observe how the new problem
was constructed and study very carefully how this new problem
became very useful to solve the problem:
Problem 14
“In a drawer, there are 8 blue socks, 6 green socks, and 12 black socks.
What is the smallest number of socks that must be taken from the
drawer without looking at the socks to be certain of having 2 socks of
the same color?”
• How can you use an extreme case to this problem? Observe how
the new problem was constructed and study very carefully how
an extreme case became very useful to solve the problem:
In this problem, we are looking for a matching pair of socks of any color.
We apply EXTREME CASE reasoning. The worst-case scenario has us picking 1
blue sock, 1 green sock, and 1 black sock in our first three picks. Thus, the fourth
sock must provide us with a matching pair, regardless of what color it is. The
smallest number of socks to guarantee a matching pair is 4.
Problem 15
“Two squares, each with side 8, are placed such that a vertex of one
lies at the center of the other. Find the area of quadrilateral ENCL.
• How can you use an extreme case to this problem? Observe how
the new problem was constructed and study very carefully how
an extreme case became very useful to solve the problem:
Problem 16
“There are more adults than boys, more boys than girls, more girls
than families. If no family has fewer than 3 children, then what is the
least number of families that there could be?”
• How can you use an extreme case to this problem? Observe how
the new problem was constructed and study very carefully how
an extreme case became very useful to solve the problem:
The problem asks the least number of families, and thus, we consider
the extreme cases where the smallest is just one family. If this is the case
then there would be at least two girls, at least three boys, and at least four
adults. But four adults make two families, and that is a contradiction.
If there were just two families, there would be at least three girls, at
least four boys, and at least five adults. But five adults mean that there cannot
be just two families, there are at least three. That is a contradiction.
If there were just three families, then there would be at least four
girls, at least five boys, and at least six adults. That is not a contradiction.
Thus, three families might satisfy the conditions.
To check the answer, suppose there are three married couples. The
first couple has two girls and a boy, the second has two girls and a boy, and
the third has three boys. Then there are six adults, five boys, four girls, and
three families. All conditions of the problem are met.
The answer is that three families are the smallest number that there
could be.
Lesson 4
HEURISTIC: VISUAL
REPRESENTATION
VISUAL REPRESENTATION
B C
Diagram
A, B, and C
B CC A A B
The next problem will show you, how a visual representation will
help a solver to understand the problem and figure-out the solution to
the problem.
Problem 17
“A local pet shop owner just bought her holiday supply of baby chicken
and baby rabbits. She doesn’t really remember how many of each she
bought, but she has a system. She knows that she bought a total of 22
animals, a number exactly equal to her age. Furthermore, she also
recalls that the animals had a total of 56 legs, her mother’s age. How
many chickens and how many rabbits did she buy?”
Problem 18
“Emily has her model trains set up on a circular track. There are six
telephone poles, evenly spaced around the track. It takes the engine
of the train 12 sec to go from the first to the third pole. At this same
rate, how long will it take the engine to go completely around the
track?”
Problem 19
“There is a frog at the bottom of a well that is 100 ft deep. The frog
laboriously climbs upward 5 ft during the daytime. However, at night,
he falls asleep and slips back 4 ft. At this rate, how many days will it
take the frog to get out of the well?”
SUMMATIVE TEST
Solve the following problems. (You are requested to write your solution
completely – from the statements of understanding to the final
answer.)