Republic of the Philippines

Surigao del Sur State University

Rosario, Tandag City, Surigao del Sur 8300
Telefax No. 086-214-4221
Website: www.sdssu.edu.ph

MODULE 3
Problem Solving and Reasoning

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

Specific Learning At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:
Outcomes: 1. Distinguish inductive or deductive reasoning through identification of the
statements.
2. Use reasoning skills to draw logical conclusion through induction and
deduction process.
3. Apply inductive and deductive reasoning to solve problems.

4. Solve problems involving patterns and recreational problems following

Polya’s strategy; and

5. Organize one’s methods and approaches for solving problems.

TEACHING LEARNING ACTIVITIES

1. The teacher will present a puzzle to the students and ask them which of the following
best matches between the shapes in the image?

Correct Answer: D
[The arrow changes direction and the shape on the right has 1 more side than the
counterpart on the left.]

2. The teacher will then ask, how did you come up with that answer? This will lead to the
discussion of mathematical reasoning. As observed, you get the correct answer by
observing the properties/characteristics of the images, and arrived at a general rule.

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 3. The teacher will then discuss what is Mathematical reasoning and the two types of
reasoning.

WHAT IS MATHEMATICAL REASONING?

It refers to the ability of a person to analyze problem situations and construct logical
arguments to create both conceptual foundations and connections to be able to process
the available information and solve the problem. In our daily lives, we make decisions
based on our reasoning but this is a process that varies depending on the situation
obtained on the ground.

There are two types of reasoning:

1. inductive reasoning
2. deductive reasoning

WHAT IS INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE REASONING?

Inductive Reasoning

Is the process of making general conclusions based on specific examples.

The conclusion formed by using inductive reasoning is called a conjecture. A conjecture
is an idea that may or may not be correct.

Examples 1:
1. Every object that I release from my hand falls to the ground. Therefore, the next object
I release from my hand will fall to the ground.
2. Every crow I have ever seen is black. Therefore all crows are black.
3. Based on available data, the Earth has revolve around the sun following an elliptical
path for millions of years. Therefore, the Earth will continue to revolve around the sun
in the same manner next year.

Example 2:

Use inductive reasoning to predict the next number in each of the following lists.
1. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, ?
2. 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ?

Solution:
1. Each successive number is 5 units larger than the preceding number. Thus, it can be
predicted that the next number in the list is 5 units larger than 25, which is 30.
2. Observed that all the numbers are perfect squares. 1 = 12, 4 = 22, 9=32, 16=42, 25=52.
Thus, it can be predicted that the next number to be 36=62.

Deductive Reasoning

Is the process of making general conclusions based on specific examples.

Examples:
1. All men are mortal. I am a man. Therefore, I am mortal.
(General principle: If p implies q and p holds, then q must follow.)
2. Given two supplementary angles with one of them measuring 120 degrees, the
measure of the other angle 60 degrees.
(General principle: supplementary angles add up to 180 degrees)
3. If 6x=12, then x=2.
(General principle: if a, b, and c are real numbers and a=b, then ac=bc.)

Examples:
1. All men are mortal. I am a man. Therefore, I am mortal.
(General principle: If p implies q and p holds, then q must follow.)

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 2. Given two supplementary angles with one of them measuring 120 degrees, the
measure of the other angle 60 degrees.
(General principle: supplementary angles add up to 180 degrees)
3. If 6x=12, then x=2.
(General principle: if a, b, and c are real numbers and a=b, then ac=bc.)

HOW DO YOU SOLVE PROBLEMS THROUGH REASONING?

Inductive Reasoning is a reasoning that is based on patterns you observe. If you

observe a pattern in a sequence, you can use inductive reasoning to decide the next
successive terms of the sequence. A conclusion you reach using inductive
reasoning is called a conjecture.

Deductive reasoning usually follows steps. First, there is a premise, then a second
premise, and finally an inference. A common form of deductive reasoning is the
syllogism, in which two statements — a major premise and a minor premise — reach
a logical conclusion.

Activity 1:

1. Determine whether the reasoning used is deductive or inductive.

a. Since today is Friday, tomorrow will be Saturday.

b. Since it snowed every New Year's Day for the past four years it will snow on New
Year's Day this year.
c. A child examines ten tulips, all of which are red, and concludes that all tulips must be
red.
d. If an isosceles triangle has at least two sides congruent, then an equilateral triangle is
also isosceles.

2. Follow up questions to the class:

a. Which items are inductive and deductive? How did you know it?

What is the difference between inductive and the deductive arguments?

SYNTHESIS:

Design a diagram or graphic organizer showing the relationship of the following terms. Give a
brief description of your diagram.

Inductive reasoning deductive reasoning conclusion

Leads to the truth comes from the truth
Does not prove that something is true, but suggest something is true.
Can prove something is true, now and forever.

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ASSESSMENT Use inductive or deductive reasoning to answer the given questions.

1. Predict the next number in each given set of numbers.

a. 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, _____

b. 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, _____

2. What type of reasoning did you apply in 1a and 1b?

3. Tell whether the mathematical statement is TRUE or FALSE. If
false, provide a counterexample

a. If 𝑥 > 0 then then 𝑥 2 > 0.

1
b. The multiplicative inverse 𝑥 always exist.
c. 𝑥 2 is always positive

ASSIGNMENT Test 1 - Use inductive or deductive reasoning to answer the given

questions.

4. Predict the next number in each given set of numbers.

c. 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, _____

d. 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, _____

5. What type of reasoning did you apply in 1a and 1b?

Test II- Use deductive reasoning to show that the following procedure
always produces a number that is equal to the original number:

a. Pick a number. Multiply the number by 5 and add 10. Divide the
sum by 5, and subtract 2.

Pick a number. Add 3 to the number and multiply the sum by2.
Subtract 6 from the product then divide the result by 2.
RESOURCES: 1. Nocon, Rizaldi C., Essential Mathematics for the Modern World,
ed. 1992
2. Aufmann, Richard N., Mathematics in the Modern World, ed. 2018

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 Topic 2
Polya’s Probelem Solving Strategy

One of the recent mathematicians who outlined a strategy for solving problems from
virtually any discipline is George Polya (1887-1985). In his book, How to Solve it, “A great
discovery solves a great problem but there is a gain of discovery in the solution of any problem.

Polya’s Four-step Problem-Solving Strategy

1. Understand the problem

2. Devise a plan.

3. Carry out the plan.

4. Review the solution.

Understand the Problem

This part of problem-solving is sometimes, if not always, neglected. In order to solve a

problem, one must first know what is being asked, and what information or data can be extracted
from what is given. Furthermore, one must see to it that he or she can state the problem in his or
her own words.

Devise a Plan

For this step, one must think of strategies to solve the problem. Some of these strategies
include organizing the given information using a list, table or chart; drawing a diagram; working
out the problem backwards; looking for a pattern; trying to solve a similar but simpler problem;
writing an equation; or simply guessing at a possible solution and then later checking if the result
is valid.

Carry out the Plan

Carrying out a plan to solve the problem is basically implementing the strategy chosen in
the second step until the problem is solved or until a new course of action is suggested. One may
get ideas from others in deciding the best strategy to make sure that the best solution is employed.

Review of the Solution

Questions like “Is your answer reasonable?” is important in checking the veracity of the
answer to the problem. For example, if one is looking for the dimensions of a rectangular box of
at least costand his or her answer yields a negative length, he or she can automatically say that
there must be something wrong with the solution because there is no such box with negative
dimension.

Example 1:

1. Apply Polya’s strategy in solving the following problem.

The GSW basketball team won three out of their last six games. In how many different
orders could they have attained three wins and three losses in six games.

Solution:

Understand the problem. There are many different ways. GSW may have won three straight wins
and three losses (WWWLLL), or maybe they lost in the first three games and won in the last three
games (LLLWWW). Likewise, there are other several ways.
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Device a plan. One can organize a list of all the possibilities making sure that no entry will be
duplicated.

Carry out the plan. Three W’s must be present in every entry without duplication. The strategy
is to start the list with three consecutive wins. Next in the list are all the entries starting with two
consecutive wins, then next in the list are all the entries starting with a single win. Following this
pattern, consider starting with three consecutive losses and so on. Here are the different orders.

1. WWWLLL 9. LLLWWW

2. WWLWLL 10. LLWLWW

3. WWLLWL 11. LLWWLW

4. WWLLLW 12. LLWWWL

5. WLLLWW 13. LWWWLL

6. WLLWWL 14. LWWLLW

7. WLWWLL 15. LWLLWW

8. WLWLWL 16. LWLWLW

Review the solution. The list is organized and has no duplicates, so there are sixteen different
orders in which a basketball team can win exactly three out of six games.

Example 2: Computing the height of a person

Leonardo da Vinci was a famous artist during the renaissance period. He wrote in his notebook
that “from the top to the bottom of the chin is the sixth part of the face, and it is the fifty-fourth
part of the man.” Suppose the distance from the top to the bottom of the chin of the person is 1.2
inches. Using the Leonardo da Vinci’s measurements, find the height of the person.

Solution:

Understand the problem: Obviously, one needs to find the height of the person in this problem.

Devise a plan: Let x represent the unknown height of the person. Write an equation satisfying da
Vinci’s measurements.

Carry out the plan: Let x = height of the person

Equation:

1
𝑥 = 1.2 = 𝑥 = 68.4 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑟 5.4 𝑓𝑡
54

Thus, the person is 5.4 ft. tall.

Review the solution: The solution is quite simple. Now check your progress- follow Leonardo da
Vinci’s measurements to find your best friend’s height.

Example 3: Solving a tour problem

An agency charged P15,000 for a 3-day and 2-night tour in Macau and P20,000 for the same tour
with a side trip to Hong Kong (HK). Ten persons joined the trip, which enable them to collect
P170,000. How many tourists made a side trip to Hong Kong?
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Solution:

Understand the problem. There are two types of tourists in the situation given. Some purely
stayed in Macau while others made a side trip to HK. From the total collection, how much was the
amount collected from those who purely stayed in Macau and how much was collected from those
who made a side trips to HK. It is needed to know how many were bound for Macau who made a
side trip to HK.

Devise a plan. Use x and y to represent the two types of tourists. Define these variables. Let x be
the number of tourists bound for Macau alone and y be the number of tourists bound for Macau
but who made a side trip to Hong Kong. Hence, we have the following algebraic equations:

P15,000x = amount collected from the tourists bound for Macau alone

P20,000y = amount collected from the tourists bound for Macau but who made a side trip to Hong
Kong.

Carry out the plan. Write the equations and solve using the elimination method to the system of
equations.

Equations:

𝑥 + 𝑦 = 10

15,000𝑥 + 20,000𝑦 = 170,000

To find the number of tourists bound for Macau but who made a side trip to HK, we solve for y.

To do this, we use elimination by substitution.

a. Solve for y in the first equation

𝑥 + 𝑦 = 10 = 𝑦 = 10 − 𝑥

b. Substitute 𝑦 = 10 − 𝑥 in the second equation

15,000𝑥 + 20,000(10 − 𝑥 ) = 170,000

15,000𝑥 + 200,000 − 20,000𝑥 = 170,000

−5,000𝑥 = 170,000 − 200,000

−5,000𝑥 = −30,000

𝑥=6

Substituting 𝑥 = 6 on the third equation. 𝑦 = 4. Therefore, four tourists made a side trip to Hong
Kong.

Review the solution. Since there are a total of 10 tourists, six of them only stayed in Macau while
four made a side trip to Hong Kong. Now, 15,000(6)+20,000(4)=170,000. This satisfies the
condition that the total amount collected for the whole trip is P170,000.

Some problems cannot be solve using ordinary equations. For example, June 3, 2017 was Saturday.
What day of the week is June 3, 2017? A week is a cycle and problems of this type can be solve
using arithmetic modulo n.

Modulo n
𝑎−𝑏
Two integers a and b are said to be congruent modulo n, with n being a natural number, if 𝑛 is an
integer. In this case, we write 𝑎 ≡ 𝑏 𝑚𝑜𝑑 𝑛. The 7 of 72 n is called the modulus. The statement 𝑎 ≡ 𝑏 𝑚𝑜𝑑 𝑛 is
number
Page
called congruence, (Aufman, 2015, p. 475).
Example: Finding the Day of the Week
In 2017, Venus’ birthday fell on a Saturday, June 3. On what day of the week does Venus’
birthday fall in 2020? Note that the year 2020 is a leap year.
Solution:
The number of days in a year is 365 except when it is a leap year where there’s one day
added. How many days are there after June 3, 2017 to June 3, 2020?
Number of days:
After June 3, 2017 to June 3, 2018: 365
After June 3, 2018 to June 3, 2019: 365
After June 3, 2019 to June 3, 2020: 366 (leap year)
Total: 1096
Because 1096 ÷ 7 = 156 has a remainder 4, then we write 1096 ≡ 4 𝑚𝑜𝑑 7. Since a week is a
cycle, then any multiple of 7 days past a given day will be the same day of the week. It means that
on the 1092nd day, 1092 being a multiple of 7, after June 3, 2017 is also a Saturday. Furthermore,
on the 1096th day, four days after, is a Wednesday. Thus June 3, 2020 will be Wednesday.

Activity 1: Solve the following and show your solution

1. An airline flies from Manila to Davao with a stopover in Cebu. It charges a fare of 1, 800
Manila to Cebu and a fare of 3, 500 from Manila to Davao. In one flight, a total of 180
passengers boarded the plane in Manila and the collected fare totaled 494, 000. How many
passengers got off the plane in Cebu?

Synthesis:

Instruction: Complete the table below with the desired information. God bless you!
What I Know about this What I want to know about What do I Learned from this
lesson? this lesson? lesson?

Assessment 1. For fine arts students, write a report on the life of Leonardo da Vinci. In
your report, include his most important contribution to mathematics and the
arts.
2. In 2016, December 25 fell on Sunday. On what day of the week does
Christmas fall in 2025? Note that the years 2020 and 2024 are both leap
years.

Assignment Directions: Read the questions carefully and use the steps of Polya in
solving the following questions.
1. If it is now 10:00 A.M, what time is it 1,000 hours from now?
2. If today is Thursday, what day is it 500 days from now?
Resources 1. Nocon, Rizaldi C., Essential Mathematics for the Modern World,
ed. 1992
2. Aufmann, Richard N., Mathematics in the Modern World, ed. 2018

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