Republic of the Philippines

PALAWAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Coron Campus

Mathematics in
the Modern World
OUTCOME BASED MODULE

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 Republic of the Philippines
PALAWAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Coron Campus

Module 4:
Problem Solving

Student Signature: Date

Returned:

GE MMW
 Republic of the Philippines
PALAWAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Coron Campus

Lesson 1: Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, learners would be able to:
a. Determine the difference between Inductive and Deductive reasoning
b. Solve word problems using Inductive and Deductive reasoning
c. Find a counterexample

Let’s Examine: Identify the reasoning applied if Inductive or

Deductive?
1. All the numbers ending in “0” and “5” are divisible by 5. The number “35” ends
with “5”; hence it is divisible by 5.
2. The sum of two odd integers is an even integer. m and n are odd integers. Thus,
m=n is even.

Introduction
More occupations requires problem solving and critical thinking skills. A good
example is in the field of engineering and architecture field wherein engineers and
architects have to solve different complicated mathematical problems as they design and
a modern building that’s both aesthetically pleasing, meets all the safety requirements
and is fully functioning.
This lesson intends to help you become a better problem solver in order for you to
find it as an easy task in the near future.

Read:
Inductive Reasoning:
Inductive reasoning is the type of reasoning that forms a conclusion based on an
examination of specific examples. The conclusion formed by using inductive reasoning is
called a conjecture, since it may or may not be correct. When you examine a list of
number and predict the next number in the list according to the pattern that you just
observed, you are using an inductive reasoning.

Example 1: Use Inductive reasoning to predict a number:

Use inductive reasoning to predict the number in each of the following lists:

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a. 3, 6, 9, 15, ? b. 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, ?
Solution:
a. Each number is successive number is 3 times larger than the preceding number, thus
we predict that the next number on the list is 3 times larger than 15 which is 18.
b. The first two numbers differ by 2. The second and the third number differ by 3. It
appears that the difference between any two numbers is always 1more than the preceding
difference. Since 10 and 15 differ by 5, we can predict that the next number in the list will
be 6 larger than 15 which is 21.
Inductive reasoning is not only used to predict the next number in the list. In
example number 2, we use inductive reasoning to make a conjecture about an arithmetic
procedure.

Example 2: Use Inductive reasoning to make a conjecture.

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.
Solution:
Suppose we pick 5 as our original number, the procedure would produce the
following results:
Original Number: 5
Multiply by 8: 5 x 8 = 40
Add 6: 40 + 6 = 46
Divide by 2: 46 ÷ 2 = 23
Subtract 3: 23 – 3 = 20
We started with 5 and followed the procedure to produce 20. Starting with 6 as our
original number produces a final result of 24. Starting with 10 produces a result of 40.
Starting with 100 produces a result of 400. In each of these cases, the resulting number
is four times the original number. We conjecture that following the given procedure
produces the number that is four times the original number.

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Did you know?

Scientists often used inductive reasoning. For instance, Galileo Galilei (1564 –
1642) used inductive reasoning to discovered the time required for the pendulum to
complete one swing, called the period of the pendulum, depends on the length of the
pendulum. Galileo did not have a clock so he measured the periods of pendulums in
heartbeats. The following table shows some results obtained for pendulums of various
lengths. For the sake of convenience, a length of 10 inches has been designated as 1
unit.
Length of pendulum, in units Period of pendulum, in heartbeats
1 1
4 2
9 3
16 4
25 5
36 6

Example 3: Use inductive reasoning to solve an application.

Use the data in the above table and inductive reasoning to answer each of the
following questions:
a. If a pendulum has a length of 49 units, what is its period?
b. If the length of a pendulum is quadrupled, what happens to its period?
Solution:
a. In the table, each pendulum has a period that is a square root of its length. Thus, we
conjecture that a pendulum with a length of 49 units will have a period of 7 heartbeats.
b. In the table a pendulum with a length of 4 units has a period that is twice that of a
pendulum with 1 unit. A pendulum with a length of 16 units has a period that is twice that
of a pendulum with a length of 4 units. It appears that quadrupling the length of a
pendulum doubles its period.

1.2. Counterexamples
A statement is a true statement provided that it is true in all cases. If you can find
one case for which a statement is not true, called a counterexample, then a statement
is a false statement. In example 4, verify that each statement is a false statement by
finding a counterexample for each.

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Example 4: Find a Counterexample

Verify that each of the following statements is false statement by finding a
counterexample.
For all numbers x:
𝒙
a. IxI >0 b. 𝒙=1

Solution:
A statement may have many counterexamples, but we need only to find one
counterexample to verify that the statement is false.
a. Let x = 0. Then I0I = 0. Because 0 is not greater than 0, we have found a
counterexample. Thus, the statement is false.
𝟎
b. Let x = 0. Then 𝟎= Undefined. Since we have found a counter example, the
statement is false.

1.3 Deductive Reasoning

Another type of reasoning is called a deductive reasoning. Deductive Reasoning
is distinguished from inductive reasoning in that it is the process of reaching a conclusion
by applying general principles and procedures.

Example 5: Use deductive reasoning to establish a conjecture.

Use deductive reasoning to show that the following procedure produces a number that is
four times the original number.
Procedure: Pick a number, multiply the number by 8, add 6 to the product, divide
the sum by 2, and subtract 3.
Solution:
Let n represent the number:
Multiply the number by 8: 8n
Add 6 to the product: 8n + 6
Divide the sum by 2: 8n + 6 = 4n + 3
2
Subtract 3: 4 + 3 – 3 = 4n

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We started with n and ended with 4n. The procedure given in this example
produces a number that is four times the original number.

Example 6: Solve a logic pule using deductive reasoning.

Each of four neighbours, Sean, Maria, Sarah, and Brian, has a different occupation
(editor, banker, chef or dentist). From the following clues, determine the occupation for
each neighbour.
1. Maria gets home from work after the banker but before the dentist.
2. Sarah, who is the last to get 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.
Solution:
From clue number 1, Maria is not the banker or the dentist. In the following chart,
we write X1 (which stands for “ruled out by clue number 1”) in the banker and the dentist
in Maria’s row.
Editor Banker Chef Dentist
Sean
Maria X1 X1
Sarah
Brian

From clue number 2, Sarah is not the editor. Write X2 (ruled out by clue 2) in the
editor column of Sarah’s row. We know from clue 1 that the banker is not the last to go
home, and we know from clue 2 that Sarah is the last to go home; therefore Sarah is not
the banker. Write X2 in the banker column in Sarah’s row.
Editor Banker Chef Dentist
Sean
Maria X1 X1
Sarah X2 X2
Brian

From clue 3, Sarah is not the dentist. Write X3 for this condition. There are now Xs
for three of the four occupation in Sarah’s row; therefore, Sarah must be the Chef. Place
a  in that box. Since Sarah is the chef, none of other people can be the chef. Write X3

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for these conditions. There are now Xs for three of the four occupations in Maria’s row;
therefore Maria must be the editor. Insert a  to indicate that Maria is the editor, and write
X3 twice to indicate that neither Sean nor Brian is the editor.
Editor Banker Chef Dentist
Sean X3 X3
Maria  X1 X3 X1
Sarah X2 X2  X3
Brian X3 X3

From clue number 4, Brian is not the Banker. Write X4 for this condition. See the
following table, since there are 3 Xs in the banker column, Sean must be the banker.
Place a  marker in that box. Thus, Sean cannot be the dentist. Write X4 in that box.
Since there are 3 Xs in the Dentist column, Brian must be the Dentist. Place a  in that
box.
Editor Banker Chef Dentist
Sean X3  X3 X4
Maria  X1 X3 X1
Sarah X2 X2  X3
Brian X3 X4 X3 
Sean is the Banker, Maria is the editor, Sarah is the chef and Brian is the Dentist.

Lesson 2: Problem Solving Strategies

2.1 Polya’s Problem-Solving Strategy

Ancient mathematicians such as Euclid and Pappus were interested in solving
mathematical problems. But they were also interested in heuristics, the study of
methods and rules in discovery and invention. In the seventeenth century, the
mathematician and philosopher Rene Descartes (1596-1650) contributed to the field of
heuristics. He tried to develop a universal problem-solving method. Although he did not
achieve this goal, he did publish some of his ideas in Rules for the direction of the Mind
and his better-known work Discourse de la Methode.
Another mathematician and philosopher, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz (1646-1716),
planned to write a book on heuristics titled Art of Invention. Of the problem-solving
process, Leibnitz wrote, “Nothing is important than to see the sources of invention which
are, in my opinion, more interesting than the inventions themselves.”

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One of the foremost recent mathematicians to make a study of problem solving
was George Polya (1887-1985). 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.
1. Understand the Problem – This part of Polya’s four-step strategy is often
overlooked. You must have a clear understanding of the problem. To help you
focus on the understanding of the problem, consider the following questions:
 Can you restate the problem in your own words?
 Can you determine what is known about these type 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?
2. Devise a Plan – Successful problem solvers use a variety of techniques when
they attempt to solve a problem. Here are some frequently used procedures.
 Make a list of the known information.
 Make a list of the information that is needed.
 Draw a diagram.
 Make an organized list that shows all the possibilities.
 Make a table or a chart.
 Work backwards
 Try to solve a similar but simpler problem
 Look for a pattern
 Write an equation. If necessary, define what each variable represents.
 Perform an experiment.
 Guess at a solution and then check your result.
3. Carry out the Plan – Once you have devised a plan, you must carry it out.
 Work carefully
 Keep an accurate and neat record of all your attempts.
 Realie that some of your initial plans will not work and that you may have
to devise another plan or modify an existing plan.
4. Review the Solution – Once you have found the solution, Check 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 problem.

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Example 7: Apply Polya’s strategy to solve the following problem.
During a family gathering last Christmas, Angel was able to collect 12 monetary
bills consisting P20 bills and P50 bills from her titos and titas. She received a total of P390
from them. How many of each bill did Angel receive?
Solution:
I. Understand the problem
Distribute 12 bills into 2 portions.
II. Devise a plan
Perform trial and error. There are only 11 ways of splitting 12 into two portions.
11+1, 10+2, 9+3, and so on. If there are 11 P20 bills, then there must be 1 P50 bill in
which case, the total amount is 11(20) + 1 (50) = 270 pesos. Reversing the amounts, we
have 11(50) + 1 (20) = 570 pesos. Determine which distribution yields the amount of
P390.
III. Carry out the plan
Number of P20 Bills Number of P50 Bills Total Amount
11 1 11(20) + 1(50) = 270
10 2 10(20) + 2(50) = 300
9 3 9(20) + 3(50) = 330
8 4 8(20) + 4(50) = 360
7 5 7(20) + 5(50) = 390
IV. Review the Solution
The answer is reasonable as it generates the desired amount of P390. To check if
this is the only solution, complete the table.
Number of P20 Bills Number of P50 Bills Total Amount
11 1 11(20) + 1(50) = 270
10 2 10(20) + 2(50) = 300
9 3 9(20) + 3(50) = 330
8 4 8(20) + 4(50) = 360
7 5 7(20) + 5(50) = 390
6 6 420
5 7 450
4 8 480
3 9 510
2 10 540
1 11 570

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PALAWAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Coron Campus
A classic alternative is the algebraic process where variables are introduced in the
solution.
Devise a Plan:
Let x be the number of P20 bill and y, the number of P50 bills. Since there are 12
bills in all, then
x+y=12
The amount of P20 bills is 20x while the amount of 50 bills is 50y, giving the
equation:
20x+50y = 390
Solve the system of equations into unknowns to find the answer.
Carry out the Plan:
Equation (1) yields explicit form y=12-x
Using this in equation (2):
20x+50(12-x) = 390
20x+600 – 50x = 390
-30x = -210
x=7
And so, y = 12-7 = 5
As in the first solution, the answer is seven P20 bills and five P50 bills.
Review the Solution:
Check the total amount: 7 (20) + 5 (50) = 140 + 250 = 390

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PALAWAN STATE UNIVERSITY
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Lesson 3: Problem Solving with Patterns

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
Identify the next term of a sequence.
Construct a difference table.

3.1 Terms of a Sequence.

An ordered list of numbers such as
5, 14, 27, 44, 65, …
is called a sequence. The numbers in a sequence that are separated by
commas are the terms of a sequence. In the above sequence, 5 is the first term, 14 is
the second term, 27 is the third term, 44 is the fourth term and 65 is the fifth term. The
three dots “…” indicates that the sequence continues beyond 65 which is the last written
term. It is customary to use the subscript notation an to designate the nth term of a
sequence. That is,
a1 represents the first term of a sequence.
a2 represents the second term of a sequence.
a3 represents the third term of a sequence.
.
.
.
an represents the nth term of a sequence.
In the sequence 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, … , n2 + n, …
a1=2, a2=6, a3=12, a4=20, a5=30, and an=n2+n.
When we examine the sequence, it is natural to ask:
 What is the next term?
 What is the formula or rule can be used to generate the terms?

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To answer these questions we often construct a difference table which shows
the difference between successive terms of the sequence. The following table is a
difference table for the sequence 2, 4, 8, 11, 14, …
sequence: 2 5 8 11 14
first differences: 3 3 3 3
Each of the numbers in row (1) of the table is the difference between the two
closest numbers just above it (upper right numbers minus the upper left number). The
differences in row 1 are called first differences of the sequence. In this case, the first
differences are all the same. Thus, if we use the table to predict the next number in the
sequence, we predict that 14+3 = 17 is the next term in the sequence. This prediction
might be wrong; however the pattern shown by the first differences seems to indicate that
each successive term is 3 larger than the preceding term.
The following table is a difference table for the sequence 5, 14, 27, 44, 65, …
sequence: 5 14 27 44 65
first differences: 9 13 17 21
second differences: 4 4 4
In this table, the first differences are not all the same. In such a situation it is often
helpful to compute the successive differences of the first differences. These are shown in
row (2). These differences of the first differences are called second differences. The
differences of the second differences are called the third differences.
To predict the next term of a sequence, we often look for a pattern in a row of
differences. For instance, in the following table, the second differences shown are in blue
are all the same constant, namely 4. If the pattern continues, then a 4 would also be the
next second difference, and we can extend the table to the right as shown.
sequence: 5 14 27 44 65
first differences: 9 13 17 21
second differences: 4 4 4 4
Now we work upward. That is, we add 4 to the first difference 21 to produce the
next first difference, 25. We then add this difference to the fifth term, 65, to predict that 90
is the next term in the sequence. This process can be repeated to predict additional terms
of the sequence.

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sequence: 5 14 27 44 65 90
first differences: 9 13 17 21 25
second differences: 4 4 4 4

3.2 Pattern Recognition as a problem-solving strategy

Consider a 10 item true or false questions:
a. in how many ways can you answer the first item?
b. in how many ways can you answer the first 2 items?
c. in how many ways can you answer the first 3 items?
d. in how many ways can you answer the first n items?
e. in how many ways can you answer the 10 item test?
For the first item, there are only two possible answers, either TRUE or FALSE. A
bit of compilation occurs when you consider the first two questions. Enumerate the
possibilities as follows:
Item No. 1 Item No. 2
True True
True False
False True
False False
Thus, there are four possible ways in all.
In the case of having three questions, look at the following possibilities:
Item No. 1 Item No. 2 Item No. 3
True True True
True True False
True False True
True False False
False True True
False True False
False False True
False False False
This accounts for eight possible ways of answering the three questions. It is left
to the reader to verify that there are 16 possible ways of answering the first four
questions.

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Summarizing the result, you have the following table:
Number of questions Item No. 2
1 2
2 4
3 8
4 16 (?)
It must be evident that the number of ways is always a power of 2.
Number of questions Number of ways to answer
1 2 = 21
2 4 = 22
3 8 = 23
4 16 = 24
So it appears that for n questions in the test, there are exactly 2 n ways of
answering them. Specifically, if there are 10 questions, then there must be 2 10 = 1024
ways.

Let’s Examine:
Exercise 1: Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
1.1: Use inductive reasoning to predict the next number in each list.
1. 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24,?
2. 5, 11, 17, 23, 29, 35?
3. 3, 5, 9, 15, 23, 33,?
4. 80, 70, 61, 53, 46, 40?
5. 1, 8, 27, 64, 125,?
1.2: Find a counterexample:
1. For all the numbers x, -x < x.
1
2. For all the numbers x, x> 𝑥

3. For all the numbers x, x+x > x

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1.3: Determine whether the following arguments is an example of inductive
or deductive reasoning.
1. 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.
2. All home improvements cost more than the estimate. The contractor estimated
that my home improvement will cost $35000. Thus, my home improvement will
cost more than $35000.
1.4: Solve the following problem using deductive reasoning.
In a neighbourhood of Engineers, it is known that there is a chemical
engineer, a civil engineer, mechanical engineer and an electrical engineer among
Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Ussop. Identify the correct profession of each engineer
given the following clues:
1. Sanji gets home from work after the civil engineer but before the electrical
engineer.
2. Zoro who is the last to get home from work, is not the electrical engineer.
3. The electrical engineer and Zoro leave for work at the same time.
4. The civil engineer lives next door to Ussop.

Exercise 2: Polya’s Problem Solving Strategy

Apply Polya’s Strategy to solve the following problems. Show the step
by step strategy devised by Polya. (10 points each).
1. A baseball team won two out of their last four games. In how many different
orders could they have two wins and two losses in the game?
(Clue: Make an organized list.)
2. In a consecutive turns of a monopoly game, Stacy first paid $800 for a hotel.
She then lost have of her money when she landed on Boardwalk. Next, she
collected $200 for passing GO. She then lost half her remaining money when she
landed in Illinois Avenue. Stacy now has $2500. How much did she have just
before she purchased the hotel?
(Clue: Work backwards.)

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Exercise 3: Pattern Recognition as a Problem Solving Strategy

3.3a: Construct a difference table to predict the next term of each sequence:
1. 1, 7, 17, 31, 49, 71, …
2. 10, 10, 12, 16, 22, 30, …
3. -1, 4, 21, 56, 115, 204, …
4. 0, 10, 24, 56, 112, 190, …
5. 9, 4, 3, 12, 37, 84, …
6. 17, 15, 25, 53, 105, 187, …
3.3b: Referring to the table in the example in 3.2 (2 Points Each):
1. How many ways will you be able to answer a 50 item True or False Exam?
2. What type of reasoning did you use to get the answer in number 1?

References:
Published:
Aufman, Richard N., et al, Mathematical Excursions. 3rd ed., Brookes/Cole, Cengage
Learning.
Aufman, R., Lockwood, J.,Nation, R.,Clegg D., Epp, S., Mathematics in the Modern
World, Cengage Learning

Congratulations for Finishing Module 4.

Keep up the Good Work!

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