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Polya'S Problem Solving Strategy: Lesson 2

George Polya was a Hungarian mathematician who developed a 4-step problem solving strategy. The strategy includes 1) understanding the problem, 2) devising a plan, 3) carrying out the plan, and 4) reviewing the solution. The document then provides examples of how to apply Polya's 4-step strategy to solve two sample problems - determining the possible orders of wins and losses for a baseball team, and figuring out the number of chickens and cows on a farm given the total number of animals and feet.

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Abegail Adora
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219 views

Polya'S Problem Solving Strategy: Lesson 2

George Polya was a Hungarian mathematician who developed a 4-step problem solving strategy. The strategy includes 1) understanding the problem, 2) devising a plan, 3) carrying out the plan, and 4) reviewing the solution. The document then provides examples of how to apply Polya's 4-step strategy to solve two sample problems - determining the possible orders of wins and losses for a baseball team, and figuring out the number of chickens and cows on a farm given the total number of animals and feet.

Uploaded by

Abegail Adora
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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POLYA’S PROBLEM

SOLVING STRATEGY
LESSON 2
WHO IS GEORGE POLYA?
• He was a teacher and
mathematician
• Lived from 1887 – 1985
• He was born in Hungary and
moved to the United states in 1940
• Published a book in 1945: “How to
Solve it”, explaining that people
could learn to become better
problem solvers
POLYA’S FOUR STEP
PROBLEM SOLVING
STRATEGY
1.Understand the problem.
2. Devise a plan.
3. Carry out the plan.
4. Review the solution.
1. UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM
• Can you restate the problem in your own words?
• Can you determine what is known about these types of
problems?
• Is there a missing information, that if known, would it
allow you to solve the problem?
• Is there an extraneous information that is not needed to
solve the problem?
• What is the goal?
2. DEVISE A PLAN
• Make a list of the known information.
• Make a list of information that is needed.
• Draw a diagram
• Make an organized list that shows all the possibilities.
• Make a table or a chart.
• Guess and Test
• Work backwards.
• Try to solve a similar but simpler problem.
• Look for a pattern.
• Write an equation. If necessary, define what each variable represents.
3. CARRY OUT THE PLAN
• Work carefully.
• Keep an accurate and neat record of all your
attempts.
• Realize that some of your initial plans will not work
and that you may have to devise another plan or
modify your existing plan.
4. REVIEW THE SOLUTION/ LOOK
BACK
• Ensure that the solution is consistent with the facts of
the problems.
• Interpret the solution in the context of the problem.
• Ask yourself if there are generalizations of the
solution that could apply to other problems.
Example 1:

A baseball team won two (2) out of their last


four games. In how many different orders
could they have two (2) wins and two losses
in four games?
STEP 1: UNDERSTAND THE
PROBLEM:
• The baseball team won two (2) out of their last four games.
• The baseball team have two (2) losses in their games.

Question: In how many different orders could


they have two (2) wins and two (2) losses in four
games?
STEP 2 : DEVISE A PLAN
• Make an organized list that shows all the
possibilities.
STEP3: CARRY OUT THE PLAN
2 WINS , 2 LOSSES
W = win , L = loss

WWLL WLLW
WLWL LWWL
LWLW LLWW

There are 6 possible different orders.


STEP 4: REVIEW THE SOLUTION:
• We have made an organized list.
• The list has no duplicates and it considers all possibilities, so we are
confident that there are six different orders in which a baseball team
can win exactly 2 out of 4 games.
Example 2:
Mr. Jones has a total of 25 chickens and
cows on his farm. How many of each
does he have if altogether there are 76
feet?
STEP 1: UNDERSTANDING THE
PROBLEM
Question: How many chickens and how many cows
are there in Mr. Jones farm?

• We are given in the problem that there are 25 chickens and cows.
• Altogether there are 76 feet.
• Chickens have 2 feet and cow have 4 feet.
STEP 2: DEVISE A PLAN
• Write an equation
• Solve the equations.
STEP 3: CARRY OUT THE PLAN
x = the no. of cows y = be the no. of chicken

x + y = 25 --- x = 25 – y = x = 25 – 12 =
x = 13, no. of cows
4x + 2y = 76 --- 4 (25 – y) + 2y = 76
100 – 4y + 2y = 76
100 – 76 = 2y
24 = 2y , y = 12 , no. of chicken

There are 12 chicken and 13 cows in Mr. Jones farm


STEP 2: DEVISE A PLAN
• Make a table.
• Use Guess and Test
3. CARRY OUT THE PLAN
No. of No. of Cows Total no. of Total no. Total no. of feet Total no. of
Chicken feet (CN) feet (CW) animals
11 14 22 56 78 x 25
10 15 20 60 80 x 25

13 12 26 48 74 x 25
12 13 24 52 76 / 25

There are 12 chicken and 13 cows in Mr. Jones farm.


Review/LOOK BACK
Total no. of animals: 12 + 13 = 25 /
Total no. of feet: 2x + 4y = 76 = 2 (12) + 4(13) = 76 /
Place the digits 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13 in
the circles to make the sum across and
vertically equal to 31. 
1.UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM
• Give the correct arrangement of the digits so
that the sum across and vertically be equal to 31.
2. DEVISE A PLAN
• Use Guess and Test
• Draw a diagram.
3. Carry out the Plan

11
13 8 10
12
4. Review

Vertical sum: 11 + 8 + 12 = 31 /
Sum across : 10 + 8 + 13 = 31 /

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