MATHEMATICS IN THE
MODERN WORLD
MATHEMATIC AL PROBLEM SOLVING
A R J AY T. A LTOVA R
M AT H I N S T R U C TO R
MAIN IDEAS
P OLYA’ S ST R ATE G Y
PROBL E M SOLV I NG ST R AT E G IES
I NDUCT I VE AND DE DUCT I VE R E ASONI NG
MATH E MATI C AL PROB L E MS I NVOLV I NG PATT E R NS
R E CR E ATIONAL PROB L E MS USI NG MATH E MATI CS
POLYA’S STRATEGY
GEORGE POLYA , K N O WN A S T HE FAT HE R OF M OD E R N PROB LE M S OLV I N G
2. Enumerate the steps
1. Have a clear to be taken to solve the
understanding of the problem: List down the
problem. given information, use
variables to represent
unknowns, translate to
mathematical
4. Ensure the solution is sentences, draw, create
consistent with the facts a table, etc.
of the problem, interpret
the solution in the context
of the problem, review the 3. Carry out the plan
details, and check the carefully and accurately,
validity of the final taking note all the
answer. attempts.
PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES
GUESS AND CHECK (TRIAL AND ERROR)
PICTURE/DIAGRAM/EXPERIMENT
WORKING BACKWARDS
LOOKING FOR PATTERNS
LISTING/TABULAR
ALGEBRAIC EQUATIONS
LOGICAL REASONING
GUESS AND CHECK
Which three consecutive addends will give you a sum of 63?
A book cost Php100 if bought online and Php150 if bought at
the store. The bookstore sold 15 books and took in Php 1900.
How many books were bought online and how many were
bought in the store?
MAKE AN ORDERLY LIST
DART BOARD
How many different total scores could you make if you hit 10
the dart board shown with 3 darts?
5
1
MAKE AN ORDERLY LIST
HANDSHAKE PROBLEM
In a party there are 8 people. If everyone at the party shakes
hands with everyone else, how many handshakes would
there be?.
WORKING BACKWARDS
I think of a number and add three to it, multiply the result by 2,
subtract 4 and divide by 7. The number I end up with is 2. What
was the number I first thought of?
DRAW A DIAGRAM
Girl Scout Hike
A Girl Scout troop went on a hike. First they walked 1 mile east,
then 2 miles south, then 3 miles west, and 1 mile north, then 2
miles east. How far is the troop from their starting point?
DRAW A DIAGRAM
CAR RACE
In a stock car race, the first five finishers in some order were a Ford, a Pontiac,
a Chevrolet, a Buick and a Dodge.
The Ford finished 7 seconds before the Chevrolet.
The Pontiac finished 6 seconds after the Buick.
The Dodge finished 8 seconds after the Buick.
The Chevrolet finished 2 seconds before the Pontiac.
In what order did the cars finish the race?
LOOKING FOR A PATTERN
Fill in the next two blanks in each part
1, 4, 7, 10, 13, ___, ___
19, 20, 22, 25, 29, ___, ___
1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ___, ___
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, ___, ___
LOOKING FOR A PATTERN
What is the sum of the first 10, 20 and 100 counting numbers?
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 = ?
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 + 16 +
17 + 18 + 19 + 20 =?
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + … + 95 + 96 + 97 + 98 + 99 + 100 =?
MAKE A TABLE
HEXAGON DOTS
Draw the next two diagrams to continue this dot sequence. How
many dots will there be in the 100th figure?
USE OF VARIABLES
Which three consecutive addends will give you a sum of 63?
A book cost Php100 if bought online and Php150 if bought at the
store. The bookstore sold 15 books and took in Php 1900. How
many books were bought online and how many were bought in the
store?
ELIMINATING POSSIBILITIES
Four married couples belong to a bridge club. The
wives’ names are Kitty, Sarah, Josie and Anne. Their
husband’s names (in some order) are David, Will,
Gus and Floyd.
Will is Josie’s brother.
Josie and Floyd dated sometime, but then Floyd
met his present wife.
Kitty is married to Gus.
Anne has two brothers.
Anne’s husband is an only child.
Name the four couples.
PROBLEM SOLVING
WITH PATTERNS
A PATTERN CONSTITUTES A SET OF
NUMBERS OR OBJECTS IN WHICH
ALL MEMBERS ARE RELATED WITH
EACH OTHER BY A SPECIFIC RULE
Example:
SEQUENCE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, …
An ordered list of numbers.
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, …
TERMS OF A SEQUENCE:
Numbers in a Sequence. 6, 12, 18, 24, …
a1,a2,a3, … an
10, 20, 30, …
nth TERM OF A SEQUENCE:
denoted by 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, …
ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE
Consider an arithmetic sequence 3,5,7,9,11
The first term of the sequence above is 3
The common difference is 2
The fifth term is 11
Term Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
1st 3 3+2(0) 3+2(1-1)
Consider this table 2nd 3+2 3+2(1) 3+2(2-1)
3rd 3+4 3+2(2) 3+2(3-1)
4th 3+6 3+2(3) 3+2(4-1)
5th 3+8 3+2(4) 3+2(5-1)
ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE
Term Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
1st a1+d a1+d(0) a1+d(1-1)
2nd a1+d a1+d(1) a1+d(2-1)
3rd a1+2d a1+d(2) a1+d(3-1)
4th a1+3d a1+d(3) a1+d(4-1)
…
Therefore, 𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎1 + 𝑑(𝑛 − 1)
ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE
Example
Determine the nth term formula of the sequence
1. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, …
Find its 50th term
2. 2, 7, 12, 17, …
Find its 30th term
RECREATIONAL
PROBLEMS USING
MATHEMATICS
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END OF PRESENTATION