Polya’s Four-Step Problem-Solving Strategy
1. Understand the problem.
2. Devise a plan.
3. Carry out the plan.
4. Review the solution.
Problem Solving Exercises
1. Verify that each of the following statements is a false statement by finding a counter-example.
For all numbers x:
a.) |x| > 0 b.) x2 > x
2. Puzzle
(6+) (3x)
(5+)
3. True/False
The sum of any two even counting numbers is always an even counting number.
4. Inductive/Deductive reasoning
All pentagons have exactly five sides. Figure A is a pentagon. Therefore, Figure A has exactly five
sides
5. Magic Squares
A magic square of order n is an arrangement of numbers in a square such that the sum of the n numbers
in each row, column, and diagonal is the same number. The magic square below has order 3, and the
sum of the numbers in each row, column, and diagonal is 15.
6. Use a difference table to predict the next term in the sequence.
2, 7, 24, 59, 118, 207, ____
7. A Savings Plan
You save a penny on day 1. On each of the following days you save double the amount of money you
saved on the previous day. How much money will you have after:
a.) 5 days? b.) 10 days?
8. Make an organized list
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 four games?
9. Solve a similar but simpler problem
In a basketball league consisting of 10 teams, each team plays each of the other teams exactly three
times. How many league games will be played?
10. Make a table and look for a pattern
7
a.) Determine the digit 100 places to the right of the decimal point in the decimal representation
27
b.) Determine the units digit (ones digit) of 4200.
11. Work backwards
In consecutive turns of a Monopoly game, Stacy first paid $800 for a hotel. She then lost half her money
when she landed on Boardwalk. Next, she collected $200 for passing GO. She then lost half her
remaining money when she landed on Illinois Avenue. Stacy now has $2500. How much did she have
just before she purchased the hotel?
12. Guess and check
The product of the ages, in years, of three teenagers is 4590. None of the teens are the same age. What
are the ages of the teenagers?
13. Solve a Deceptive Problem
A hat and a jacket together cost $100. The jacket costs $90 more than the hat. What are the cost of the
hat and the cost of the jacket?
14. Determine the nth-term formula for the number of square tiles in the nth figure.
15. Number of Line Segments
Twenty-four points are placed around a circle. A line segment is drawn between each pair of points.
How many line segments are drawn?
16. A Survey of Preferences
A movie company is making plans for future movies it wishes to produce. The company has done a
random survey of 1000 people. The results of the survey are shown below.
695 people like action adventures.
340 people like comedies.
180 people like both action adventures and comedies.
Of the people surveyed, how many people
a. like action adventures but not comedies?
b. like comedies but not action adventures?
c. do not like either of these types of movies?
17. A Survey Presented in Tabular Form
A survey of men M, women W, and children C concerning the use of the Internet search engines Google
G, Yahoo! Y, and Bing B yielded the following results.
Use the data in the table to find each of the following.
a.) Find the cardinality of W and Y b.) Find the cardinality of M and (G or B)
n(WY) = ? n(M(GB)) = ?
Answers:
1. (a) False when x = 0 (b) False when x = 1
2.
2 1 3
3 2 1
1 3 2
3. True since the sum is divisible by 2.
4. Deductive reasoning
5.
8 1 6
3 5 7
4 9 2
6. Ans. 332
7. (a) 31 pennies (b) 1023 pennies
8. 6 ways
9. 10C2 = 45 →→→ 45*3 = 135 ways
10. (a) digit 2 (b) digit 6
11. 2500 * 2 = 5000 → 5000 – 200 = 4800 → 4800 * 2 = 9600 → 9600 + 800 = $10,400
12. 15 * 17 * 18 = 4590
13. Jacket → $95 and hat → $5
14. Ans. 3n
15. Ans. 276 line segments
16. (a) 515 (b) 160 (c) 145
17. (a) 280 (b) 440 + 275 = 715