STRATEGIC

PROBLEM
SOLVING

NON-ROUTINE

BASIC MATHEMATICS
GEORGE POLYA
HOW TO

SOLVE IT?
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

 First. You have to understand the problem.

 What is the unknown? What are the data?
What is the condition?
 Detect the variables involved in the problem.
 Know the relationship between the variables
which have been ascertained.
 Understand which variable needs to be
thoroughly searched or answered.
 Draw a figure. Introduce suitable notation.
 1) DEVISING A PLAN
 Second. Find the connection between the data
and the unknown. You may be obliged to
consider auxiliary problems if an immediate
connection cannot be found. You should obtain
eventually a plan of the solution.
 Consider the following strategies:
1. select suitable operations 7. working backward
2. use suitable diagram 8. simplify the problem
3. use analogy 9. using experiment
4. use the unitary approach 10. identify sub goal
5. guess and check 11. simulation
6. construct table 12. identify of math pattern
 1) CARRYING OUT THE
PLAN

 Third. Carry out your plan.

 Carrying out your plan of the
solution, check each step. Can you
see clearly that the step is correct?
Can you prove that it is correct?
 • Looking Back @
Checking Answers

 Fourth. Examine the solution

obtained.
 Use another way to solve the same
problems.
 Adopting the inverse method.
E.g.: division multiplication
 Can you use the result, or the
method, for some other problem?
 Problem 1
Jacinski’s Hardware has a
number of bikes and tricycles
for sale. There are 27 seats
and 60 wheels all together.
Determine how many bikes
there are and how many
tricycles there are.
 answer
Step 1 : Understand the problem
• each bike has 2 wheels
• each tricycle has 3 wheels
• 1 bike 1 seat, 1 tricycle 1 seat
• there are 27 seats = no. of bike + no. of tricycle

Step 2 : Devise a plan

• Strategy 1 : Construct a table
• Strategy 2 : Draw a diagram
Step 3 : Carry out the plan
• Strategy 1: Construct a table

No. of No. of No. of wheels

bikes tricycle
15 12 (15x2)+(12x3)=66

16 11 (16x2)+(11x3)=65

17 10 (17x2)+(10x3)=64

21 6 (21x2)+(6x3)=60

+4
PATTER
21 bikes and 6 tricycles N
-4
• Strategy 2 : Draw diagram
 First, draw all the 27 seats. Then add a wheel to each
seat and when it reaches to the 27th seat, repeat back
until there are 60 wheels.
 Note : Each circle is a seat and each leg is a wheel.
 The grey circle is the bike.
 The green circle is the
tricycle.

 There are 21 diagram of bikes

and 6 diagram of tricycles.
Step 4 : Check the Answer

• Use the inverse method:

multiplication division

 (21x2)+(6x3)=60
 21x2=42 and 6x3=18
 42÷2=21 and 18÷3=6
 21+6=27 seats

Proven true!!
 Problem 2
How many rectangles are there in each of these
figures?
 answer
Step 1 : Understand the problem
• each figures is a rectangle

Step 2 : Devise a plan

• Strategy 1 : Draw a diagram
• Strategy 2 : Look a pattern
• Strategy 3 : “gauss’ trick”
• Step 3 : Carry out the plan
• Strategy 1 : Draw diagram

 First, draw all the rectangles. The first figure has only 1
rectangle. Then add with the number of rectangle below
it. It continues till the end of the figure.

1 rectangles

3 rectangles

6 rectangles

10 rectangles

15 rectangles
Strategy 2 : look for a pattern

 1 + 2 = 3 Pattern -3

 1 + 2 + 3=6 Pattern -4

 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10 Pattern -5
 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15

There are 15 rectangles

 Strategy 3 : “Gauss’ trick”

 1 x 5
 1 x 4
 1 x 3 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15 rectangle
 1 x 2
 1 x 1
For this last one : 1 + 2 + 3 + + 14 + 15 + 16

17 x 8 = 136
Step 4 : check the answers
 Add all the rectangles in the figures.

1
+ 2
+ 3
+ 4
+ 5
15
 It is proven that there are 15 rectangles
in the figures.
 Problem 3
In three bowling games, Lulu
scored 139, 143, and 144. What
score will she need in a fourth
game in order to have an
average score of 145 for all four
games?
 answer
Step 1 : Understand the problem
• three bowling games, lulu score 139, 143, and 144
• average score is 145 for all four games.

Step 2 : Devise a plan

• Strategy 1 : Algebra
• Strategy 2 : Logic
• Strategy 3 : Make a chart
• Step 3 : Carry out the plan
• Strategy 1 : Algebra
X = unknown score

139 + 143 + 144 + x = 145

4

X = 154
Strategy 2 : Logic

 If average needs to be 145, and there

are 4 scores. The sum is
4 x 145 =580
 From 580, subtract 139, 143, 144.
X = 580-139-143-144
= 154

 The missing score is 154.

 Strategy 3 : make a chart
GAME SCORE AWAY TOTAL
FROM AWAY
AVERAGE

1 139 -6 -6

2 143 -2 -8

3 144 -1 -9

On the 4th games, it needs to be +9 over average.

Step 4 : check the answers
 Multiply the average score with 4
games

 145 x 4 =(average) 580

 139 + 143 + 144 + x = 580

 X = 580 – 139 – 143 – 144

X = 154#
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