Problem Solving Strategies

Problem Solving Strategies
Problem Solving Strategy 1 (Guess and Test)
Make a guess and test to see if it satisfies the demands of the problem. If it doesn't, alter the guess
appropriately and check again. Keep doing this until you find a solution.
Example: Mr. Jones has a total of 25 chickens and cows on his farm. How many of each does he have if
all together there are 76 feet?
Step 1: Understanding the problem

We are given in the problem that there are 25 chickens and cows.
All together there are 76 feet.
Chickens have 2 feet and cows have 4 feet.
We are trying to determine how many cows and how many chickens Mr. Jones has on his farm.
Step 2: Devise a plan
Going to use Guess and Test along with making a tab
Many times, the strategy below is used with guess and test.
Make a table and look for a pattern:
Procedure: Make a table reflecting the data in the problem. If done in an orderly way, such a table will
often reveal patterns and relationships that suggest how the problem can be solved.
Step 3: Carry out the plan:
Chickens Cows Number of chicken feet Number of cow feet Total number of feet
20 5 40 20 60
21 4 42 16 58
Notice we are going in the wrong direction! The total number of feet is decreasing!
19 6 38 24 62
Better! The total number of feet are increasing!
15 10 30 40 70
12 13 24 52 76
Step 4: Looking back:
Check: 12 + 13 = 25 heads
24 + 52 = 76 feet.
We have found the solution to this problem. I could use this strategy when there are a limited
number of possible answers and when two items are the same but they have one characteristic
that is different.
Check in question 2:
Old McDonald has 250 chickens and goats in the barnyard. Altogether there are 760 feet . How many of
each animal does he have?
Solution:
Problem Solving Strategy 2 (Draw a Picture).
Drawing a picture/diagram/model is the most common problem-solving strategy. Very often, students
need to draw a picture/diagram/model just to understand the problem. The picture/diagram/model
represents the problem in a way students can “see” it, understand it, and think about it while they look
for the next step.
Example: Laura has 3 green chips, 4 blue chips and 1 red chip in her bag. What fractional part of the bag
of chips is green?
Solution:
Draw 8 chips.
3/8 of the chips are green
Example 2. Dana found a piece of 8 inches rope. She cut the rope into equal length. She made 3 cuts.
How long is each piece of the rope now?
Each piece of rope is now only 2 inches.

Problem Solving Strategy 3 (Using a variable to find the sum of a sequence.)
Gauss's strategy for sequences.
last term = fixed number (n-1) + first term
The fix number is the the amount each term is increasing or decreasing by. "n" is the number of terms
you have. You can use this formula to find the last term in the sequence or the number of terms you
have in a sequence.
Example 1: 2, 5, 8, ... Find the 200th term.
Last term = 3(200-1) +2
Last term is 599.
To find the sum of a sequence: sum = [(first term + last term) (number of terms)]/ 2
Sum = (2 + 599) (200) then divide by 2
Sum = 60,100
Problem Solving Strategy 4 (Working Backwards)
This strategy can be used when you know the end result but you need to find out something that
happened earlier. You must list a series of events and computations starting with the end of the
problem and ending with the information presented at the beginning of the problem.
This is considered a strategy in many schools. If you are given an answer, and the steps that were taken
to arrive at that answer, you should be able to determine the starting point.
Example 1:
Karen is thinking of a number. If you double it, and subtract 7, you obtain 11. What is Karen’s number?
Solution:
1. We start with 11 and work backwards.
2. The opposite of subtraction is addition. We will add 7 to 11. We are now at 18.
3. The opposite of doubling something is dividing by 2. 18/2 = 9
4. This should be our answer. Looking back:
9 x 2 = 18 -7 = 11
5. We have the right answer.
Example 2: Ben is trying to decide when to get up in the morning. He needs 40 minutes to get ready for
school. It takes him 10 minutes to walk to school. If school starts at 8:30 a.m., and he wants to be on
time, what time should he get up?
Solution:
The problem gives you the amount of time it will take to complete 2 tasks (40 minutes and 10 minutes).
It also tells you the time the last task must end (8:30 a.m.)
Task 1: If Ben walked for 10 minutes, he would start walking at 8:20 a.m.
Task 2: If he needed 40 minutes to get ready, he had to get up 40 minutes before 8:20 a.m., at 7:40 a.m.
Problem Solving Strategy 5 (Looking for a Pattern)

When students use this problem-solving strategy, they are required to analyze patterns in data and
make predictions and generalizations based on their analysis. They then must check the generalization
against the information in the problem and possibly make a prediction from, or extension of, the given
information. A pattern may be numerical, visual or behavioral. By identifying the pattern, students can
predict what will come next and what will happen again and again in the same way.
Definition: A sequence is a pattern involving an ordered arrangement of numbers.
We first need to find a pattern.
Ask yourself as you search for a pattern – are the numbers growing steadily larger? Steadily smaller?
How is each number related?
Example 1: 1, 4, 7, 10, 13…
Find the next 2 numbers. The pattern is each number is increasing by 3. The next two numbers would be
16 and 19.
Example 2: 1, 4, 9, 16 … find the next 2 numbers. It looks like each successive number is increase by the
next odd number. 1 + 3 = 4.
4+5=9
9 + 7 = 16
So the next number would be
16 +9 = 25
25 + 11 = 36
Example 3: 10, 7, 4, 1, -2… find the next 2 numbers.
In this sequence, the numbers are decreasing by 3. So the next 2 numbers would be -2 -3 = -5
-5 – 3 = -8
Example 4: 1, 2, 4, 8 … find the next two numbers.
This example is a little bit harder. The numbers are increasing but not by a constant. Maybe a factor?
1x2=2
2x2=4
4 x 2 =8
So each number is being multiplied by 2.
8 x 2 = 16
16 x 2 = 32
Example 5: Carol has written a number pattern that begins with 1, 3, 6, 10, 15. If she continues this
pattern, what are the next four numbers in her pattern?
Solution:
Look at the numbers in the pattern.
3 = 1 + 2 (starting number is 1, add 2 to make 3)

New numbers will be
15 + 6 = 21
21 + 7 = 28
28 + 8 = 36
36 + 9 = 45
Problem Solving Strategy 6 (Make a List)

Making a list or a table is a way to organize data presented in a problem. This problem-solving strategy
allows students to discover relationships and patterns among data. This strategy helps students to bring
a logical and systematic development to their mathematics.
Example 1: How many ways can you arrange the letters A, B, C? Find all the ways.
Solution:
List of all possible ways: ABC, ACB, BAC, BCA, CAB, CBA
Example 2: Can perfect squares end in a 2 or a 3?
List all the squares of the numbers 1 to 20.
1 4 9 16 25 36 49 64 81 100 121 144 169 196 225 256 289 324 361 400.
Now look at the number in the ones digits. Notice they are 0, 1, 4, 5, 6, or 9. Notice none of the perfect
squares end in 2, 3, 7, or 8. This list suggests that perfect squares cannot end in a 2, 3, 7 or 8.
Problem Solving Strategy 7 (Logical Reasoning / Process of Elimination)
This strategy is really used for all problem solving. In many ways students use this strategy category as a
catch-all because these strategies are not usually used on their own but in combination with other
strategies mentioned above. In addition, it also touches on the strategy of elimination, which is
commonly used by people in everyday life. In problem solving context, students must list and eliminate
possible solutions based upon information presented in the problem.
Example 1: I have 3 in the ones place. I am greater than 20 but less than 29. What number am I?
Solution:
Since I am greater than 20 and less than 29, my first digit must be 2. And since 3 is in my ones place, I
must be 23.
Example 2: The farmer feeds all of his animals in the same order each afternoon. Use the clues below to
determine his daily order.
• The chickens were fed before the pigs, but after the cows.
• The goats were fed right after the cows.
• The horses were fed after the pigs.
Solution:
To determine the feeding order, students may start with the information that is known (the goats are
fed directly after the cows) and use the clues to finish the ordered list. The farmer daily order is cows,
goats, chicks, pigs and horses.
Example:
I’m thinking of a number. The number is odd. It is more than 1 but less than 100. It is greater than 20.
It is less than 5 times 7. The sum of the digits is 7. It is evenly divisible by 5.
a. We know it is an odd number between 1 and 100.

b. It is greater than 20 but less than 35
21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35. These are the possibilities.
c. The sum of the digits is 7
21 (2+1=3)
23 (2+3 = 5)
25 (2 + 5= 7)
Using the same process, we see there are no other numbers that meet this criteria. Also, we notice 25 is
divisible by 5. By using the strategy elimination, we have found our answer.

Problem Solving Strategies

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Problem Solving Strategies

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Problem Solving Strategies

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What are the different problem solving strategies discussed?

Provide an example of using the 'guess and test' strategy.

Problem Solving Strategies

Problem Solving Strategy 1 (Guess and Test)

Step 1: Understanding the problem

Better! The total number of feet are increasing!

Step 4: Looking back:

Problem Solving Strategy 2 (Draw a Picture).

3/8 of the chips are green

Each piece of rope is now only 2 inches.

Problem Solving Strategy 4 (Working Backwards)

Problem Solving Strategy 5 (Looking for a Pattern)

Look at the numbers in the pattern.

3 = 1 + 2 (starting number is 1, add 2 to make 3)

New numbers will be

Problem Solving Strategy 6 (Make a List)

a. We know it is an odd number between 1 and 100.

You might also like