Introduction

Whether you are a mother, father, teacher, computer programmer, scientist,

researcher, business owner, coach, mathematician, manager, doctor, lawyer,
banker or in any work, problem solving is everywhere. It is widely used in our
daily life. Some people would think that you can either do problem solving or you
can't.

Contrary to that in line of thinking, problem solving can be a learned trade.

Even the best athletes and musicians had some coaching along the way and did
lots of practice. That's what it also takes to be good at problem solving.
 STEPS IN PROBLEM SOLVING
Key Concepts
Problem solving
Problem solving is the process of working through details of a problem to
reach a solution. Problem solving may include mathematical or systematic
operations and can be a gauge of an individual's critical thinking skills
(businessdictionary.com).

Heuristic
The word heuristic originates from the Latin word heuristicus, which is
equivalent to Greek heur (ískein) + Latin –isticus –istic and means to find out
or to discover. To put it simply, heuristics are a set of rules or strategies that
help us discover the best and most practical ways to solve problems.

One of the primary reasons people have trouble with problem solving is that
there is no single procedure that works all the time — each problem is slightly
different. Also, problem solving requires practical knowledge about the specific
situation. If you misunderstand either the problem or the underlying situation you
may make mistakes or incorrect assumptions. One of our main goals in this
lesson is to become better problem solvers.

To begin this task, we now discuss a basic framework for thinking about
problem solving, that is Polya’s four-step approach to problem solving in his
book “ How to Solve It “ (1945).

George Pólya (December 13, 1887 – September 7,

1985), a Hungarian mathematician (the father of modern
problem solving) describing four-step approach in solving
a mathematical problem.

Polya’s four-step approach

1. Understand the problem
2. Devise or Make a Plan
3. Carry out the plan https://www.google.com/url?sa
4. Look back =i&source=images

Teacher’s note: The first 2 steps (Understand the problem and devise/Make a Plan and look back need
not be discussed in detail since it is given that before arriving on the correct answer the first 2
steps had been employed subconsciously.

Step 1: Understand the Problem

Read the problem carefully, and list all the details and data that are
involved. Pólya taught teachers how to prompt each student with appropriate
questions, depending on the situation, such as:

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 • What are you asked to find?
• Can you restate the problem in your own words?
• Can you think of a situation that might help you understand the
problem?
• Is there enough information to enable you to find a solution?
• Do you understand all the words used in stating the problem?

Step 2: Devise or Make a Plan

When you devise a plan, you come up with a way or strategy to solve the
problem. Drawing or making a diagram or chart, setting up an equation, are
the things that you can do in solving the problem.

Step 3: Carry Out the Plan or Solve

This is where you solve the equation you came up in Step 2 “devise a
plan” step.

Step 4: Look Back or Reflect

Check to see if you used all the information and that the answer makes sense.

Mathematics is more than the study of number and patterns. The learning
outcome is to develop one’s logical thinking and ability to solve complex
problems. As such, heuristics play a very important role in mathematical problem
solving, which is fundamental to mathematics learning.

There are a number of heuristic strategies that can be used to solve math
problems, as follows:
1. Look for a pattern
2. Use equation/formula
3. Guess-check and revise
4. Draw a diagram / model
5. Make a systematic list
6. Act Out
7. Work backwards
8. Elimination and Logical Thinking

HEURISTIC: LOOK FOR A PATTERN &

INDUCTIVE METHOD
Illustrative Examples:
1. Find the number of match sticks needed to form a square, 2 adjacent
squares, 3 adjacent squares, 4 adjacent squares, 8 adjacent squares and 𝑛
adjacent squares.

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Step 1: Understand the Problem
What are given in the problem? What are you going to find? What is the
condition?
Is it possible to satisfy the condition? Is the condition sufficient to
determine the unknown?

Step 2: Devise or Make a Plan

The Heuristic strategy to be used is “Look for a Pattern”. When you look
for a pattern you observe cases systematically from particular examples to
reach a general conclusion hence you are employing an inductive method or
mathematical or logical induction. So, here you are using your reasoning or
critical thinking to come up with a pattern and then generalization.

Step 3: Carry Out the Plan or Solve

Let us organize your observation in a table and observe the pattern.

Fig.1 Fig.2 Fig.3 Fig.4 Fig.5

To form a square, what is the minimum number of matches needed?

Refer to the above-figure. Fill-in the table.

No. of squares 1 2 3 4 8 n
No. of Matches 4 7 10 13

Guide Questions:
a. To make 2 adjacent squares, how many matches do you need?
b. How many matches did you add to the 1st square?
c. To make 3 adjacent squares, how many matches do you need?
d. How many matches did you add to the 2 adjacent squares?
e. In Figure 4, to make 4 adjacent squares, how many matches do you
need?
f. How many matches did you add to the 3 adjacent squares to form Figure
4?
g. As the number of squares increases by 1 square, how many matches did
you add?
h. Can you guess the number of matches needed to form 8 adjacent
squares without counting the matches in Figure 5?
i. What is the difference of the number of squares from 1
j. What is the difference of the number of squares from 1 to 8 squares?
k. Every time the number of squares increases by 1, how many matches is
added for every square?
l. What mathematical operation you will use to get the answer for 8
adjacent squares?

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 Let’s illustrate the data from the table in another way in order to come up to
a generalization, after you have observed the pattern.
1 square = 4 matches
2 squares = 4 +3(1) = 7 matches
3 squares = 4 +3(2) = 10 matches
4 squares = 4 +3(3) = 13 matches
8 squares = 4 +3(7) = 25 matches
n squares = 4 +3(n-1) = 4 + 3n− 3 matches
1 + 3n, matches, where n is the number of squares
Can you give a generalization or statement, on how to find the number
of matches needed to form n adjacent squares?

Step 4: Look Back or Reflect

Let us see if your generalization is correct. How many matches are
needed to form 5 adjacent squares? Can you sketch or draw? Or if you have
match sticks, show the figure and count the number of matches.

2. What is the unit digit in the expansion of 31989 ?

Step 1: Understand the Problem
What are given in the problem? What are you going to find?

Step 2: Devise or Make a Plan

The Heuristic strategy to be used is again “Look for a Pattern”.
Observe cases systematically in order for you to make a general statement
or conclusion. Same as in Example 1 you are also employing an inductive
method or mathematical/logical induction using your reasoning or critical
thinking to come up with a pattern and then generalization.

Step 3: Carry Out the Plan or Solve

We are to find the unit digit in the expansion of 31989 . We will find the
powers of 3 starting from the smallest exponent and write the unit digit on
the 2nd column.
Unit digit of
Powers of 3
Powers of 3
30 = 1 1
31 = 3 3
2
3 =9 9
33 = 27 7
4
3 = 81 1
35 =243 3
6
3 =729 9
7
3 =2,187 7
38 = 6,561 1

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 What have you observed in the unit digit of the powers of 3? What is
the pattern? After how many steps (period) it repeats? Notice that it is cyclic
which means the pattern repeats after several steps.

Yes, every 4th steps it repeats, so we can say that the period is 4.

a) In 38 = 6,561 the exponent is 8, and 30 =1, 34 =81, the remainder after

dividing the exponent by 4 is 0. Notice that unit digit of 6,561 and 81 is 1.

b) In 37 =2,187, the exponent is 7, the remainder after dividing the

exponent by 4 is 3. 33 = 27, has unit digit that is 7.

What conclusion can you make about your observations?

Step 4: Look Back or Reflect

What is the unit digit in the expansion of 3 181?

HEURISTIC: USE AN EQUATION

Illustrative Example:
A rectangular classroom has length that is 1 meter more than 2 times the
width. Find the dimensions if the perimeter is 32 meters.

Step 1: Understand the Problem

What are given in the problem? What is asked or required? What is
the condition? Is it possible to satisfy the condition? Is the condition
sufficient to determine the unknown? How do you find the perimeter of a
rectangle?
Can you express the length in terms of width?

If we let w be the width, how will you represent the length?

(length, 𝑙 = 1+2w)

Step 2: Devise or Make a Plan

The Heuristic strategy to be used is “Use equation/formula”. In using
an equation or formula we simply apply the deductive method/reasoning
wherein we apply a general assumption or principle.

Since the length is 1 +2w then how do you express the perimeter?
Can you give an equation? P = 2l+2w

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Step 3: Carry Out the Plan or Solve

P = 2𝑙+2𝑤
32 = 2(1+ 2𝑤) + 2𝑤
32 = 2 + 4𝑤 + 2𝑤
32 =2+6𝑤
30 = 6𝑤
𝑤= 5 meters

If the width is 5m, then the length which is 1 meter more than 2 times the
width would have to be 11m.

𝑙=1 +2𝑤
𝑙=1+2(5)
𝑙= 11 meters

Step 4: Look Back or Reflect

Final Answer: width = 5 meters, length = 11 meters
Do the dimensions coincides with the given data?

HEURISTIC: GUESS, CHECK AND REVISE

Illustrative Example:
Mr. De la Cruz has 20 ducks and goats on his backyard. The animals
have 64 legs altogether, how many ducks and goats are there?

Step 1: Understand the Problem

What are given in the problem? What is asked or required? What is
the condition?
Is it possible to satisfy the condition? Is the condition sufficient to
determine the unknown? How many animals all in all?

Step 2: Devise or Make a Plan

The Heuristic strategy to be used is Guess, Check & Revise

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Step 3: Carry Out the Plan or Solve
Ducks Goats Total ✓ or x
#Guess No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of
Heads Legs Heads Legs Heads Legs
1 10 20 10 40 20 60 x
2 8 16 12 48 20 64 ✓
st
Hint: You need 2 guesses only if after checking the 1 guess you are
analyzing and then revise.

After the 1st guess, you need to analyze before the 2 nd guess. The total
number of heads or animals is correct but the total legs is 4 less than the given
which is 64. This implies that you need to increase the number of goats since
the goat has 2 more legs than a duck. So how many goat(s) will you add?

From the 2nd guess, the number of ducks is 8 and the number of goats is 12.

Step 4: Look Back or Reflect

From step 3, does your answer agree with the given data?

HEURISTIC: DRAW A DIAGRAM/MODEL

Illustrative Examples:
1. Mr. De la Cruz has 20 ducks and goats on his backyard. The animals have
64 legs altogether, how many ducks and chickens are there?

Using the same problem in the previous example, but will be solved
using another heuristic strategy by drawing a diagram or model.

Step 1: Understand the Problem

What are given in the problem?
What is asked or required?
How many animals all in all?

Step 2: Devise or Make a Plan

We will use the heuristic “Use a diagram or model” to answer the
problem. Let any figure such as a circle to represent the head/body of the
duck or goat.

Step 3: Carry Out the Plan or Solve

In the problem it is given that there are 20 animals, so we have to
draw 20 circles to represent it.

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 Next is to draw the legs, since each animal has at least 2 legs, then
count the total legs that you have drawn. How many legs have you drawn?
Legs = 20 heads (2) = 40

What is the total number of legs given in the problem? Get the difference
of the number of legs given in the problem and the total legs you have drawn.
64−40 =24, so you need 24 more legs, what is the most number of legs
of a duck or goat? You need to draw 24 legs, an additional 2 legs for each
diagram that represent a duck or goat.

From the diagram you can see that there are a total of 20 heads or
animals, and the number of animals with 4 legs is 12, and 8 animals with 2
legs.
So how many ducks and how many goats are in the backyard?

Step 4: Look Back or Reflect

Is you answer correct? Total ducks = 8, total goats = 12, all in all 20 animals.
Total legs of ducks 8(2) =16, total legs of goats 12(4) = 48
All in all 16+48 =64 legs.

2. A frog is at the bottom of a ten feet well. Each day it crawls 2 feet and loses
its grip and slides back down a foot. If it continues this maneuver, in how
many days will it reach the top end of the well?

Step 1: Understand the Problem

What are given in the problem? What is asked or required?
How deep is the well? How fast can the frog crawl upward? How fast the
frog slides back?

Step 2: Devise or Make a Plan

We will use the heuristic “Use a diagram” to answer the problem.

Step 3: Carry Out the Plan or Solve

Since the problem gives that the well is 10 feet, let us draw a vertical line
scaled by 1 foot.

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Length in (feet) Day

Step 4: Look Back or Reflect

The answer is 9 days.

HEURISTIC: MAKE A SYSTEMATIC/ORGANIZED LIST

Illustrative Example:
The houses on Narra Street are numbered consecutively from 1 to 60.
How many house numbers contain at least one digit 5?

Step 1: Understand the Problem

What is asked in the problem? What are given in the problem?
How many houses are there? What are the conditions?
Step 2: Devise or Make a Plan
To answer the problem we will use the heuristic “make a systematic list and
tree diagram”.
Step 3: Carry Out the Plan or Solve
Since it is given in the problem that we are to find the number of houses
with at least one digit 5, so we list down the number starting from 5:
5, 15, 25, 35, 45, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59,–so there are 15
houses
Step 4: Look Back or Reflect
Try to check by counting mentally if your answer is correct.

HEURISTIC: MAKE A SYSTEMATIC/ORGANIZED

LIST & TREE DIAGRAM & FORMULA
Illustrative Example:
Annie has 3 skirts, color brown (BS), white (WS), and red (RS). She has
4 blouses, color blue (BB), yellow (YB), white (WB), and checkered blouse
(CB), How many different ways can she match her outfits?

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Step 1: Understand the Problem
What is asked in the problem? What are given in the problem?
How many skirts Annie has? How many blouses Annie has? Are the colors
the same?

Step 2: Devise or Make a Plan

We will use again the heuristic “make a systematic list and the use of tree
diagram”.

Step 3: Carry Out the Plan or Solve

Since it is given in the problem that we are to find the different ways
Annie can match her outfits, let us list down first the number of different
colors of her skirts and blouses.
a) Systematic/Organized Listing
Skirt Blouse Outfit Outfit Outfit
BS BB BS,BB WS,BB RS,BB
WS YB BS,YB WS,YB RS,YB
RS WB BS,WB WS,WB RS,WB
CB BS,CB WS,CB RS,CB
How many outfits Annie has?
b) Use of a Tree Diagram
BB BS, BB - BS, YB - BS, WB - BS, CB (4 outfits)
BS
YB

• WS WS, BB - WS,YB - WS, WB – WS,CB (4 outfits)

WB

RS
CB RS, BB - RS, YB - RS, WB - RS, CB (4 outfits)
Total number of outfits is 12.
c) Use of a Formula:
Fundamental Counting Principle/Multiplication Principle: If activity 1
can be performed in n1 ways, activity 2 can be performed in n2 ways, then
the two operations can be performed together in n 1n2 ways.
n1 = 3 different color of skirts
n2 = 4 different color of blouses
Solution; Total outfits = n1n2
= 3 (4)
= 12
Step 4: Look Back or Reflect
Try to check by counting mentally if your answer is correct.

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 HEURISTIC: ACT OUT & USE OF DIAGRAM
Illustrative Example:
On the first day of school, Ann, a transferee in her school is excited to
meet new friends. When she gets inside the room there are 3 classmates
(Berna, Claire, Doll), so they each shakes hand with every other once and only
once. What is the total number of handshakes?

Step 1: Understand the Problem

How many are in the classroom? How many times each of them will shake
hand with each other?

Step 2: Devise or Make a Plan

We will find the total number of handshakes by acting out the situation.

Step 3: Carry Out the Plan or Solve

I need 4 volunteers to represent the 4 girls in the problem. Some of you
will count the number of handshakes while the 4 volunteers are acting out the
problem.

Ann Berna Claire Doll

Observe the arrows that represent the handshakes.

1. Ann shakes hand with Berna, Claire, and Doll, how many
handshake(s) did she make? Yes 3 handshakes.
2. Berna shakes hand with Claire, and Doll, (since Ann had already
shook hand with Berna so no need for Berna to shake hand with
Ann) how many handshake(s) did Berna make? There are 2
handshakes, do you agree?
3. The last person to shake hand is Claire, Claire shake hand with Doll.
How many handshake(s) did she make? Yes, one handshake only.
Finally, count the total number of handshakes made by the 4 girls.

Step 4: Look Back or Reflect

Is the total handshakes (6) correct? Can you determine the
handshakes by using other heuristic strategies such as draw a diagram or
formula?

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 HEURISTIC: WORK BACKWARDS
Illustrative Examples:
1
1. Lenny has some kisses chocolates. She gave of the chocolates and 3
3
1
more to her brother Jim. She then gave 5 of the remaining chocolates and
4 more to her younger sister Amy. In the end, she has 16 chocolates left.
How many chocolates did Lenny has at the beginning?

Step 1: Understand the Problem

What is asked in the problem? What are given in the problem?
How many chocolates Lenny has? What are the conditions?

Step 2: Devise or Make a Plan

To answer the problem we will use the heuristic “Work Backwards”.

Step 3: Carry Out the Plan or Solve

We are to find the chocolates Lenny has at the beginning then work
backward from the last given data.
1
Lenny has some kisses chocolates. She gave 3 of the chocolates and
1
3 more to her brother Jim. She then gave 5 of the remaining chocolates
and 4 more to her younger sister Amy. In the end, she has 16 chocolates
left. How many chocolates did Lenny has at the beginning?

4
16 + 4 = 20, of the remaining chocolates and 4 more
5
4 1
If 5 is 20, then 5 is 5.
20+5 = 25 is the number of the remaining chocolates
3 +25 = 28, number of the remaining chocolates and 3 more
2
28 is 3 of the remaining chocolates
2 1
If 3 is 28, then 3 is 14 then
14(3) = 42 is the number of kisses chocolates Lenny has at the
beginning

Step 4: Look Back or Reflect

Try to check by counting mentally if your answer is correct.

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 2. Kathy walked from ISAT U to St. Clements church. It took her 19 minutes to
walk from ISAT U to corner Hechanova-Magdalo Street and rest for 15
minutes to buy a bottled water in a nearby store and walk another 12 min
until St. Clements church. She reached St. Clements church at 5:24 p.m.,
at what time did she left ISAT U?

Step 1: Understand the Problem

What is asked in the problem? What are given in the problem?
How many stop-over Kathy had before she reached St. Clements church?
What time did she leave ISAT U? What time did she arrive at St. Clements
church?

Step 2: Devise or Make a Plan

To answer the problem we will use the heuristic “Work Backwards”.

Step 3: Carry Out the Plan or Solve

Since we are ask of the time Kathy left ISAT U, we work backward from the
last given data.
Activity backwards Time/Period of time Time
Kathy reached St.
5:24 P.M. 5:24 P.M.
Clements church
St. Clements church to
12 min 5:24 – 12 min = 5:12 P.M.
the store
Rest 15 min 5:12 -15 min = 4:57 P.M.
corner Hechanova-
19 min 4:57 – 19 min = 4:38 P.M.
Magdalo Street to ISAT U

Step 4: Look Back or Reflect

Check your answer by starting at your answer until the time Kathy reached
the St. Clements church.
4:38 P.M. --- time she left ISAT U.
+ 19 min ---- from ISAT U to corner Hechanova-Magdalo Street
+ 15 min --- rest
+ 12 min --- from the store to St. Clements church
4 hours & 84 min = 5:24 P.M., therefore the answer 4:38 P.M. is
correct

HEURISTIC: ELIMINATION & LOGICAL THINKING

Illustrative Example:
David, Mike, and Sam could be a dancer, a mechanic, or a singer. None
has a job that starts with the same letter as his name. David recently had his
car repaired by the mechanic. Who has which job?

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Step 1: Understand the Problem
What are given in the problem?
How many persons are there? What are the conditions?

Step 2: Devise or Make a Plan

To answer the problem we will use the heuristic “Elimination and Logical
Thinking”.

Step 3: Carry Out the Plan or Solve

Let us use a chart or table as shown below in order for us to show
systematically the given condition.
a) None has a job that starts with the same letter as his name. We will
place x to indicate it is not the job of the given person. So from the
1st condition, David is not the dancer, Mike is not the mechanic and
Sam is not the singer.

b) David recently had his car repaired by the mechanic.

Therefore, David is not the mechanic.

Looking at the chart in the 2nd row, and thru elimination we can
determine that David is the Singer, put a check on the last column where
David’s name appear.

Look at the last column, since David is the Singer and by logical
reasoning we conclude that Mike and Sam can no longer be the singer, so
we put an x to the remaining uncheck box on the last column.

In the 3rd row, through elimination process, we can put a check on the
column dancer, and conclude that Mike is the Dancer and therefore Sam is
not the dancer.
Lastly, the only box left, you can see that Sam is the mechanic.

Dancer Mechanic Singer

David x x ✓
Mike ✓ x x
Sam x ✓ x

Step 4: Look Back or Reflect

Try to check the answer if it met the given condition.
David is the singer.
Mike is the dancer.
Sam is the mechanic.

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Name: Date:
Curriculum and Section: Score:

Try this!

Direction: Solve the problems using different heuristic strategies if applicable.

Show your process. You may work in group of 4-5 members and
present your output.

Figurate Numbers- are numbers that are represented by arrangements of dots as

geometric figures. In plane figures, the examples of figurate numbers are the
following:

1. Triangular numbers: Numbers which can be drawn as dots and

arranged in triangular shape. Given the number of dots, determine the
missing. Illustrate by placing the dots in a triangular form as shown
below.

. .
1, 3, 6, 10, ___, ___, ___ . . . . .
. . .
2. Square numbers: Numbers which can be drawn as dots and arranged
in square shape.
1, 4, 9, 25, ___, ___, ___

3. Gnomons: Numbers which can be drawn as dots in equally long legs

of a right angle.
1, 3, 5, 7, ___, ___, ___

4. Oblong numbers: Numbers which can be drawn as dots and arranged

in a rectangle shape.
2, 6, 12, 20, ___, ___, ___

5. Pentagonal numbers: 1, 5, 12, 22, ___, ___, ___.

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Name: Date:
Curriculum and Section: Score:

Direction: Solve the problems using different heuristic strategies if applicable.

Show your process. You may work in group of 4-5 members and
present your output.

1. Lenny has a total of 7 cats and parrots. The animals have 20 legs
altogether. How many cats are there?

2. A student needs at least a 95% average to receive a grade of A. On the

first three tests the student averaged 92%. What is the minimum a
student must get for an average on the last two tests to receive a grade
of A?

3. Annie walked from ISAT U to Gaisano City. It took her 18 min to walk
from ISAT U to La Paz market and rested for 15 minutes to eat ice cream
and walk another 13 min from La Paz market to Gaisano City. She
reached Gaisano City at 5:22 pm. At what time did she leave ISAT U?

4. When a number is multiplied by 15, then the result is added by 15, the
answer is 240. What is the number?

5. Lorie’s Birthday party was attended by 25 persons. If each person shook

hands with each of the others exactly once, then how many handshakes
took place?

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Name: Date:
Curriculum and Section: Score:

6. A box of candy bars can be divided equally (without cutting anything)

among 2, 3, or 7 people. What is the least number of candy bars the box
could contain?

7. Dave’s Auto Center has a number of bikes and tricycles for sale. There
are 27 seats and 60 wheels altogether. How many bikes are there and
how many tricycles are there?

8. A snail is at the bottom of a 7 feet wall. Each hour it crawls 2 feet and
loses its grip and slides back down a foot. If it continues this maneuver,
in how many hours will it reach the top end of the wall?

9. A mathematics test consists of ten items. Three points are given for each
correct answer and one point are deducted for each wrong answer. If
Vance did all questions and scored 18, how many correct answers did he
have?

10. A frog is at the bottom of a 10 ft. well. Each hour it jumps up 3 ft. but then
loses his “grip” and slides back down two ft. If he continues this
maneuver, in how many hours will the frog be out of the well?

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Name: Date:
Curriculum and Section: Score:

11. The lengths of three rods are 6 cm, 9cm, and 11cm. How can you see
those rods to measure a length of 14 cm?

12. Observe the pattern of the number of dots per round, if the pattern
continues how many dots are after the 7th round 12th round?
#Round 1 2 3 4 5 7 12
Number of Dots 1 3 6 10 15

13. How can you use four rods that measure 2 cm, 5cm, 7cm, and 9 cm to
measure a length of 1 cm?

14. A snail crawls 50 cm up a wall during each day, but each night slides
back 40 cm. How long will it take the snail to reach the top of the wall if it
is 200 cm high?

15. The triangular grid has 3 units on each side. It contains 9 small triangles.
How many small triangles are in a triangular grid with 20 units on each
side?

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Curriculum and Section: Score:

16. Dane arranged loaves of bread on 6 shelves in bakery. She put 1 loaf on
the top shelf, 3 loaves on the second shelf, and 5 loaves in the third
shelf. If she continues this pattern, how many loaves did Dane put on the
6th shelf?

17. Pete raises chickens, he sold 2 chickens the first month, 5 chickens the
second month, 8 chickens the third month, and so on. If this pattern
continues, how many chickens did he sell on the sixth month?

18. Jack bought 24 pencils. Some cost P5 each, some cost P7 each. How
many of each kind did he buy if he paid P136 for the pencils?

19. If you save P3 on Monday. Each day after you save twice as much as
you saved the day before. If this pattern continues, how much would you
have saved on Friday?

20. Three apples and two pears cost Php78. But two apples and three pears
cost Php82. What is the total cost of one apple and one pear?

21. How many different 4-digit even numbers can you write using all the
digits 4, 5, 7, and 0 if repetition of digits is not allowed?

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Curriculum and Section: Score:

22. Three darts hit this dart board and each scores a 1, 5, or 10. The total
score is the sum of the score of the three darts. There could be three 1’s,
two 1’s and 5, one 5 and two 10’s, and so on. How many different
possible total scores could a person get with three darts?
1
5
10

23. Four friends had a race. Ben finished 7 seconds ahead of Mat. Bren
finished three seconds behind Sam. Mat finished five seconds behind
Bren. In what order did the friends finish the race?

24. In a stock car race, the first five finishers in some order were a Ford,
Toyota, a Chevrolet, a Mitsubishi, and a Honda.
• The Ford finished seven seconds before the Chevrolet.
• The Toyota finished six seconds after the Mitsubishi.
• The Honda finished eight seconds after the Mitsubishi.
• The Chevrolet finished two seconds before the Toyota.
In what order did the cars finish the race?

Worktext: Mathematics in the Modern World 80

Name: Date:
Curriculum and Section: Score:

Direction: Choose the best answer and write the letter of your choice on the
space provided before each number.

_____1. Find the sum of the even numbers from 1 to 500, inclusive.
A. 125,250 B. 6,262.5 C. 125,500 D. 62,750

_____2. What is the 13th term in the sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, …)?

A. 89 B. 55 C. 144 D. 34

_____3. What is the last two digit of 735?

A. 49 B. 43 C. 01 D. 07

_____4. What is the unit digit of 31989?

A. 3 B. 9 C. 1 D. 7

_____5. The houses in Camilla Homes are numbered consecutively from 1 to

100. How many house numbers contain at least one-digit 9?
A. 12 B. 9 C. 11 D. 10

_____6. In a building, there are 5 entrances and 2 exit doors. In how many ways
can you get in and out of the building?
A. 5 B. 7 C. 10 D. 12

_____7. How many three-digit numbers can be formed without repetition

using all the digits 3, 6, and 0?
A. 6 B. 5 C. 4
D. 3

_____8. May bakes 240 pieces of cookies. She donated the ¾ of them to the
orphanage and gave 2/3 of the remainder to her sister. How many cookies
were left to her?
A. 40 B. 30 C. 20 D. 60

_____ 9. Mr. Brown is now 6 times as old as his son, James. Two years ago, Mr.
Brown was 8 times as old as his son. How old is Mr. Brown and his son?
A. 7, 42 B. 6, 36 C. 5, 40 D. 4, 32

_____10. Find four consecutive odd numbers such that the difference 1between
three times the fourth and the first exceeds the third by 31.
A. 19, 21, 23, 25 B. 15, 17, 19, 21
C. 17,19,21,23 D. 21,23,25,27

Worktext: Mathematics in the Modern World 81