MATHEMATICS IN THE MODERN WORLD
PROBLEM SOLVING AND REASONING
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
1. Use different types of reasoning to justify statements and arguments made
about mathematics and mathematical concepts
2. Write clear and logical proofs
3. Solve problems involving patterns and recreational problems following
Polya’s four steps
4. Organize one’s methods and approaches for proving and solving problems
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
Inductive reasoning is the process of reaching a general conclusion by
examining specific examples.
Deductive reasoning is the process of reaching a conclusion by applying
general assumptions, procedures, or principles.
Logic is not…
• Logic is not the study
of persuasion and
manipulative rhetorical
devices
• ‘successful argument’ does not mean persuasive argument
Human fallibility and manipulative rhetoric lead people to
• accept poor reasoning
• reject good reasoning
Remember, in a successful argument if the premises are true, then the
conclusion is either guaranteed to be true or likely to be true.
DEFINITIONS
Logic – The science of correct reasoning.
Reasoning – The drawing of inferences or conclusions from known or
assumed facts.
Reasoning can either be inductive or deductive.
Deductive vs. Inductive Reasoning
The difference:
deductive reasoning uses facts, rules, definitions or properties to arrive at a conclusion.
inductive reasoning uses patterns to arrive at a conclusion (conjecture)
DEDUCTIVE vs INDUCTIVE REASONING
In Deductive Reasoning,
.
TRUE TRUE TRUE
PREMISE + PREMISE = CONCLUSION
All men Harold Harold
are is a is
mortals. man. mortal.
DEDUCTIVE vs INDUCTIVE REASONING
In Inductive Reasoning,
.
TRUE TRUE PROBABLY TRUE
PREMISE + PREMISE = CONCLUSION
My professor wore She wears a She will have
blue blouse and green blouse the same color
blue shoes and green of blouse and
yesterday. shoes today. shoes tomorrow.
Inductive or Deductive Reasoning?
You are a good student.
You get 90+.
Therefore your friends must get all 90+ too.
INDUCTIVE
Inductive or Deductive Reasoning?
Ninety percent of humans are right handed.
Edryshe is human, therefore Edryshe is right handed.
DEDUCTIVE
Inductive or Deductive Reasoning?
Geometry example…
What is the measure of angle x?
60◦
DEDUCTIVE
Inductive or Deductive Reasoning?
Geometry example…
What is the next figure in the sequence?
INDUCTIVE
Inductive or Deductive Reasoning?
All oranges are fruits.
All fruits grow on trees.
Therefore, all oranges grow on trees.
DEDUCTIVE
Inductive or Deductive Reasoning?
Diding hails from Visayas and Visayans are accented in their mother
tongue when they speak English.
Therefore, Diding is accented.
INDUCTIVE
Inductive or Deductive Reasoning?
Argument 1: The sum of two odd integers is an even number.
m and n are odd integers
Thus, m + n is even.
DEDUCTIVE
Argument 1 uses the deductive form of reasoning in drawing a specific
statement from a general principle.
Inductive or Deductive Reasoning?
Argument 2: 3 + 5 = 8, 7 + 11 = 18, and 9 + 21 = 30
Therefore, the sum of two odd integers is even.
INDUCTIVE
As can be observed, the premise consists of specific cases while the
conclusion is just a generalization of what is claimed in the premise.
Answer the problem by inductive reasoning.
Using the data below, solve the following:
1. If the earthquake magnitude is 8.5, how high (in meters) can the tsunami
be?
2. Can a tsunami occur when the earthquake magnitude is less than 7?
Why?
Earthquake 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3
magnitude
Max. Tsunami 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37
Height (meters)
Answer the problem by inductive reasoning.
1. If the earthquake magnitude is 8.5, how high (in meters) can the
tsunami be?
Earthquake 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3
magnitude
Max. Tsunami 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37
Height (meters)
• In the table, for every 0.1 increase in magnitude earthquake the
tsunami height increases by 4 meters. Therefore, the tsunami
height for the earthquake magnitude of 8.5 is 45 meters.
Answer the problem by inductive reasoning.
2. Can a tsunami occur when the earthquake magnitude is less than 7?
Why?
Earthquake 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3
magnitude
Max. Tsunami 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37
Height (meters)
• No, because when the earthquake magnitude is 7.4, the maximum
tsunami height is only 1 meter. Hence, a tsunami does not occur
when the earthquake magnitude is less than 7.
Answer the problem by inductive reasoning.
Prove that the following is not true or not always true.
𝑥
1. =1
𝑥
0
Let 𝑥 = 0. Then ≠ 1
0
𝑥
This implies that = 1 is not always true for all 𝑥.
𝑥
Answer the problem by inductive reasoning.
Prove that the following is not true or not always true.
2. 𝑥2 + 4 = 𝑥 + 2
For 𝑥 = 1, 12 + 4 = 5. But 𝑥 + 2 = 3 when 𝑥 = 1.
Then 5 ≠ 3.
This implies 𝑥 2 + 4 = 𝑥 + 2 is .false statement.
Answer the problem by deductive reasoning.
Consider the following procedure:
Pick a number.
Multiply the number by 10, add 8 to the product, divide the number by 2,
and subtract by 4.
Solution:
Let 𝑛 represents the original number.
Multiply 𝑛 by 10: 10 𝑛
Add 8 to the product: 8 + 10 𝑛
Divide the sum by 2: (8 + 10 𝑛)/2 = 4 + 5𝑛
Subtract the quotient by 4: 4 + 5𝑛 - 4 = 5𝑛
Problem Solving with Patterns
• Sequence is an ordered list of numbers.
• The numbers separated by commas are called the terms of the sequence.
The Fibonacci Numbers
𝐹1 = 1 , 𝐹2 = 1 , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝑛 = 𝐹𝑛−1 + 𝐹𝑛−2 , 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑛 ≥ 3
Problem Solving with Patterns
Find the 𝐹8 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹10 .
𝐹8 = 𝐹7 + 𝐹6
= 13 + 8
𝐹8 = 21
𝐹10 = 𝐹9 + 𝐹8
= 34 + 21
𝐹10 = 55
Binet’s Formula
𝑛 𝑛
1 1+ 5 1− 5
𝐹𝑛 = −
5 2 2
Used for identifying large Fibonacci numbers.
Binet’s Formula
Find the 20th and 50th Fibonacci numbers.
Answers: 20 20
1 1+ 5 1− 5
1. 𝐹20 = −
5 2 2
F20 = 6,765
50 50
1 1+ 5 1− 5
2. 𝐹50 = −
5 2 2
F50 = 12,586,269,025
Pascal’s Triangle
1
1 1
1 2 1
1 3 3 1
1 4 6 4 1
1 5 10 10 5 1
1 6 15 20 15 6 1
2𝑛
210 = 1024
Pascal’s Triangle
An application of the Pascal’s Triangle:
𝑥+𝑦 6 = 𝑥 6 + 6𝑥 5 𝑦 + 15𝑥 4𝑦 2 + 20𝑥 3𝑦 3 + 15𝑥 2𝑦 4 + 6𝑥𝑦 5 + 𝑦 6
Find:
𝑥+𝑦 7
Pascal’s Triangle
1
1 1
2
1 1 3
5
1 2 1 8
13
1 3 3 1 21
1 4 6 4 1
1 5 10 10 5 1
1 6 15 20 15 6 1
1 7 21 35 35 21 7 1
POLYA’S PROBLEM - SOLVING STRATEGY
• One of the recent mathematicians who outlined a strategy for solving
problems from virtually any discipline is George Polya (1887 – 1985).
• In his book, “How to Solve It”, he wrote:
“A great discovery solves a great problem but there is a grain of discovery in
the solution of any problem. Your problem may be modest; but it challenges
your curiosity and brings into play your inventive faculties, and if you solve it
by your own means, you may experience the tension and triumph of
discovery.”
• Father of problem-solving.
POLYA’S FOUR - STEP PROBLEM - SOLVING STRATEGY
1. Understand the problem
2. Devise a plan
3. Carry out the plan
4. Review the solution
POLYA’S FOUR - STEP PROBLEM - SOLVING STRATEGY
Understand the problem
• This part of the problem-solving is sometimes (if not always) neglected.
• In order to solve a problem, one must first know what is being asked, and
what information or data can be extracted from what is given.
• You can state the problem in your own words.
POLYA’S FOUR - STEP PROBLEM - SOLVING STRATEGY
Devise a plan
• Think of strategies to solve the problem.
• listing, tabulating
• drawing a diagram
• guessing then proving if your answers (guesses) are correct
POLYA’S FOUR - STEP PROBLEM - SOLVING STRATEGY
Carry out the plan
• Implementing the strategy chosen (in the second step) until the problem
is solved.
Review the solution
• Counter checking if your answers are correct.
APPLICATION OF POLYA’S STRATEGY
A quiz consists of ten TRUE or FALSE questions. How
many possible ways can a student answer the quiz?
» 1024 ways
APPLICATION OF POLYA’S STRATEGY
An agency charged Php 15,000 for a 3-day and 2-night tour
in Macau and Php 20,000 for the same tour with a side trip
to Hong Kong. Ten persons joined the trip, which enable
them to collect Php 170,000. How many tourist made a side
trip to Hong Kong?
Step 1: Understand the Problem
Step 2. Device a Plan
𝑃ℎ𝑝 15,000𝑥 = amount collected from the tourists bound
for Macau alone
𝑃ℎ𝑝 20,000𝑦 = amount collected from the tourists bound
for Macau but who made a side trip to Hong Kong
Step 3: Carry out the Plan
𝑥 + 𝑦 = 10
15,000𝑥 + 20,000 𝑦 = 170,000
Solve 𝑦 in equation 1:
𝑥 + 𝑦 = 10
𝑦 = 10 − 𝑥
Step 3: Carry out the Plan
Substitute 𝑦 = 10 − 𝑥 in equation 2
15,000𝑥 + 20,000 10 − 𝑥 = 170,000
15,000𝑥 + 200,000 − 20,000𝑥 = 170,000
15,000𝑥 − 20,000𝑥 = 170,000 − 200,000
−5,000𝑥 = −30,000
−30,000
𝑥=
−5,000
𝒙=𝟔
Substituting 𝒙 = 𝟔 in equation 𝑦 = 10 − 𝑥.
𝒚 = 𝟏𝟎 − 𝟔 = 𝟒
Step 4: Review the Solution
𝟏𝟓, 𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝟔 + 𝟐𝟎, 𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝟒 = 𝟏𝟕𝟎, 𝟎𝟎𝟎
Example:
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4:
MODULO
Modulo n
Two integers a and b are said to be congruent modulo n,
𝑎−𝑏
within being a natural number, if is an integer. In this
𝑛
case, we write 𝑎 ≡ 𝑏𝑚𝑜𝑑 𝑛.
The number n is called the modulus. The statement
𝑎 ≡ 𝑏𝑚𝑜𝑑 𝑛 is called a congruence, (Aufmann, 2015).
MODULO
Finding a Day of the Week.
In 2017, Venus’ birthday fell on a Saturday, June 3. On
what day of the week does her birthday fall in 2020?
(Note that 2020 is a leap year).
MODULO
Using the concept of Modulo:
» Get the total number of days from June 3, 2017 to
June 3, 2020
June 3, 2017 to June 3, 2018 = 365 days
June 3, 2018 to June 3, 2019 = 365 days
June 3, 2019 to June 3, 2020 = 366 days
TOTAL 1,096
MODULO
Using the concept of Modulo:
» Divide 1,096 by 7 = 156 remainder 4
1096 ≡ 4 𝑚𝑜𝑑 7
Thus, 4 days after Saturday ⇒ Wednesday
MODULO
Finding a Day of the Week.
In 2017, Venus’ birthday fell on a Saturday, June 3. On
what day of the week does her birthday fall in 2020?
(Note that 2020 is a leap year).
MODULO
Using shortcut:
Get the difference between 2020 and 2017 then add the
number of leap year/s (between 2020 to 2017).
» (2020 – 2017) + (number of leap year between 2020 to 2017)
»3+1=4
» 4 days after Saturday ⇒ Wednesday
.
Credits to CHED seminar facilitators for most of the contents on the slides.
Reference: Mathematics in the Modern World
by: Baltazar, et.al
