Polya's Problem Solving Techniques

In 1945, George Polya published the book How To Solve It which quickly became his
most prized publication. It sold over one million copies and has been translated into 17
languages. In this book he identifies four basic principles of problem solving.

Polyas First Principle: Understand the problem
This seems so obvious that it is often not even mentioned, yet students are often stymied
in their efforts to solve problems simply because they dont understand it fully, or even in part.
Polya taught teachers to ask students questions such as:

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

Polyas Second Principle: Devise a Plan
Polya mentions that there are many reasonable ways to solve problems. The skill at
choosing an appropriate strategy is best learned by solving many problems. You will find
choosing a strategy increasingly easy. A partial list of strategies is included:
Guess and check
Make an orderly list
Eliminate possibilities
Use symmetry
Consider special cases
Use direct reasoning
Solve an equation
Look for a pattern
Draw a picture
Solve a simpler problem
Use a model
Work backwards
Use a formula
Be ingenious



Polyas Third Principle: Carry out the plan
This step is usually easier than devising the plan. In general, all you need is care and
patience, given that you have the necessary skills. Persist with the plan that you have chosen. If it
continues not to work discard it and choose another. Dont be misled because this is how
mathematics is done, even by professionals.

Polyas Fourth Principle: Look back
Polya mentions that much can be gained by taking the time to reflect and look back at
what you have done, what worked, and what didnt. Doing this will enable you to predict what
strategy to use to solve future problems.


Age Problems
Age problems are algebra word problems that deal with the ages of people currently, in
the past or in the future. If the problem involves a single person, then it is similar to an Integer
Problem.

Example:
John is twice as old as his friend Peter. Peter is 5 years older than Alice. In 5 years, John
will be three times as old as Alice. How old is Peter now?
Solution:
Step 1: Set up a table.
Age now Age in 5 yrs.
John
Peter
Alice

Step 2: Fill in the table with information given in the question.
John is twice as old as his friend Peter. Peter is 5 years older than Alice. In 5 years, John
will be three times as old as Alice. How old is Peter now?
Let x be Peters age now. Add 5 to get the ages in 5 yrs.
Age now Age in 5 yrs.
John 2x 2x+5
Peter x x+5
Alice x-5 x-5+5

Write the new relationship in an equation using the ages in 5 yrs.
In 5 years, John will be three times as old as Alice.
2x + 5 = 3(x 5 + 5)
2x + 5 = 3x
Isolate variable x
x = 5
Answer: Peter is now 5 years old.








Integer Problems

Problem: The highest elevation in North America is Mt. McKinley,
which is 20,320 feet above sea level. The lowest elevation
is Death Valley, which is 282 feet below sea level. What is
the distance from the top of Mt. McKinley to the bottom of
Death Valley?

Solution: The distance from the top of Mt. McKinley to sea level is
20,320 feet and the distance from sea level to the bottom of
Death Valley is 282 feet. The total distance is the sum of
20,320 and 282, which is 20,602 feet.
The problem above uses the notion of opposites: Above sea level is the opposite
of below sea level. Here are some more examples of opposites:
top, bottom

increase, decrease

forward, backward

positive, negative

We could solve the problem above using integers. Integers are the set
of whole numbers and their opposites. The number line is used to
represent integers. This is shown below.

Let's revisit the problem using integers to solve it.
Problem: The highest elevation in North America is Mt. McKinley, which
is 20,320 feet above sea level. The lowest elevation is Death
Valley, which is 282 feet below sea level. What is the distance
from the top of Mt. McKinley to the bottom of Death Valley?
Solution: We can represent the elevation as an integers:

Elevation Integer
20,320 feet above sea level
+
20,320
sea level 0
282 feet below sea level
-
282


The distance from the top of Mt. McKinley to the bottom of
Death Valley is the same as the distance from
+
20,320 to
-
282
on the number line. We add the distance from
+
20,320 to 0,
and the distance from 0 to
-
282, for a total of 20,602 feet.




Definitions
The number line goes on forever in both directions. This is indicated by the arrows.
Whole numbers greater than zero are called positive integers. These numbers are
to the right of zero on the number line.
Whole numbers less than zero are called negative integers. These numbers are to
the left of zero on the number line.
The integer zero is neutral. It is neither positive nor negative.
The sign of an integer is either positive (
+
) or negative (
-
), except zero, which has
no sign.
Two integers are opposites if they are each the same distance away from zero, but
on opposite sides of the number line. One will have a positive sign, the other a
negative sign. In the number line above,
+
3 and
-
3 are labeled as opposites.
Work Problems
Example: The formula for Work Problems that involve two persons is


This formula can be extended for more than two persons. It can also be used in problems that
involve pipes filling up a tank.

Example:

Peter can mow the lawn in 40 minutes and John can mow the lawn in 60 minutes. How long will
it take for them to mow the lawn together?

Solution:

Step 1: Assign variables:
Let x = time to mow lawn together

Step 2: Use the formula:




Step 3: Solve the equation
The LCM of 40 and 60 is 120
Multiply both sides with 120








Answer: The time taken for both of them to mow the lawn together is 24 minutes.


Acceleration
Acceleration, in physics, is the rate at which the velocity of an object changes over time.
An object's acceleration is the net result of any and all forces acting on the object, as described
by Newton's Second Law.

Equation for acceleration:
acceleration = final velocity initial velocity = v
time t

OR

a = v
f
v
i
= v
t t


Acceleration of a Skater
Problem #1: A skater goes from a
standstill to a speed of 6.7 m/s in 12
seconds. What is the acceleration of the
skater?


Step 1: Write down the equation
needed for solving for acceleration.
a = v
f
v
i
= v
t t

Step 2: Insert the
known
measurements into
the equation.
Known : The initial speed of the skater was
zero since he was not in motion. The skater
finally reached a speed of 6.7m/s in 12
seconds, which is the final speed or
velocity. The equation will look like this:
a = 6.7m/s 0m/s = 6.7m/s =
12s 12s

Step 3: Solve. Carefully put all
measurements into your
calculator. You must solve the
change in velocity portion of the
equation before you can do the
division portion to solve for
acceleration. Don't forget that the
SI unit for acceleration is m/s
2 .

SOLUTION: The skater had
an acceleration of .56m/s
2 .

a = 6.7m/s 0m/s = 6.7m/s = .56m/s
2

12s 12s




Speed
Speed is a scalar quantity that refers to "how fast an object is moving." Speed can be
thought of as the rate at which an object covers distance. A fast-moving object has a high speed
and covers a relatively large distance in a short amount of time. Contrast this to a slow-moving
object that has a low speed; it covers a relatively small amount of distance in the same amount of
time. An object with no movement at all has a zero speed.
The average speed during the course of a motion is often computed using the following formula:


Example:
While on vacation, Lisa Carr traveled a total distance of 440 miles. Her trip took 8 hours.
What was her average speed?
To compute her average speed, we simply divide the distance of travel by the time of travel.

That was easy! Lisa Carr averaged a speed of 55 miles per hour. She may not have been
traveling at a constant speed of 55 mi/hr. She undoubtedly, was stopped at some instant in time
(perhaps for a bathroom break or for lunch) and she probably was going 65 mi/hr at other
instants in time. Yet, she averaged a speed of 55 miles per hour. The above formula represents a
shortcut method of determining the average speed of an object.