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How To Solve It

1) The document provides guidance on solving problems by first understanding the problem, devising a plan, carrying out the plan, and examining the solution. 2) When understanding the problem, one should identify the unknown, data, and condition, and determine if the condition is sufficient to solve for the unknown. 3) When devising a plan, one should consider related problems and theorems that could help, look for connections between the unknown and data, and consider auxiliary problems if a direct connection cannot be found initially.

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211 views

How To Solve It

1) The document provides guidance on solving problems by first understanding the problem, devising a plan, carrying out the plan, and examining the solution. 2) When understanding the problem, one should identify the unknown, data, and condition, and determine if the condition is sufficient to solve for the unknown. 3) When devising a plan, one should consider related problems and theorems that could help, look for connections between the unknown and data, and consider auxiliary problems if a direct connection cannot be found initially.

Uploaded by

api-317510279
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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HOW TO SOLVE IT

UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM


First. What is the unknown? What are the data? What is the condition?
You have to understand the Is it possible to satisfy the condition? Is the condition sufficient to determine the
problem. unknown? Or is it insufficient? Or redundant? Or Contradictory
Draw a figure. Introduce suitable notation.
Separate the various parts of the condition. Can you write them down?

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

Have you seen it before? Or have you seen the same problem in a slightly
different form?
Do you know a related problem? Do you know a theorem that could be useful?
Look at the unknown! And try to think of a familiar problem having the same or a
similar unknown.
Here is a problem related to your and solved before. Could you use it?
Could you use its result? Could you use its method? Should you introduce some
auxiliary element in order to make its use possible?
Could you restate the problem? Could you restate it still differently? Go back to
definitions
If you cannot solve the proposed problem try to solve first some related problem.
Could you imagine a more accessible related problem? A more general problem?
A more special problem? An analogous problem?
Could you solve a part of the problem? Keep only a part of the condition, drop
the other part; how far is the un known then determined, how can it vary? Could
you derive something useful form the data?
Could you think of other data appropriate to determine the unknown?
Could you change the unknown or the data, or both if necessary, so that the new
unknown and the new data are nearer to each other?
Did you use all the data? Did you sue the whole condition? Have you taken into
account all essential notions involved in the problem?

CARRYING OUT THE PLAN


Third. Carrying out your plan of the solution, check each step. Can you see clearly that
Carry out your plan. the step is correct? Can you prove that it is correct?
LOOKING BACK
Fourth. Can you check the result? Can you check the argument?
Examine the solution Can you derive the result differently? Can you see it at a glance?
obtained. Can you use the result, or the method, for some other problem?

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