Chapter 3: Mathematical Reasoning and Problem-Solving Strategies

3.1 Inductive and Deductive Reasoning [1]

Inductive reasoning is the process of forming a conclusion based on a set of observations.

However, it does not suffice to be a valid method of proof. Just because a person observes
several situation in which a pattern exists doesn’t mean that pattern is true for all situations.
A hypothesis based on inductive reasoning, can however, lead to a more careful study or a
situation. Inductive reasoning used in geometry in similar way. One might observe that in a
few given rectangles, the diagonal are congruent. The observers could inductively reason
that in all rectangles, the diagonals are congruent. Although we know this fact to be generally
true, the observer hasn’t proved it through his limited observations. However, he could
prove his hypothesis using other means (which we’ll learn later) and come out with a
theorem (proven statement). In this case, as in many others, inductive reasoning led to a
suspicion, or more specifically, a hypothesis, that ended up being true.

Inductive reasoning may be used in many life situations. For illustration, we show an
example of applying inductive reasoning to predict a number in a list.

Example 1[2]:
Use inductive reasoning to predict the next number in the lists.

1, 3, 6, 8, 11, ?

Solution:

The first two numbers differ by 2, the second and the third by 3, the third and fourth
by 2 again. It appears that when two numbers differ by 2, the next difference would be 3,
followed again by 2, then by 3. Since the difference between 8 and 11 is 3, we predict the
number next to 11 to be a number 2 more than 11, which is 13.

We used inductive reasoning when we predicted the number next to 11. We must take
note that though it can be helpful to use inductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion, extra
care must be observed when performing procedure. Conclusions based on inductive
reasoning may not be correct. The following example illustrates this instance.

Example 2[2]:
Consider a circle and dots on the circle. What we do is connect each dot to all other dots so
that we draw all possible line segments. After this, we count the number of regions formed
inside the circle. The first five results are given in the figure.
Figure 1. Maximum number of regions formed by connecting dots on a circle. Results may
be summarized in the following table.

Number of dots 1 2 3 4 5 6
Maximum number of regions 1 2 4 8 16 ?

Using the information in the table, we see that as the number of dots increase, the number of
regions inside the circle is doubled. Thus, we expect that for 6 dots, there will be
regions. However, if we perform the procedure, we find out the only 31 regions are formed
as shown in the succeeding figure.

Figure 2. Maximum number of regions formed by connecting 6 dots on a circle[2]

In itself, inductive reasoning is not a valid method of proof. Just because you observe that a
pattern exists in a number of situations, it does not mean that the pattern is true for all
situations. However, it is valuable because it allows us to form ideas on what we observed
which leads us to come up with a hypothesis.

A statement is true if it is true for all cases. If you can find one case where the statement is
not true then it is considered a false statement. The instance for which the statement
becomes false is called a counter-example. One can verify that a statement is false by using
a counter-example. This is illustrated in the next example.
Example 3[2]:
If 𝑛 is an integer, then the absolute value of is greater than 0.

Solution:

Since 0 is an integer, we let . Now, . We have found a counter-

example. Thus, the statement “If is an integer, then the absolute value of is greater than
0.” Is a false statement.

Deductive reasoning, unlike inductive reasoning, is a valid form of proof. It is, in fact,
the way which geometric proofs are written. Deductive reasoning is the process by which a
person makes conclusions based on previously known facts. Usually a general statement is
made about an entire class of things, and then one specific example is given. If the example
fits into the class of things previously mentioned, then deductive reasoning can be used. For
example, we have a prior knowledge that every engineering students are required to have a
grade of 90 and above in their Mathematics of at least 90 provided that fact that we know
that he is an engineering students has no grade in Mathematics lesser than 90.

Example 4:
Solve this puzzle using deductive reasoning. John, Jenny, Shiela, and Jason were
recently elected as new class officers (president, vice president, secretary, treasurer) in a
National High School. From the following clues, determine which position each holds.

1. Jason is younger than the president but older than the treasurer.
2. John and the secretary are both the same age, and they are the youngest members of
the group.
3. Shiela and the secretary are next-door neighbors.

Solution:

From clue 1, Jason is neither the president nor the treasurer. We put a mark “X” on positions
Jason do not hold.

President VP Secretary Treasurer

John
Jenny
Shiela
Jason X X
From clue 2, John is not the secretary. And since he is one of the youngest in the group, he
cannot be the president. From here, we also conclude that Jason is not the secretary since he
is older than the treasurer. Thus, Jason must be the treasurer and John must be the vice
president.

President VP Secretary Treasurer

John X P X X
 Jenny X X
Shiela X X
Jason X X X P

From clue 3, Sheila is not the secretary which leads us to conclude that Jenny is the secretary.
Since there are no other options, we conclude that Shiela is the president.

President VP Secretary Treasurer

John X P X X
Jenny X X P X
Shiela P X X X
Jason X X X P
∴Shiela is the president, John is vice president, Jenny is the secretary, and Jason is the
treasurer.

Deductive reasoning uses the Law of Syllogism to prove logical arguments.

Example 5:
Premise There are 23 books on the top of the bookshelf and 16 on the lower shelf.

There are no other books on the bookshelf.

Conclusion Therefore, there are 39 books in the bookshelf.

3.2 Problem Solving Strategy

One highly acceptable problem-solving strategy is designed by George Polya (1887-1985).

The basic problem-solving strategy that Polya advocated consisted of four steps.

Polya’s Four-Step Problem Solving Strategy

1. Understand the problem. You must have a clear understanding of the problem. Ready
answers to questions like “Can you restate the problem in your own words?”, “Can
you determine what is known about these types of problems?”, “Is there missing
information that, if known, would allow you to solve the problem?”, and “ What is the
goal of the problem?” indicate that you have a clear understanding of the problem.

2. Devise a Plan. Successful problem solvers use a variety of techniques when they
attempt to solve a problem. Some of these procedures include making a list of the
known information, making a list of information that is needed, sketching a diagram,
making an organized list that shows all possibilities, making a table or a chart,
working backwards, trying to solve a similar but simpler problem, looking for a
pattern, writing an equation, performing an experiment, guessing at a solution and
then check your result.
 3. Carry Out the Plan. Once you have devised a plan, you must carry it out. However, you
need to work carefully and keep an accurate and neat record of all your attempts. You
must also realize that some of your initial plans will not work and that you may have
to devise another plan or modify your existing plan.

4. Review the Solution. Once you have found a solution, check the solution. You must
ensure that the solution is consistent with the facts of the problem. You must interpret
the solution in the context of the problem and ask yourself whether there are
generalizations of the solution that could apply to other problems.

Example 1:
Apply Polya’s strategy to solve the following problem.

A basketball team won two out of their last four games. In how many different orders could
they have two wins and two losses in four games?

Solution:

a) Understand the Problem. There are many different orders. The team may have lost
the first game and won two straight games and lost the last one (LWWL). Or maybe
they lost the first two games and won the last two (LLWW). There are other
possibilities.
b) Devise a Plan. This problem may be solved using an organized list. An organized list
is a list that is produced using a system that ensures that each of the different orders
will be listed once and only once.

c) Carry Out the Plan. Each entry in our list must contain two Ws and two Ls. We start by
writing two Ws and two Ls and play along with the order using a system to ensure no
duplication is done. This strategy produces the six different orders shown below.

Example 7:Apply Polya’s strategy to solve the following problem.

Determine the digit 100 places to the right of the decimal point in the decimal
4
representation27.

Solution:

4
Understand the Problem. Express the fraction as a decimal and look for a pattern that
27

will enable us to determine the digit 100 places to the right of the decimal point.

Devise a Plan. This problem may be soled using a table indicating a pattern. Dividing 4 by
27 produces the decimal 0.148148148… . Since the decimal representation repeats the digits
148 over and over, we know that the digit located 100 places to the right of the decimal point
is either a 1, a 4, or an 8. A table may help us see a pattern and enable us to determine which
one of these digits is in the 100th place. Since the decimal digits repeat every three digits,
we use a table with three columns.
 Location Digit Location Digit Location Digit
1st 1 2nd 4 3rd 8
4th 1 5th 4 6th 8
7th 1 8th 4 9th 8
10th 1 11th 4 12th 8
13th 1 14th 4 15th 8
Carry Out the Plan. Only in column 3 is each of the decimal digit locations evenly divisible
by 3. From this pattern we can tell that the 99th decimal digit must be 8. Since a 1 always
follows an 8 in the pattern, the 100th decimal digit must be a 1.

Review the Solution. The above table illustrates additional patterns. For instance, if each of
the location numbers in column 1 is divided by 3, a remainder 1 is produced. If each of the
location numbers in column 2 is divided by 3, a remainder of 2 is produced. Thus, we can
find the decimal digit in any location by dividing the location number by 3 and examining the
4
remainder. For instance, to find the digit in the 3200th decimal place of 27 merely divide

3200 by 3 and examine the remainder, which is 2. Thus, the digit 3200 places to the right of
the decimal point is a 4.