CHAPTER 3: PROBLEM SOLVING

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this chapter the student should be able to:

1.To learn to solve problems using Polya’s Four-Step Problem Solving Strategy.
2.To differentiate deductive and inductive reasoning.
3. Use inductive reasoning to make conjecture.
4. Determine counterexamples.
5. To solve inductive and deductive reasoning types of problems.
6. To become a better problem solver.

❖ Heuristics is the study of the methods and rules of discovery and invention.

George Polya, a Professor of Mathematics at Stanford University, born in Hungary in 1887

and received his Ph. D. at the University of Budapest. He is the author of the famous book
“How to Solve it” (Princeton University Press, 1973) where he identifies the four basic
principles of problem solving. His book has been translated into 17 languages, sold more
than 1 million copies making it his most prized publication. He died at age 98 in 1985.

Pólya’s book contains problem solving model as well as a treasure trove of strategy, know-
how, rules of thumb, good advice, anecdotes, history, and problems at all levels of
mathematics. He outlined a strategy for solving problems from virtually any discipline.

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POLYA’S GUIDELINES FOR PROBLEM SOLVING

1. Preparation: Understand the problem. Ask questions, experiment, or otherwise rephrase the
question in your own words.

Some suggested questions to asked:

➢ 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?

2. Thinking Time: Devise a plan

Once the problem is understood, set the problem aside for a while. Your subconscious
mind may keep working on it. Moving on to think about other things may help you stay relaxed,
flexible, and creative rather than becoming tense, frustrated, and forced in your efforts to solve
the problem.

Some possible strategies:

➢ Draw a picture.
➢ Use a variable and choose helpful names for variables or unknowns.
➢ Be systematic.
➢ Solve a simpler version of the problem.
➢ Guess and check. Trial and error. Guess and test. (Guessing is OK.)
➢ Look for a pattern or patterns.
➢ Make a list.
➢ Use a formula and solve an equation.

3. Insight: 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. Follow through with the plan that you have
chosen. If it continues not to work discard it and try another approach. Do not be misled, this is
how mathematics is done, even by professionals. The key is to keep trying until something works.

4. Verification: Look back

Polya mentioned that much can be gained by taking the time to reflect and look back at
what you have done, what worked, and what did not. Doing this will enable you to predict what
strategy to use to solve future problems.

Once you have a potential solution, check to see if it works.

➢ Check your answer, were you able to answer the question?

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 ➢ Check if all the conditions stated in the problem are satisfied.
➢ Try fixing any error or mistakes in the computation.
➢ Try another solution which may be simpler.
➢ Can the problem or method be generalized to be useful for future problems?

Summarizing the above steps.

Example 1: Source: Nature of Mathematics, 12th Edition, Karl J. Smith, page 11

A jokester tells you that he has a group of cows and chickens and that he counted 13
heads and 36 feet. How many cows and chickens does he have?

Solution: Let us use Polya’s problem-solving guidelines.

Understand the Problem: A good way to make sure you understand a problem is to attempt to
phrase it in a simpler setting as shown below,

One chicken and one cow: 2 heads and 6 feet (chickens have two feet; cows have four)
Two chickens and one cow: 3 heads and 8 feet
One chicken and two cows: 3 heads and 10 feet

Devise a Plan: Organizing materials is often important in problem solving.

Let us organize the information into a table.

No. of chickens No. of cows No. of heads No. of feet

0 13 13 13(4) = 52

We started with the above table showing that we must have13 heads. There are other
possible starting places (13 chicken and 0 cows, for example) but an important aspect of the
problem solving is to start with some plan.

Table 3.0

No. of chickens No. of cows No. of heads No. of feet

1 12 13 (1 x 2) + (12 x 4) = 50
2 11 13 (2 x 2) + (11 x 4) = 48
3 10 13 (3 x 2) + (10 x 4) = 46
4 9 13 (4 x 2) + (9 x 4) = 44

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Carry out the plan: Now look for patterns. Take note that number of cows decreases by one and
the number of chickens increases by one, the number of feet must decrease by two. Does this
make sense to you? Remember, step 1 requires that you not just push numbers around, but that
you understand what you are doing. Since we need 36 feet for the solution to this problem, we
see,
44 – 36 = 8

This means that the number of chickens must increase by an additional four, which
means 8 chickens and 5 cows.

Look back:

No. of chickens No. of cows No. of heads No. of feet

8 5 13 36

Check:

8 chickens have 16 feet, and 5 cows have 20 feet, so the total number of heads is

8 + 5 = 13

Example 2: Twice the difference of a number and 1 is 4 more than that number. Find the number.

Solution: Following Polya’s problem-solving guidelines.

Understand the problem: Read the problem carefully, since we are looking for a number,

Let x – be the number

Devise a plan: Translate the problem into mathematical statement,

Twice the difference of a number and 1 is 4 more than that number,

2(x – 1) = x + 4

Carry out the plan: The above equation can now be solved using algebraic procedures,

2(x – 1) = x + 4

Using distributive properties of multiplication over addition,

2x - 2 = x + 4

Collecting all terms with x at the left side of the equation and all constants to the right side
of the equation by transposition,
2x – x = 4 + 2

X=6

Look back: Checking by substituting the value of x = 6 to the original equation,

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 2(x – 1) = x + 4
2 (6 – 1) = 6 + 4
2(5) = 10
10 = 10

The final answer is x = 6.

Example 3: The length of a rectangular lot is 1 meter more than 3 times the width. Find the
dimensions if the perimeter is to be 26 meters.

Solution: Following Polya’s problem-solving guidelines.

Understand the Problem: Read the problems carefully. Since the dimensions of the rectangle
is required, it may be represented by the following variables:

Let L – be the length of the rectangular lot

W – be the width of the rectangular lot
P – be the perimeter of the rectangular lot

The problem states that the of length of a rectangular lot is 1 meter more than 3 times the
width,
L = 1 + 3W

Devise a plan: This time we translate the whole problems into a mathematical symbols and
equations,
L = 1 + 3W

P = 2 (L + W)

Substituting the value of perimeter and the given data for length and simplifying equations
as follows,

26 = 2 (1+ 3W + W)

Carry out the plan: Solving for the length and width using algebraic procedures,

26 = 2 (1 + 4W)
26 = 2 + 8W
8W = 26 – 2
8W = 24
W = 3 meters

Since L = 1 + 3W, then L = 1 + 3 (3) = 10 meters

Lookback: Checking by substituting the value obtained for length and width to the perimeter,

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 P = 2 (10 + 3) = 2 (13) = 26 meters
The dimension of the rectangular lot is length = 10 meters and its width = 3 meter.

Example 4: Mary and Maiko sold 12 show tickets altogether. Mary sold 2 more tickets than Maiko.
How many tickets did each girl sell?

Solution: Using Polya’s problem-solving guidelines.

Understand the problem: You need to know that a total of 12 tickets were sold and that Mary
sold 2 more tickets than Maiko.

Device a plan: We may try guessing and tabulating data as follows,

Table 3.1

Number of Tickets Number of Tickets Total Number of

Sold by Maiko Sold by Mary Tickets Sold
2 4 6
3 5 8
4 6 10
5 7 12
6 8 14

Carry out the plan:

Shown in table 3.1 the several ways of guessing the number of tickets sold by Mary and
Maiko, and from the highlighted row (3rd row) of the table,

5 + 7 = 12 tickets sold

Lookback: Checking the answers,

7 + 5 = 12
7 – 5 = 2 (indicates that Mary sold 2 more tickets than Maiko)

Therefore, Mary sold 7 tickets and Maiko sold 5 tickets, totals 12 tickets.

Example 5: A true-false quiz contains five questions. In how many ways can a student answer
the questions if the student answers two of the questions with “false” and the other three with
“true”?

Solution: Use Polya’s problem-solving guidelines.

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Understand the Problem:

There are several ways to answer the questions so that two answers are “false” and three
answers are “true.” Some ways are as follows,

T T T F F
F F T T T

Devise a Plan: Make an organized list. Try the strategy of listing a T unless doing so will produce
too many Ts or a duplicate of one of the previous orders in list.

Carry Out the Plan: Starting with 3 Ts in a row.

1. T T T F F
2. T T F T F
3. T T F F T
4. T F T T F
5. T F T F T
6. T F F T T
7. F T T T F
8. F T T F T
9. F T F T T
10. F F T T T

Lookback: Reviewing the solution, each entry in the list has two Fs and three Ts. Since the list
is complete and has no duplications, we know that there are 10 ways for a student to mark two
questions with “false” and the other three with “true.”

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 REVIEW EXERCISES 3.0

Name _________________________________ Score ___________ Date ________________

Course, Year & Section _____________Student no. ________Professor _______________

Use Polya’s 4-Step Methods for problem solving to solve the following problems.

1. Suppose that thirty-two students signed up for classes during an orientation session. If exactly
twenty of them signed up for Mathematics and exactly sixteen of them signed up for Physics, how
many of them signed up for both Mathematics and Physics?

2. A young lady has eight shirts and four pairs of pants. How many different outfits can she
make by combining one shirt with one pair of pants?
3. In a class of 25 students, 17 lived with both parents, 21 lived with their mothers, and 20 lived
with their fathers. How many lived with neither parent?

4. Emily is thinking of a number. If you multiply her number by 93, add 6, and divide by 3, you
obtain 436. What is her number?

5. A family has five children. How many different gender combinations are possible, assuming
that order matters? (For example, having four boys and then a girl is distinct from having a girl
and then four boys.)

6. Rica was given a piggy bank on her seventh birthday, and she put it to use immediately. Each
time she puts one or more coins into the piggy bank, she keeps track of the number of coins she
has collected to date and the accumulated value of her collection. Janice collects only ₱5.00,
₱10.00, and ₱1.00. Six months after her seventh birthday, Janice looked at her record and
ascertained that she had collected 500 coins, which were worth ₱3,350.00. (a) How many
combinations of coins are possible in Dennis’ collection? (b) Dennis counted 100 one-peso coins
in her savings. How many ten-peso and five-peso coins are in her collection?

7. Emmanuel is transferring his favorites pet animals, ducks and carabaos to his new farm. He
counts 20 heads and 58 feet. How many ducks and carabaos are in his new farm?

8. How many fenceposts are needed to support a 100-meter long fence, if a fencepost must be
used every 2 meters?

9. Siblings Margareth and Dennise were taught by their parents to save money in the bank. Initially
they have the same amount of savings. Margareth already spent ₱ 3,450.00 while Dennise spent
₱800.00. At the end of the year, Dennise savings is six times as much as Margareth’s money in
the bank. How much savings the siblings has?
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10. A rich man died and left the following instructions for his will and properties, half to his wife;
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2
of what was left went to his son; of what was left went to his butler; the man’s pet pig got the
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remaining ₱100,000. How much money did the man leave behind altogether?

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REASONING

• It is a process of thinking during which the individual is aware of a problem

identifies, evaluates, and decides upon a solution.

• Reasoning is the term applied to highly purposeful, controlled, and selective

thinking. - Gates.

• Reasoning is the word used to describe the mental recognition of cause and effect
relationships, it may be the prediction of an event from an observed cause or the
inference of a cause from an observed event. - Skinner.

Thus, reasoning is a highly specialized thinking which helps an individual to explore mentally the
cause and effect relationship of an event or solution of a problem by adopting some well-organized
systematic steps based on previous experience combined with present observation.

TYPES OF REASONING

I. INDUCTIVE REASONING

➢ It is a type of reasoning done first by observing patterns and then predicting

answers for more complicated problems.

➢ It is the process of reaching a general conclusion by examining specific examples.

The conclusion formed by using inductive reasoning is often called conjecture
since it may or may not be correct.

➢ Its limitations, even if all the premises are true in a statement, inductive reasoning
allows for the conclusion to be false.

CONJECTURE

It is a mathematical statement which appears likely to be true but has not been formally
proven to be true under the rules of mathematical logic.

To verify a conjecture is true, you need to prove that it is true in all cases. To prove a
conjecture is false you need to provide one single counterexample.

Example 1: Observe the conjecture of the following statements.

a.) Dogs A and B have fleas.

All observed dogs have fleas.
Therefore, all dogs have fleas.

b.) All dolphins are mammals.

All mammals have kidneys.
Therefore, all dolphins have kidneys.

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 c. Most A are B
This C is A,
Therefore, C is likely B.

d. Rodrigo is mortal
Leny is mortal
Donald is mortal
Therefore, all human beings are mortal.

e. Harold is a grandfather.
Harold is bald.
Therefore, all grandfathers are bald.

Example 2: Use inductive reasoning to predict the next number in the following:

a. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, . . .? b. 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, …?

Solution:

a. It can be seen from the given 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, . . .? that each number has a difference
of 5, so we predict the next number to be 30.

b. From the given 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, …?, take note that the difference between the first and
second number is 2, and the difference between 3 and 6 is 3, between 6 and 10 is 4. It appears
that the difference between any two numbers is always 1 more than the preceding difference.
Since the difference between 10 and 15 is 5 so we predict that the next number in the list will be
6 larger than 15 which is 21.

Example 3: Consider the following procedure:

Pick a number.

Multiply the number by 9, add 15 to the product, divide the sum by 3, and subtract 5.

Complete the above procedure for several different numbers. Use inductive reasoning
to make a conjecture about the relationship between the size of the resulting number
and the size of the original number.

Solution: The first number I picked is 5, following the procedure stated above:

Pick a number: 5
Multiply by 9: 5 x 9 = 45
Add 15: 45 + 15 = 60
Divide by 3: 60 ÷ 3 = 20
Subtract 5: 20 – 5 = 15
The second number I picked is 7, following the same procedure,

Pick a number: 7
Multiply by 9: 7 x 9 = 63
Add 15: 63 + 15 = 78

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 Divide by 3: 78 ÷ 3 = 26
Subtract 5: 26 – 5 = 21

Conjecture: After applying the procedures stated in the problem to the picked numbers 5
and 7, the resulting numbers always yield a number which is 3 times the original (picked) number.

Example 4: A tsunami is a sea wave produced by an underwater earthquake. The height of a

tsunami as it approaches land depends on the velocity of the tsunami. Use the table at the below
and inductive reasoning to answer the following questions.

a. What happens to the height of a tsunami when its velocity is doubled?

b. What should be the height of a tsunami if its velocity is 30 feet per second?

Velocity of Tsunami Height of Tsunami

(feet per second) (feet)
6 4
9 9
12 16
15 25
18 36
21 49
24 64

Solution:

a. The given table shows that when the velocity of a tsunami is doubled, its height is
quadrupled.

b. Tsunami with a velocity of 30 feet per second will have a height that is four times that
of a tsunami with a speed of 15 feet per second. Thus, we predict a height of 4 x 25 = 100 feet
for a tsunami with a velocity of 30 feet per second.

Example 5: Which box is next in the sequence?

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Answer: Observe that the black is moving backwards and forwards between the top-left corner
and the bottom-left corner. The white circle is moving anti-clockwise around the box half a side
at a time and the stiped square is moving around the box 1 ½ sides each time. The arrow is not
moving so it is irrelevant. The final answer is E.

COUNTER EXAMPLES

A counterexample to an argument or a proposition is a situation which shows that the

argument can have true premises and a false conclusion. It is an example that proves a conjecture
is false. All it takes is one example to disprove the conjecture.

Example 6: All prime numbers are odd.

The Prime number 2 is a counterexample to the statement.

Example 7: If God exists, then life has meaning.

But there is no God.
Therefore, life is meaningless.

Example 8: Identify which of the following numbers is a counter example for the conjecture:
1
The domain f is the set of all positive real numbers, 𝑓(𝑥) =
√𝑥−3

a. x = 5 b. x = 5 c. x = 3

Answer: Since we are looking for a counterexample, we want to find a positive real number that
does not work in that function since that contradicts the original conjecture. Substituting each
value of x, we find that in x = 3, the denominator is which makes the function undefined
the function undefined at that point. Therefore, x = 3 is a positive real number NOT in the
domain, which makes x = 3 the counterexample.

Example 9: Find a counterexample that disproves the conjecture,

If x2 = 4, then x = 2 is the solution.

Answer: We see that another number -2, that when squared equals 4.

Example 10: Determine if the following conjecture is true, if false give counterexample.

Two supplementary angles are not congruent.

Answer: False, 90° and 90° are congruent angles.

Note: Note that one counterexample is enough to prove that a line of reasoning is false,
but one positive example is never enough to prove that it is true.

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 REVIEW EXERCISES 3.1

Name _________________________________ Score ___________ Date ________________

Course, Year & Section _____________Student no. ________Professor _______________

1. Use inductive reasoning to make a conjecture about the arithmetic problem.

Consider the following procedure: Pick a number. Multiply the number by 8, add 6 to the
product. Divide the sum by 2 and subtract 3 from the result.

2. Write a conjecture that describes the pattern shown. Then use conjecture to find the next figure
in the sequence.

3. Write a conjecture that describes the pattern in the sequence, then use your conjecture to
find the next item in the sequence,
1 1 1 1
1, , , , ,…
4 9 16 25

4. Water makes up about sixty percent of the human body. Keeping well hydrated, then, is an
essential part of remaining healthy. Having enough water each day is an essential part of flushing
the body free of pathogens and other irritants. It also keeps tissues properly hydrated and working
correctly. In order to be properly hydrated, an individual should drink between half an ounce to an
ounce of water per pound they weigh. If you weigh 150 lbs, you should drink somewhere from 75-
150 ounces of water a day. Question: Individuals should drink between half an ounce to an ounce
of water per pound of body weight.

a. True b. False c. Cannot say

5. Deanna, Annie, Clayton, Billy, and Elise are all standing in line for the roller coaster. Deanna
is either before Annie or after Elise The first two spots are filled by boys. Elise is at the end of the
line. If Annie is in front of Elise, then Billy is behind Clayton Who is behind Billy?

a. Annie b. Clayton c. Deanna d. Elise

6. Choose the pattern that best completes the sequence of matrix.

13
a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

14
7. Identify a pattern in each of the following sequences of numbers, then use the established
pattern to find the next term in the sequence.

a. 4, 9, 14, 19, ____

b. 2, 6, 18, 54, ____

c. 5, 6, 8, 11, ____

8. Which of the following numbers can be used to show that if the product of two integers is
positive, their sum is not always positive?

a. 5 and 5 b. 5 and -5 c. 1 and 25

d. -1 and 25 e. -5 and -5

9. Which of the following expressions can be used to show that the sum of two numbers is not
always greater than both numbers?

Choose all answers that apply:

3 1
a. + b. 0 + 4 c. -2 =1
2 2

10. Jack made the following conjecture about the information in the table.

If the first number is negative Addends Sum

And the second number is positive,
-5 3 -2
The sum is always negative.
-3 2 -1
-8 4 -4
-10 6 -4

Find a counterexample for his conjecture.

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DEDUCTIVE REASONING

➢ Deductive reasoning is a basic form of valid reasoning. It starts out with a general
statement, or hypothesis, and examines the possibilities to reach a specific, logical
conclusion.

➢ It follows the following steps. First, there is a premise, then a second premise, and
finally an inference. A common form of deductive reasoning is the syllogism, in
which two statements — a major premise (more general premise) and a minor
premise (more specific premise) — reach a logical conclusion.

➢ Its limitation, the conclusions of deductive reasoning can only be true if all the
premises set in the inductive study are true and the terms are clear.

➢ Deductive arguments can only be valid or invalid, sound or unsound or true or

false, because the statement that is derived may be true, but in the context of the
derived conclusion, it may not be valid.

➢ A deductive argument can be valid, only if the conclusion necessarily follows from
the premises given. If the conclusion is incorrect, then one of the premises must
be faulty or true only for a specific situation, which is not applicable to all situations.
A valid deductive argument with true premises is said to be sound, whereas a
deductive argument which is invalid or has one or more false premises or both, is
said to be unsound. An argument is valid when both the premises are true and
the conclusion that is derived from them cannot be false.
EXAMPLE 1: The following examples of deductive reasoning are valid and Sound.

Example 2: The following examples are valid, but unsound argument.

a. All flight attendants know how to swim
Ralph knows how to swim
Hence, Ralph is a flight attendant.

The above conclusion is untrue, because it is not necessary that only flight attendants
know how to swim. Absolutely any swimmer can swim.

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 b. If Superman actually exists, then at least one superhero is real.
Superman actually exists.
At least one superhero is real.

The above reasoning, the first premise is true, but the second premise is false--there is
no Superman. So the above argument is valid but unsound

c. If the moon is made of green cheese, squirrels are mammals

The moon is made of green cheese.
Therefore, squirrels are mammals.

The above argument is valid. It is not sound, because its second premise, (B) is false.

Example 3: Consider the following illustrations.

Premise 1: Noble gases are stable.

Premise 2: Neon is a noble gas.
Conclusion: Neon is stable.

Major Premise: All mammals are animals

Minor Premise: All elephants are mammals
Conclusion: Therefore, all elephants are animals.

All birds have feathers.

Ducks are birds
Therefore, ducks have feathers.

All bachelors are unmarried,

Ted is a Bachelor
Therefore, Ted is unmarried
All A are B
And all C are A
Therefore, all C must be B.

All human beings are mortal

You are a human being
Therefore, you are mortal.

SYLLOGISM

Syllogism is a form of deductive reasoning where you arrive at a specific conclusion by

examining two other premises or idea (hypotheses). The word syllogism is derived from the Greek
word syllogismos, meaning conclusion or inference.

It has three parts: two premises, or hypotheses, and a conclusion. The premises give us
information from which we form a conclusion. If the conclusion follows from the premises, it
is called a valid syllogism; if not, it is called invalid.

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Consider the following examples:

Valid Forms of Reasoning Invalid Forms of Reasoning

Premise All Chevrolets are automobiles. Some People are nice.
Premise All automobiles have four wheels. Some people are broke.
Conclusion All Chevrolets have four wheels. There are some nice broke people.

Premise All teachers are crazy. All dodos are extinct.

Premise Juan Dela Cruz is a teacher. No dinosaurs are dodos.
Conclusion Juan Dela Cruz is crazy. All dinosaurs are extinct.

Parts of Syllogism

1. Major Term – the predicate term of the conclusion

2. Minor Term – the subject term of the conclusion
3. Middle Term – the term repeated in the premises, but not in the conclusion.
4. Major Premise – the premise that contains the major term
5. Minor Premise – the premise that contains the minor term

Major premise: All mammals are animals with hearts.

Minor Premise : All dogs are mammals.

Conclusion: All dogs are animals with hearts

Minor term Major Term

Middle Term

Most common types of syllogisms

I. Universal Syllogisms

Universal syllogisms are called "universal" because they use words that apply completely

and totally, such as "no" and "none" or "all" and "only."

Universal Affirmative
All A are B.
All C are A.
So, all C are B.

Note: The subject A is distributed

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 Example 4: All mammals are animals.
All elephants are mammals.
Therefore, all elephants are animals.

Universal Negative

No A are B
All C are A
So, no C are B.

Note: Both the subject A and predicate B are distributed.

Example 5: No mammals are frogs.

All elephants are mammals.
Therefore, no elephants are frogs.

II. Particular Syllogisms

Particular syllogisms use words like "some" or "most" instead of "all" or "none." Within
this category, there are two main types:

Particular Affirmative

All A are B
Some C are A
Therefore, some C are B."

Note: Neither the subject nor the predicate are distributed

Example 6: All elephants have big ears.

Some animals are elephants.
Therefore, some animals have big ears.

Particular Negative

No A are B
Some C are A
Therefore, some C are not B."

Note: The predicate B is distributed.

Example 7: No doctors are children.

Some immature people are doctors.
Therefore, some immature people are not children.

Note: In Some A are not B, the predicate B is distributed.

III. Categorical syllogisms

Categorical syllogisms is the most commonly used type of syllogisms.

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 The basic for this syllogism type is: If A is a part of C, then B is a part of C
(A and B are members of C).

Example 8: Consider the following illustrations.

Premise one: A left-handed person is the killer

(Killer is the major term--predicate of the conclusion)

Premise two: Ms. Red is the only left-handed person

(Left-handed is the middle term--found in both premises)

Conclusion: Ms. Red is the killer.

(Ms. Red is the minor term--subject of the conclusion)
Example 9: Major premise: All men are mortal.
Minor premise: Socrates is a man.
Conclusion: Socrates is mortal.

Note: Both premises are known to be valid, by observation or historical facts. Because the
two premises are valid, the conclusion must be valid as well. Be aware that this conclusion
is based on logical reasoning and thus it does not have to represent the “truth” always.

Example 10: Consider the following illustrations.

All New Yorkers are happy.

Some people live in New York.
Some people are happy.

All cars have wheels.

I drive a car.
Therefore, my car has wheels.

All insects frighten me.

That is an insect.
Therefore, I am frightened.

Note: The major term is the predicate term of the conclusion. The minor term is the subject term
of the conclusion. The middle term is the term that appears twice in the premises.

Definition of Some Words

Argument consists of two or more propositions offered as evidence for another proposition.

It is important to note that when one gives an argument, one does not necessarily attack or
criticize the other. In this way, an argument can also be viewed as a support of someone’s
viewpoint.

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Valid deductive argument is one in which it is impossible for the conclusion to be false if the
premises are true.

Invalid argument is one in which it is possible for the conclusion to be false if the premises are
true.

A sound argument is valid, and its premises are actually true. All invalid arguments are, by
definition, unsound.

Valid + True Premises = Sound

Valid + At Least One False Premise = Unsound
Invalid = Unsound

Premise is a proposition that is used as evidence in an argument.

Conclusion is a proposition for which evidence is offered.

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 REVIEW EXERCISES 3.2

Name _________________________________ Score ___________ Date _______________

Course, Year & Section _____________Student no. ________Professor _______________

1. Use deductive reasoning to show that the given procedure always produces the number 5.

Pick a number. Add 4 to the number and multiply the sum by 3, subtract 7 and then
decrease this difference by the triple of the original number.

2. If the first two statements are true, the conclusion must be:

Some rectangles are squares,

Some parallelograms are rectangles
All squares are rectangles.

a. True b. False c. Uncertain

3. The following conclusion is based on which assumption:

Gregory had studied all night for his examination.

Gregory received a bad grade on his test.
Gregory didn’t study enough.

a. Studying more is the only way to improve your score on examination.

b. Gregory didn’t get enough sleep.
c. Gregory was paying attention in class.
d. Gregory studied the right material.

3. Joyce came home late one night to find her neighbor murdered in the kitchen. Which two
statements deductively prove that Joyce is innocent of murder?

i. Joyce loves to have coffee with her neighbor on Sunday morning.

ii. If Joyce works late, she picks up pizza on her way home.
iii. All murderers have been to jail.
iv. If Joyce picks up pizza after work, then she sleeps at her boyfriend’s house.
v. Joyce has never seen a prison cell.

a. i and ii b. iii and iv c. iii and v d. ii and iv

4. Mark finished ahead of Dinar. Dennis and Emmanuel both finished before Medric. Owen did
not finish last. Who was the last to finish?

a. Owen b. Emmanuel c. Medric d. Dinar e. Dennis

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5. Rowena, Ruth, Cathy and MM are sitting in a row (left to right) in the school auditorium. Ruth
and MM exchange seats, then MM and Rowena decided to exchange places as well. Where is
Ruth?

6. Identify the following, inductive or deductive.

____________ 1. If you brush and floss your teeth daily then you will have fewer cavities. Marie
brushes and flosses her teeth daily. Thus, she will have fewer cavities.

____________ 2. It has been observed that earthquakes precede the eruption of volcanoes.
Thus, earthquakes cause volcanoes to erupt.

____________ 3. Most people are pro-choice on abortion. At least most of the people I know.

____________ 4. Lorenze likes playing basketball with Julius. Lorenze is not playing today. Thus
Julius will not play.

____________ 5. All students go to school. You are a student. Therefore you go to school.

____________ 6. Most labrador retrievers are friendly. Kimber is a Labrador retriever. Therefore,
Kimber is friendly.

____________ 7. If a figure is a rectangle, then it is a parallelogram. Figure A is a rectangle.

Therefore, Figure A is a parallelogram.

____________ 8. You have 50 pens in front of you. Upon checking the first 10 pens, 5 are red
and 5 are green. Therefore, Half of the pens are red and half are green.

____________ 9. The left-handed people I know use left-handed scissors; therefore, all left-
handed people use left-handed scissors.
____________ 10. Sarah leaves the house t 7:30am and she arrives late for work. Sarah
concludes that every time she leaves the house at 7:30 am, she will be late for work.

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Sources and References:

1. Mathematical Excursions (2012, Cengage Learning)Richard N. Aufmann, Joanne Lockwood,

Richard D. Nation, Daniel K. Clegg

2. https://ph.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=george+polya+mathematicians&fr=
yfp-ts&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsiteproxy.ruqli.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttp%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%3AFilePath%2FGeorge_
P%25c3%25b3lya_ca_1973.jpg#id=24&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsiteproxy.ruqli.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttps%2Ftodayinsci.com%2FP%2FPolya
_George%2FPolyaGeorge-Pencil500x250px.jpg&action=close

3. http://www.mathstories.com/strategies_writeasentence.htm

4. https://www.onlinemathlearning.com/math-problem-solving-strategies.html

5. https://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/solsearch/sol/math/G/m_ess_g-1_2.pdf

6. http://factmyth.com/the-different-types-of-reasoning-methods-explained-and-compared/

7. https://www.psychologydiscussion.net/thinking/reasoning-meaning-definition-and-
types/20605.

8. https://math.berkeley.edu/~gmelvin/polya.pdf

9. https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199846313/student/chapter1/guide/
http://helpmeteach.weebly.com/uploads/1/7/1/0/17102056/____geom_2012_ch_2_l_1.pdf

10. https://www.assessmentday.co.uk/inductive/Free/InductiveTest1/index.php

11. Westacott, Emrys. "How to Prove an Argument Invalid by a Counterexample." ThoughtCo,

Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/prove-argument-invalid-by-counterexample-2670410.

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