George Polya suggested 4 important steps:
Understand the problem
Devise a plan
Carry out the plan
Review/extend
First principle: Understand the problem
Make sure you truly understand the problem, ask yourself:
What are you asked to find or show?
Can you restate the problem in your own words?
Can you think of a picture or a diagram that might help you understand the problem?
Is there enough information to enable you to find a solution?
Do you understand all the words used in stating the problem?
Do you need to ask a question to get the answer?
Shachar Adam0 נקודות ·
לפני 3 חודשים
( תגובות)
מוניטין: 126
What are the properties of the problem?
What problem info is important and what is a distraction?
Do we notice anything interesting?
Shortcuts, similar known problems, hidden clues, etc.
How large is the solution space?
Small - solvable by brute force (i.e., check all possible solutions)?
Large – solvable by intelligent exhaustive search (with pruning heuristics)?
Infinite – no option to run over all possible solutions.