Polyas Principles

Daniel Edelstein
Abstract. This paper discusses G. Polyas book [2], and demonstrates its usefulness with a ctitious dialogue concerning an analysis problem from A. Mattucks book [1].

1. Introduction. A mathematical proof consists in taking given information and deriving conclusions. Finding such proofs, however, can be a frustrating task because often something that seems intuitive cannot be easily demonstrated in a rigorous proof. A former mathematics professor at Stanford University, G. Polya wrote a book [2], called How to Solve It. In the preface, he writes that he hopes that [the book] will be useful to teachers who wish to develop their students ability to solve problems, and to students who are keen on developing their own abilities. Polya breaks the problemsolving process down into four main parts: understanding the problem, devising a plan, carrying out the plan, and looking back. He discusses what each part involves, and then illustrates the process with a few sample problems from geometry and calculus. The majority of the book is dedicated to a Short Dictionary of Heuristic, where Polya explains in a clear manner various principles and techniques used in solving problems. Polya wrote his book as a guide for teachers and students alike on how to solve mathematical problems of all kinds in a systematic way by asking the right questions and looking for the answers in the right places. One of the ways used by Polya to illustrate these methods is through teacher-student dialogues. The object of this paper is twofold. First, we discuss useful teaching suggestions given by Polya [2], which demonstrate his expertise in creating a working teacher-student relationship. Second, we take an analysis problem from A. Mattucks text [1], and we relate a teacher-student dialogue involving how to solve the problem using Polyas principles. When a particularly important principle is used in the dialogue, selections from [2] are presented to show Polyas point of view. Section 2 discusses several techniques suggested by Polya for eective teaching. Section 3 opens the teacher-student dialogue with the statement of the problem and the students rst attempt to solve it. Section 4 examines the hypotheses and the conclusions that can be derived from them. Section 5 closes the dialogue with the path to a solution. 2. Polyas Book. In his book [2], Polya focuses mainly on techniques for solving mathematical problems eciently and with little carelessness. Polya also highlights many important ideas that can be used to transmit information to students. One thing that Polya discusses is experience. Polya writes [2, p. 6] that in order to be able to see the students position, the teacher should think of his own experience, of his diculties and successes in solving problems. Teachers must be able to identify with their students by trying to see the blackboard from their perspective. If teachers 49

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fail to do so, they and their students will not be on the same wavelength and the task of conveying the concepts becomes signicantly more dicult. For this reason, the greatest genius is not necessarily the greatest teacher. On the contrary, often the teachers genius can pose a disadvantage. For example, there may be a concept that the students nd dicult to grasp though it appears crystal clear to the teacher, making it hard for the teacher to see where the diculties lie. Obviously, teachers must know more than the students in order to give instruction. Nevertheless, good teachers will be able to place themselves on the students level and to work together with them to nd a solution to the problem at hand. Polya also advises teachers to demonstrate to students the depth of every problem. He writes [2, p. 15] that a good teacher should understand and impress on his students the view that no problem whatever is completely exhausted. Many people believe that mathematics is learned by osmosis. In other words, learning a particular concept means working through many problems until the concept is understood well enough so that the student is able to duplicate similar techniques on a problem set or examination. This osmosis method is even used by many mathematics professors in communicating ideas to students. Polya disagrees. A problem is not merely a small link in a chain of problems set up to drill concepts into the heads of mathematical novices. Rather, each and every problem can be used to shed light on a great number of ideas. For this reason, Polya stresses that a good teacher will use each problem to demonstrate the depth of mathematics. We can all surely say that we have had teachers who use the osmosis method, and are always in a hurry to get through the material within the semester. Indeed, for certain areas it may be the only eective way of passing on the material to the students. Still, Polyas advice is valuable, and teachers should try to show the depth of every problem. Polya also stresses the importance of giving students the proper suggestion. Polya points out that when it comes to aiding a student in solving a problem, the teacher must nd a balance between two extremes. On the one hand, the teacher must not explain every single step to the point where no input is necessary on the part of the student. The student must be involved in the solving process. At the same time, the teacher must give enough information so that the student has something to work with and to develop. The teacher cannot be completely removed from the student, and must not leave the student to gure out the whole thing by himself or herself. Otherwise, the teacher serves no purpose. Polya talks [2, pp. 20 21] of The teachers method of questioning : . . . It is important, however, that the suggestions from which we start should be simple, natural, and general, and that their list should be short. The suggestions must be simple and natural because otherwise they cannot be unobtrusive. The suggestions must be general, applicable not only to the present problem but to problems of all sorts, if they are to help develop the ability of the student and not just a special technique. First, Polya says that the suggestions need to be simple and natural. Mathematics can be very dicult, but things are made much easier if basic questions are asked. The teacher should hint to the student by suggesting methods that are not complex and do not alienate the student. If the student is directed to use abstruse methods that do not seem logical to him, he will get the impression of mathematics being an aloof subject.

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Also, Polya makes clear that the suggestions must be general and not particular to the problem at hand. The main benet is that the student will be able to apply the method used to other problems. Thus, the teacher transmits more than just a clue to this problem. This general suggestion gives the student a key to a whole host of problems that he may encounter. In addition, by making the suggestion general, the teacher still forces the student to work out the particular solution himself. The author heard a good parable for this idea in relation to a connect-the-dot puzzle. The dots are drawn on the page by one person and are used by someone else as an outline to produce a complete picture. The teacher must know how to present the student with dots, that is, the primary principles used in solving a particular problem. The student connects the dots to paint a complete picture. That is, he uses the general advice from the teacher to construct a solution to the problem. 3. A Problem of Integrals. This paper takes a few problems from Mattucks textbook [1] and demonstrates Polyas principles through teacher-student dialogues written in the same fashion as those in Polyas book. We discuss some of Polyas key principles as they arise in the dialogue. The following is problem 19.4/2 in [1, p. 264]. Prove the positivity theorem for integrals: if f (x) is continuous and nonnegative on an interval [a, b], and f (c) > 0 for some point c [a, b], then
b

f (x) dx > 0.
a

The dialogue begins with a false start on the part of the student. Teacher: How would you approach such a problem? Student: Well, I am trying to deduce information about an integral from the function being integrated. T: Do you know any relevant theorems that do this? S: There is the comparison theorem for integrals. Theorem 3-1. If f and g are functions on [a, b] such that f (x) g(x), then
b b

f (x) dx
a a

g(x) dx.

T: Can you use that theorem here? S: Sure! In fact, this theorem is all I need! Since, by hypothesis, f is nonnegative, b b we can apply the theorem by letting g(x) equal 0, so that a f (x) dx a 0 dx, and so
b

f (x) dx 0.
a

I am done! T: Are you sure that you are done? What is the conclusion? S: Oh. . . I need to show that the integral of f (x) over [a, b] is positive, not nonnegative. Polya writes [2, p. 6]:

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MIT Undergraduate Journal of Mathematics It may happen that a student hits upon an exceptionally bright idea and jumping all preparations blurts out with the solution. Such lucky ideas, of course, are most desirable, but something very undesirable and unfortunate may result if the student leaves out any of the four phases without having a good idea. The worst may happen if the student embarks upon computations or constructions without having understood the problem. It is generally useless to carry out details without having seen the main connection, or having made a sort of plan. Many mistakes can be avoided if, carrying out his plan, the student checks each step.

When students are trying to solve a problem, often they may see what appears to be a complete answer to the question, but it is actually a result of careless thinking. This sudden answer can emerge from any type of student. It could come from a child prodigy attempting to make a serious contribution to mathematics or a late-night procrastinator just trying to nish the problem set. Polya advises teachers to encourage students to think about every idea thoroughly instead of jotting the answer down and moving on to the next problem. 4. Back to Square One. The teacher proceeds to point the student in the general direction of a proof, using some denitions found in section 10.4 of [1]. T: Well, go back to the beginning what is the hypothesis? How many pieces of information have you been given? Be careful. There are various properties that can be attributed to a function: A global property refers to a property that characterizes the function as a whole. For example, being dierentiable everywhere is a global property of a function. A local property refers to a property that applies to a certain group of points within certain bounds. For example, being continuous on a neighborhood of a point is a local property of a function. A pointwise property refers to a characteristic of a particular point. For example, being positive or negative at a point is a pointwise property of a function. Now, divide up the information in the hypothesis according to the types of properties that are included. S: Two types of properties are used in this problem: 1. Global properties, f (x) is continuous and nonnegative everywhere. 2. Pointwise property, f (c) > 0 for some c [a, b]. T: Very good! Now, did you use the whole hypothesis; that is, in making the false start, did you use all the information given in the hypothesis? On Page 97 of [2], Polya writes the following concerning the question of Did you use all the data? : The foregoing remarks, however, are subject to caution and certain limitations. In fact, their straightforward application is restricted to problems that are perfectly stated and reasonable. A perfectly stated and reasonable problem to nd must have all necessary data and not a single superuous datum; also its condition must be just sucient, neither contradictory nor redundant. In solving such a problem, we have to use, of course, all the data and the whole condition.

Polyas Principles The object of a problem to prove is a mathematical theorem. If the problem is perfectly stated and reasonable, each clause in the hypothesis of the theorem must be essential to the conclusion. In proving such a theorem we have to use, of course, each clause of the hypothesis.

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Many textbook authors write in the most concise manner possible, and they do not give unnecessary facts about the problem. When using such a textbook, every piece of information that is given must be essential. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the student to look at each and every part of the hypothesis and see if any item of information has not been used. Other authors will not necessarily give only the vital hypotheses needed to solve the problem, and there are a couple of reasons why an author may include useless hypotheses. It may be due to an error on the part of the author. Possibly, the author does so intentionally in order to sharpen the students ability to isolate the information needed to write the proof. Whatever the case may be, the student is still responsible for considering each part of the hypothesis and to determine its role in the problem (if there is one at all). S: No, the comparison theorem only requires that the function be integrable, not continuous. T: Keep the conclusion and change the hypotheses by dropping the continuity condition does the conclusion follow with only integrability given? S: I dont know. . . how would I determine that? T: Are you able to draw a picture of an integrable, discontinuous function, where b f (c) > 0 for some c [a, b], but where a f (x) dx is not greater than 0? S: Yes! See Figure 4-1. So, continuity must be necessary.

Figure 4-1. A lack of continuity. T: Still, have you used all the data? What else did you not use in your false start? S: I didnt use (2), that f (c) > 0 for some c [a, b]. T: Is it necessary? S: Sure it is. If it were not given, I have a clear counterexample in f (x) = 0. That function satises the hypotheses f (x) 0, and f (x) is continuous but surely b f (x) dx is not greater than zero. Where do I go from here? a

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5. Light at the End of the Tunnel. In this section, the teacher and student work towards a nal plan for how to solve the problem. T: Take the idea of continuity it is part of the hypothesis, so it should be important to your proof. Look for a way to link continuity to the conclusion. First, what is continuity? S: Roughly, it says that for x x0 , the functions values stay near the value of f (x0 ). There arent sudden jumps. That is, the graph looks like this (see Figure 5-1).

Figure 5-1. A continuous function. T: So, how does this help us? Remember your objective in the problem. What is the conclusion? What are you trying to prove? S: I am trying to show that the integral over [a, b] is greater than 0. T: Loosely speaking, what does that mean? S: I need to have the graph of f (x) increase enough so that there is some area under the curve. T: Good! Now try to use the continuity hypothesis in conjunction with f (c) > 0 for some c [a, b], and explain what happens on the graph in the neighborhood of f (c). S: I see. . . if I know that f (c) > 0 for some c [a, b], then by the continuity hypothesis, I know that the points close to c are also around f (c). T: Do you know a relevant theorem that says so? S: Yes, the positivity theorem for continuous functions: Theorem 5-1. If f (x) is continuous at x0 , and f (x0 ) > 0, then f (x) > 0 for x x0 . T: Now, are you able to draw a picture? S: Yes, but shouldnt I be using the comparison theorem for integrals at some point? T: Yes, so what do you need in order to do that? S: I need a function g(x) with which to compare f (x). T: What g(x) would be a good function to compare f (x) to? S: Maybe I could just t g(x) under f (x) like this (see Figure 5-2).

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f(x)

g(x)

Figure 5-2. A rst attempt. T: How does that help you? S: It doesnt. . . it is a function just like f (x), which I do not know how to approximate. What can I do? T: Make g(x) so that its area under the curve is easy to calculate. Remember that g(x) will have to be under that bump where f (c) is. What do you know about the points around f (c)? S: I know by the positivity theorem for continuous functions that, if f (x) is continuous at x0 , and if f (x0 ) > 0, then f (x) > 0 for x x0 . Oh, but I can also choose an M > 0, and say that if f (c) > M , then f (x) > M for x c. T: Very good. Now, can you use that information about these points to make a simple g(x)? S: I could use a function whose graph is rectangular shaped with length 2d and height M, and that function can be my g(x). T: Draw a picture. S: Okay (see Figure 5-3).

f(x)

M g(x)

2d

Figure 5-3. A solution.

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T: Now, how does the g(x) help you show that integral of f (x) is positive? S: The comparison theorem with this g(x) says that the integral of f is at least 2dM which is positive. A great deal of mathematics entails using given information to derive conclusions. The optimal way to undertake this process is by using a set of principles to solve problems in a systematic fashion. Polyas book develops a set of such principles, and when they are used correctly, they help the problem-solving process immeasurably. Professor Mattuck once remarked that a student often just sits and looks at a problem in the desperate hope that at some point after glaring at the page for long enough, the solution to the problem will be apparent. Clearly, it is much more eective to proceed in a systematic manner, and Polya gives us the ability to do just that. References [1] Mattuck, A., Introduction to Analysis, Prentice Hall, 1999. [2] Polya, G., How to Solve It: A New Aspect of Mathematical Method, Second Edition, Princeton University Press, 1988.