The idea you clicked could be used as a starting idea. However, the ideas in the lower three boxes involve details of the problem. It is much more reliable to start with a concept that is as independent as possible on the problem details. Surely the amount the burglar took is the sum of what he kept and what he gave to the guards. That is: The whole is the sum of its parts. This is a true statement that is independent of the given numbers and other conditions.

A dominating cause of ineffective problem solving is the tendency to try to generate the answer by messing with the numbers or facts given in the problem statemnt. Once you have overcome this habit you will be solving problems others cannot solve. Learn to start with a concept, not with the given numbers or facts.

Click on the item in the box that provides
the starting idea for solving this problem.

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A SureMath solution. Copyright 1998, Howard C. McAllister.