Problem solving is one of the most difficult skills to acquire in science, because it requires creativity & synthesis of knowledge, often with minimal guidance

2.) It's extremely valuable…

Regardless of what you ultimately do with your life, problem-solving is one of the most valuable skills you can have. People that can solve other people's problems can still write their own ticket!

(Just ask the TV repairman & his "itemized bill) One day a guy had a TV break and as you would expect, called a TV repair person. After taking off the back and looking inside the TV for about 10 minutes, the repair person walked back out to his truck and returned with a fuse. He replaced the fuse and the TV worked. He then turned to the owner and said, "That will be $100.00." The owner of the TV, thinking that he was being cheated, replied, "Don't you think $100.00 is a little expensive. I would like to see an itemized bill." The repair person took out a receipt book and quickly wrote up the bill. On it were two entries, the first of which had on it - Fuse - $2.98. The second entry on the bill was- Ability to determine which fuse to replace - $97.02.

3.) Know your stuff!

If you don't have a good understanding of the subject you're working on, problem solving is going to be next to impossible. You MUST be familiar with the operative facts, concepts and equations….

Example: How much money would it cost you to move your furniture from Chicago to Milwaukee? (What facts/concepts/equations would you need to know to answer this question?)

Example: How many molecules of hydrogen are needed to react with 125 molecules of oxygen? How many molecules of water will be formed? (What facts/concepts/equations would you need to know to answer this question?)

4.) Work forward!

What can you do with the information that you have to solve the problem? Do you have enough information? Is there additional information you need, and if so, where can you find it?

5.) Work backward!

Always keep the "target" in mind!! What do you need to find the final answer? Do you have that information? Can you "build a bridge" between what you already know, and what you need to find out?

6.) Check your work!

This means not only looking carefully at what you've done, but also, where possible doing the problem by a different method to see if you get the same answer.

7.) Does this make sense?

ALWAYS ask yourself the result of a calculation is reasonable! If possible, make a "ballpark" estimate of your answer before calculating. This will give you confidence in a correct answer, or help you diagnose a mistake if your answer is wrong

Examples: What's wrong with these answers?

- The speed of light is 38.6 miles per hour
- 3 nails are found to have 15.4% zinc, 14.9% zinc, and 15.0% zinc. The average % zinc is 45.3%
- A 5.60 gram sample of sodium chloride contains 177 grams of sodium

8.) PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!

There is only 1 way to get good at problem solving, and that is to SOLVE PROBLEMS!! If you devote significant time to problem solving, you WILL be successful. (But if you don't, you WON'T!) Practice by solving problems in the textbook and reworking lecture examples, and if you still want more practice problems, ask your instructor. This is NOT a spectator sport! Watching a season of NFL football will not make you Brett Favre (or even Jim Miller!) and watching your instructor solve problems (or just getting answers from a tutor or classmate) will not make you an expert problem solver! There is NO SUBSTITUTE for "putting in the time"!!

9.) Use your resources!

Science students at CLC have a number of great problem-solving resources available…

- Knowledgeable, dedicated instructors
- Friendly, helpful tutors
- Clear, understandable textbooks
- Classmates who can definitely "feel your pain"

Take advantage of all the resources at your disposal!

10.) REMAIN CALM!! (It's just science!)

Many students sabotage themselves by allowing anxiety, worry, jealousy, and other negative emotions get in the way of thinking clearly. No one ever got better educated by "freaking out"! Realize that frustration is an occupational hazard felt by everyone, to a greater or lesser extent. If you find yourself getting frustrated, step away, watch a little TV, go for a walk, or if it's late at night, just go to sleep. Everything looks better in the morning. Don't concern yourself with what everyone else is doing, or what everyone else is saying…all that matters is you, and what you can do. And don't give up, your hard work will reap rich rewards!