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Problem-solving with the micro-computer
Citation
Teaching and Learning, 4(2)51-58
Author
Ong, Sit Tui
Abstract
In his article, "Computer-Assisted Solutions to Numerical Puzzles", Tan (1983)highlighted the power of computers in solving mathematical problems. Indeed, with the help of the computer, Appel and Haken (1977) of the University of Illinois had proved in their article, "The Solution of the Four Color-Map Problem", that four colours will suffice for any planar map so that no two adjacent countries are in the same colour. They essentially reduced the problem to about 1930 sub-problems each of which
could be routinely solved by a computer. The computertook 1,200 CPU hours and made an estimated 10 billion individual computations.
The purpose of this article is to show how a certain type of mathematical problem can be solved by a computer following a simple iterative procedure.
Date Issued
1984