Guess and check is a powerful tool in solving more difficult math problems (i.e. differential equations). One tool that we need to answer guess and check problems is the table. We need to be able to construct a table of our guesses to see if it is getting nearer the desired answer. Here is an example of how to make good guesses and how to fill out a table: Patrick collected leaves for a Science project. He was able to collect 45 long and short leaves. There are 9 more long leaves than short leaves. How many long leaves and short leaves was he able to collect? What are the clues that you can use? * There are two kinds of leaves, long and short. * There are 9 more long leaves than short leaves. * The total number of leaves is 45. We will use these clues to complete this table. Because the total is a multiple of 5, it makes sense to make guesses that are multiples of 5 as well. Long leaves Short Leaves Long leaves + Short leav
