How many ways are there to add four even (positive) numbers to get 24?
Students from grades 7 & 8 have been working on solving problems that can be approached by listing all possible solutions. If you have ever done this before, you have inevitably found yourself reaching the end of the list only to realize that you missed a possible solution. You are then presented with the sinking suspicion, “Have I missed any others?”
The use of the greedy algorithm is a method for ensuring that your list is generated in a meaningful order that guarantees that nothing has been missed. Students in grade 7 & 8 should be able to explain the greedy algorithm and its application in the problem above… Feel free to test them.
