A true problem solver is like a detective. When there is an obvious
or routine method of solution anyone can follow the usual steps and
get a solution. Such mathematical 'problems' don't even need an
intelligent human being, they can simply be fed to a computer to do
the work automatically.
When solving real problems you have to search like a detective for
all the information you can gather and then try to make sense of
what you have found out.
Some solutions can be found to this problem by trial and improvement.
That is just the start of the investigation! What other methods can be used?
Which is the best method? What can we discover about the mathematical ideas
involved and how can we use these ideas to find out more? When we have some
solutions can we prove that there are no remaining undiscovered solutions? Can
we pose and solve similar problems? What generalisations can we make?
It appears at first sight that there is too little information given
about this problem so we have to find out all we can. The problem
involves triangle numbers and the arithmetic mean and we know it is
about whole numbers. We can construct and simplify some algebraic
expressions.
Can we prove that
cannot be very small or very
large so we only have to test a limited number of cases?
Can we use a spreadsheet or other computer program to help search for
solutions?
When we find some solutions can we be sure we have found
them all?