12. WHAT IS A MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM

Students ideas about what constitutes a mathematical problem was quite varied though none involved the concept of novelty or distinguished a problem from an exercise. This is probably an indiction that very few, if any of these students, had much experience with solving genuinely novel problelms.

"I think a mathematical problem involves numbers (quantitative amount) or relational ideas."

"I think a mathematical problem involves numbers in some way, though almost any problem does."

"Anything requiring logic to solve."

"A problem that builds my way of thinking."

"There are many types of mathematical problems that we deal with daily Ð and others not so much. There are abstract/theoretical ones or practical/relative ones. There is not an answer."

"Some sort of logical situation or question that has an answer that is logical and can be arrived at through logical processes."

"A mathematical problem is a problem that deals directly or indirectly with numbers of some sort. Or possibly uses numbers to solve other non-number problems."

"Any question involving math."

"A mathematical problem is one that allows you to identify the problem and 'forces' you to come up with different ways of solving it."

"I think a mathematical problem is any idea, concept, phenomena or problem that can be described and/or solved through the use of mathematics."