This paper intends to examine the relationship between writing and solving combinatorial problems. We analyzed the relative difficulty of various combinatorial problems and the influence that the description of the variable values in the text of the problems would have on their resolution. Two hundred and seventy nine 5th to 9th graders were presented with five different combinatorial problems (Cartesian product, combination, arrangement and permutation) to be solved individually in the classroom. These problems were presented in two forms: a) including the description of the variable values in the text of the problems and b) the traditional combinatorial word problem. The change in the text of the problems influenced the success of their resolution depending on the combinatorial concept involved in the word problem. The variation in the text problem had no effect on the resolution of problems considered too easy (Cartesian product) or too difficult (permutation) by the students. In the case of the combination and arrangement problems, whose resolution was influenced by the change in the problem text, the declaration of the variable values in the text of the problem might become a productive teaching strategy for the development of combinatorial reasoning for children and adolescents.
problems resolution; multiplicative reasoning; combinatorial reasoning
