ABSTRACT
This chapter interprets problem solving as having a real problem whose understanding and solution requires quantitative analysis and one or more solution techniques using mathematics. It describes a simple five-step method for problem solving. The steps are: define and understand the problem, develop strategies to solve the problem, solve the problem formulated in previous step, perform a self-reflection of the process, and if necessary, extend the problem. Maple is a symbolic computation system or computer algebra system that manipulates information in a symbolic or algebraic manner. The graphical interface to the Maple computational engine allows to perform simple computations and create customizable, zoomable graphs. The chapter presents a quick review of some basic Maple commands. The Maple help database provides all the information found in the Maple Library Reference Manual.
