MMP.10:4.1 - Recover what varies and what the question asks

Describe a candidate before choosing scalar variables. Is it an amount, a collection, a sequence, an assignment, a function or another mathematical object? Which distinctions can change the answer? A set retains membership; a multiset also retains multiplicity; a sequence retains positions. Choose among them from the question.

Separate supplied quantities from unknowns. Among unknowns, distinguish what is to be inferred, what can be chosen and what can vary independently of that choice. If a choice uses an observation, specify when the observation becomes available; MMP.8 constructs the resulting information-dependent requirement. An unknown value does not become a freely selectable design variable merely by appearing in the same equation.

State the requested result. Existence asks whether at least one admissible object can be constructed. Inference asks what a quantity can be across admissible objects. Selection adds a preference among them. Counting and sampling depend on how individual objects are distinguished. Keep those requests separate while choosing the representation.