Radan Kucera - Böcker

This book presents methods of solving problems in classical combinatorics, combinatorial number theory, and combinatorial geometry. It can be seen as a continuation of the successful book "Equations and Inequalities" by the same authors. However, it can be read independently or used as a textbook in its own right. The authors' aim is to familiarize the reader with methods for solving problems in elementary mathematics, accessible to beginning university and advanced high-school students. They emphasize basic algebraic operations and other technical skills that are reinforced in numerous examples and exercises. Answers to all exercises can be found at the end of the book. The book is intended as a text for a problem-solving course at the first- or second-year university level, as a text for enrichment classes for talented high-school students, or for mathematics competition training.

This book presents methods of solving problems in three areas of classical elementary mathematics: Equations and systems of equations of various kinds, algebraic inequalities, and elementary number theory, in particular divisibility and diophantine equations. In each topic, brief theoretical discussions are immediately followed by carefully worked out examples of increasing degrees of difficulty, and by exercises which range from routine to rather challenging problems. While this book emphasizes some methods that are not usually covered in beginning university courses, it nevertheless teaches techniques and skills which are useful not only in the specific topics covered here. There are approximately 330 examples and 760 exercises.

This book can be seen as a continuation of Equations and Inequalities: El­ ementary Problems and Theorems in Algebra and Number Theory by the same authors, and published as the first volume in this book series. How­ ever, it can be independently read or used as a textbook in its own right. This book is intended as a text for a problem-solving course at the first­ or second-year university level, as a text for enrichment classes for talented high-school students, or for mathematics competition training. It can also be used as a source of supplementary material for any course dealing with combinatorics, graph theory, number theory, or geometry, or for any of the discrete mathematics courses that are offered at most American and Canadian universities. The underlying "philosophy" of this book is the same as that of Equations and Inequalities. The following paragraphs are therefore taken from the preface of that book.