Problem Books - Böcker

This book is a continuation of Mathematical Olympiads 1999-2000: Problems and Solutions From Around the World, published by the Mathematical Association of America. It contains solutions to the problems from 27 national and regional contests featured in the earlier book, together with selected problems (without solutions) from national and regional contests given during 2001. In many cases multiple solutions are provided in order to encourage students to compare different problem-solving strategies. The editors have tried to present a wide variety of problems, especially from those countries that have often done well at the IMO. The problems themselves should provide much enjoyment for all those fascinated by solving challenging mathematics questions.

This is the third volume of problems that cover the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) and the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) to be published by the MAA in its Problem Book series. The aims of the IMO are: to discover, encourage and challenge mathematically gifted young people in all countries; to foster friendships between mathematicians around the world; and to create an opportunity for the exchange of information on school syllabi and practice throughout the world. The USAMO and the Team Selection Test (TST) are the last two stages of the selection process leading to representing the USA in the IMO. The preceding examinations are the AMC 10 or AMC 12 and the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). Participation in the AIME, USAMO, and the TST is by invitation only, based on performance in the preceding exams of the sequence. All of these contests identify and recognize young gifted mathematicians while they are still in secondary school. Participation in these competitions provides them with the chance to measure themselves against other exceptional students from all over the world.

The Mathematical Olympiad examinations, covering the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) and the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), have been published annually since 1976. This is the fourth volume in that series. The IMO is a world mathematics competition for high school students that takes place each year in a different country. Students from all over the world participate in this competition. These Olympiad style exams consist of several challenging essay-type problems. Although a correct and complete solution to an Olympiad problem often requires deep analysis and careful argument, the problems require no more than a solid background in high school mathematics coupled with a dose of mathematical ingenuity. There are helpful hints provided for each of the problems. These hints often help lead the student to a solution of the problem. Complete solutions to each of the problems is also included, and many of the problems are presented together with a collection of remarkable solutions developed by the examination committees, contestants and experts, during or after the contest. For each problem with multiple solutions, some common crucial results are presented at the beginning of these solutions.

For more than 50 years, the Mathematical Association of America has been engaged in the construction and administration of challenging contests for students in American and Canadian high schools. The problems on these contests are constructed in the hope that all high school students interested in mathematics will have the opportunity to participate in the contests and will find the experience mathematically enriching. These contests are intended for students at all levels, from the average student at a typical school who enjoys mathematics to the very best students at the most special school. In the year 2000, the Mathematical Association of America initiated the American Mathematics Competitions 10 (AMC 10) for students up to grade 10.The Contest Problem Book VIII is the first collection of problems from that competition covering the years 2001-2007. J. Douglas Faires and David Wells were the joint directors of the AMC 10 and AMC 12 during that period, and have assembled this book of problems and solutions. There are 350 problems from the first 14 contests included in this collection. A Problem Index at the back of the book classifies the problems into the following major subject areas: Algebra and Arithmetic, Sequences and Series, Triangle Geometry, Circle Geometry, Quadrilateral Geometry, Polygon Geometry, Counting Coordinate Geometry, Solid Geometry, Discrete Probability, Statistics, Number Theory, and Logic. The major subject areas are then broken down into subcategories for ease of reference. The Problems are cross-referenced when they represent several subject areas.

This book is a celebration of mathematical problem solving at the level of the high school American Invitational Mathematics Examination. There is no other book on the market focused on the AIME. It is intended, in part, as a resource for comprehensive study and practice for the AIME competition for students, teachers, and mentors. After all, serious AIME contenders and competitors should seek a lot of practice in order to succeed. However, this book is also intended for anyone who enjoys solving problems as a recreational pursuit.The AIME contains many problems that have the power to foster enthusiasm for mathematics the problems are fun, engaging, and addictive. The problems found within these pages can be used by teachers who wish to challenge their students, and they can be used to foster a community of lovers of mathematical problem solving! There are more than 250 fully-solved problems in the book, containing examples from AIME competitions of the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. In some cases, multiple solutions are presented to highlight variable approaches. To help problem-solvers with the exercises, the author provides two levels of hints to each exercise in the book, one to help stuck starters get an idea how to begin, and another to provide more guidance in navigating an approach to the solution. Topics include algebra, combinatorics, probability, number theory, sequences and series, logarithms, trigonometry, complex numbers, polynomials, and geometry. Many AIME problems involve using several of these mathematical disciplines simultaneously. To make the book indeed gentle, the author has prepared well-motivated, detailed, clear solutions to all examples and exercises in the book. He has not always opted for the shortest solution, but rather, he has presented solutions that a typical student might say I could have come up with that! The book avoids excessive reliance on heavy machinery, deep theorems, or undue abstraction.

This guide covers the story of trigonometry. It is a swift overview, but it is complete in the context of the content discussed in beginning and advanced high-school courses. The purpose of these notes is to supplement and put into perspective the material of any course on the subject you may have taken or are currently taking. (These notes will be tough going for those encountering trigonometry for the very first time!)

A playful, readable, and thorough guide to precalculus, this book is directed at readers who would like a holistic look at the high school curriculum material on functions and their graphs. Tanton provides a coherent guided tour of exploration and discovery of a rich mathematical landscape. The exploration is presented through problems selected from the history of the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competition (AMC). Secondary school teachers looking for supplementary and enrichment materials will find this a rich resource, which aligns with national curriculum standards. High school and college calculus and precalculus students will discover an approachable and thought-provoking review, preview, and overview of these central mathematical ideas. Students preparing for the AMC should find it especially helpful. Active reading, with pencil in hand, will result in a deep appreciation and understanding of the properties of functions.James Tanton is the MAA's mathematician-at-large. A research mathematician with experience teaching at both the college and high school levels, he now works to encourage and aid all mathematics instructors to teach--and all mathematics students to learn-joyously and effectively.

Bicycle or Unicycle? is a collection of 105 mathematical puzzles whose defining characteristic is the surprise encountered in their solutions. Solvers will be surprised, even occasionally shocked, at those solutions. The problems unfold into levels of depth and generality very unusual in the types of problems seen in contests. In contrast to contest problems, these are problems meant to be savored; many solutions, all beautifully explained, lead to unanswered research questions. At the same time, the mathematics necessary to understand the problems and their solutions is all at the undergraduate level. The puzzles will, nonetheless, appeal to professionals as well as to students and, in fact, to anyone who finds delight in an unexpected discovery.These problems were selected from the Macalester College Problem of the Week archive. The Macalester tradition of a weekly problem was started by Joseph Konhauser in 1968. In 1993 Stan Wagon assumed problem-generating duties. A previous book written by Wagon, Konhauser, and Dan Velleman, Which Way Did the Bicycle Go?, gathered problems from the first twenty-five years of the archive. The title problem in that collection was inspired by an error in logic made by Sherlock Holmes, who attempted to determine the direction of a bicycle from the tracks of its wheels. Here the title problem asks whether a bicycle track can always be distinguished from a unicycle track. You'll be surprised by the answer.

The Putnam Competition has been providing a challenge to gifted college mathematics students since 1928. This book, the second of the Putnam Competition volumes, contains problems with their solutions for the years 1965-1984. Additional solutions are presented for many of the problems. Included is an essay on recollections of the first Putnam Exam by Herbert Robbins, as well as appendices listing the winning teams and students from 1965 through 1984. This volume offers the problem solver an enticing sample of challenging problems and their solutions.

Back by popular demand, we are pleased to reissue this outstanding collection of problems and solutions from the Putnam Competitions covering the years 1938-1964. Problemists the world over, including all past and future Putnam Competitors, will revel in mastering the difficulties posed by this collection of problems from the first 25 William Lowell Putnam Competitions. Solutions to all 347 problems are given. In some cases multiple solutions are included, some which contestants could reasonably be expected to find under examination conditions, and others which are more elegant or utilize more sophisticated techniques. Valuable references and historical comments on many of the problems are presented. The book concludes with four articles on the Putnam competition written by G. Birkhoff, L. E. Bush, L. J. Mordell, and L. M. Kelly which are reprinted from the American Mathematical Monthly. There is great appeal here for all; teachers, students, and all those who love good problems and see them as an entree to beautiful and powerful ideas.

This third volume of problems from the William Lowell Putnam Competition is unlike the previous two in that it places the problems in the context of important mathematical themes. The authors highlight connections to other problems, to the curriculum and to more advanced topics. The best problems contain kernels of sophisticated ideas related to important current research, and yet the problems are accessible to undergraduates. The solutions have been compiled from the American Mathematical Monthly, Mathematics Magazine and past competitors. Multiple solutions enhance the understanding of the audience, explaining techniques that have relevance to more than the problem at hand. In addition, the book contains suggestions for further reading, a hint to each problem, separate from the full solution and background information about the competition. The book will appeal to students, teachers, professors and indeed anyone interested in problem solving as a gateway to a deep understanding of mathematics.

Any high school student preparing for the American Mathematics Competitions should get their hands on a copy of this book! A major aspect of mathematical training and its benefit to society is the ability to use logic to solve problems. The American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) have been given for more than fifty years to millions of high school students. This book considers the basic ideas behind the solutions to the majority of these problems, and presents examples and exercises from past exams to illustrate the concepts. Anyone taking the AMC exams or helping students prepare for them will find many useful ideas here. But people generally interested in logical problem solving should also find the problems and their solutions interesting. This book will promote interest in mathematics by providing students with the tools to attack problems that occur on mathematical problem-solving exams, and specifically to level the playing field for those who do not have access to the enrichment programs that are common at the top academic high schools. The book can be used either for self-study or to give people who want to help students prepare for mathematics exams easy access to topic-oriented material and samples of problems based on that material. This is useful for teachers who want to hold special sessions for students, but it is equally valuable for parents who have children with mathematical interest and ability. As students' problem solving abilities improve, they will be able to comprehend more difficult concepts requiring greater mathematical ingenuity. They will be taking their first steps towards becoming math Olympians!

The William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition is the most prestigious undergraduate mathematics problem-solving contest in North America, with thousands of students taking part every year. This volume presents the contest problems for the years 2001-2016. The heart of the book is the solutions; these include multiple approaches, drawn from many sources, plus insights into navigating from the problem statement to a solution. There is also a section of hints, to encourage readers to engage deeply with the problems before consulting the solutions. The authors have a distinguished history of engagement with, and preparation of students for, the Putnam and other mathematical competitions. Collectively they have been named Putnam Fellow (top five finisher) ten times. Kiran Kedlaya also maintains the online Putnam Archive.

This is a challenging problem-solving book in Euclidean geometry, assuming nothing of the reader other than a good deal of courage. Topics covered included cyclic quadrilaterals, power of a point, homothety, triangle centers; along the way the reader will meet such classical gems as the nine-point circle, the Simson line, the symmedian and the mixtilinear incircle, as well as the theorems of Euler, Ceva, Menelaus, and Pascal. Another part is dedicated to the use of complex numbers and barycentric coordinates, granting the reader both a traditional and computational viewpoint of the material. The final part consists of some more advanced topics, such as inversion in the plane, the cross ratio and projective transformations, and the theory of the complete quadrilateral.The exposition is friendly and relaxed, and accompanied by over 300 beautifully drawn figures. The emphasis of this book is placed squarely on the problems. Each chapter contains carefully chosen worked examples, which explain not only the solutions to the problems but also describe in close detail how one would invent the solution to begin with. The text contains a selection of 300 practice problems of varying difficulty from contests around the world, with extensive hints and selected solutions.This book is especially suitable for students preparing for national or international mathematical olympiads or for teachers looking for a text for an honor class.

For more than 50 years, the Mathematical Association of America has been engaged in the construction and administration of challenging contests for students in American and Canadian high schools. The problems for these contests are constructed in the hope that all high school students interested in mathematics will have the opportunity to participate in the contests and will find the experience mathematically enriching. These contests are intended for students at all levels, from the average student at a typical school who enjoys mathematics to the very best students at the most special school. In the year 2000, the Mathematical Association of America initiated the American Mathematics Competitions 10 (AMC 10) for students up to grade 10.The Contest Problem Book VIII is the first collection of problems from that competition covering the years 2001-2007. J. Douglas Faires and David Wells were the joint directors of the AMC 10 and AMC 12 during that period, and have assembled this book of problems and solutions. There are 350 problems from the first 14 contests included in this collection. A Problem Index at the back of the book classifies the problems into the following major subject areas: Algebra and Arithmetic, Sequences and Series, Triangle Geometry, Circle Geometry, Quadrilateral Geometry, Polygon Geometry, Counting Coordinate Geometry, Solid Geometry, Discrete Probability, Statistics, Number Theory, and Logic.The major subject areas are then broken down into subcategories for ease of reference. The problems are cross-referenced when they represent several subject areas.

A Friendly Mathematics Competition tells the story of the Indiana College Mathematics Competition (ICMC) by presenting the problems, solutions, and results of the first 35 years of the ICMC. The ICMC was organized in reaction to the Putnam Exam--its problems were to be more representative of the undergraduate curriculum, and students could work on them in teams. Participation was originally restricted to the small, private colleges and universities of the state, but was later opened up to students from all of the schools in Indiana. The competition was quickly nicknamed the ""Friendly"" Competition because of its focus on solving mathematical problems, which brought faculty and students together, rather than on the competitive nature of winning. Organized by year, the problems and solutions in this volume present an excellent archive of information about what has been expected of an undergraduate mathematics major over the past 35 years.With more than 245 problems and solutions, the book is also a must buy for faculty and students interested in problem-solving. The index of problems lists problems in: Algebraic Structures; Analytic Geometry, Arclength, Binomial Coefficients, Derangements, Differentiation, Differential Equations, Diophantine Equations, Enumeration, Field and Ring Theory, Fibonacci Sequences, Finite Sums, Fundamental Theorem of Calculus Geometry, Group Theory, Inequalities, Infinite Series, Integration, Limit Evaluation, Logic, Matrix Algebra, Maxima and Minima Problems, Multivariable Calculus, Number Theory, Permutations, Probability, Polar Coordinates, Polynomials, Real Valued Functions, Riemann Sums, Sequences, Systems of Equations, Statistics, Synthetic Geometry, Taylor Series, Trigonometry, and Volumes.