Mathematical Gems III


Book Description

Ross Honsberger was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1929 and attended the University of Toronto. After more than a decade of teaching mathematics in Toronto, he took advantage of a sabbatical leave to continue his studies at the University of Waterloo, Canada. He joined the faculty in 1964 (Department of Combinatorics and Optimization) and has been there ever since. He is married, the father of three, and grandfather of three. He has published seven bestselling books with the Mathematical Association of America. Here is a selection of reviews of Ross Honsberger's books: The reviewer found this little book a joy to read ... the text is laced with historical notes and lively anecdotes and the proofs are models of lucid, uncluttered reasoning. (about Mathematical Gems I) P. Hagis, Jr., in Mathematical Reviews This book is designed to appeal to high school teachers and undergraduates particularly, but should find a much wider audience. The clarity of exposition and the care taken with all aspects of explanations, diagrams and notation is of a very high standard. (about Mathematical Gems II) K. E. Hirst, in Mathematical Reviews All (i.e., the articles in Mathematical Gems III) are written in the very clear style that characterizes the two previous volumes, and there is bound to be something here that will appeal to anyone, both student and teacher alike. For instructors, Mathematical Gems III is useful as a source of thematic ideas around which to build classroom lectures ... Mathematical Gems III is to be warmly recommended, and we look forward to the appearance of a fourth volume in the series. Joseph B. Dence, Mathematics and Computer Education These delightful little books contain between them 27 short essays on topics from geometry, combinatorics, graph theory, and number theory. The essays are independent, and can be read in any order ... overall these are serious books presenting pretty mathematics with elegant proofs. These books deserve a place in the library of every teacher of mathematics as a valuable resource. Further, as much of the material would not be beyond upper secondary students, inclusion in school libraries may be felt desirable too (about Mathematical Gems I and II) Paul Scott, in The Australian Mathematics Teacher




Mathematical Gems I


Book Description

This book deals with the number system, one of the basic structures in mathematics. It is concerned especially with way of classifying numbers into various categories; for example, it provides some criteria for deciding if a given number is rational (i.e., representable as a common fraction) or irrational, if it is algebraic or transcendental. In the course of the later chapters, the reader is introduced to some of the more recent developments in mathematics. Professor Niven's book may be read with profit by interested high school students as well as by college students and others who want to know more about the basic aspect of pure mathematics. Most readers will find the early chapters well within their grasp while ambitious readers will profit by the more advanced material to be found in later chapters.




Mathematical Gems II


Book Description

Ross Honsberger was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1929 and attended the University of Toronto. After more than a decade of teaching mathematics in Toronto, he took advantage of a sabbatical leave to continue his studies at the University of Waterloo, Canada. He joined the faculty in 1964 (Department of Combinatorics and Optimization) and has been there ever since. He is married, the father of three, and grandfather of three. He has published seven bestselling books with the Mathematical Association of America. Here is a selection of reviews of Ross Honsberger's books: The reviewer found this little book a joy to read ... the text is laced with historical notes and lively anecdotes and the proofs are models of lucid, uncluttered reasoning. (about Mathematical Gems I) P. Hagis, Jr., in Mathematical Reviews This book is designed to appeal to high school teachers and undergraduates particularly, but should find a much wider audience. The clarity of exposition and the care taken with all aspects of explanations, diagrams and notation is of a very high standard. (about Mathematical Gems II) K. E. Hirst, in Mathematical Reviews All (i.e., the articles in Mathematical Gems III) are written in the very clear style that characterizes the two previous volumes, and there is bound to be something here that will appeal to anyone, both student and teacher alike. For instructors, Mathematical Gems III is useful as a source of thematic ideas around which to build classroom lectures ... Mathematical Gems III is to be warmly recommended, and we look forward to the appearance of a fourth volume in the series. Joseph B. Dence, Mathematics and Computer Education These delightful little books contain between them 27 short essays on topics from geometry, combinatorics, graph theory, and number theory. The essays are independent, and can be read in any order ... overall these are serious books presenting pretty mathematics with elegant proofs. These books deserve a place in the library of every teacher of mathematics as a valuable resource. Further, as much of the material would not be beyond upper secondary students, inclusion in school libraries may be felt desirable too (about Mathematical Gems I and II) Paul Scott, in The Australian Mathematics Teacher




Monthly Problem Gems


Book Description

This book is an outgrowth of a collection of sixty-two problems offered in the The American Mathematical Monthly (AMM) the author has worked over the last two decades. Each selected problem has a central theme, contains gems of sophisticated ideas connected to important current research, and opens new vistas in the understanding of mathematics. The AMM problem section provides one of the most challenging and interesting problem sections among the various journals and online sources currently available. The published problems and solutions have become a treasure trove rife with mathematical gems. The author presents either his published solution in the AMM or an alternative solution to the published one to present and develop problem-solving techniques. A rich glossary of important theorems and formulas is included for easy reference. The reader may regard this book as a starter set for AMM problems, providing a jumping of point to new ideas, and extending their personal lexicon of problems and solutions. This collection is intended to encourage the reader to move away from routine exercises toward creative solutions, as well as offering the reader a systematic illustration of how to organize the transition from problem solving to exploring, investigating and discovering new results.




Mathematical Gems II


Book Description




Activity Gems for the 3-5 Classroom


Book Description

"This book contains a carefully selected and adapted set of lessons from NCTM's Navigations series, with a special emphasis on incorporating the Effective Mathematics Teaching Practices in NCTM's Principles to Actions. Teachers of 3-5 students can use these activities to engage their students in exploring, thinking, connecting, discussing, justifying, and advancing in their mathematical understanding and confidence. Each of the 10 Activity Gems includes the following elements: * An overview of how the lesson can help 3-5 students develop their mathematical knowledge and abilities, with lists of goals to achieve and all needed materials * A detailed three-part lesson plan-designed to Engage, Explore, and Extend-including questions a teacher can pose, possible responses and challenges that students may present, and ways to continue the learning beyond the activity. * Activity sheets, classroom images and figures, and any other necessary materials, all available both in an appendix and in downloadable and printable form at NCTM's more4U website"--




Thirty-three Miniatures


Book Description

This volume contains a collection of clever mathematical applications of linear algebra, mainly in combinatorics, geometry, and algorithms. Each chapter covers a single main result with motivation and full proof in at most ten pages and can be read independently of all other chapters (with minor exceptions), assuming only a modest background in linear algebra. The topics include a number of well-known mathematical gems, such as Hamming codes, the matrix-tree theorem, the Lovasz bound on the Shannon capacity, and a counterexample to Borsuk's conjecture, as well as other, perhaps less popular but similarly beautiful results, e.g., fast associativity testing, a lemma of Steinitz on ordering vectors, a monotonicity result for integer partitions, or a bound for set pairs via exterior products. The simpler results in the first part of the book provide ample material to liven up an undergraduate course of linear algebra. The more advanced parts can be used for a graduate course of linear-algebraic methods or for seminar presentations. Table of Contents: Fibonacci numbers, quickly; Fibonacci numbers, the formula; The clubs of Oddtown; Same-size intersections; Error-correcting codes; Odd distances; Are these distances Euclidean?; Packing complete bipartite graphs; Equiangular lines; Where is the triangle?; Checking matrix multiplication; Tiling a rectangle by squares; Three Petersens are not enough; Petersen, Hoffman-Singleton, and maybe 57; Only two distances; Covering a cube minus one vertex; Medium-size intersection is hard to avoid; On the difficulty of reducing the diameter; The end of the small coins; Walking in the yard; Counting spanning trees; In how many ways can a man tile a board?; More bricks--more walls?; Perfect matchings and determinants; Turning a ladder over a finite field; Counting compositions; Is it associative?; The secret agent and umbrella; Shannon capacity of the union: a tale of two fields; Equilateral sets; Cutting cheaply using eigenvectors; Rotating the cube; Set pairs and exterior products; Index. (STML/53)




Charming Proofs


Book Description

Theorems and their proofs lie at the heart of mathematics. In speaking of the purely aesthetic qualities of theorems and proofs, G. H. Hardy wrote that in beautiful proofs 'there is a very high degree of unexpectedness, combined with inevitability and economy'. Charming Proofs presents a collection of remarkable proofs in elementary mathematics that are exceptionally elegant, full of ingenuity, and succinct. By means of a surprising argument or a powerful visual representation, the proofs in this collection will invite readers to enjoy the beauty of mathematics, and to develop the ability to create proofs themselves. The authors consider proofs from topics such as geometry, number theory, inequalities, plane tilings, origami and polyhedra. Secondary school and university teachers can use this book to introduce their students to mathematical elegance. More than 130 exercises for the reader (with solutions) are also included.




Mathematical Diamonds


Book Description

Collection of elementary mathematical problems with solutions. Ideal for students, teachers and general readers.




Graphics Gems III (IBM Version)


Book Description

This sequel to Graphics Gems (Academic Press, 1990), and Graphics Gems II (Academic Press, 1991) is a practical collection of computer graphics programming tools and techniques. Graphics Gems III contains a larger percentage of gems related to modeling and rendering, particularly lighting and shading. This new edition also covers image processing, numerical and programming techniques, modeling and transformations, 2D and 3D geometry and algorithms,ray tracing and radiosity, rendering, and more clever new tools and tricks for graphics programming. Volume III also includes a disk containing source codes for either the IBM or Mac versions featuring all code from Volumes I, II, and III. Author David Kirk lends his expertise to the Graphics Gems series in Volume III with his far-reaching knowledge of modeling and rendering, specifically focusing on the areas of lighting and shading. Volume III includes a disk containing source codes for both the IBM and Mac versions featuring all code from volumes I, II, and III. Graphics Gems I, II, and III are sourcebooks of ideas for graphics programmers. They also serve as toolboxes full of useful tricks and techniques for novice programmers and graphics experts alike. Each volume reflects the personality and particular interests of its respective editor. - Includes a disk containing source codes for both the IBM and Mac versions featuring code from volumes I, II, and III - Features all new graphics gems - Explains techniques for making computer graphics implementations more efficient - Emphasizes physically based modeling, rendering, radiosity, and ray tracing - Presents techniques for making computer graphics implementations more efficient