Methods of Solving Problems in Elemantaty Middle School and High School Mathematics

Preface to the First Edition I have developed this book to help elementary, middle and high school students acquire a deeper understanding of mathematics and prepare themselves for Olympiads and contests in this field. My wish is to instill in my students the art of reasoning and the power of evaluating and solving mathematics issues at a higher level.

The first section of this book covers almost the entire North American curriculum with over 3,200 problems and exercises organized into ten chapters. Each chapter contains excercises that increase in difficulty from the simplest ones to problems used in major mathematics competitions. At the end of each chapter, I have included problems I have published in the “Mathematical Olympiads Correspondence Program” (http://www.math.ca/Competitions/MOCP/) in Ontario. Some problems are accompanied by at least one full solution; others come only with the answer, leaving the students the joy of solving them on their own. Occasionally, some problems at the end of the chapter appear impossible to solve. However, my thirty-year experience in teaching mathematics and my interactions with students enable me to demonstrate the solutions in a clear, easy to understand manner.

The second part of the book is a presentation of several problems solving, alongside a series of guiding ways and answers to other categories of problems. I am confident that any students who pick up this book and solve one set of exercises can expand their knowledge, fuel their interest, and excel in their mathematics courses. I also hope this paper will become instrumental to mathematics teachers working both in the private and public education systems.

About the author Mihai Rosu

Bachelor of Science in Pure Mathematics at a University in Romania Master of Arts in Mathematics at York University, Toronto High School Mathematics Teacher since 1980 Co-worker for Mathematical Olympiad Correspondence Program

See some of the mathematics problems I have authored in December 2006, July 2007, January 2008, April 2008, July 2008, December 2008, and March 2009 at:

http://www.cms.maths.ca/Competitions/MOCP/2008_dec.pdf
http://www.cms.maths.ca/Competitions/MOCP/prob_mar.pdf
http://www.cms.maths.ca/Competitions/MOCP/prob_jan.pdf

To purchase the book send and e-mail with your request to Mihai Rosu