This unique approach to combinatorics is centered around unconventional, essay-type combinatorial examples, followed by a number of carefully selected, challenging problems and extensive discussions of their solutions. Topics encompass permutations and combinations, binomial coefficients and their applications, bijections, inclusions and exclusions, and generating functions. Each chapter features fully-worked problems, including many from Olympiads and other competitions, as well as a number of problems original to the authors; at the end of each chapter are further exercises to reinforce understanding, encourage creativity, and build a repertory of problem-solving techniques. The authors' previous text, "102 Combinatorial Problems," makes a fine companion volume to the present work, which is ideal for Olympiad participants and coaches, advanced high school students, undergraduates, and college instructors. The book's unusual problems and examples will interest seasoned mathematicians as well. "A Path to Combinatorics for Undergraduates" is a lively introduction not only to combinatorics, but to mathematical ingenuity, rigor, and the joy of solving puzzles.
This unique approach to combinatorics is centered around unconventional, essay-type combinatorial examples, followed by a number of carefully selected, challenging problems and extensive discussions of their solutions. Topics encompass permutations and combinations, binomial coefficients and their applications, bijections, inclusions and exclusions, and generating functions. Each chapter features fully-worked problems, including many from Olympiads and other competitions, as well as a number of problems original to the authors; at the end of each chapter are further exercises to reinforce understanding, encourage creativity, and build a repertory of problem-solving techniques. The authors' previous text, "102 Combinatorial Problems," makes a fine companion volume to the present work, which is ideal for Olympiad participants and coaches, advanced high school students, undergraduates, and college instructors. The book's unusual problems and examples will interest seasoned mathematicians as well. "A Path to Combinatorics for Undergraduates" is a lively introduction not only to combinatorics, but to mathematical ingenuity, rigor, and the joy of solving puzzles.
Über den Autor
Titu Andreescu received his Ph.D. from the West University of Timisoara, Romania. The topic of his dissertation was "Research on Diophantine Analysis and Applications." Professor Andreescu currently teaches at The University of Texas at Dallas. He is past chairman of the USA Mathematical Olympiad, served as director of the MAA American Mathematics Competitions (1998-2003), coach of the USA International Mathematical Olympiad Team (IMO) for 10 years (1993-2002), director of the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program (1995-2002), and leader of the USA IMO Team (1995-2002). In 2002 Titu was elected member of the IMO Advisory Board, the governing body of the world's most prestigious mathematics competition. Titu co-founded in 2006 and continues as director of the AwesomeMath Summer Program (AMSP). He received the Edyth May Sliffe Award for Distinguished High School Mathematics Teaching from the MAA in 1994 and a "Certificate of Appreciation" from the president of the MAA in 1995 for his outstanding service as coach of the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program in preparing the US team for its perfect performance in Hong Kong at the 1994 IMO. Titu's contributions to numerous textbooks and problem books are recognized worldwide.
Dorin Andrica received his Ph.D in 1992 from "Babes-Bolyai" University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania; his thesis treated critical points and applications to the geometry of differentiable submanifolds. Professor Andrica has been chairman of the Department of Geometry at "Babes-Bolyai" since 1995. He has written and contributed to numerous mathematics textbooks, problem books, articles and scientific papers at various levels. He is an invited lecturer at university conferences around the world: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Turkey, and the USA. Dorin is a member of the Romanian Committee for the Mathematics Olympiad and is a member onthe editorial boards of several international journals. Also, he is well known for his conjecture about consecutive primes called "Andrica's Conjecture." He has been a regular faculty member at the Canada-USA Mathcamps between 2001-2005 and at the AwesomeMath Summer Program (AMSP) since 2006.
Zusammenfassung
This unique approach to combinatorics is centered around unconventional, essay-type combinatorial examples, followed by a number of carefully selected, challenging problems and extensive discussions of their solutions. Topics encompass permutations and combinations, binomial coefficients and their applications, bijections, inclusions and exclusions, and generating functions. Each chapter features fully-worked problems, including many from Olympiads and other competitions, as well as a number of problems original to the authors; at the end of each chapter are further exercises to reinforce understanding, encourage creativity, and build a repertory of problem-solving techniques. The authors' previous text, "102 Combinatorial Problems," makes a fine companion volume to the present work, which is ideal for Olympiad participants and coaches, advanced high school students, undergraduates, and college instructors. The book's unusual problems and examples will interest seasoned mathematicians as well. "A Path to Combinatorics for Undergraduates" is a lively introduction not only to combinatorics, but to mathematical ingenuity, rigor, and the joy of solving puzzles.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Preface.- Introduction.- Acknowledgments.- Abbreviations and Notations.- Addition on Multiplication?- Combinations.- Properties of Binomial Coefficients.- Bijections.- Inclusions and Exclusions.- Recursions.- Calculating in Two Ways - Fubini's Principle.- Generating Functions.- Review Exercises.- Glossary.- Further Reading.
