The Art and Craft of Problem Solving

Appealing to everyone from college-level majors to independent learners, The Art and Craft of Problem Solving, 3rd Edition introduces a problem-solving approach to mathematics, as opposed to the traditional exercises approach. The goal of The Art and Craft of Problem Solving is to develop strong problem solving skills, which it achieves by encouraging students to do math rather than just study it. Paul Zeitz draws upon his experience as a coach for the international mathematics Olympiad to give students an enhanced sense of mathematics and the ability to investigate and solve problems.

Table of Contents

1. What This Book Is About and How to Read It

2. Strategies for Investigating Problems

3. Tactics for Solving Problems

4. Three Important Crossover Tactics

5. Algebra

6. Combinatorics

7. Number Theory

8. Geometry for Americans

9. Calculus

About the Author

Paul Zeitz studied history at Harvard and received a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley. He currently is an associate professor at the University of San Francisco. He won the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) and was a member of the first American team to participate in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in 1974. Since 1985, he has composed and edited problems for several national math contests, including the USAMO and helped train several American IMO teams, most notably the 1994 “Dream Team” which, for the first time in history, achieved a perfect score. In 2003, he received the Deborah Tepper Haimo award, a national teaching award for college and university math, given by the Math Association of America.