First steps in Combinatorics, Arithmetic and Algebra

Authors

Description

The first math circles were created more than a century ago in Bulgaria and Russia with three purposes: to teach math through problem solving, to bring experienced researchers closer to young students, and to promote emulation through competitions imbued with the Olympic spirit. There are now math circles in several countries, including Brazil.

The Brazilian Public School Mathematical Olympiad (OBMEP) was created in 2005 and has been increasingly successful in identifying young people with a talent for mathematics, in training elementary school students and teachers and in producing teaching materials. Every year, more than 18 million students from the Fridays year of elementary school to the Tuesdays year of secondary school from public and private schools take part in OBMEP.

The reader will find in this book problems taken mostly from math competitions for elementary school students. Each chapter contains a set of questions, presented in increasing order of difficulty, as well as the solutions. The latter do not require in-depth knowledge of mathematics, just a little logic, the ability to organize thoughts and, in some cases, an ingenious idea. The problems cover two important areas of mathematics, counting and arithmetic, and can serve as a fun way to learn these subjects.

Target audience

Middle school