Math Games Books - Page 5

Why Do Buses Come in Threes?

Rob Eastaway, Jeremy Wyndham

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Deals in a very entertaining way with problems in normal life related to mathematics, luck, coincidence, gambling." – The Independent (London)

Why do your chances of winning the lottery increase if you buy your ticket on Friday? Why do traffic lights always seem to be red when youre in a hurry? Is bad luck just chance, or can it be explained?

The intriguing answers to these and other questions about the curiosities of everyday life can be found in this delightfully irreverent and highly informative book. Why Do Buses Come in Threes? explains how math and the laws of probability are constantly at work in our lives, affecting everything we do, from getting a date to catching a bus to cooking dinner. With great humor and a genuine love for the subject, Rob Eastaway and Jeremy Wyndham present solutions to such conundrums as how fast one should run in the rain to stay dry and who was the greatest sportsman of all time.Discover the mathematical explanations for the strange coincidence of two.

Presidents dying on July 4, the uncanny "accuracy" of horoscopes, and other not-so-coincidental coincidences. Eastaway and Wyndham also reveal how television ratings work, which numbers are more likely to be big winners in the lottery, and why bad things, just like buses, always seem to happen in threes.

Whether you have a degree in astrophysics or havent touched a math problem since high school, this book sends you on a fascinating journey through the logic of life where Newtons laws explain bar fights, exploding rabbit populations, and why showers always run either too hot or too cold. Why Do Buses Come in Threes? is a delightfully entertaining ride that reveals the relevance of math in absolutely everything we do.

A Mathematical Mosaic: Patterns & Problem Solving

Ravi Vakil

List Price: $16.95 By: Brendan Kelly Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $125.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Excellent --- for middle school to very early high school 3 out of 5 stars.
12 of 15 people found this review helpful.

I understand that Ravi Vakil has a great record in the IMO and Putnam competitions. When I read the reviews and the back cover on a web site which explicitly stated: "Reveals some of [Vakil's] most powerful problem solving strategies," -- Well, of course I bought it immediately. Unfortunately most of the things in the book are quite elementary as far as problem solving goes. It is meant as an exposure for people who haven't seen these things so far(particularly talented jr high /middle school and early high school). Of course you will find some very interesting facts in here (and the rare mistakes-- Euler's Formula being called DeMoivre's Theorem) and will leave many young students in awe as Mr. Vakil shows off some beautiful mathematics. It is a good book, but I gave it only 3 stars because I expected much more( much more "powerful" stuff as the backcover said). If your a very experienced problem solver you will find many of the things in this book trivial(you will find some gems though), but if your a beginner with some talent, then you will love this book.

Editorial Review:

A Mathematical Mosaic: Patterns & Problem Solving by Ravi Vakil is a must for teachers seeking to challenge their best students, and for students preparing for mathematics competitions. In this exciting book, Vakil, a preeminent winner of International Mathematics Olympiads, develops some of the powerful problem-solving ideas underpinning the major branches of mathematics and weaves them into a mosaic that reveals their interconnections.The mathematics is presented at the level of the capable high school mathematics student, but there is much substance for the advanced undergraduate and the intelligent lay reader. You will find this book an invaluable source of enrichment problems and ideas. The style is informal, friendly, and often humorous. In this book, Vakil profiles seven other mathematics olympiad winners including Noam Elkies, the youngest professor to receive tenure at Harvard.

More Joy of Mathematics: Exploring Mathematics All Around You

Theoni Pappas

Amazon Price: $8.76 List Price: $10.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wide World Publishing/Tetra Amazon Marketplace: 52 new & used starting at $1.23

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Book of Equivalent Quality to Its Predecessor 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 14 people found this review helpful.

If you enjoyed Pappas' "The Joy of Mathematics," then you should love this addition to the set. This book, like its predecessor, contains a diverse collection of concise, insightful discussions about mathematical topics and how they relate to the observed world. It develops ideas with an elegant simplicity by providing the reader with copious amounts of illustrations and diagrams. Pappas communicates mathematical ideas clearly and, unlike some mathematicians, stresses their relation to the lives and experiences of humans. She reveals the appealing aspects of the subject by excluding the technical, logical deductions that most frequently discourage people from studying it. The variety of topics presented in the book displays the versatility of mathematics and its relevance to human knowledge. For students interested in exploring the meaning and significance of mathematics or for teachers lacking the necessary materials to enlighten their students about these topics, this book is ideal.

Editorial Review:

This sequel to the popular title furthers a reader's appreciation of just how mathematics is connected to the everyday world--and how a grasp of essential concepts can enrich one's life in innumerable ways. This fresh and lively approach to mathematics--appealing even to those who are intimidated by the world of numbers--unlocks the pleasures, mysteries, and practical applications of hundreds of mathematical concepts.

1000 Play Thinks: Puzzles, Paradoxes, Illusions & Games

Ivan Moscovich

List Price: $29.95 By: Workman Publishing Company Amazon Marketplace: 56 new & used starting at $1.31

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

1000 PLAYTHINKS is the most compulsive, head-scratching, and-at 5.08 pounds-gargantuan puzzle book ever. An obsessive collection of 1,000 challenges, puzzles, riddles, illusions-both original as well as must-do classics. Jam-packed on the page and illustrated throughout in full-color, with a visual for each entry, the book, opened anywhere, is like a call to action. And once started it's hard to stop, because at the end of every successfully completed game the puzzle-solver feels smart, successful, and at one with the beauty of mathematics.

Created by Ivan Moscovich, PLAYTHINKS is the first and only book where science, math, and art puzzles all come together. Broken down by chapter, PLAYTHINKS challenges with 12 basic categories, including games of Geometry; Patterns; Numbers; Logic and Probability; and Perception. A special Bonus Round is included for die-hard puzzlers who, after all that, still haven't had enough. An easy-to-read key at the top of each game ranks its difficulty on a scale of 1 to 10. The lie-flat spiral binding makes the hefty book completely reader-friendly. So do the answers in the back.

Seventh Grade Math Minutes

Doug Stoffel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

These are great! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I am using these as a class starter and I love them. They have a big variety of problems. The only negative is my students need more than a minute to do them. Right now we are doing 2, but I will shorten it as time goes on. It's only the 1st week of school!

Editorial Review:

One Hundred Minutes to Better Basic Skills Help middle-grade students master essential math skills with the motivating, classroom-tested Math Minutes format featured in these two new books. Each book provides 100 Minutes of 10 problems each for students to complete within a one- to two-minute period. Providing daily practice in every key area of math instruction, Math Minutes is a fun way to improve students problem-solving speed (crucial for testing situations) and an instant assessment tool.

Problem Solving Through Recreational Mathematics

Bonnie Averbach, Orin Chein

Amazon Price: $10.85 List Price: $15.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $3.47

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Problem Solving Through Recreational Mathematics 5 out of 5 stars.
21 of 21 people found this review helpful.

I first became acquainted with this book about twenty years ago when it first appeared. Since it didn't fit into a standard niche in college mathematics curricula, it never really caught on and, before the Dover edition, was out of print for a number of years.

This was a shame, as this is both a wonderful and remarkable book. It has a broad appeal; amateur mathematicians, professional mathematicians, and puzzle buffs should all find something in it to interest them. It is both fun and rewarding at the same time. One can learn a great deal of mathematics from it. It also contains a method for solving linear Diophantine equations that I have never seen anywhere else.

The authors have added a chapter on probability which should further enhance this highly original work.

Editorial Review:

Many of the most important mathematical concepts were developed from recreational problems. This book uses problems, puzzles, and games to teach students how to think critically. It emphasizes active participation in problem solving, with emphasis on logic, number and graph theory, games of strategy, and much more. Includes answers to selected problems. Index. 1980 edition.

Geometric Folding Algorithms: Linkages, Origami, Polyhedra

Erik D. Demaine, Joseph O'Rourke

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Editorial Review:

How can linkages, pieces of paper, and polyhedra be folded? The authors present hundreds of results and over 60 unsolved 'open problems' in this comprehensive look at the mathematics of folding, with an emphasis on algorithmic or computational aspects. Folding and unfolding problems have been implicit since Albrecht Dürer in the early 1500s, but have only recently been studied in the mathematical literature. Over the past decade, there has been a surge of interest in these problems, with applications ranging from robotics to protein folding. A proof shows that it is possible to design a series of jointed bars moving only in a flat plane that can sign a name or trace any other algebraic curve. One remarkable algorithm shows you can fold any straight-line drawing on paper so that the complete drawing can be cut out with one straight scissors cut. Aimed primarily at advanced undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics or computer science, this lavishly illustrated book will fascinate a broad audience, from high school students to researchers.

Sixth Grade Math Minutes

Doug Stoffel

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Editorial Review:

One Hundred Minutes to Better Basic Skills Help middle-grade students master essential math skills with the motivating, classroom-tested Math Minutes format featured in these two new books. Each book provides 100 Minutes of 10 problems each for students to complete within a one- to two-minute period. Providing daily practice in every key area of math instruction, Math Minutes is a fun way to improve students problem-solving speed (crucial for testing situations) and an instant assessment tool.

Amusements in Mathematics

Henry E. Dudeney

Amazon Price: $10.36 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 57 new & used starting at $1.16

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Intriguing math teasers for ages 11 up, brilliantly answered 5 out of 5 stars.
27 of 28 people found this review helpful.

This excellent collection of teasers has inferential problems in arithmetic and algebra, and includes geometry, mazes, magic squares and a lot of chess-board tours. The answers are often gems in themselves -- things mentioned in passing and left to the reader to establish -- e.g. "... of the twelve ways that eight queens can be placed on a chessboard without attacking one another..." At twelve years old I spent many an hour finding those twelve ways. There is a small problem with the age of the book, first published in 1917. You could buy an airplane for 400 pounds ($1,680) then, and the money puzzles in the first chapter assume familiarity with British pounds, shillings and pence (and ha'pennies and farthings). The Dover edition of 1958 included a preface on British coins and stamps, and another on the game of cricket, but this edition was in 8vo rather than the original quarto, making some of the diagrams very small. I received my copy in 1936, at age eleven, and have cherished it ever since. I still find challenges in it in spite of my Masters degree in Mathematical Physics!

Editorial Review:

One of the largest puzzle collections — 430 brainteasers based on algebra, arithmetic, permutations, probability, plane figure dissection, properties of numbers, etc. Intriguing, witty, paradoxical productions of one of the world's foremost creators of puzzles. Full solutions. More than 450 illustrations.

250 Kakuro Puzzles

Alan Ross

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 1.0 of 5

Multiple Solutions 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Most of the puzzles are fine, but several have multiple solutions.
Is the author just careless, or does he not know that solutions
need to be unique?

Editorial Review:

No doubt you have heard of Sudoku. The Japanese brainteaser has exploded across the UK creating a tidal wave of interest in number puzzles. Now Kakuro is here. Kakuro is Sudoku’s bigger, tougher brother - also known as Kakro or Cross Sums. In its native Japan it has millions of followers. Although its rules are simple, completing a Kakuro puzzle can be a considerable challenge. This logic puzzle uses numbers and basic arithmetic to perplex. Kakuro puzzles can come in various sizes from a simple 6 x 6 grid through to giant 30 x 30 mindbenders. The basic idea is to fill in a crossword-type grid so that each set of blank squares adds up to the total to the left or above. Only the numbers 1-9 can be used and the same number cannot be used more than once in each set.