About the Authors

Koh Khee Meng is Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the National University of Singapore. Among several other significant appointments, he was the chairman of the Singapore International Mathematical Olympiad Committee (1991–93) and the president of the Singapore Mathematical Society (1996–98). He specializes in Combinatories and Graph Theory and has had many papers published in international scientific journals. He is co-author of the books Principles and Techniques in Combinatories and College Mathematics, Volumes 1 & 2.

Tay Eng Guan is Assistant Professor in the Mathematics and Mathematics Education Academic Group of the National Institute of Education at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He specializes in Graph Theory and Mathematics Education and has had papers published in international scientific journals in both areas.

This book is a useful, attractive introduction to basic counting techniques for upper secondary and junior college students, as well as teachers. Younger students and lay people who appreciate mathematics, not to mention avid puzzle solvers, will also find the book interesting. The various problems and applications here are good for building up proficiency in counting. They are also useful for honing basic skills and techniques in general problem solving. Many of the problems avoid routine and the diligent reader will often discover more than one way of solving a particular problem, which is indeed an important awareness in problem solving. The book thus helps to give students an early start to learning problem-solving heuristics and thinking skills.

Contents:

• The Addition Principle
• The Multiplication Principle
• Subsets and Arrangements
• Applications
• The Bijection Principle
• Distribution of Balls into Boxes
• More Applications of (BP)
• Distribution of Distinct Balls into Distinct Boxes
• Other Variations of the Distribution Problem
• The Binomial Expansion
• Some Useful Identities
• Pascal's Triangle
• Miscellaneous Problems

"This book manages to make an area of mathematics traditionally considered difficult by students more accessible and is bound to captivate their attention with the numerous interesting exercises and applications it contains."