Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This book contains 500 problems that range over a wide spectrum of mathematics and of levels of difficulty. Some are simple mathematical puzzlers while others are serious problems at the Olympiad level. Students of all levels of interest and ability will be entertained by the book. For many problems, more than one solution is supplied so that students can compare the elegance and efficiency of different mathematical approaches. A special mathematical toolchest summarizes the results and techniques needed by competition-level students. Teachers will find the book useful, both for encouraging their students and for their own pleasure. Some of the problems can be used to provide a little spice in the regular curriculum by demonstrating the power of very basic techniques. The problems were first published as a series of problem booklets almost twenty years ago. They have stood the test of time and the demand for them has been steady. Their publication in book form is long overdue.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• 1 Problems
• 2 Solutions
• 3 The tool chest; 4
• Index of problems

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Aimed at the secondary school level (through pre-calculus), this collection of problems touches on most areas of mathematics: algebra, geometry, probability, functions, and discrete mathematics. For each problem, at least one solution is provided, with multiple solutions in some instances. Most of the problems first appeared as part of a series of five booklets issued over 20 years ago by the Canadian Mathematical Society, which explains why neither the problems nor their solutions account for access to current computing technologies. In some cases, such access turns a problem into a trivial exercise (no longer requiring one to have facility with ingenious substitutions that reduce the problem to an acceptable form). Nonetheless, the majority of the problems remain challenging and worthy of attack--by both teachers and students. The authors have included a "Tool Chest" as a brief summary of the mathematical techniques one may need to solve some of the problems. Finally, the index provides a classification of the problems by type (e.g., geometry--locus and graphs), though no classification by difficulty level is provided (nor is one necessary). General; lower-division undergraduates. J. Johnson Western Washington University