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Principles and Techniques in Combinatorics
A textbook suitable for undergraduate courses. The materials are presented very explicitly so that students will find it very easy to read. A wide range of examples, about 500 combinatorial problems taken from various mathematical competitions and exercises are also included.
- GenresMathematicsTextbooks
312 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 3, 2020
I found this to be the best introductory book on enumerative combinatorics, a true little gem. The prerequisites are close to none besides a good command of high school algebra (factorials, polynomials ...) and there's explanation, examples, and exercises aplenty.
The book covers - in this order: multiplication and addition principles (permutations, combinations etc.), binomial theorem, pigeonhole principle (with Ramsey theory), principle of inclusion exclusion, generating functions, and recurrence relations.
The exercises range from 50 to 100 per chapter and they're fairly challenging. They tend to follow the paragraphs of the exposition and increase in difficulty. Some of the problems are taken from national olympiads (a few from IMO are present) or the Putnam competition. The authors were in fact coaches for a national maths team, which is reflected in the exposition (very problem-solving oriented, it's far from a pure math text) and the exercises.
The book covers - in this order: multiplication and addition principles (permutations, combinations etc.), binomial theorem, pigeonhole principle (with Ramsey theory), principle of inclusion exclusion, generating functions, and recurrence relations.
The exercises range from 50 to 100 per chapter and they're fairly challenging. They tend to follow the paragraphs of the exposition and increase in difficulty. Some of the problems are taken from national olympiads (a few from IMO are present) or the Putnam competition. The authors were in fact coaches for a national maths team, which is reflected in the exposition (very problem-solving oriented, it's far from a pure math text) and the exercises.
February 9, 2024
A great collection of problems in combinatorics collected from various competitions including Olympiads. Would be appealing and useful to beginning undergraduates or advanced high school students as a first exposure to the subject.
The book is methodical and well structured. You learn a combinatorial method, then use it on a variety of problems then move on to a new method and so on. The problems are quite engaging.
The book is methodical and well structured. You learn a combinatorial method, then use it on a variety of problems then move on to a new method and so on. The problems are quite engaging.
August 2, 2020
Absolutely fascinating and accessible! I highly recommend to everyone seeking to obtain a better understanding of how to count things. Chen does an excellent job of explaining concepts to beginners without much combinatorics foundation. This book really helps you view questions and approach problems from a different perspective.
March 5, 2019
Very well written, nicely laid out book! Easy to follow examples throughout and it follows a nice progression through a wide variety of concepts. It also includes a lot of good practice problems for each chapter. I can't say enough good things about it. Highly recommend!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews