Discovering Mathematics

Book excerpt: The term "mathematics" usually suggests an array of familiar problems with solutions derived from well-known techniques. Discovering Mathematics: The Art of Investigation takes a different approach, exploring how new ideas and chance observations can be pursued, and focusing on how the process invariably leads to interesting questions that would never have otherwise arisen. With puzzles involving coins, postage stamps, and other commonplace items, students are challenged to account for the simple explanations behind perplexing mathematical phenomena. Elementary methods and solutions allow readers to concentrate on the way in which the material is explored, as well as on strategies for answers that aren't immediately obvious. The problems don't require the kind of sophistication that would put them out of reach of ordinary students, but they're sufficiently complex to capture the essential features of mathematical discovery. Complete solutions appear at the end.