The Art of Problem Solving, Vol. 1: The Basics

The Art of Problem Solving, Volume 1, is the classic problem solving textbook used by many successful MATHCOUNTS programs, and have been an important building block for students who, like the authors, performed well enough on the American Mathematics Contest series to qualify for the Math Olympiad Summer Program which trains students for the United States International Math Olympiad team. Volume 1 is appropriate for students just beginning in math contests. MATHCOUNTS and novice high school students particularly have found it invaluable. Although the Art of Problem Solving is widely used by students preparing for mathematics competitions, the book is not just a collection of tricks. The emphasis on learning and understanding methods rather than memorizing formulas enables students to solve large classes of problems beyond those presented in the book. Speaking of problems, the Art of Problem Solving, Volume 1, contains over 500 examples and exercises culled from such contests as MATHCOUNTS, the Mandelbrot Competition, the AMC tests, and ARML. Full solutions (not just answers!) are available for all the problems in the solution manual.

Sandor Lehoczky participated in the Math Olympiad Summer Program in 1989, and in 1990 earned the sole perfect AIME score and led the national first place team on the AHSME (now AMC 12). Richard Rusczyk is the founder of the Art of Problem Solving website. He was a national MATHCOUNTS participant in 1985, a three-time participant in the Math Olympiad Summer Program, a perfect AIME scorer in 1989, and a USA Mathematical Olympiad winner. He is author or co-author of 6 Art of Problem Solving textbooks. Lehoczky and Rusczyk were co-founders of the Mandelbrot Competition and are board members of the Art of Problem Solving Foundation.