Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T08:21:07.059Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Principle of the extreme element

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2016

Kiril Bankov
Kiril Bankov*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Maths and Informatics, University of Sofia, Boul. James Boucher 5, 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Many professional mathematicians wish to contribute to making mathematics more attractive to gifted young people. One way to pursue this goal is to create of problems that require a great deal of common sense, imagination, and, very often, a specific problem solving strategy. This article introduces such a strategy, the principle of the extreme element. Although the name is not widely used, the principle may help you to solve some non-standard mathematical problems. The material is based on my personal experience gained in extracurricular work with mathematically gifted students, and in my participation in mathematics competitions at different levels as a contestant and organiser.

Type
Articles
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 83 , Issue 496 , March 1999 , pp. 2 - 9
Copyright
Copyright © The Mathematical Association 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Soifer, A., Colorado Mathematical Olympiad, Center for Excellence in Mathematical Education, Colorado Springs, 1994.Google Scholar
2. Bankov, K., School geometry from the classroom to the mathematics competitions, in Geometry and mathematics competitions, papers contributed to Topic Area 6, Third WFNMC Congress, July 1998, Isfahan University of Technology, Iran.Google Scholar