Becoming a Problem Solving Genius

When it comes to problem-solving strategies, who hasn't heard of the "guess and check" method? This handbook of math strategies by Edward Zaccaro offers some innovative and easy-to-apply strategies such as the "Think 1" method. If the following problem (One bag of cat food will feed 3 cats for 40 days. If I buy 2 more cats, how long will one bag of cat food last?) makes your head hurt, then you definitely need to learn how to "Think 1." What I like about this book is that the author really takes his time explaining each strategy, and he also makes it fun by using cartoon characters. Each new strategy is then followed by lots and lots of practice. In fact, the practice problems are even separated into 5 levels of difficulty Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Einstein Level, and Super Einstein. This enormous book is divided into 17 chapters: Think 1, The 2-10 Method, Sometimes You Must Subtract, Draw a Picture, Venn Diagrams, Language of Algebra, Solving Equations, Solving Algebra Problems, Logic, The Power of Ratios, Function Machines, Don't Be Fooled, The Eccentric Mathematician, Permutations, Understanding Bases, Who Wants to be a Googolillionaire, and Contests. The last chapter, titled Contests, does not teach a new strategy but contains even more pages of practice organized into 4-5 problem math contests. 320 pgs. ~ Anh