Notes on Introductory Combinatorics

Notes on Introductory Combinatorics
Author: George Polya
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2013-11-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1475711018

In the winter of 1978, Professor George P61ya and I jointly taught Stanford University's introductory combinatorics course. This was a great opportunity for me, as I had known of Professor P61ya since having read his classic book, How to Solve It, as a teenager. Working with P6lya, who ·was over ninety years old at the time, was every bit as rewarding as I had hoped it would be. His creativity, intelligence, warmth and generosity of spirit, and wonderful gift for teaching continue to be an inspiration to me. Combinatorics is one of the branches of mathematics that play a crucial role in computer sCience, since digital computers manipulate discrete, finite objects. Combinatorics impinges on computing in two ways. First, the properties of graphs and other combinatorial objects lead directly to algorithms for solving graph-theoretic problems, which have widespread application in non-numerical as well as in numerical computing. Second, combinatorial methods provide many analytical tools that can be used for determining the worst-case and expected performance of computer algorithms. A knowledge of combinatorics will serve the computer scientist well. Combinatorics can be classified into three types: enumerative, eXistential, and constructive. Enumerative combinatorics deals with the counting of combinatorial objects. Existential combinatorics studies the existence or nonexistence of combinatorial configurations.

Notes on Introductory Combinatorics

Notes on Introductory Combinatorics
Author: George Pólya
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2009-11-17
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0817649522

"This is a delightful little paperback which presents a day-by-day transcription of a course taught jointly by Pólya and Tarjan at Stanford University...One can count on [Pólya and Tarjan] for new insights and a fresh outlook. Both instructors taught by presenting a succession of examples rather than by presenting a body of theory...[The book] is very well suited as supplementary material for any introductory class on combinatorics; as such, it is very highly recommended. Finally, for all of us who like the topic and delight in observing skilled professionals at work, this book is entertaining and, yes, instructive, reading." —Mathematical Reviews (Review of the original hardcover edition) "The mathematical community welcomes this book as a final contribution to honour the teacher G. Pólya." —Zentralblatt MATH (Review of the original hardcover edition)

Notes on Introductory Combinatorics

Notes on Introductory Combinatorics
Author: George Pólya
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2009-12-02
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0817649530

"This is a delightful little paperback which presents a day-by-day transcription of a course taught jointly by Pólya and Tarjan at Stanford University...One can count on [Pólya and Tarjan] for new insights and a fresh outlook. Both instructors taught by presenting a succession of examples rather than by presenting a body of theory...[The book] is very well suited as supplementary material for any introductory class on combinatorics; as such, it is very highly recommended. Finally, for all of us who like the topic and delight in observing skilled professionals at work, this book is entertaining and, yes, instructive, reading." —Mathematical Reviews (Review of the original hardcover edition) "The mathematical community welcomes this book as a final contribution to honour the teacher G. Pólya." —Zentralblatt MATH (Review of the original hardcover edition)

Introduction to Combinatorics

Introduction to Combinatorics
Author: Martin J. Erickson
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2011-10-24
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1118030893

This gradual, systematic introduction to the main concepts of combinatorics is the ideal text for advanced undergraduate and early graduate courses in this subject. Each of the book's three sections--Existence, Enumeration, and Construction--begins with a simply stated first principle, which is then developed step by step until it leads to one of the three major achievements of combinatorics: Van der Waerden's theorem on arithmetic progressions, Polya's graph enumeration formula, and Leech's 24-dimensional lattice. Along the way, Professor Martin J. Erickson introduces fundamental results, discusses interconnection and problem-solving techniques, and collects and disseminates open problems that raise new and innovative questions and observations. His carefully chosen end-of-chapter exercises demonstrate the applicability of combinatorial methods to a wide variety of problems, including many drawn from the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition. Many important combinatorial methods are revisited several times in the course of the text--in exercises and examples as well as theorems and proofs. This repetition enables students to build confidence and reinforce their understanding of complex material. Mathematicians, statisticians, and computer scientists profit greatly from a solid foundation in combinatorics. Introduction to Combinatorics builds that foundation in an orderly, methodical, and highly accessible manner.

Introductory Combinatorics

Introductory Combinatorics
Author: Kenneth P. Bogart
Publisher: Harcourt Brace College Publishers
Total Pages: 648
Release: 1990
Genre: Computers
ISBN:

Introductory, Combinatorics, Third Edition is designed for introductory courses in combinatorics, or more generally, discrete mathematics. The author, Kenneth Bogart, has chosen core material of value to students in a wide variety of disciplines: mathematics, computer science, statistics, operations research, physical sciences, and behavioral sciences. The rapid growth in the breadth and depth of the field of combinatorics in the last several decades, first in graph theory and designs and more recently in enumeration and ordered sets, has led to a recognition of combinatorics as a field with which the aspiring mathematician should become familiar. This long-overdue new edition of a popular set presents a broad comprehensive survey of modern combinatorics which is important to the various scientific fields of study.

Introduction to Combinatorics

Introduction to Combinatorics
Author: Gerald Berman
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2014-05-10
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1483273822

Introduction to Combinatorics focuses on the applications, processes, methodologies, and approaches involved in combinatorics or discrete mathematics. The book first offers information on introductory examples, permutations and combinations, and the inclusion-exclusion principle. Discussions focus on some applications of the inclusion-exclusion principle, derangements, calculus of sets, permutations, combinations, Stirling's formula, binomial theorem, regions of a plane, chromatic polynomials, and a random walk. The text then examines linear equations with unit coefficients, recurrence relations, and generating functions. Topics include derivatives and differential equations, solution of difference equations by means of generating functions, recurrence relations, summation method, difference methods, combinations with repetitions, solutions bounded below, and solutions bounded above and below. The publication takes a look at generating functions and difference equations, ramifications of the binomial theorem, finite structures, coloring problems, maps on a sphere, and geometry of the plane. The manuscript is a valuable reference for researchers interested in combinatorics.

How to Count

How to Count
Author: R.B.J.T. Allenby
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 440
Release: 2011-07-01
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1420082612

Emphasizes a Problem Solving Approach A first course in combinatorics Completely revised, How to Count: An Introduction to Combinatorics, Second Edition shows how to solve numerous classic and other interesting combinatorial problems. The authors take an easily accessible approach that introduces problems before leading into the theory involved. Although the authors present most of the topics through concrete problems, they also emphasize the importance of proofs in mathematics. New to the Second Edition This second edition incorporates 50 percent more material. It includes seven new chapters that cover occupancy problems, Stirling and Catalan numbers, graph theory, trees, Dirichlet’s pigeonhole principle, Ramsey theory, and rook polynomials. This edition also contains more than 450 exercises. Ideal for both classroom teaching and self-study, this text requires only a modest amount of mathematical background. In an engaging way, it covers many combinatorial tools, such as the inclusion-exclusion principle, generating functions, recurrence relations, and Pólya’s counting theorem.

Combinatorics

Combinatorics
Author: Theodore G. Faticoni
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2014-08-21
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1118407482

Bridges combinatorics and probability and uniquely includes detailed formulas and proofs to promote mathematical thinking Combinatorics: An Introduction introduces readers to counting combinatorics, offers examples that feature unique approaches and ideas, and presents case-by-case methods for solving problems. Detailing how combinatorial problems arise in many areas of pure mathematics, most notably in algebra, probability theory, topology, and geometry, this book provides discussion on logic and paradoxes; sets and set notations; power sets and their cardinality; Venn diagrams; the multiplication principal; and permutations, combinations, and problems combining the multiplication principal. Additional features of this enlightening introduction include: Worked examples, proofs, and exercises in every chapter Detailed explanations of formulas to promote fundamental understanding Promotion of mathematical thinking by examining presented ideas and seeing proofs before reaching conclusions Elementary applications that do not advance beyond the use of Venn diagrams, the inclusion/exclusion formula, the multiplication principal, permutations, and combinations Combinatorics: An Introduction is an excellent book for discrete and finite mathematics courses at the upper-undergraduate level. This book is also ideal for readers who wish to better understand the various applications of elementary combinatorics.

Walk Through Combinatorics, A: An Introduction To Enumeration And Graph Theory (Third Edition)

Walk Through Combinatorics, A: An Introduction To Enumeration And Graph Theory (Third Edition)
Author: Miklos Bona
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
Total Pages: 567
Release: 2011-05-09
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9813100729

This is a textbook for an introductory combinatorics course lasting one or two semesters. An extensive list of problems, ranging from routine exercises to research questions, is included. In each section, there are also exercises that contain material not explicitly discussed in the preceding text, so as to provide instructors with extra choices if they want to shift the emphasis of their course.Just as with the first two editions, the new edition walks the reader through the classic parts of combinatorial enumeration and graph theory, while also discussing some recent progress in the area: on the one hand, providing material that will help students learn the basic techniques, and on the other hand, showing that some questions at the forefront of research are comprehensible and accessible to the talented and hardworking undergraduate. The basic topics discussed are: the twelvefold way, cycles in permutations, the formula of inclusion and exclusion, the notion of graphs and trees, matchings, Eulerian and Hamiltonian cycles, and planar graphs.The selected advanced topics are: Ramsey theory, pattern avoidance, the probabilistic method, partially ordered sets, the theory of designs (new to this edition), enumeration under group action (new to this edition), generating functions of labeled and unlabeled structures and algorithms and complexity.As the goal of the book is to encourage students to learn more combinatorics, every effort has been made to provide them with a not only useful, but also enjoyable and engaging reading.The Solution Manual is available upon request for all instructors who adopt this book as a course text. Please send your request to [email protected].

Combinatorics

Combinatorics
Author: Peter Jephson Cameron
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 372
Release: 1994-10-06
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780521457613

Combinatorics is a subject of increasing importance because of its links with computer science, statistics, and algebra. This textbook stresses common techniques (such as generating functions and recursive construction) that underlie the great variety of subject matter, and the fact that a constructive or algorithmic proof is more valuable than an existence proof. The author emphasizes techniques as well as topics and includes many algorithms described in simple terms. The text should provide essential background for students in all parts of discrete mathematics.