With a little imagination and lots of fun you can take on the world of everyday math like never before. How quickly can you prove that 54,879,654 + 52,418,793 = 107,298,447? How about instantly shouting out the square of 35? Best of all, you can do it without having to create a math problem - just yell the answer out! If math scares you, fear it no more. If math excites you, come along and learn even more. You will be entertained as you learn new ways to explore math. Prerequisite: Must be able to add and multiply single digits from one through nine. MATH 4 2-DAY IS A JOURNEY! It is a collective work from a course, titled Math-A-Nation, that is taught over six Saturdays to intellectually gifted children, grades 4 to 8. This popular course, which is the basis of the book, has been offered through the Super Saturday Program, here in Cincinnati for almost thirty years. This program, offered by PAGE - a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, serves the best and brightest young minds in the region, on a campus of the University of Cincinnati. Both students and their parents have grown to love the Math-A-Nation course and have helped add to and polish its content over the years. Parent and student feedback always mentions that these math topics and techniques are not available to them through traditional educational channels. Overall, this book was written to insure that my children, and yours, are equipped with these important math concepts for mental training designed to insure their preparation in the modern competitive world. Parents tell me that this "math thinking" helps their children acquire a mental edge. In turn, this mental edge, allows them to excel in their math and science studies, and also prepares them for advance problem solving in the real world. The methods discussed in this book can be used by anyone interested in developing their mental math skills. Also included is a lot of fun and knowledge about the history, people, and development of mathematics. Even the book title, "Math 4 2-Day," was developed to offer the reader a challenge in mathematics. (See Preface for additional information.) The book offers more than simple math tricks and tips. It gives insight into the world of mathematics like no other book. It offers in-depth coverage of subjects like Fibonacci, Palindrome Numbers, World of Primes, Enormous Numbers, and Möbius Objects. It even offers methods of doing math in ways that are often no taught in school. It demonstrates methods for rapid multiplication, avoiding careless math errors, tips for solving word and logic problems, using addition to solve subtraction, rapid methods for finding Least Common Denominator and Greatest Common Factor of fractions, and so much more. It even offers loads of calculator tricks and bits of fun with mathematics. It even has end of day topics - like how to create a money shirt from a $1.00 dollar bill or working with optical illusions.
Michael R. Irwin is a well-known lecturer, writer, teacher, and consultant. He has extensive knowledge and experience in automation and databases; having over 30 years experience in the field. He is considered, by many, one of the leading authorities on automated database and Internet management systems. He is a best-selling international author and lecturer, winner of national and international awards, and developer of a wide range of database-management systems. His works include, the OOPs Primer (Borland Press), dBASE 5.5 for Windows programming (Prentice Hall), and the Microsoft Access Bible series. His Access Bible series has consistently been on both Buy.com and Amazon.com top 100 over the years. He has also written a series of books on the Custom and Culture of the countries of Asia (including China, Japan, Thailand, Philippines, and India). Several of his books have won international acclaim. His books have been published in more than 24 languages worldwide. He bas also been a contributing editor and author to many well-known magazines and journals. More recently, he has developed and taught a series of math courses for gifted children ages 4 to 15. He is a life member of the Optimist International Organization, whose mission is, "By providing hope and positive vision, Optimists bring out the best in kids" He is a father of three boys and very proud of them - all identified as gifted.
