Mastering Geometry Puzzles by Paulo Ferro

Mastering Geometry Puzzles by Paulo Ferro

This book will challenge mathematical skills in a totally different way from the usual geometric puzzles. These 120 puzzles are visually intriguing. Mastering Geometry Puzzles has 5 chapters of puzzles, each one corresponding to a level of difficulty, from the very easy to the very hard.

Even if mathematical puzzles are new to the reader, this book is a great place to start. Puzzle solving is not only fun; it will also enhance the reader's understanding of mathematics. More experienced puzzlers will also find very challenging opportunities.

There are three types of geometry puzzles in this book:

• No shape-based puzzles, i.e., triangles, circles, etc.

• General shape-based puzzles, i.e., a hamburger, a bird, etc.

• Japanese shape-based puzzles, i.e., a samurai, a bonsai, etc.

The first chapter, Solving a Puzzle, offers a typical puzzle, which then is solved step-by-step. It presents how geometry is used to solve it, and the logical thinking leading to the solution.

Puzzles should not only be fun in their design, but they should also be fun to solve. Their shape should be appealing to arouse curiosity in the reader. The information given to solve the puzzle should be as minimal as possible, sometimes to the point that the reader might think that it is not possible to solve it. This is part of the challenge of puzzles.

All the puzzles have step-by-step solutions. The puzzles can be solved by geometry puzzle lovers of all ages. The puzzler does not need to be an ace in geometry to solve them.

A warning: these puzzles can lead to a serious puzzle addiction! Enjoy the challenge!

Paulo Ferro has an MS degree in Mathematics from the University of Coimbra, Portugal. He is a Mathematics teacher as well as an author, checker, and proofreader for several publishers. His puzzles have been published in the NCTM, Plus Magazine, The New York Times, The Guardian, American Scientist, and New Scientist. He also has a Math blog, called ENIGMATH, where he publishes, beyond his puzzles, games, magic tricks, and other posts about Math.