The problem of approximating a given quantity is one of the oldest challenges faced by mathematicians. Its increasing importance in contemporary mathematics has created an entirely new area known as Approximation Theory. The modern theory was initially developed along two divergent schools of thought: the Eastern or Russian group, employing almost exclusively algebraic methods, was headed by Chebyshev together with his coterie at the Saint Petersburg Mathematical School, while the Western mathematicians, adopting a more analytical approach, included Weierstrass, Hilbert, Klein, and others.

One of the most elementary questions in mathematics is whether an area minimizing surface spanning a contour in three space is immersed or not; i.e. does its derivative have maximal rank everywhere.

This book includes contributions from researchers, scholars, and professionals about the most recent theory, models, and applications for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research encircling disciplines of computer science, mathematics, statistics, geography, and more in time series analysis and forecasting/backcasting.

The book provides several examples and applications of sequences and series, as well as a list of proposed exercises to provide a full learning experience. From the secondary to the university level, this textbook provides a solid foundation in mathematics and a basis for further studies.

This book contains 104 of the best problems used in the training and testing of the U. S. International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) team. It is not a collection of very dif?cult, and impenetrable questions. Rather, the book gradually builds students’ number-theoretic skills and techniques. The ?rst chapter provides a comprehensive introduction to number theory and its mathematical structures. This chapter can serve as a textbook for a short course in number theory. This work aims to broaden students’ view of mathematics and better prepare them for possible participation in various mathematical competitions. It provides in-depth enrichment in important areas of number theory by reorganizing and enhancing students’ problem-solving tactics and strategies. The book further stimulates s- dents’ interest for the future study of mathematics. In the United States of America, the selection process leading to participation in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) consists of a series ofnational contests called the American Mathematics Contest 10 (AMC 10), the American Mathematics Contest 12 (AMC 12), the American Invitational Mathematics - amination (AIME), and the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO). Participation in the AIME and the USAMO is by invitation only, based on performance in the preceding exams of the sequence. The Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program (MOSP) is a four-week intensive training program for approximately ?fty very promising students who have risen to the top in the American Mathematics Competitions.

He [Kronecker] was, in fact, attempting to describe and to initiate a new branch of mathematics, which would contain both number theory and alge­ braic geometry as special cases.—Andre Weil [62] This book is about mathematics, not the history or philosophy of mathemat­ ics. Still, history and philosophy were prominent among my motives for writing it, and historical and philosophical issues will be major factors in determining whether it wins acceptance. Most mathematicians prefer constructive methods. Given two proofs of the same statement, one constructive and the other not, most will prefer the constructive proof. The real philosophical disagreement over the role of con­ structions in mathematics is between those—the majority—who believe that to exclude from mathematics all statements that cannot be proved construc­ tively would omit far too much, and those of us who believe, on the contrary, that the most interesting parts of mathematics can be dealt with construc­ tively, and that the greater rigor and precision of mathematics done in that way adds immensely to its value.