# Mathematical Connections: A Companion for Teachers and Others

### By Al Cuoco

Catalog Code: MCO
Print ISBN: 978-0-88385-739-7
266 pp., Hardbound, 2005
List Price: $58.00 MAA Member:$46.95
Series: Classroom Resource Materials

This book is about some of the topics that form the foundations for high school mathematics. Most of the ideas are classical: fitting polynomial functions to data, summing powers of integers, visualizing the iterates of a function defined on the complex plane, or obtaining identities among entries in Pascal's triangle. Some of these ideas, previously considered quite advanced, have become tractable because of advances in computational technology. Others are just beautiful mathematics, topics that have fallen out of fashion and that deserve to be resurrected.

While the book will appeal to many audiences, one of the primary audiences is high school teachers, both practicing and prospective. It can be used as a text for undergraduate or professional courses, and the design lends itself to self-study. Of course, good mathematics for teaching is also good for many other uses, so readers of all persuasions can enjoy exploring some of the beautiful ideas presented in the pages of this book.

Introduction
1. Difference Tables and Polynomial Fits
2. Form and Function: The Algebra of Polynomials
3. Complex Numbers, Complex Maps, and Trigonometry
4. Combinations and Locks
5. Sums of Powers
Bibliography
Index