This book is a gentle introduction to the enumerative part of combinatorics suitable for study at the advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate level. In addition to covering all the standard techniques for counting combinatorial objects, the text contains material from the research literature which has never before appeared in print, such as the use of quotient posets to study the Möbius function and characteristic polynomial of a partially ordered set, or the connection between quasisymmetric functions and pattern avoidance. The book assumes minimal background, and a first course in abstract algebra should suffice. The exposition is very reader friendly: keeping a moderate pace, using lots of examples, emphasizing recurring themes, and frankly expressing the delight the author takes in mathematics in general and combinatorics in particular.

This unique approach to combinatorics is centered around unconventional, essay-type combinatorial examples, followed by a number of carefully selected, challenging problems and extensive discussions of their solutions. Topics encompass permutations and combinations, binomial coefficients and their applications, bijections, inclusions and exclusions, and generating functions. Each chapter features fully-worked problems, including many from Olympiads and other competitions, as well as a number of problems original to the authors; at the end of each chapter are further exercises to reinforce understanding, encourage creativity, and build a repertory of problem-solving techniques. The authors' previous text, "102 Combinatorial Problems," makes a fine companion volume to the present work, which is ideal for Olympiad participants and coaches, advanced high school students, undergraduates, and college instructors. The book's unusual problems and examples will interest seasoned mathematicians as well. "A Path to Combinatorics for Undergraduates" is a lively introduction not only to combinatorics, but to mathematical ingenuity, rigor, and the joy of solving puzzles.

This introduction to combinatorics, the foundation of the interaction between computer science and mathematics, is suitable for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students in engineering, science, and mathematics. The four-part treatment begins with a section on counting and listing that covers basic counting, functions, decision trees, and sieving methods. The following section addresses fundamental concepts in graph theory and a sampler of graph topics. The third part examines a variety of applications relevant to computer science and mathematics, including induction and recursion, sorting theory, and rooted plane trees. The final section, on generating functions, offers students a powerful tool for studying counting problems. Numerous exercises appear throughout the text, along with notes and references. The text concludes with solutions to odd-numbered exercises and to all appendix exercises.

The mathematical combinatorics is a subject that applying combinatorial notion to all mathematics and all sciences for understanding the reality of things in the universe, motivated by CC Conjecture of Dr.Linfan MAO on mathematical sciences. TheMathematical Combinatorics (International Book Series) is a fully refereed international book series with an ISBN number on each issue, sponsored by the MADIS of Chinese Academy of Sciences and published in USA quarterly, which publishes original research papers and survey articles in all aspects of mathematical combinatorics, Smarandachemulti-spaces, Smarandache geometries, non-Euclidean geometry, topology and their applications to other sciences.

This text provides a theoretical background for several topics in combinatorial mathematics, such as enumerative combinatorics (including partitions and Burnside's lemma), magic and Latin squares, graph theory, extremal combinatorics, mathematical games and elementary probability. A number of examples are given with explanations while the book also provides more than 300 exercises of different levels of difficulty that are arranged at the end of each chapter, and more than 130 additional challenging problems, including problems from mathematical olympiads. Solutions or hints to all exercises and problems are included. The book can be used by secondary school students preparing for mathematical competitions, by their instructors, and by undergraduate students. The book may also be useful for graduate students and for researchers that apply combinatorial methods in different areas.

Useful guide covers two major subdivisions of combinatorics — enumeration and graph theory — with emphasis on conceptual needs of computer science. Each part is divided into a "basic concepts" chapter emphasizing intuitive needs of the subject, followed by four "topics" chapters that explore these ideas in depth. Invaluable practical resource for graduate students, advanced undergraduates, and professionals with an interest in algorithm design and other aspects of computer science and combinatorics. References for Linear Order & for Graphs, Trees, and Recursions. 219 figures.

What Is Combinatorics Anyway? Broadly speaking, combinatorics is the branch of mathematics dealing with different ways of selecting objects from a set or arranging objects. It tries to answer two major kinds of questions, namely, counting questions: how many ways can a selection or arrangement be chosen with a particular set of properties; and structural questions: does there exist a selection or arrangement of objects with a particular set of properties? The authors have presented a text for students at all levels of preparation. For some, this will be the first course where the students see several real proofs. Others will have a good background in linear algebra, will have completed the calculus stream, and will have started abstract algebra. The text starts by briefly discussing several examples of typical combinatorial problems to give the reader a better idea of what the subject covers. The next chapters explore enumerative ideas and also probability. It then moves on to enumerative functions and the relations between them, and generating functions and recurrences., Important families of functions, or numbers and then theorems are presented. Brief introductions to computer algebra and group theory come next. Structures of particular interest in combinatorics: posets, graphs, codes, Latin squares, and experimental designs follow. The authors conclude with further discussion of the interaction between linear algebra and combinatorics. Features Two new chapters on probability and posets. Numerous new illustrations, exercises, and problems. More examples on current technology use A thorough focus on accuracy Three appendices: sets, induction and proof techniques, vectors and matrices, and biographies with historical notes, Flexible use of MapleTM and MathematicaTM

Written by one of the foremost experts in the field, Algebraic Combinatorics is a unique undergraduate textbook that will prepare the next generation of pure and applied mathematicians. The combination of the author’s extensive knowledge of combinatorics and classical and practical tools from algebra will inspire motivated students to delve deeply into the fascinating interplay between algebra and combinatorics. Readers will be able to apply their newfound knowledge to mathematical, engineering, and business models. The text is primarily intended for use in a one-semester advanced undergraduate course in algebraic combinatorics, enumerative combinatorics, or graph theory. Prerequisites include a basic knowledge of linear algebra over a field, existence of finite fields, and group theory. The topics in each chapter build on one another and include extensive problem sets as well as hints to selected exercises. Key topics include walks on graphs, cubes and the Radon transform, the Matrix–Tree Theorem, and the Sperner property. There are also three appendices on purely enumerative aspects of combinatorics related to the chapter material: the RSK algorithm, plane partitions, and the enumeration of labeled trees. Richard Stanley is currently professor of Applied Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Stanley has received several awards including the George Polya Prize in applied combinatorics, the Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Leroy P. Steele Prize for mathematical exposition. Also by the author: Combinatorics and Commutative Algebra, Second Edition, © Birkhauser.

The notes that eventually became this book were written between 1977 and 1985 for the course called Constructive Combinatorics at the University of Minnesota. This is a one-quarter (10 week) course for upper level undergraduate students. The class usually consists of mathematics and computer science majors, with an occasional engineering student. Several graduate students in computer science also attend. At Minnesota, Constructive Combinatorics is the third quarter of a three quarter sequence. The fIrst quarter, Enumerative Combinatorics, is at the level of the texts by Bogart [Bo], Brualdi [Br], Liu [Li] or Tucker [Tu] and is a prerequisite for this course. The second quarter, Graph Theory and Optimization, is not a prerequisite. We assume that the students are familiar with the techniques of enumeration: basic counting principles, generating functions and inclusion/exclusion. This course evolved from a course on combinatorial algorithms. That course contained a mixture of graph algorithms, optimization and listing algorithms. The computer assignments generally consisted of testing algorithms on examples. While we felt that such material was useful and not without mathematical content, we did not think that the course had a coherent mathematical focus. Furthermore, much of it was being taught, or could have been taught, elsewhere. Graph algorithms and optimization, for instance, were inserted into the graph theory course where they naturally belonged. The computer science department already taught some of the material: the simpler algorithms in a discrete mathematics course; effIciency of algorithms in a more advanced course.