GB

Dedication

Dedicated to Mrs. Asha Sarin and the late Mr. I.S. Chawla, two amazing math teachers, who got me hooked to math in the late 70s and early 80s in Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi.

In case you read (even parts of) the book, interact with me, suggest this book to your friends and teachers, ask me really good questions, and in general take part in useful discussions on this page...

And you are a student... studying anywhere in grades 6-12th...I will award free subscriptions to mathguru.com (and maybe more websites).

So do feel free to interact here.

Errata

Here is a list of errata that have crept into the book due to one reason or the other. I'm sorry, and I hope this errata sheet will help you learn from the book without too many problems.

Here is the errata (Last updated October 9, 2010):

Errata for Get Smart! Maths Concepts, by Gaurav Bhatnagar

If you find more errors in the book that are not mentioned in the errata list, please do leave a comment on this site.

Post solutions/answers here

If you wan't to discuss the answers to the problems in the DO AND DISCUSS section, this is the place to do so. Submit answers by adding a comment here, or send me email at gaurav.bhatnagar at mathguru dot com.

Oxie - A Limerick on Vikas Verma

A post-modern guy, Oxie (alias Vikas),

Is a sophisticated guy, not at all crass,

Ask him how many children—he says: "Tough to keep a tally.

But if you are in Europe, and see kids playing in a gali,

It may be something to do with me, Vikas."

Vikas is no more. He died of a massive heart attack, when he was about 40 years old. He was a friend from my high school. The name Oxie was given to him in his college.

I wrote this limerick in better times. He was a fun loving guy, and loved making people around him have fun. I will at some point write an obituary. Right now (even after 3-4 years, on 27-4-2011) I am too affected by his death to write much about him.

Itching for a run anyone? A limerick

Just came back from a 45 min run,

Read MC’s words on running the ton,

Prevent friction; apply lubricant, before you try,

He says: You know where to apply—

So that is why I feel like scratching my buns!

MC is Maneesh Chandra, a school friend. His comments on running inspired this one.

Joy - A limerick

A foodie among foodies: his name is Joy,

Runs for fitness and health—this guy,

Sprints to the kitchen,

And from there to the John,

This keeps him looking like a young boy.

This limerick is on my high school friend Joy Basu. He made this joke about himself in our school newsgroup, and I loved it so much that I made it into a limerick. So its joint work.

Bhatnagar and Mishra

By Gaurav Bhatnagar

Bhatnagar and Mishra,

began their collaboration

in Modern High School.

They wrote limericks,

about their friends,

and thought:

That is cool.

As they grew older,

they continued their work

on the CPT Framework.

On using technology

for Math education—

to make learning fun.

Over email they argued,

discussed, wrote

Back and forth,

and finished their Note.

Research in education

Was plenty of fun.

On the one hand they wrote:

Solving math problems—

they are tedious forced marches

through hostile territory;

and, in the very next breath

contradicted themselves

Saying:

By solving math problems

learners can savour

the joy of mathematical discovery!

Bhatnagar-Mishra,

Modernites,

Continued to argue,

discuss, gain insights.

Published paper after paper,

books and more—

until they passed

into popular lore.

There were three great educationists

in those times.

One was Mishra,

Another was Bhatnagar,

And the third was called

Bhatnagar-Mishra.