THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: How often have you complained of mathematics being a difficult subject at school? You would have probably sought the help of guide books to make it easier to understand. To simplify the subject, Subramanian Muraleedharan, a retired mathematics teacher from Kochi, has brought out a child-friendly book which could be the solution of all your math problems.
Muraleedharan has four decades of experience in Kendriya Vidyalayas and Public Schools and has already authored three books in mathematics. He says he bought out the Math Olympiad Digest because he wanted children to love the subject. “I have been seeing that in recent years, the position of our country has come down in the International Mathematics Olympiad, a world championship mathematics competition which is conducted for High School students annually. In 2013, the position of our country was at the 19th position while in 2017 it was 57th. So, I thought of bringing out something which will be precise and user friendly,” he said.
His book titled ‘Math Olympiad Digest’, published by H & C Publishing House, Thrissur is a highly useful book for students who are preparing for the Math Olympiad and other competitive examinations. “ I found that there was no such book brought out for Math Olympiad. It took me two years to research the book,” said Muraleedharan.
The book contains 302 questions with solutions, out of which 150 questions are multiple choice with answer keys. There are three sets of sample tests with solutions in 160 pages. The author helpfully avoids long explanations but includes good illustration to clarify concepts and ideas that cannot be explained verbally. It covers all topics of High School syllabus like ‘laws of exponents, laws of radicals, properties of numbers, algebra, arithmetic progression,geometry, coordinate geometry’ among others. Most of the questions are thought provoking and challenging and related to high order thinking skills.
The book was released by C Karunakaran, Asst Commissioner, KVS Regional office, Ernakulam The author says that he has the intention of bringing out three volumes of the book so that mathematics can be made more simple for the children as each question is learner friendly.
He has been getting a lot of positive responses from family, friends and his old students who have encouraged his work. Muraleedharan, a maths expert by profession has made mathematics more simple for the children to understand. “My wish is to ensure that my book reaches as many students as possible so that our country can make its position stable in Math Olympiad,” he concludes.