ISBN0-86609-965-4

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Geometry for Enjoyment & Challenge

Geometry for Enjoyment & Challenge 3.00 of 5 stars

  • Author(s)  Richard Rhoad,  George Milauskas,  Robert Whipple,  
  • Binding  Hardcover
  • ISBN  0866099654
  • ISBN-13  9780866099653
  • Publisher  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)
  • Release Date  6/1/1991
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User Opinions

a teacher's perspective
3/14/20054.00 of 5 stars
I have taught an honors high school geometry class for almost 11 years using this book. It has its strengths and weaknesses, but I've been quite happy with it.

First its strengths: it presents geometry in a mathematician's manner, starting with a few postulates and advancing one theorem at a time. For example, it doesn't tell you that the angles of a triangle add to 180 degrees until it discusses the parallel postulate on which that theorem is based. It proves everything that the authors think is within the understanding of a strong high school geometry student. The problems range from easy to very hard, with a strong emphasis on proof in the first chapters. Students are expected to solve some of the problems creatively, which is why some students who reviewed this book are frustrated by it. This means the book does a good job of presenting math the way it really is (guess, experiment, prove) instead of what students think it is (apply a formula, get the answer). The problems without solutions mentioned in the other reviews are few and far between indeed.

Its weaknesses: the book really is intended for more self-motivated students that you normally find in high school. I imagine that this book might be off-putting for kids who don't really care about math. I don't like how the information at the beginning of the book is divided into chapters, but I just clump the information differently when I teach it. I think that some of the proofs left out of the book are quite accessible to motivated students, and I teach them. I have also been able to teach theorems beyond the scope of the book, which suggests that the book could have gone into more detail.

Overall, I recommend this book for a geometry course for motivated and bright high school students. I do not recommend it for self-study or for very basic courses. I agree with the other reviewers that it requires a competent teacher, but that's because no book can teach the creativity and problem-solving skills required to solve difficult problems. This book does not teach toy geometry...don't use it for kids who need that.
Do not buy any thing from this web site
10/6/20051.00 of 5 stars
When I purchased this used book, I knew it would be an old not
new BOOK, but I received a folder with photo copy papers. I even do not know where to return those unuseful papers. ?????
Excellent Book
5/12/20065.00 of 5 stars
I think Geometry for Enjoyment and challenge is an excellent book. Be warned this book is not for everybody because it is challenging, and only a truly motivated student will excel using this book. What I like about this book is that it is not watered down like a lot of Geometry books. The problem with Americas schools are that Geometry Teachers dont teach the subject the right way either by not teaching the material or they teach the students to maximize their test score by regurgitating concepts. This book contradicts several books. This book forces you to think critically like a Mathematician. The best and strongest part of the book are the teaching of proofs (flow chart, Paragraph, and Two-column). Some proofs take 15 to 16 steps.
That is what one of the several things I like about this book, this provides a spark to truly motivated students.

Other strong points are areas of geometric figures, there are problems that involve finding the areas of squares inscribed in circles finding the shaded segment of a hexagon inscribed in a circle. Most geometry books do not have problems of that nature.

One major gripe is that I wish on the solid geometry section, they would put problems involving the areas of a decagonal prism, dodecagonal prism, 20 sided pyramids. Given that this book is easy to say is the most challenging geometry book of all books in America concerning geometry. I wish they would put centimeters, inches, etc. as opposed to units when calculating the perimeter, volume, and surface area.

Other than that it is a great book. I wish this was the standard of geometry books because Americas students need to be challenged, a lot of students want to be challenged. This book does that. In conclusion, this geometry book is the champagne of geometry books.



I enjoyed solving problems from this book on my spare time. I had a horrible experience with a geometry Teacher Named Don Steinke at Fort Vancouver High School in Vancouver, Washington. This idiot could not teach if his life depended on it.

is that most Geometry books try to te
Excellent
9/10/20075.00 of 5 stars
Don't have others to compare, but is a very good Geometry book for 9th graders.
Great book and a great challenge
11/5/20075.00 of 5 stars
This geometry book is not for the weak. Forget about the days of purely computational geometry. This book is all about proofs. I have found myself learning a great deal about geometry, though.