Gist of the Book:
Arguably there are two most worthwhile evolutions in the newly introduced Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE)—the use of Standards-Referenced Reporting for assessment, and mathematics to become a core examination subject. It might not be too obvious to the general public the meaning of uplifting mathematics to importance on a par with the traditional cores of Chinese and English. But a true educator well acknowledges, while these two major languages serve to bring our younger generation close to distinguished minds and great cultures classic or modern, mathematics is the indispensable instrument enabling their communications with our nature and the universe.
We have devoted numerous efforts in the past to teaching and learning of our first and especially our second languages. Unfortunately the education of the “third language” of mathematics has received far less attention. As a result, countless students lose their interest in this beautiful subject due mainly to problematic methods in their early years of study. A common mistake, for instance, is to equate mathematics with pure calculations whereas motivations and reasonings behind a concept, and connections among topics, are either ignored or regarded secondary. This, and other faults, must be remedied before mathematics can be rightly taught and effectively studied. Even from the very practical viewpoint of scoring high in an examination, a solid conceptual foundation will only help achieving the goal with high probability and efficiency. In this little book the author presents his ways of teaching the fundamental concepts of secondary-school mathematics using the questions in the HKDSE Sample Papers as a vehicle. The students will discover from his teaching a proper approach to studying mathematics that makes learning the subject a painless and enlightening experience. Good performance in examination will then follow most naturally.

Author’s Bio:
KWONG Chung-Ping has been teaching engineering mathematics at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) for more than twenty years. He has also applied extensively mathematics to his various research topics in computer science and engineering. He obtained his first PhD in electronics under the guidance of Professor Chen Chih-Fan and his second PhD in mathematics of which the Fields Medalist Professor Stephen Smale was his thesis advisor. He is currently Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering at CUHK but will start his new career beginning this May