Description

Designed for an undergraduate course or for independent study, this text presents sophisticated mathematical ideas in an elementary and friendly fashion. The fundamental purpose of this book is to teach mathematical thinking while conveying the beauty and elegance of mathematics. The book contains a large number of exercises of varying difficulty, some of which are designed to help reinforce basic concepts and others of which will challenge virtually all readers. The sole prerequisite for reading this text is high school algebra. Topics covered include: * mathematical induction * modular arithmetic * the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic * Fermat’s Little Theorem * RSA encryption * the Euclidean algorithm * rational and irrational numbers * complex numbers * cardinality * Euclidean plane geometry * constructibility (including a proof that an angle of 60 degrees cannot be trisected with a straightedge and compass)* infinite series * higher dimensional spaces.