Foundations Of Abstract Mathematics

This text is designed for the average to strong mathematics major taking a course called Transition to Higher Mathematics, Introduction to Proofs, or Fundamentals of Mathematics. It provides a transition to topics covered in advanced mathematics and covers logic, proofs and sets and emphasizes two important mathematical activities - finding examples of objects with specified properties and writing proofs.

The aim of this book is to help students write mathematics better. Throughout it are large exercise sets well-integrated with the text and varying appropriately from easy to hard. Basic issues are treated, and attention is given to small issues like not placing a mathematical symbol directly after a punctuation mark. And it provides many examples of what students should think and what they should write and how these two are often not the same.

Bond and Keane explicate the elements of logical, mathematical argument to elucidate the meaning and importance of mathematical rigor. With definitions of concepts at their disposal, students learn the rules of logical inference, read and understand proofs of theorems, and write their own proofs all while becoming familiar with the grammar of mathematics and its style. In addition, they will develop an appreciation of the different methods of proof (contradiction, induction), the value of a proof, and the beauty of an elegant argument. The authors emphasize that mathematics is an ongoing, vibrant disciplineits long, fascinating history continually intersects with territory still uncharted and questions still in need of answers. The authors extensive background in teaching mathematics shines through in this balanced, explicit, and engaging text, designed as a primer for higher- level mathematics courses. They elegantly demonstrate process and application and recognize the byproducts of both the achievements and the missteps of past thinkers. Chapters 1-5 introduce the fundamentals of abstract mathematics and chapters 6-8 apply the ideas and techniques, placing the earlier material in a real context. Readers interest is continually piqued by the use of clear explanations, practical examples, discussion and discovery exercises, and historical comments.

This undergraduate textbook promotes an active transition to higher mathematics. Problem solving is the heart and soul of this book: each problem is carefully chosen to demonstrate, elucidate, or extend a concept. More than 300 exercises engage the reader in extensive arguments and creative approaches, while exploring connections between fundamental mathematical topics. Divided into four parts, this book begins with a playful exploration of the building blocks of mathematics, such as definitions, axioms, and proofs. A study of the fundamental concepts of logic, sets, and functions follows, before focus turns to methods of proof. Having covered the core of a transition course, the author goes on to present a selection of advanced topics that offer opportunities for extension or further study. Throughout, appendices touch on historical perspectives, current trends, and open questions, showing mathematics as a vibrant and dynamic human enterprise. This second edition has been reorganized to better reflect the layout and curriculum of standard transition courses. It also features recent developments and improved appendices. An Invitation to Abstract Mathematics is ideal for those seeking a challenging and engaging transition to advanced mathematics, and will appeal to both undergraduates majoring in mathematics, as well as non-math majors interested in exploring higher-level concepts. From reviews of the first edition: Bajnok’s new book truly invites students to enjoy the beauty, power, and challenge of abstract mathematics. ... The book can be used as a text for traditional transition or structure courses ... but since Bajnok invites all students, not just mathematics majors, to enjoy the subject, he assumes very little background knowledge. Jill Dietz, MAA Reviews The style of writing is careful, but joyously enthusiastic.... The author’s clear attitude is that mathematics consists of problem solving, and that writing a proof falls into this category. Students of mathematics are, therefore, engaged in problem solving, and should be given problems to solve, rather than problems to imitate. The author attributes this approach to his Hungarian background ... and encourages students to embrace the challenge in the same way an athlete engages in vigorous practice. John Perry, zbMATH

A complete course on metric, normed, and Hilbert spaces, including many results and exercises seldom found in texts on analysis at this level. The author covers an unusually wide range of material in a clear and concise format, including elementary real analysis, Lebesgue integration on R, and an introduction to functional analysis. The book begins with a fast-paced course on real analysis, followed by an introduction to the Lebesgue integral. This provides a reference for later chapters as well as a preparation for students with only the typical sequence of undergraduate calculus courses as prerequisites. Other features include a chapter introducing functional analysis, the Hahn-Banach theorem and duality, separation theorems, the Baire Category Theorem, the Open Mapping Theorem and their consequences, and unusual applications. Of special interest are the 750 exercises, many with guidelines for their solutions, applications and extensions of the main propositions and theorems, pointers to new branches of the subject, and difficult challenges for the very best students.

Beyond calculus, the world of mathematics grows increasingly abstract and places new and challenging demands on those venturing into that realm. As the focus of calculus instruction has become increasingly computational, it leaves many students ill prepared for more advanced work that requires the ability to understand and construct proofs. Introductory Concepts for Abstract Mathematics helps readers bridge that gap. It teaches them to work with abstract ideas and develop a facility with definitions, theorems, and proofs. They learn logical principles, and to justify arguments not by what seems right, but by strict adherence to principles of logic and proven mathematical assertions - and they learn to write clearly in the language of mathematics The author achieves these goals through a methodical treatment of set theory, relations and functions, and number systems, from the natural to the real. He introduces topics not usually addressed at this level, including the remarkable concepts of infinite sets and transfinite cardinal numbers Introductory Concepts for Abstract Mathematics takes readers into the world beyond calculus and ensures their voyage to that world is successful. It imparts a feeling for the beauty of mathematics and its internal harmony, and inspires an eagerness and increased enthusiasm for moving forward in the study of mathematics.

A Bridge to Abstract Mathematics will prepare the mathematical novice to explore the universe of abstract mathematics. Mathematics is a science that concerns theorems that must be proved within the constraints of a logical system of axioms and definitions rather than theories that must be tested, revised, and retested. Readers will learn how to read mathematics beyond popular computational calculus courses. Moreover, readers will learn how to construct their own proofs. The book is intended as the primary text for an introductory course in proving theorems, as well as for self-study or as a reference. Throughout the text, some pieces (usually proofs) are left as exercises. Part V gives hints to help students find good approaches to the exercises. Part I introduces the language of mathematics and the methods of proof. The mathematical content of Parts II through IV were chosen so as not to seriously overlap the standard mathematics major. In Part II, students study sets, functions, equivalence and order relations, and cardinality. Part III concerns algebra. The goal is to prove that the real numbers form the unique, up to isomorphism, ordered field with the least upper bound. In the process, we construct the real numbers starting with the natural numbers. Students will be prepared for an abstract linear algebra or modern algebra course. Part IV studies analysis. Continuity and differentiation are considered in the context of time scales (nonempty, closed subsets of the real numbers). Students will be prepared for advanced calculus and general topology courses. There is a lot of room for instructors to skip and choose topics from among those that are presented.

The purpose of this book is to prepare the reader for coping with abstract mathematics. The intended audience is both students taking a first course in abstract algebra who feel the need to strengthen their background and those from a more applied background who need some experience in dealing with abstract ideas. Learning any area of abstract mathematics requires not only ability to write formally but also to think intuitively about what is going on and to describe that process clearly and cogently in ordinary English. Ash tries to aid intuition by keeping proofs short and as informal as possible and using concrete examples as illustration. Thus, it is an ideal textbook for an audience with limited experience in formalism and abstraction. A number of expository innovations are included, for example, an informal development of set theory which teaches students all the basic results for algebra in one chapter.