Product Description

This book is intended for an introductory course in number theory, primarily taken by mathematics majors. The author wrote the text with four main goals in mind. He wrote a book that is both easy to read and easy to teach from. The author also aims to ease students into using proofs, and to develop a self-confidence in mathematics surrounding the difficulty of mathematical proof. Although the main users of this text will be mathematics students, a large audience could easily use the book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3009624 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

From the Publisher
Overview: This text provides a clear, organized introduction to number theory. It emphasizes mathematics as an activity rather than a canon of results, while providing a rigorous and thorough presentation. A special emphasis has been placed on creating and understanding proofs, which makes this text also appropriate for an introductory course on proofs and abstract mathematics.
Graded Exercise Sets: Users consistently point out the carefully graded exercise sets as the key feature in this textbook. Instructors can choose between A, B, and C level exercises to provide optimal flexibility for their courses.
Concise Topic Coverage: Vanden Eynden has carefully crafted a table of contents suitable for a one-term introductory number theory course. All of the core topics are covered, in addition to topics that can be included depending on the needs of individual instructors.
Clear Explanations: Vanden Eynden provides clear and concise explanations which students can easily follow. Users report that their students actually read the book and comment on the author's lucid style.
Historical Background: This text provides biographical sketches for prominent mathematicians and places the topics covered within an historical perspective. This background helps students learn that mathematics is an ever-evolving subject matter. The amount of historical background coverage has increased in this edition.
Chapter 0 Exercises: The author has added exercises to chapter 0 to relate to the new expanded topics in chapter 0.
Fermat's Last Theorem: The author has moved this information to Chapter 0 and he has expanded the coverage as well to reflect modern advances.