Foundations of Mathematics (3-0) 3 Credit Hours
Course Catalog
MAT 3013. Foundations of Mathematics. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.
Prerequisite: MAT1214. Development of theoretical tools for rigorous mathematics. Topics may include mathematical logic, propositional and predicate calculus, set theory, functions and relations, cardinal and ordinal numbers, Boolean algebras, and construction of the natural numbers, integers, and rational numbers. Emphasis on theorem proving. (Formerly MAT2243. Credit cannot be earned for MAT3013 and MAT2243.) Generally offered: Fall, Spring, Summer. Differential Tuition: $150.
Description
Foundations of Mathematics is a pivotal course for mathematics majors. It serves as the first major step towards modern mathematics
of rigorous proofs and a true pre-requisite to real analysis and abstract algebra. Up to this point students are asked to do few proofs
(notably geometry and perhaps some epsilon-delta in calculus). The course particularly emphasizes set-theoretical constructions, such
as functions, composition, inversion, forward and inverse images, relations, equivalence relations, partial orders, quotient sets and
products and unions of sets, vital to further work in mathematics.
Evaluation
- No makeup exams are offered.
- An absence may be excused if sufficient evidence of extenuating circumstances is provided. In this case, the final exam grade
could be used as the grade for the missed exam.
- Students will have access to several past exams for practice.
Text
D. Smith, M. Eggen, R. St. Andre, A Transition to Advanced Mathematics (7e), Brooks/Cole
Topics List A
| Date |
Sections |
Topics |
Prerequisite Skills |
Student Learning Outcomes
|
| 1.0
|
|
- Historical remarks
- Overview of the course and its goals
|
|
- Motivation for rigorous mathematics from a historical perspective
- An understanding of where and why this course is going
|
| 1.0
|
|
|
|
- Motivation for rigorous mathematics from a historical perspective
- An understanding of where and why this course is going
|
| 1.0
|
|
|
|
- Motivation for rigorous mathematics from a historical perspective
- An understanding of where and why this course is going
|
| 1.0
|
|
|
|
- Motivation for rigorous mathematics from a historical perspective
- An understanding of where and why this course is going
|
| 1.0
|
|
|
|
- Motivation for rigorous mathematics from a historical perspective
- An understanding of where and why this course is going
|
| 2.0
|
|
|
|
- Gain the prerequisites for writing and evaluating proofs.
|
| 2.0
|
|
|
|
- Gain the prerequisites for writing and evaluating proofs.
|
| 2.0
|
|
|
|
- Gain the prerequisites for writing and evaluating proofs.
|
| 2.0
|
|
|
|
- Gain the prerequisites for writing and evaluating proofs.
|
| 3.0
|
|
|
|
- Start proving elementary results.
|
| 4.0
|
|
|
|
- How to start working with sets
|
| 4.0
|
|
|
|
- How to start working with sets
|
| 4.0
|
|
|
|
- How to start working with sets
|
| 5.0
|
|
|
|
- Learn constructive proofs and reasoning.
- Learn basic counting principles of discrete mathematics.
|
| 5.0
|
|
|
|
- Learn constructive proofs and reasoning.
- Learn basic counting principles of discrete mathematics.
|
| 6.0
|
|
- Catch up and review
- Midterm 1
|
|
|
| 7.0
|
|
|
|
- Gain basic concepts about relations.
|
| 7.0
|
|
|
|
- Gain basic concepts about relations.
|
| 7.0
|
|
|
|
- Gain basic concepts about relations.
|
| 8.0
|
|
|
|
- Familiarize with ordering.
- Learn how to use graph representations of relations.
|
| 8.0
|
|
|
|
- Familiarize with ordering.
- Learn how to use graph representations of relations.
|
| 9.0
|
|
|
|
- Gain basic rigorous knowledge of functions.
|
| 9.0
|
|
|
|
- Gain basic rigorous knowledge of functions.
|
| 10.0
|
|
|
|
- Determine whether a function is one-to-one with proofs.
|
| 10.0
|
|
|
|
- Determine whether a function onto with proofs.
|
| 10.0
|
|
|
|
|
| 11.0
|
|
|
|
- Find images of subsets under functions, with proofs.
|
| 11.0
|
|
|
|
- Find preimages of subsets under functions, with proofs.
|
| 11.0
|
|
|
|
|
| 12.0
|
|
- Catch up and review
- Midterm 2
|
|
|
| 13.0
|
|
|
|
- Learn classification of sets by size.
|
| 13.0
|
|
|
|
- Learn classification of sets by size.
- Generalizing the concept of size to infinite sets
|
| 13.0
|
|
|
|
|
| 14.0
|
|
|
|
- Learn properties of countable sets.
|
| 14.0
|
|
|
|
- Learn properties of uncountable sets.
|
| 15.0
|
|
- Catch up and review for Final
- Study Days
|
|
|
Topics List B
| Week |
Session |
Topics |
Section |
Prerequisite skills |
Learning outcomes |
Examples
|
| 1
|
Introduction
|
- Historical remarks
- Overview of the course and its goals
- Ideas of proofs and logic
- Axioms and propositions
|
1.1
|
|
mathematics from a
historical perspective
- An understanding of where
and why this course is
going
|
| 2
|
Propositional logic
|
- Logical operators
- Truth values
- Truth tables
- Quantifiers
|
1.2-3
|
|
Gain the prerequisites for
writing and evaluating
proofs.
|
- connectives
- conditionals
- biconditionals
|
| 3
|
Proof methods
|
Methods for proofs
|
1.4-6
|
Propositional logic
|
Start proving elementary results.
|
- direct proofs
- modus ponens
- proofs by contradiction
|
| 4
|
Set theory
|
- Basic concepts
- Operations and constructions with sets
|
2.1-3
|
Basic concepts of set theory
|
How to start working with sets
|
- notation
- subsets
- proving sets are equal
- unions, intersections, complements
|
| 5
|
Induction and counting
|
- Mathematical induction
- Counting principles
|
2.4-6
|
Natural numbers
|
- Learn constructive proofs and reasoning.
- Learn basic counting principles of discrete mathematics.
|
- sums of consecutive powers
- other induction proofs
- well ordering principle
- inclusion-exclusion principle
|
| 6
|
- Catch up and review
- Midterm 1
|
| 7
|
Relations 1
|
- Cartesian products and their subsets
- Equivalence relations
|
3.1-3
|
Set theory
|
Gain basic concepts about relations.
|
- modular congruence
- gluing sets
|
| 8
|
Relations 2
|
|
3.4-5
|
Relations 1
|
- Familiarize with ordering.
- Learn how to use graph representations of relations.
|
partial ordering of the power set under inclusion
|
| 9
|
Functions 1
|
- Functions
- Constructions with functions
|
4.1-2
|
- Relations
- Function sense (precalculus)
|
Gain basic rigorous knowledge of functions.
|
functional composition
|
| 10
|
Functions 2
|
- One-to-one
- Onto
- Compositional inverse
|
4.3-4
|
Functions 1
|
- Determine whether a function is one-to-one of onto, with proofs.
- Finding inverses
|
- examples with finite sets
- many precalculus examples
|
| 11
|
Functions 3
|
- Images of subsets
- Preimages of subsets
- Sequences
|
4.5-6
|
Functions 2
|
Find images and preimages of subsets under functions, with proofs.
|
- examples with finite sets
- many precalculus examples
|
| 12
|
- Catch up and review
- Midterm 2
|
| 13
|
Cardinality 1
|
- Finite and infinite sets
- Equivalent sets
|
5.1-2
|
Sets and functions
|
- Learn classification of sets by size.
- Generalizing the concept of size to infinite sets
|
|
| 14
|
Cardinality 2
|
Countable and uncountable sets
|
5.3-5
|
Cardinality 1
|
Learn properties of countable sets.
|
|
| 15
|
- Catch up and review for final
- Study days
|
See also