Join BookitisSave favorites, build lists, and follow creators.

An accompaniment to higher mathematics

Work detail

Bookitis Pick
Cover for An accompaniment to higher mathematics
AA
Image source: Open Library
George R. ExnerFirst published 19962 editions

This text prepares undergraduate mathematics students to meet two challenges in the study of mathematics, namely, to read mathematics independently and to understand and write proofs. The book begins by teaching how to read mathematics actively, constructing examples, extreme cases, and non-examples to aid in understanding an unfamiliar theorem or definition (a technique familiar to any mathematician, but rarely taught); it provides practice by indicating explicitly where work with pencil and paper must interrupt reading. The book then turns to proofs, showing in detail how to discover the structure of a potential proof from the form of the theorem (especially the conclusion). It shows the logical structure behind proof farms (especially quantifier arguments), and analyzes, thoroughly, the often sketchy coding of these forms in proofs as they are ordinarily written. The common introductory material (such as sets and functions) is used for the numerous exercises, and the book concludes with a set of "Laboratories" on these topics in which the student can practice the skills learned in the earlier chapters. Intended for use as a supplementary text in courses on introductory real analysis, advanced calculus, abstract algebra, or topology, the book may also be used as the main text for a "transitions" course bridging the gap between calculus and higher mathematics.

Overview

Shared work-level identity and catalog context.

First publish date 19961 credited authorSearch language english

Bookitis keeps work pages focused on the shared book identity and the editions that actually belong to it. Unrelated books should not appear here as primary content.

Contributors

People credited with this work in the active catalog.

  • George R. Exner

    Author profile in the active Bookitis catalog

    Open Author

Editions

Publication-specific versions linked to this work only.