Full Product Details
Author: Ralph W. Oberste-Vorth (Indiana State University) ,
Aristides Mouzakitis ,
Bonita A. Lawrence (Marshall University, West Virginia)
Publisher: Mathematical Association of America
Imprint: Mathematical Association of America
Dimensions:
Width: 18.20cm
, Height: 2.00cm
, Length: 26.00cm
Weight: 0.590kg
ISBN: 9780883857793
ISBN 10: 0883857790
Pages: 249
Publication Date: 24 January 2013
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
For a variety of reasons, over the past 30 years or so, bridge or transition courses have become staples in the undergraduate mathematics curriculum. The purpose of these courses, broadly speaking, is to introduce students to abstract and rigorous mathematical thinking, at a level appropriate to their learning, to make conjectures and construct proofs--things they do not usually see in calculus at present. This work by Oberste-Vorth (Indiana State), Mouzakitis (Second Junior High School of Corfu, Greece), and Lawrence (Marshall Univ.) has evolved from courses taught at the University of South Florida and Marshall University and is worthy of consideration. Coverage includes standard ideas involving set, functions, relations, and cardinality as well as mathematical statements and logic and types of proof. Building on these early notions, an instructor can then choose to go in the direction of number systems (including construction of the reals from the rationals) with an algebraic flavor or toward analysis (here, including time scales and continuity). The analysis direction is perhaps the rockier road to travel. Given the purpose and the audience, the exposition is commendably open and not terse. The book includes scores of exercises scattered throughout, with many end-of-chapter supplemental exercises. - D. Robbins, CHOICE To begin the process of being able to write and understand proofs it is necessary for the student to go back a few squares on the mathematical board game and learn the rigorous definitions of concepts such as the structure of mathematical statements, set theory and the underlying structural definitions of the basic number systems. Knowing these concepts very well gives the student the foundation for entering the proof realm and it helps to overturn their complacent belief of understanding. This book is designed to give the reader that understanding and the mission is a success. The authors provide detailed explanations of the foundations of mathematics needed to work comfortably with proofs, both operationally and theoretically. It would be an excellent choice for a freshman/sophomore level course in the foundations of mathematics designed to prepare students for the rigors of proofs that they will experience in their later years. - Charles Ashbacher, Journal of Recreational Mathematics
Author Information
Ralph W. Oberste-Vorth earned his PhD in mathematics from Cornell University. In 2002, he became the Chairman of the Department of Mathematics at Marshall University. In 2011, he accepted a position as the Chairman of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Indiana State University. Aristides Mouzakitis received his BA and MA in mathematics from Hunter College. In Greece, he has worked as a teacher in secondary education and as an English-Greek translator of popular mathematics books and articles. In 2009, he earned his doctorate in mathematics education from the University of Exeter. Bonita Lawrence is a Professor of Mathematics at Marshall University. She received her baccalaureate degree in mathematics education from Cameron University in 1979. After ten years of teaching, she returned to school and earned her Master's degree in mathematics at Auburn University and went on to receive her PhD in mathematics from the University of Texas, Arlington.
