Combinatorics is an upper-level introductory course in enumeration, graph theory, and design theory.

his book is an introduction to combinatorial mathematics, also known as combinatorics. The book focuses especially but not exclusively on the part of combinatorics that mathematicians refer to as “counting.” The book consists almost entirely of problems. Some of the problems are designed to lead you to think about a concept, others are designed to help you figure out a concept and state a theorem about it, while still others ask you to prove the theorem. Other problems give you a chance to use a theorem you have proved. From time to time there is a discussion that pulls together some of the things you have learned or introduces a new idea for you to work with. Many of the problems are designed to build up your intuition for how combinatorial mathematics works. There are problems that some people will solve quickly, and there are problems that will take days of thought for everyone. Probably the best way to use this book is to work on a problem until you feel you are not making progress and then go on to the next one. Think about the problem you couldn’t get as you do other things. The next chance you get, discuss the problem you are stymied on with other members of the class. Often you will all feel you’ve hit dead ends, but when you begin comparing notes and listening carefully to each other, you will see more than one approach to the problem and be able to make some progress. In fact, after comparing notes you may realize that there is more than one way to interpret the problem. In this case your first step should be to think together about what the problem is actually asking you to do. You may have learned in school that for every problem you are given, there is a method that has already been taught to you, and you are supposed to figure out which method applies and apply it. That is not the case here. Based on some simplified examples, you will discover the method for yourself. Later on, you may recognize a pattern that suggests you should try to use this method again.

All of the mathematics required beyond basic calculus is developed “from scratch.” Moreover, the book generally alternates between “theory” and “applications”: one or two chapters on a particular set of purely mathematical concepts are followed by one or two chapters on algorithms and applications; the mathematics provides the theoretical underpinnings for the applications, while the applications both motivate and illustrate the mathematics. Of course, this dichotomy between theory and applications is not perfectly maintained: the chapters that focus mainly on applications include the development of some of the mathematics that is specific to a particular application, and very occasionally, some of the chapters that focus mainly on mathematics include a discussion of related algorithmic ideas as well.

The mathematical material covered includes the basics of number theory (including unique factorization, congruences, the distribution of primes, and quadratic reciprocity) and of abstract algebra (including groups, rings, fields, and vector spaces). It also includes an introduction to discrete probability theory—this material is needed to properly treat the topics of probabilistic algorithms and cryptographic applications. The treatment of all these topics is more or less standard, except that the text only deals with commutative structures (i.e., abelian groups and commutative rings with unity) — this is all that is really needed for the purposes of this text, and the theory of these structures is much simpler and more transparent than that of more general, non-commutative structures.

From the University of Florida Department of Mathematics, this is the second volume in a three volume presentation of calculus from a concepts perspective. The emphasis is on learning the concepts behind the theories, not the rote completion of problems.

Short Description:
Return to milneopentextbooks.org to download PDF and other versions of this textNewParaA Concise Introduction to Logic is an introduction to formal logic suitable for undergraduates taking a general education course in logic or critical thinking, and is accessible and useful to any interested in gaining a basic understanding of logic. This text takes the unique approach of teaching logic through intellectual history; the author uses examples from important and celebrated arguments in philosophy to illustrate logical principles. The text also includes a basic introduction to findings of advanced logic. As indicators of where the student could go next with logic, the book closes with an overview of advanced topics, such as the axiomatic method, set theory, Peano arithmetic, and modal logic. Throughout, the text uses brief, concise chapters that readers will find easy to read and to review.

Long Description:
A Concise Introduction to Logic is an introduction to formal logic suitable for undergraduates taking a general education course in logic or critical thinking, and is accessible and useful to any interested in gaining a basic understanding of logic. This text takes the unique approach of teaching logic through intellectual history; the author uses examples from important and celebrated arguments in philosophy to illustrate logical principles. The text also includes a basic introduction to findings of advanced logic. As indicators of where the student could go next with logic, the book closes with an overview of advanced topics, such as the axiomatic method, set theory, Peano arithmetic, and modal logic. Throughout, the text uses brief, concise chapters that readers will find easy to read and to review.

Word Count: 68574

ISBN: 978-1-942341-42-0

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

A Concise Introduction to Logic is an introduction to formal logic suitable for undergraduates taking a general education course in logic or critical thinking, and is accessible and useful to any interested in gaining a basic understanding of logic. This text takes the unique approach of teaching logic through intellectual history.

Contemporary Mathematics is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements for a liberal arts mathematics course. This resource provides stand-alone sections with a focus on showing relevance in the features as well as the examples, exercises, and exposition. Contemporary Mathematics integrates technology applications, projects, and highlights a diverse group of contributors to mathematics, statistics, and related fields.

A Cool, Brisk Walk Through Discrete Mathematics, an innovative and non-traditional approach to learning Discrete Math, is available for low cost from Blurb or via free download.

Why study Quantitative Literacy?

Most students sign up for this course to fulfill a general education mathematics requirement. And this text is certainly aimed at that general audience. But by the time the course is completed, the authors hope that you will have developed some appreciation for the usefulness and elegance of the subject. Without doubt, some level of competency and comfort in working with numerical data is needed to navigate the modern world; and we have tried to cover topics that can be used in day to day life.

In this book, we will focus on problem solving and critical thinking skills. Our goal is not to prepare you just for the next math class, but to equip you with the necessary tools so that you can apply basic mathematical reasoning to a wide variety of commonly encountered problems. Along the way, we will learn basic logic, how to work with percentages and units, the basics of consumer finance, and how to use and interpret basic statistical data.

This open resources textbook contains 10 Units that describe and explain the main concepts in statistical analysis of psychological data (managing data, measures of central tendency, measures of spread, correlations, simple linear regression). In addition to conceptual descriptions and explanations of the basic analyses for descriptive statistics, this textbook also explains how to conduct those analyses with common statistical software (Excel) and open-source free software (R). This book is directed to undergraduates studying basic statistics, especially basic statistics in psychological research.

Discrete Mathematics: An Open Introduction is a free, open source textbook appropriate for a first or second year undergraduate course for math majors, especially those who will go on to teach. The textbook has been developed while teaching the Discrete Mathematics course at the University of Northern Colorado. Primitive versions were used as the primary textbook for that course since Spring 2013, and have been used by other instructors as a free additional resource. Since then it has been used as the primary text for this course at UNC, as well as at other institutions.

This book is not intended for budding mathematicians. It was created for a math program in which most of the students in upper-level math classes are planning to become secondary school teachers. For such students, conventional abstract algebra texts are practically incomprehensible, both in style and in content. Faced with this situation, we decided to create a book that our students could actually read for themselves. In this way we have been able to dedicate class time to problem-solving and personal interaction rather than rehashing the same material in lecture format.

It is essential to lay a solid foundation in mathematics if a student is to be competitive in today's global market. The importance of algebra, in particular, cannot be overstated, as it is the basis of all mathematical modeling used in applications found in all disciplines. Traditionally, the study of algebra is separated into a two parts, elementary algebra and intermediate algebra. This textbook, Elementary Algebra, is the first part, written in a clear and concise manner, making no assumption of prior algebra experience. It carefully guides students from the basics to the more advanced techniques required to be successful in the next course.

Elementary Algebra is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of a one-semester elementary algebra course. The book’s organization makes it easy to adapt to a variety of course syllabi. The text expands on the fundamental concepts of algebra while addressing the needs of students with diverse backgrounds and learning styles. Each topic builds upon previously developed material to demonstrate the cohesiveness and structure of mathematics.

This textbook covers calculus of a single variable, suitable for a year-long (or two-semester) course. Chapters 1-5 cover Calculus I, while Chapters 6-9 cover Calculus II. The book is designed for students who have completed courses in high-school algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. Though designed for college students, it could also be used in high schools. The traditional topics are covered, but the old idea of an infinitesimal is resurrected, owing to its usefulness (especially in the sciences).

This text is intended for a brief introductory course in plane geometry. It covers the topics from elementary geometry that are most likely to be required for more advanced mathematics courses. The only prerequisite is a semester of algebra.

The emphasis is on applying basic geometric principles to the numerical solution of problems. For this purpose the number of theorems and definitions is kept small. Proofs are short and intuitive, mostly in the style of those found in a typical trigonometry or precalculus text. There is little attempt to teach theorem-proving or formal methods of reasoning. However the topics are ordered so that they may be taught deductively.

The problems are arranged in pairs so that just the odd-numbered or just the even-numbered can be assigned. For assistance, the student may refer to a large number of completely worked-out examples. Most problems are presented in diagram form so that the difficulty of translating words into pictures is avoided. Many problems require the solution of algebraic equations in a geometric context. These are included to reinforce the student's algebraic and numerical skills, A few of the exercises involve the application of geometry to simple practical problems. These serve primarily to convince the student that what he or she is studying is useful. Historical notes are added where appropriate to give the student a greater appreciation of the subject.

This book is suitable for a course of about 45 semester hours. A shorter course may be devised by skipping proofs, avoiding the more complicated problems and omitting less crucial topics.

Elementary Differential Equations with Boundary Value Problems is written for students in science, engineering, and mathematics who have completed calculus through partial differentiation. If your syllabus includes Chapter 10 (Linear Systems of Differential Equations), your students should have some preparation in linear algebra. In writing this book I have been guided by the these principles: An elementary text should be written so the student can read it with comprehension without too much pain. I have tried to put myself in the student's place, and have chosen to err on the side of too much detail rather than not enough. An elementary text can't be better than its exercises. This text includes 2041 numbered exercises, many with several parts. They range in difficulty from routine to very challenging. An elementary text should be written in an informal but mathematically accurate way, illustrated by appropriate graphics. I have tried to formulate mathematical concepts succinctly in language that students can understand. I have minimized the number of explicitly stated theorems and defonitions, preferring to deal with concepts in a more conversational way, copiously illustrated by 299 completely worked out examples. Where appropriate, concepts and results are depicted in 188 figures

Short Description:
This course blends Introductory Statistics from OpenStax with other OER to offer a first course in statistics intended for students majoring in fields other than mathematics and engineering. This course assumes students have been exposed to intermediate algebra, and it focuses on the applications of statistical knowledge rather than the theory behind it.The foundation of the OpenStax text is Collaborative Statistics, by Barbara Illowsky and Susan Dean. The development choices for this textbook were made with the guidance of many faculty members who are deeply involved in teaching this course. These choices led to innovations in art, terminology, and practical applications, all with a goal of increasing relevance and accessibility for students. We strove to make the discipline meaningful, so that students can draw from it a working knowledge that will enrich their future studies and help them make sense of the world around them.

Word Count: 90414

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)