Description

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This text is formulated on the fundamental idea that much of mathematics, including the classical number systems, can best be based on set theory. Beginning with a discussion of the rudiments of set theory, authors Norman T. Hamilton and Joseph Landin lead readers through a construction of the natural number system, discussing the integers and the rational numbers, and concluding with an in-depth examination of the real numbers.
Drawn from lecture notes for a course intended primarily for high school mathematics teachers, this volume was designed to answer the question, What is a number? and to provide a foundation for the study of abstract algebra, elementary Euclidean geometry, and analysis. Upon completion of this treatment -- which is suitable for high school mathematics teachers and advanced high school students -- readers should be well prepared for introductory courses in abstract algebra and real variables.

About the Author

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Norman Hamilton and Joseph Landin were both on the faculty at The University of Illinois. Dover also publishes Prof. Landin's Introduction to Algebraic Structures.