Pure and Applied Undergraduate Texts – serie

This book presents the theory and applications of Fourier series and integrals, eigenfunction expansions, and related topics, on a level suitable for advanced undergraduates. It includes material on Bessel functions, orthogonal polynomials, and Laplace transforms, and it concludes with chapters on generalized functions and Green's functions for ordinary and partial differential equations. The book deals almost exclusively with aspects of these subjects that are useful in physics and engineering, and includes a wide variety of applications. On the theoretical side, it uses ideas from modern analysis to develop the concepts and reasoning behind the techniques without getting bogged down in the technicalities of rigorous proofs.

Introduction to Analysis is designed to bridge the gap between the intuitive calculus usually offered at the undergraduate level and the sophisticated analysis courses the student encounters at the graduate level. In this book the student is given the vocabulary and facts necessary for further study in analysis. The course for which it is designed is usually offered at the junior level, and it is assumed that the student has little or no previous experience with proofs in analysis. A considerable amount of time is spent motivating the theorems and proofs and developing the reader's intuition. Of course, that intuition must be tempered with the realization that rigorous proofs are required for theorems. The topics are quite standard: convergence of sequences, limits of functions, continuity, differentiation, the Riemann integral, infinite series, power series, and convergence of sequences of functions. Many examples are given to illustrate the theory, and exercises at the end of each chapter are keyed to each section. Also, at the end of each section, one finds several Projects. The purpose of a Project is to give the reader a substantial mathematical problem and the necessary guidance to solve that problem. A Project is distinguished from an exercise in that the solution of a Project is a multi-step process requiring assistance for the beginner student.

This book introduces students with diverse backgrounds to various types of mathematical analysis that are commonly needed in scientific computing. The subject of numerical analysis is treated from a mathematical point of view, offering a complete analysis of methods for scientific computing with appropriate motivations and careful proofs. In an engaging and informal style, the authors demonstrate that many computational procedures and intriguing questions of computer science arise from theorems and proofs. Algorithms are presented in pseudocode, so that students can immediately write computer programs in standard languages or use interactive mathematical software packages. This book occasionally touches upon more advanced topics that are not usually contained in standard textbooks at this level.

Advanced Calculus is intended as a text for courses that furnish the backbone of the student's undergraduate education in mathematical analysis. The goal is to rigorously present the fundamental concepts within the context of illuminating examples and stimulating exercises. This book is self-contained and starts with the creation of basic tools using the completeness axiom. The continuity, differentiability, integrability, and power series representation properties of functions of a single variable are established. The next few chapters describe the topological and metric properties of Euclidean space. These are the basis of a rigorous treatment of differential calculus (including the Implicit Function Theorem and Lagrange Multipliers) for mappings between Euclidean spaces and integration for functions of several real variables. Special attention has been paid to the motivation for proofs. Selected topics, such as the Picard Existence Theorem for differential equations, have been included in such a way that selections may be made while preserving a fluid presentation of the essential material. Supplemented with numerous exercises, ""Advanced Calculus"" is a perfect book for undergraduate students of analysis.

This book covers the basic probability of distributions with an emphasis on applications from the areas of investments, insurance, and engineering. Written by a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Society of Actuaries with many years of experience as a university professor and industry practitioner, the book is suitable as a text for senior undergraduate and beginning graduate students in mathematics, statistics, actuarial science, finance, or engineering as well as a reference for practitioners in these fields. The book is particularly well suited for students preparing for professional exams, and for several years it has been recommended as a textbook on the syllabus of examinations for the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Society of Actuaries. In addition to covering the standard topics and probability distributions, this book includes separate sections on more specialized topics such as mixtures and compound distributions, distributions of transformations, and the application of specialized distributions such as the Pareto, beta, and Weibull. The book also has a number of unique features such as a detailed description of the celebrated Markowitz investment portfolio selection model. A separate section contains information on how graphs of the specific distributions studied in the book can be created using Mathematica[trademark]. The book includes a large number of problems of varying difficulty. A student manual with solutions to selected problems are available. An instructor's manual with complete solutions to all the problems as well as supplementary material is available to teachers using the book as the text for the class.

This book is ideally suited for an introductory undergraduate course on financial engineering. It explains the basic concepts of financial derivatives, including put and call options, as well as more complex derivatives such as barrier options and options on futures contracts. Both discrete and continuous models of market behavior are developed in this book. In particular, the analysis of option prices developed by Black and Scholes is explained in a self-contained way, using both the probabilistic Brownian Motion method and the analytical differential equations method. The book begins with binomial stock price models, moves on to multistage models, then to the Cox - Ross - Rubinstein option pricing process, and then to the Black - Scholes formula. Other topics presented include Zero Coupon Bonds, forward rates, the yield curve, and several bond price models. The book continues with foreign exchange models and the Keynes Interest Rate Parity Formula, and concludes with the study of country risk, a topic not inappropriate for the times. In addition to theoretical results, numerical models are presented in much detail. Each of the eleven chapters includes a variety of exercises.

One of the challenges many mathematics students face occurs after they complete their study of basic calculus and linear algebra, and they start taking courses where they are expected to write proofs. Historically, students have been learning to think mathematically and to write proofs by studying Euclidean geometry. In the author's opinion, geometry is still the best way to make the transition from elementary to advanced mathematics. The book begins with a thorough review of high school geometry, then goes on to discuss special points associated with triangles, circles and certain associated lines, Ceva's theorem, vector techniques of proof, and compass-and-straightedge constructions. There is also some emphasis on proving numerical formulas like the laws of sines, cosines, and tangents, Stewart's theorem, Ptolemy's theorem, and the area formula of Heron. An important difference of this book from the majority of modern college geometry texts is that it avoids axiomatics. The students using this book have had very little experience with formal mathematics. Instead, the focus of the course and the book is on interesting theorems and on the techniques that can be used to prove them. This makes the book suitable to second- or third-year mathematics majors and also to secondary mathematics education majors, allowing the students to learn how to write proofs of mathematical results and, at the end, showing them what mathematics is really all about.

This undergraduate text takes a novel approach to the standard introductory material on groups, rings, and fields. At the heart of the text is a semi-historical journey through the early decades of the subject as it emerged in the revolutionary work of Euler, Lagrange, Gauss, and Galois. Avoiding excessive abstraction whenever possible, the text focuses on the central problem of studying the solutions of polynomial equations. Highlights include a proof of the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra, essentially due to Euler, and a proof of the constructability of the regular 17-gon, in the manner of Gauss. Another novel feature is the introduction of groups through a meditation on the meaning of congruence in the work of Euclid. Everywhere in the text, the goal is to make clear the links connecting abstract algebra to Euclidean geometry, high school algebra, and trigonometry, in the hope that students pursuing a career as secondary mathematics educators will carry away a deeper and richer understanding of the high school mathematics curriculum. Another goal is to encourage students, insofar as possible in a textbook format, to build the course for themselves, with exercises integrally embedded in the text of each chapter.

The mathematical formulations of problems in physics, economics, biology, and other sciences are usually embodied in differential equations. The analysis of the resulting equations then provides new insight into the original problems. This book describes the tools for performing that analysis. The first chapter treats single differential equations, emphasizing linear and nonlinear first order equations, linear second order equations, and a class of nonlinear second order equations arising from Newton's laws. The first order linear theory starts with a self-contained presentation of the exponential and trigonometric functions, which plays a central role in the subsequent development of this chapter. Chapter 2 provides a mini-course on linear algebra, giving detailed treatments of linear transformations, determinants and invertibility, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and generalized eigenvectors. This treatment is more detailed than that in most differential equations texts, and provides a solid foundation for the next two chapters. Chapter 3 studies linear systems of differential equations. It starts with the matrix exponential, melding material from Chapters 1 and 2, and uses this exponential as a key tool in the linear theory. Chapter 4 deals with nonlinear systems of differential equations. This uses all the material developed in the first three chapters and moves it to a deeper level. The chapter includes theoretical studies, such as the fundamental existence and uniqueness theorem, but also has numerous examples, arising from Newtonian physics, mathematical biology, electrical circuits, and geometrical problems. These studies bring in variational methods, a fertile source of nonlinear systems of differential equations. The reader who works through this book will be well prepared for advanced studies in dynamical systems, mathematical physics, and partial differential equations.

An Introduction to Complex Analysis and Geometry provides the reader with a deep appreciation of complex analysis and how this subject fits into mathematics. The book developed from courses given in the Campus Honors Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. These courses aimed to share with students the way many mathematics and physics problems magically simplify when viewed from the perspective of complex analysis. The book begins at an elementary level but also contains advanced material.The first four chapters provide an introduction to complex analysis with many elementary and unusual applications. Chapters 5 through 7 develop the Cauchy theory and include some striking applications to calculus. Chapter 8 glimpses several appealing topics, simultaneously unifying the book and opening the door to further study.The 280 exercises range from simple computations to difficult problems. Their variety makes the book especially attractive.A reader of the first four chapters will be able to apply complex numbers in many elementary contexts. A reader of the full book will know basic one complex variable theory and will have seen it integrated into mathematics as a whole. Research mathematicians will discover several novel perspectives.

Mark Sepanski's Algebra is a readable introduction to the delightful world of modern algebra. Beginning with concrete examples from the study of integers and modular arithmetic, the text steadily familiarises the reader with greater levels of abstraction as it moves through the study of groups, rings, and fields. The book is equipped with over 750 exercises suitable for many levels of student ability. There are standard problems, as well as challenging exercises, that introduce students to topics not normally covered in a first course. Difficult problems are broken into manageable subproblems and come equipped with hints when needed. Appropriate for both self-study and the classroom, the material is efficiently arranged so that milestones such as the Sylow theorems and Galois theory can be reached in one semester.

Building on the basic techniques of separation of variables and Fourier series, the book presents the solution of boundary-value problems for basic partial differential equations: the heat equation, wave equation, and Laplace equation, considered in various standard coordinate systems--rectangular, cylindrical, and spherical. Each of the equations is derived in the three-dimensional context; the solutions are organized according to the geometry of the coordinate system, which makes the mathematics especially transparent. Bessel and Legendre functions are studied and used whenever appropriate throughout the text. The notions of steady-state solution of closely related stationary solutions are developed for the heat equation; applications to the study of heat flow in the earth are presented. The problem of the vibrating string is studied in detail both in the Fourier transform setting and from the viewpoint of the explicit representation (d'Alembert formula). Additional chapters include the numerical analysis of solutions and the method of Green's functions for solutions of partial differential equations. The exposition also includes asymptotic methods (Laplace transform and stationary phase). With more than 200 working examples and 700 exercises (more than 450 with answers), the book is suitable for an undergraduate course in partial differential equations.

The text covers a broad spectrum between basic and advanced complex variables on the one hand and between theoretical and applied or computational material on the other hand. With careful selection of the emphasis put on the various sections, examples, and exercises, the book can be used in a one- or two-semester course for undergraduate mathematics majors, a one-semester course for engineering or physics majors, or a one-semester course for first-year mathematics graduate students. It has been tested in all three settings at the University of Utah.The exposition is clear, concise, and lively. There is a clean and modern approach to Cauchy's theorems and Taylor series expansions, with rigourous proofs but no long and tedious arguments. This is followed by the rich harvest of easy consequences of the existence of power series expansions.Through the central portion of the text, there is a careful and extensive treatment of residue theory and its application to computation of integrals, conformal mapping and its applications to applied problems, analytic continuation, and the proofs of the Picard theorems.Chapter 8 covers material on infinite products and zeroes of entire functions. This leads to the final chapter which is devoted to the Riemann zeta function, the Riemann Hypothesis, and a proof of the Prime Number Theorem.

Analysis plays a crucial role in the undergraduate curriculum. Building upon the familiar notions of calculus, analysis introduces the depth and rigor characteristic of higher mathematics courses. Foundations of Analysis has two main goals. The first is to develop in students the mathematical maturity and sophistication they will need as they move through the upper division curriculum. The second is to present a rigorous development of both single and several variable calculus, beginning with a study of the properties of the real number system. The presentation is both thorough and concise, with simple, straightforward explanations. The exercises differ widely in level of abstraction and level of difficulty. They vary from the simple to the quite difficult and from the computational to the theoretical. Each section contains a number of examples designed to illustrate the material in the section and to teach students how to approach the exercises for that section. The list of topics covered is rather standard, although the treatment of some of them is not. The several variable material makes full use of the power of linear algebra, particularly in the treatment of the differential of a function as the best affine approximation to the function at a given point. The text includes a review of several linear algebra topics in preparation for this material. In the final chapter, vector calculus is presented from a modern point of view, using differential forms to give a unified treatment of the major theorems relating derivatives and integrals: Green's, Gauss's, and Stokes's Theorems. At appropriate points, abstract metric spaces, topological spaces, inner product spaces, and normed linear spaces are introduced, but only as asides. That is, the course is grounded in the concrete world of Euclidean space, but the students are made aware that there are more exotic worlds in which the concepts they are learning may be studied.

This book gives a mathematical treatment of the introduction to qualitative differential equations and discrete dynamical systems. The treatment includes theoretical proofs, methods of calculation, and applications. The two parts of the book, continuous time of differential equations and discrete time of dynamical systems, can be covered independently in one semester each or combined together into a year long course. The material on differential equations introduces the qualitative or geometric approach through a treatment of linear systems in any dimensions. There follows chapters where equilibria are the most important feature, where scalar (energy) functions is the principal tool, where periodic orbits appear, and finally chaotic systems of differential equations. The many different approaches are systematically introduced through examples and theorems. The material on discrete dynamical systems starts with maps of one variable and proceeds to systems in higher dimensions. The treatment starts with examples where the periodic points can be found explicitly and then introduces symbolic dynamics to analyze where they can be shown to exist but not given in explicit form. Chaotic systems are presented both mathematically and more computationally using Lyapunov exponents. With the one-dimensional maps as models, the multidimensional maps cover the same material in higher dimensions. This higher dimensional material is less computational and more conceptual and theoretical. The final chapter on fractals introduces various dimensions which is another computational tool for measuring the complexity of a system. It also treats iterated function systems which give examples of complicated sets. In the second edition of the book, much of the material has been rewritten to clarify the presentation. Also, some new material has been included in both parts of the book. This book can be used as a textbook for an advanced undergraduate course on ordinary differential equations and/or dynamical systems. Prerequisites are standard courses in calculus (single variable and multivariable), linear algebra, and introductory differential equations.

This is a textbook for a course in Honors Analysis (for freshman/sophomore undergraduates) or Real Analysis (for junior/senior undergraduates) or Analysis-I (beginning graduates). It is intended for students who completed a course in ``AP Calculus'', possibly followed by a routine course in multivariable calculus and a computational course in linear algebra. There are three features that distinguish this book from many other books of a similar nature and which are important for the use of this book as a text. The first, and most important, feature is the collection of exercises. These are spread throughout the chapters and should be regarded as an essential component of the student's learning. Some of these exercises comprise a routine follow-up to the material, while others challenge the student's understanding more deeply. The second feature is the set of independent projects presented at the end of each chapter. These projects supplement the content studied in their respective chapters. They can be used to expand the student's knowledge and understanding or as an opportunity to conduct a seminar in Inquiry Based Learning in which the students present the material to their class. The third really important feature is a series of challenge problems that increase in impossibility as the chapters progress.

Fourier Analysis is an important area of mathematics, especially in light of its importance in physics, chemistry, and engineering. Yet it seems that this subject is rarely offered to undergraduates. This book introduces Fourier Analysis in its three most classical settings: The Discrete Fourier Transform for periodic sequences, Fourier Series for periodic functions, and the Fourier Transform for functions on the real line.The presentation is accessible for students with just three or four terms of calculus, but the book is also intended to be suitable for a junior-senior course, for a capstone undergraduate course, or for beginning graduate students. Material needed from real analysis is quoted without proof, and issues of Lebesgue measure theory are treated rather informally. Included are a number of applications of Fourier Series, and Fourier Analysis in higher dimensions is briefly sketched. A student may eventually want to move on to Fourier Analysis discussed in a more advanced way, either by way of more general orthogonal systems, or in the language of Banach spaces, or of locally compact commutative groups, but the experience of the classical setting provides a mental image of what is going on in an abstract setting.

Linear algebra and matrix theory are fundamental tools for almost every area of mathematics, both pure and applied. This book combines coverage of core topics with an introduction to some areas in which linear algebra plays a key role, for example, block designs, directed graphs, error correcting codes, and linear dynamical systems. Notable features include a discussion of the Weyr characteristic and Weyr canonical forms, and their relationship to the better-known Jordan canonical form; the use of block cyclic matrices and directed graphs to prove Frobenius's theorem on the structure of the eigenvalues of a nonnegative, irreducible matrix; and the inclusion of such combinatorial topics as BIBDs, Hadamard matrices, and strongly regular graphs. Also included are McCoy's theorem about matrices with property P, the Bruck-Ryser-Chowla theorem on the existence of block designs, and an introduction to Markov chains. This book is intended for those who are familiar with the linear algebra covered in a typical first course and are interested in learning more advanced results.

This book offers a rigorous and coherent introduction to the five basic number systems of mathematics, namely natural numbers, integers, rational numbers, real numbers, and complex numbers. It is a subject that many mathematicians believe should be learned by any student of mathematics including future teachers.The book starts with the development of Peano arithmetic in the first chapter which includes mathematical induction and elements of recursion theory. It proceeds to an examination of integers that also covers rings and ordered integral domains. The presentation of rational numbers includes material on ordered fields and convergence of sequences in these fields. Cauchy and Dedekind completeness properties of the field of real numbers are established, together with some properties of real continuous functions. An elementary proof of the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra is the highest point of the chapter on complex numbers. The great merit of the book lies in its extensive list of exercises following each chapter. These exercises are designed to assist the instructor and to enhance the learning experience of the students.

Foundations and Applications of Statistics simultaneously emphasizes both the foundational and the computational aspects of modern statistics. Engaging and accessible, this book is useful to undergraduate students with a wide range of backgrounds and career goals.The exposition immediately begins with statistics, presenting concepts and results from probability along the way. Hypothesis testing is introduced very early, and the motivation for several probability distributions comes from p-value computations. Pruim develops the students' practical statistical reasoning through explicit examples and through numerical and graphical summaries of data that allow intuitive inferences before introducing the formal machinery. The topics have been selected to reflect the current practice in statistics, where computation is an indispensible tool. In this vein, the statistical computing environment $\mathsf{R}$ is used throughout the text and is integral to the exposition. Attention is paid to developing students' mathematical and computational skills as well as their statistical reasoning. Linear models, such as regression and ANOVA, are treated with explicit reference to the underlying linear algebra, which is motivated geometrically.Foundations and Applications of Statistics discusses both the mathematical theory underlying statistics and practical applications that make it a powerful tool across disciplines. The book contains ample material for a two-semester course in undergraduate probability and statistics. A one-semester course based on the book will cover hypothesis testing and confidence intervals for the most common situations.In the second edition, the $\mathsf{R}$ code has been updated throughout to take advantage of new $\mathsf{R}$ packages and to illustrate better coding style. New sections have been added covering bootstrap methods, multinomial and multivariate normal distributions, the delta method, numerical methods for Bayesian inference, and nonlinear least squares. Also, the use of matrix algebra has been expanded, but remains optional, providing instructors with more options regarding the amount of linear algebra required.

This accessible textbook gives beginning undergraduate mathematics students a first exposure to introductory logic, proofs, sets, functions, number theory, relations, finite and infinite sets, and the foundations of analysis. The book provides students with a quick path to writing proofs and a practical collection of tools that they can use in later mathematics courses such as abstract algebra and analysis. The importance of the logical structure of a mathematical statement as a framework for finding a proof of that statement, and the proper use of variables, is an early and consistent theme used throughout the book.

This book presents material suitable for an undergraduate course in elementary number theory from a computational perspective. It seeks to not only introduce students to the standard topics in elementary number theory, such as prime factorization and modular arithmetic, but also to develop their ability to formulate and test precise conjectures from experimental data. Each topic is motivated by a question to be answered, followed by some experimental data, and, finally, the statement and proof of a theorem. There are numerous opportunities throughout the chapters and exercises for the students to engage in (guided) open-ended exploration. At the end of a course using this book, the students will understand how mathematics is developed from asking questions to gathering data to formulating and proving theorems.The mathematical prerequisites for this book are few. Early chapters contain topics such as integer divisibility, modular arithmetic, and applications to cryptography, while later chapters contain more specialized topics, such as Diophantine approximation, number theory of dynamical systems, and number theory with polynomials. Students of all levels will be drawn in by the patterns and relationships of number theory uncovered through data driven exploration.

Spaces is a modern introduction to real analysis at the advanced undergraduate level. It is forward-looking in the sense that it first and foremost aims to provide students with the concepts and techniques they need in order to follow more advanced courses in mathematical analysis and neighboring fields. The only prerequisites are a solid understanding of calculus and linear algebra. Two introductory chapters will help students with the transition from computation-based calculus to theory-based analysis.The main topics covered are metric spaces, spaces of continuous functions, normed spaces, differentiation in normed spaces, measure and integration theory, and Fourier series. Although some of the topics are more advanced than what is usually found in books of this level, care is taken to present the material in a way that is suitable for the intended audience: concepts are carefully introduced and motivated, and proofs are presented in full detail. Applications to differential equations and Fourier analysis are used to illustrate the power of the theory, and exercises of all levels from routine to real challenges help students develop their skills and understanding. The text has been tested in classes at the University of Oslo over a number of years.

Optimization Theory is an active area of research with numerous applications; many of the books are designed for engineering classes, and thus have an emphasis on problems from such fields. Covering much of the same material, there is less emphasis on coding and detailed applications as the intended audience is more mathematical. There are still several important problems discussed (especially scheduling problems), but there is more emphasis on theory and less on the nuts and bolts of coding. A constant theme of the text is the "why" and the "how" in the subject. Why are we able to do a calculation efficiently? How should we look at a problem? Extensive effort is made to motivate the mathematics and isolate how one can apply ideas/perspectives to a variety of problems. As many of the key algorithms in the subject require too much time or detail to analyze in a first course (such as the run-time of the Simplex Algorithm), there are numerous comparisons to simpler algorithms which students have either seen or can quickly learn (such as the Euclidean algorithm) to motivate the type of results on run-time savings.

This book is derived from lecture notes for a course on Fourier analysis for engineering and science students at the advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate level. Beyond teaching specific topics and techniques--all of which are important in many areas of engineering and science--the author's goal is to help engineering and science students cultivate more advanced mathematical know-how and increase confidence in learning and using mathematics, as well as appreciate the coherence of the subject. He promises the readers a little magic on every page.The section headings are all recognizable to mathematicians, but the arrangement and emphasis are directed toward students from other disciplines. The material also serves as a foundation for advanced courses in signal processing and imaging. There are over 200 problems, many of which are oriented to applications, and a number use standard software. An unusual feature for courses meant for engineers is a more detailed and accessible treatment of distributions and the generalized Fourier transform. There is also more coverage of higher-dimensional phenomena than is found in most books at this level.

This textbook is suitable for a course in advanced calculus that promotes active learning through problem solving. It can be used as a base for a Moore method or inquiry based class, or as a guide in a traditional classroom setting where lectures are organized around the presentation of problems and solutions. This book is appropriate for any student who has taken (or is concurrently taking) an introductory course in calculus. The book includes sixteen appendices that review some indispensable prerequisites on techniques of proof writing with special attention to the notation used the course.

This book on two-dimensional geometry uses a problem-solving approach to actively engage students in the learning process. The aim is to guide readers through the story of the subject, while giving them room to discover and partially construct the story themselves. The book bridges the study of plane geometry and the study of curves and surfaces of non-constant curvature in three-dimensional Euclidean space.

This book is an introduction to real analysis for a one-semester course aimed at students who have completed the calculus sequence and preferably one other course, such as linear algebra. It does not assume any specific knowledge and starts with all that is needed from sets, logic, and induction. Then there is a careful introduction to the real numbers with an emphasis on developing proof-writing skills. It continues with a logical development of the notions of sequences, open and closed sets (including compactness and the Cantor set), continuity, differentiation, integration, and series of numbers and functions.A theme in the book is to give more than one proof for interesting facts; this illustrates how different ideas interact and it makes connections among the facts that are being learned. Metric spaces are introduced early in the book, but there are instructions on how to avoid metric spaces for the instructor who wishes to do so. There are questions that check the readers' understanding of the material, with solutions provided at the end. Topics that could be optional or assigned for independent reading include the Cantor function, nowhere differentiable functions, the Gamma function, and the Weierstrass theorem on approximation by continuous functions.

This book introduces students to the world of advanced mathematics using algebraic structures as a unifying theme. Having no prerequisites beyond precalculus and an interest in abstract reasoning, the book is suitable for students of math education, computer science or physics who are looking for an easy-going entry into discrete mathematics, induction and recursion, groups and symmetry, and plane geometry. In its presentation, the book takes special care to forge linguistic and conceptual links between formal precision and underlying intuition, tending toward the concrete, but continually aiming to extend students' comfort with abstraction, experimentation, and non-trivial computation.The main part of the book can be used as the basis for a transition-to-proofs course that balances theory with examples, logical care with intuitive plausibility, and has sufficient informality to be accessible to students with disparate backgrounds. For students and instructors who wish to go further, the book also explores the Sylow theorems, classification of finitely-generated Abelian groups, and discrete groups of Euclidean plane transformations.