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  • © 2015

The Whole Truth About Whole Numbers

An Elementary Introduction to Number Theory

  • Introduction to Number Theory for non-math and non-science majors

  • Very accessible to liberal arts students with many relevant proof-solving techniques and exercises

  • Includes standard topics in a first Number Theory course as well as applications to identification numbers and cryptography

  • Request lecturer material: sn.pub/lecturer-material

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
  2. Introduction

    • Sylvia Forman, Agnes M. Rash
    Pages 1-7
  3. Conjectures, Proofs, and Counterexamples

    • Sylvia Forman, Agnes M. Rash
    Pages 9-62
  4. Pythagorean Triples

    • Sylvia Forman, Agnes M. Rash
    Pages 63-86
  5. Prime Numbers

    • Sylvia Forman, Agnes M. Rash
    Pages 87-111
  6. The Euclidean Algorithm

    • Sylvia Forman, Agnes M. Rash
    Pages 113-146
  7. Congruences

    • Sylvia Forman, Agnes M. Rash
    Pages 147-199
  8. Numerical Functions and Special Congruences

    • Sylvia Forman, Agnes M. Rash
    Pages 201-227
  9. Cryptology

    • Sylvia Forman, Agnes M. Rash
    Pages 229-255
  10. Erratum

    • Sylvia Forman, Agnes M. Rash
    Pages E1-E2
  11. Back Matter

    Pages 257-281

About this book

The Whole Truth About Whole Numbers is an introduction to the field of Number Theory for students in non-math and non-science majors who have studied at least two years of high school algebra. Rather than giving brief introductions to a wide variety of topics, this book provides an in-depth introduction to the field of Number Theory. The topics covered are many of those included in an introductory Number Theory course for mathematics majors, but the presentation is carefully tailored to meet the needs of elementary education, liberal arts, and other non-mathematical majors. The text covers logic and proofs, as well as major concepts in Number Theory, and contains an abundance of worked examples and exercises to both clearly illustrate concepts and evaluate the students’ mastery of the material.

Reviews

“The book under review is a new introductory textbook in number theory. … the book is a fine book. Unique as it is focused to students that are not mathematicians. I do think this can be a trend nowdays to try to write some sophisticated material in a way that non-technical readers can enjoy. And this is a fine example I reccomend it.” (Philosophy, Religion and Science, June, 2016)

“This book is intended for non-math and non-science majors. … Forman and Rash (both, St. Joseph’s Univ.) are commended for approaching this audience with this content, as number theory includes many interesting ideas, such as prime number properties, congruences, key theorems such as Euler’s and Fermat’s, and even public key cryptography. … Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates, two-year technical program students, professionals, and practitioners; general readers.” (J. Johnson, Choice, Vol. 53 (2), October, 2015)

“This material is so fundamental and so well presented that if I was still teaching college mathematics I would recommend that a course based on this book be required for all potential teachers. For those on the track to teach high school math, this would be the first course in their math sequence. One of the best features of this book is the section that introduces proofs, a topic that terrifies almost every education student and many math students.” (Charles Ashbacher, MAA Reviews, February, 2015)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Mathematics, St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia, USA

    Sylvia Forman, Agnes M. Rash

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Whole Truth About Whole Numbers

  • Book Subtitle: An Elementary Introduction to Number Theory

  • Authors: Sylvia Forman, Agnes M. Rash

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11035-6

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Mathematics and Statistics, Mathematics and Statistics (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Sylvia Forman and Agnes M. Rash 2015

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-11034-9Published: 19 January 2015

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-38142-8Published: 24 September 2016

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-11035-6Published: 02 January 2015

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVII, 281

  • Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations, 9 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Number Theory, Numerical Analysis, Mathematics, general

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access