MAT138H1: INTRODUCTION TO PROOFS SPRING 2015

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS.

1. Contact information
Instructor: Curtis Pro
Office: 215 Huron 1025
Email: cpro@math.toronto.edu
Office Hour: Wednesdays at 5pm (hour before class)
Lecture: Mondays 6-8pm in SS1085 and Wednesdays 6-7pm in SS1085
Tutorials: Section 101: Mon 5pm in . Section 201: Wed 7pm in . Section 202:
Wed 7pm in MP 118. (These may change at the last minute, online is a more
reliable source)
2. Text book
We will use: Mathematical Proofs: A Transition to Advanced Mathematics, 3e
Gary Chartrand, Albert D. Polimeni, Ping Zhang.
This is a required text for the course.
3. Course description
The goal of this course is to introduce you to several aspects of becoming a successful mathematician. We will study mathematical proofs: what they are, how
they are read, and how they are written. Because most mathematics courses taken
before the first year are computation based and most (or all) mathematics courses
taken afterwards are proof based, this is a transition course for you to develop the
necessary language for these future courses and beyond. We will accomplish this
by covering:
(1) Sets
(2) Logic
(3) Direct and Indirect Proofs
(4) Proofs by Induction
(5) Relations and Functions
(6) Proofs in Set Theory
(7) Proofs in Number Theory
(8) Proofs in Calculus
(9) Proofs in Group Theory
Date: January 13, 2015.
1

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS.

3.1. Prerequisites. There are no official prerequisites for this class and youre not
expected to know anything mathematical above what you studied in high school.

4. Assessment
Your course grade will be computed as follows
Homework
Midterm
Final

30%
30%
40%

4.1. Homework. The key point of this class is to practice proving mathematical
statements. So, homework will be a significant part of your grade (30%). Unlike
previous math homework you may have had, these homeworks will be graded on
correctness, readability, and quality of your writing. In general, you should be
giving yourself plenty of time to do each assignment and not be turning in your
first drafts.
Important Instructions:
(1) Homework must be typed or written in black ink on a standard piece of
white printer paper, otherwise a 50% deduction for that assignment will
occur.
(2) If your handwriting is poor, you must type up your homework to avoid the
possibility of it not being graded at all.
(3) For each assigned problem you must
(a) write out the question completely
(b) below the question write your solution.
A problem that does not have the question written before it will not be
graded.
(4) Solutions must have adequate space between them, i.e., dont cram your
writing.
(5) Working together is encouraged, but you must write you own solution in
your own words. Clear instances of direct copying of a solution from any
source will result in zero points for that assignment.
(6) Homework will be due on Wednesday and should be given to your TA.
There will be 10 homework assignments, the lowest homework score will be
dropped. Each assignment will contain roughly 5 to 10 problems from either the
book or class. Only a select few problems from each assignment will be graded, but
these will be randomly chosen by the TA. Solutions to all assigned problems will
be made available.
4.2. Midterm and Final. The midterm is on Wednesday March 4th. It will be
50 minutes long. The final will be approximately 1.5 to 2 times in length compared
to the midterm. The final will be cumulative. The questions in both will consist
of homework problems, examples and exercises given in class, and questions you
havent seen before.

MAT138H1: INTRODUCTION TO PROOFS SPRING 2015

5. Tentative Schedule
Day
M:1/5
W:1/7
M:1/12
W:1/14
M:1/19
W:1/21
M:1/26
W:1/28
M:2/2
W:2/4
M:2/9
W:2/11
M:2/16
W:2/18
M:2/23
W:2/25
M:3/2
W:3/4
M:3/9
W:3/11
M:3/16
W:3/18
M:3/23
W:3/25
M:3/30
M:4/1

Chapter
Notes
Intro
1 Sets
2 Logic
2 Logic
HW1 due
3 Direct Proofs
3 Proofs by Contrapositive
HW2 due
4 Proofs in Z and R
4 Proofs involving sets
HW3 due
5 Counterexamples
5 Proofs by Contradiction
HW4 due
6 Induction
6 Proofs that use Induction
Family Day
Reading Week
8 Relations
HW5 due
9 Functions
10 Cardinality of Sets
HW6 due
Midterm (on chptrs 1-9)
11 The Euclidean Algorithm
HW 7 due
11 The Fund. Thrm. of Arth.
12 Proofs with Limits
HW8 due
12 Continuity Proofs
13 Groups
HW9 due
13 Proofs in Group Theory
Buffer/Review
HW10 due
Buffer/Review