V-Campus

This course is for those who delight in solving challenging math problems and who would like to further develop their problem-solving and logical-reasoning skills. Problem solving is the activity of the mathematician, and logical reasoning is the framework for this activity. This course will use examples outside of mathematics but focusing on the use of logic within mathematics. Students are introduced to the basics of propositional and first-order logic which gives them access to formal notions of familiar logical methods. Good problem-solving skills also include ingenuity, creativity and the ability to apply a variety of strategies and techniques. In this course, students are taught fundamental tools and standard techniques for problem solving, and they are given the opportunity to develop their mathematical ingenuity through practice on problems in a wide range of difficulty. The mathematical subject areas that the problems are drawn from include set theory, number theory, and combinatorics - none of which require more background than algebra.