Math 506: Introduction to
Number Theory
Spring
2009
Todd
Cochrane
Spring 2009, Ref 13788, MWF 9:30 a.m., CW 130
Website: http://www.math.ksu.edu/~cochrane/m506/m506s09.html
Review Sheets: Test 1, Test 2, Test
3, Final
Old Exams and Solutions
Office: CW 209, MWF 10:30 and by
appointment
Phone: 532-0565
e-mail: cochrane@math.ksu.edu
Text: Elementary Number Theory,
Second Edition, by Charles Vanden Eynden ,
Waveland Press, ISBN 1-57766-445-0
(There is also a second edition by McGraw Hill that is identical.)
Prerequisites: Math 220 and 221 are recommended.
Advanced Help Session: To
be announced
Course Description:
Number Theory is
the study of the natural numbers 1,2,3,4,.... It is one
of the oldest
branches of mathematics and yet it continues to be
an active
area of research today. Number Theory is rich with beautiful
theorems and
elegant patterns. Its unsolved problems have challenged the
greatest
mathematical minds and given rise to much of modern mathematics.
The class will cover chapters 1-4 and parts of 5, 6 and 7, including
divisibility properties of the integers,
primes, unique
factorization of integers, congruences, induction, the
Chinese remainder theorem, crytography,
Pythagorean triples, perfect
numbers, the Fibonacci sequence,
multiplicative
functions such as the Euler phi-function, Mobius function
and divisor function, and best rational approximation of
irrational numbers.
Grading:
There will be weekly homework assignments worth
16 points each,
the lowest of which will be dropped, three hourly exams worth 80 points
each, a final exam worth
160 points and some extra credit problems. You also need to
present one problem in class.
HW 33%, Tests 40%, Final 26%, Present 1%
Important dates:
January 19: University Holiday
February 20: Test 1
March 16-20: SPRING BREAK
March 27: Test 2
April 24: Test 3
May 8: Last day of class.
May 15 (Friday): Final Exam 11:50 a.m. to 1:40 p.m.