Mathematical inductionMathematical induction is a method for proving that a statement is true for every natural number , that is, that the infinitely many cases all hold. Informal metaphors help to explain this technique, such as falling dominoes or climbing a ladder: Mathematical induction proves that we can climb as high as we like on a ladder, by proving that we can climb onto the bottom rung (the basis) and that from each rung we can climb up to the next one (the step). A proof by induction consists of two cases.
Binomial seriesIn mathematics, the binomial series is a generalization of the polynomial that comes from a binomial formula expression like for a nonnegative integer . Specifically, the binomial series is the Taylor series for the function centered at , where and . Explicitly, where the power series on the right-hand side of () is expressed in terms of the (generalized) binomial coefficients If α is a nonnegative integer n, then the (n + 2)th term and all later terms in the series are 0, since each contains a factor (n − n); thus in this case the series is finite and gives the algebraic binomial formula.
Structural inductionStructural induction is a proof method that is used in mathematical logic (e.g., in the proof of Łoś' theorem), computer science, graph theory, and some other mathematical fields. It is a generalization of mathematical induction over natural numbers and can be further generalized to arbitrary Noetherian induction. Structural recursion is a recursion method bearing the same relationship to structural induction as ordinary recursion bears to ordinary mathematical induction.
SequenceIn mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called elements, or terms). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called the length of the sequence. Unlike a set, the same elements can appear multiple times at different positions in a sequence, and unlike a set, the order does matter. Formally, a sequence can be defined as a function from natural numbers (the positions of elements in the sequence) to the elements at each position.
Binomial coefficientIn mathematics, the binomial coefficients are the positive integers that occur as coefficients in the binomial theorem. Commonly, a binomial coefficient is indexed by a pair of integers n ≥ k ≥ 0 and is written It is the coefficient of the xk term in the polynomial expansion of the binomial power (1 + x)n; this coefficient can be computed by the multiplicative formula which using factorial notation can be compactly expressed as For example, the fourth power of 1 + x is and the binomial coefficient is the coefficient of the x2 term.
Proof by exhaustionProof by exhaustion, also known as proof by cases, proof by case analysis, complete induction or the brute force method, is a method of mathematical proof in which the statement to be proved is split into a finite number of cases or sets of equivalent cases, and where each type of case is checked to see if the proposition in question holds. This is a method of direct proof. A proof by exhaustion typically contains two stages: A proof that the set of cases is exhaustive; i.e.
Binomial (polynomial)In algebra, a binomial is a polynomial that is the sum of two terms, each of which is a monomial. It is the simplest kind of a sparse polynomial after the monomials. A binomial is a polynomial which is the sum of two monomials. A binomial in a single indeterminate (also known as a univariate binomial) can be written in the form where a and b are numbers, and m and n are distinct non-negative integers and x is a symbol which is called an indeterminate or, for historical reasons, a variable.
Transfinite inductionTransfinite induction is an extension of mathematical induction to well-ordered sets, for example to sets of ordinal numbers or cardinal numbers. Its correctness is a theorem of ZFC. Let be a property defined for all ordinals . Suppose that whenever is true for all , then is also true. Then transfinite induction tells us that is true for all ordinals. Usually the proof is broken down into three cases: Zero case: Prove that is true. Successor case: Prove that for any successor ordinal , follows from (and, if necessary, for all ).
Euler numbersIn mathematics, the Euler numbers are a sequence En of integers defined by the Taylor series expansion where is the hyperbolic cosine function. The Euler numbers are related to a special value of the Euler polynomials, namely: The Euler numbers appear in the Taylor series expansions of the secant and hyperbolic secant functions. The latter is the function in the definition. They also occur in combinatorics, specifically when counting the number of alternating permutations of a set with an even number of elements.
Mathematical proofA mathematical proof is a deductive argument for a mathematical statement, showing that the stated assumptions logically guarantee the conclusion. The argument may use other previously established statements, such as theorems; but every proof can, in principle, be constructed using only certain basic or original assumptions known as axioms, along with the accepted rules of inference. Proofs are examples of exhaustive deductive reasoning which establish logical certainty, to be distinguished from empirical arguments or non-exhaustive inductive reasoning which establish "reasonable expectation".
Gaussian binomial coefficientIn mathematics, the Gaussian binomial coefficients (also called Gaussian coefficients, Gaussian polynomials, or q-binomial coefficients) are q-analogs of the binomial coefficients. The Gaussian binomial coefficient, written as or , is a polynomial in q with integer coefficients, whose value when q is set to a prime power counts the number of subspaces of dimension k in a vector space of dimension n over , a finite field with q elements; i.e. it is the number of points in the finite Grassmannian .
Uniform convergenceIn the mathematical field of analysis, uniform convergence is a mode of convergence of functions stronger than pointwise convergence. A sequence of functions converges uniformly to a limiting function on a set as the function domain if, given any arbitrarily small positive number , a number can be found such that each of the functions differs from by no more than at every point in .
Leonhard EulerLeonhard Euler (ˈɔɪlər , ˈleːɔnhaʁt ˈɔʏlɐ; 15 April 1707 18 September 1783) was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician and engineer who founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made pioneering and influential discoveries in many other branches of mathematics such as analytic number theory, complex analysis, and infinitesimal calculus. He introduced much of modern mathematical terminology and notation, including the notion of a mathematical function.
List of factorial and binomial topicsThis is a list of factorial and binomial topics in mathematics. See also binomial (disambiguation). Abel's binomial theorem Alternating factorial Antichain Beta function Bhargava factorial Binomial coefficient Pascal's triangle Binomial distribution Binomial proportion confidence interval Binomial-QMF (Daubechies wavelet filters) Binomial series Binomial theorem Binomial transform Binomial type Carlson's theorem Catalan number Fuss–Catalan number Central binomial coefficient Combination Combinatorial numbe
Limit of a sequenceAs the positive integer becomes larger and larger, the value becomes arbitrarily close to . We say that "the limit of the sequence equals ." In mathematics, the limit of a sequence is the value that the terms of a sequence "tend to", and is often denoted using the symbol (e.g., ). If such a limit exists, the sequence is called convergent. A sequence that does not converge is said to be divergent. The limit of a sequence is said to be the fundamental notion on which the whole of mathematical analysis ultimately rests.
Pointwise convergenceIn mathematics, pointwise convergence is one of various senses in which a sequence of functions can converge to a particular function. It is weaker than uniform convergence, to which it is often compared. Suppose that is a set and is a topological space, such as the real or complex numbers or a metric space, for example. A net or sequence of functions all having the same domain and codomain is said to converge pointwise to a given function often written as if (and only if) The function is said to be the pointwise limit function of the Sometimes, authors use the term bounded pointwise convergence when there is a constant such that .
Divergent seriesIn mathematics, a divergent series is an infinite series that is not convergent, meaning that the infinite sequence of the partial sums of the series does not have a finite limit. If a series converges, the individual terms of the series must approach zero. Thus any series in which the individual terms do not approach zero diverges. However, convergence is a stronger condition: not all series whose terms approach zero converge. A counterexample is the harmonic series The divergence of the harmonic series was proven by the medieval mathematician Nicole Oresme.
Euler's totient functionIn number theory, Euler's totient function counts the positive integers up to a given integer n that are relatively prime to n. It is written using the Greek letter phi as or , and may also be called Euler's phi function. In other words, it is the number of integers k in the range 1 ≤ k ≤ n for which the greatest common divisor gcd(n, k) is equal to 1. The integers k of this form are sometimes referred to as totatives of n. For example, the totatives of n = 9 are the six numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8.
Compact convergenceIn mathematics compact convergence (or uniform convergence on compact sets) is a type of convergence that generalizes the idea of uniform convergence. It is associated with the compact-open topology. Let be a topological space and be a metric space. A sequence of functions is said to converge compactly as to some function if, for every compact set , uniformly on as . This means that for all compact , If and with their usual topologies, with , then converges compactly to the constant function with value 0, but not uniformly.
Euler methodIn mathematics and computational science, the Euler method (also called the forward Euler method) is a first-order numerical procedure for solving ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with a given initial value. It is the most basic explicit method for numerical integration of ordinary differential equations and is the simplest Runge–Kutta method. The Euler method is named after Leonhard Euler, who first proposed it in his book Institutionum calculi integralis (published 1768–1870).
