Think Maths!

An introduction to mathematical thinking and fundamental

mathematical concepts

Evelina Erlacher

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 1 / 288

 Part I: Introduction and some maths

Part II: The logic of proofs

Part III: Functions

Part IV: Sequences

Part V: Sets and sequences in metric spaces

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 2 / 288

 Part I: Introduction and some maths
1 Definitions, theorems and proofs

2 Sums and products

3 Sets

Part II: The logic of proofs

4 Logic

5 Techniques of proof

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 3 / 288

 Part III: Functions
6 Definition and basic properties

7 Important types of functions

8 Shifting graphs

9 New functions from old

10 Injective, surjective and bijective

11 Image and preimage

12 Supremum, infimum, maximum, minimum

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 4 / 288

 Part IV: Sequences
13 Definition and special cases

14 Monotonic sequences

15 Bounded sequences

16 Convergent sequences

17 Accumulation points

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 5 / 288

 Part V: Sets and sequences in metric spaces
18 Metric and normed spaces

19 Open and closed sets

20 Boundary, interior and closure

21 Compact sets

22 Sequences in metric spaces

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 6 / 288

 Part I

Introduction and some maths

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 7 / 288

 Part I: Introduction and some maths
1 Definitions, theorems and proofs

2 Sums and products

3 Sets

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 8 / 288

 Definitions, theorems and proofs

Part I: Introduction and some maths

1 Definitions, theorems and proofs

2 Sums and products

3 Sets

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 9 / 288

 Definitions, theorems and proofs

Definition
an explanation of the mathematical meaning of a word.
True statements
Theorem: a very important true statement.
Proposition: a less important but nonetheless interesting true statement.
Lemma: a true statement used in proving other true statements.
Corollary: a true statement of interest that is a simple deduction from a
theorem or proposition.
Proof
the explanation of why a statement is true.
Axiom
a basic assumption about a mathematical situation. Axioms can be
considered facts that do not need to be proved. Also, defining properties
in definitions are sometimes called axioms.

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 10 / 288

 Definitions, theorems and proofs

Examples for definitions (1)

Definition 1.1 (Even)
An integer is even if it is the product of 2 and another integer.
In other words: An integer n is even if there exists another integer k such
that n = 2k.
Definition 1.2 (Odd)
An integer is odd if it is not even.
In other words: An integer n is odd if there exists another integer k such
that n = 2k + 1.
Definition 1.3 (Prime)
If a natural number greater than 1 is divisible only by 1 and itself, then it
is called a prime. We denote the set of all prime numbers by P.

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 11 / 288

 Definitions, theorems and proofs

Examples for definitions (2)

Definition 1.4 (Divisible)
Let a and b be integers. We say a divides b (or b is divisible by a ) if
there exists an integer c such that b = ac.
The integer a is then called a divisor of b.
Notation:
If a divides b, we write a|b. If a does not divide b, we write a ∤ b.

Definition 1.5 (Absolute value)

Let x be a real number. The real number |x| defined by

x, if x ≥ 0
|x| :=
−x, if x < 0
is called the absolute value of x .

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 12 / 288

 Definitions, theorems and proofs

Examples for theorems

Theorem 1.6
Let n be an integer. If n2 is even, then n is even.

Theorem 1.7
Let n and m be integers. Then
n and m are odd ⇔ nm is odd.

Theorem 1.8
√
The number 2 is irrational.

Theorem 1.9
There are infinitely many prime numbers.

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 13 / 288

 Sums and products

Part I: Introduction and some maths

1 Definitions, theorems and proofs

2 Sums and products

3 Sets

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 14 / 288

 Sums and products

Consider the sum

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + . . . + 99 + 100.

Definition 2.1 (Summation symbol)

Let p and q be integers with q ≥ p. Then
q
X
ai = ap + ap+1 + . . . + aq
i=p

denotes the sum that results when we substitute successive integers for i,
starting with i = p and ending with i = q.
Read: ‘the sum from i = p to i = q of ai ’.
The symbol i is called the index of summation.
The integer p is called the lower limit, the integer q is called the
upper limit of summation.

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 15 / 288

 Sums and products

Example 2.2
P100
i=1 i = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + . . . + 99 + 100.
1

P2 k −1 + a + a x + a x 2 .
k=−1 ak x = a−1 x
2
0 1 2
Pn−1
i=5 iMi = 5M5 + 6M6 + 7M7 + . . . + (n − 1)Mn−1 .
3

4 The symbol i is a ‘dummy variable’ that can be replaced by any other

letter (which has not already been used for something else):
n−1
X n−1
X
iMi = kMk .
i=5 k=5

5 If the upper amd lower limitsPof summation are the same, then the
5
‘sum’ reduces to one term: j=5 aj = a5 .
6 If the upper limit is less than the lower limit, then there are no terms
at
P1all, so the usual convention is that the ‘sum’ reduces to zero:
n=5 an = 0.
Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 16 / 288
 Sums and products

Analogously, we define
Definition 2.3 (Product symbol)
Let p and q be integers with q ≥ p. Then
q
Y
ai = ap · ap+1 · . . . · aq
i=p

denotes the product that results when we substitute successive integers for
i, starting with i = p and ending with i = q.
Read: ‘the product from i = p to i = q of ai ’.

Example 2.4
Q3
i=1 (x − xi ) = (x − x1 )(x − x2 )(x − x3 ).
1

2 Another notation to specify the range:

Y
f (k) = f (2) · f (3) · f (4).
1<k≤4
Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 17 / 288
 Sums and products

Theorem 2.5
The summation notation has the following properties:
n
X n
X n
X n
X n
X
(ai + bi ) = ai + bi , cai = c ai .
i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1

The product notation has the following properties:

n n
! n ! n n
Y Y Y Y Y
n
(ai bi ) = ai bi , cai = c ai .
i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1

Proof.
The proof is left as an exercise.

Example 2.6
n
X n
X n
X
(ai − 2bi + c) = ai − 2 bi + nc.
i=1 i=1 i=1
Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 18 / 288
 Sums and products

Consider the rectangular array of numbers:

a11 a12 ··· a1n

a21 a22 ··· a2n
.. .. ..
. . .
am1 am2 · · · amn

Adding the numbers in each row first, then adding these sums, we obtain
 
Xn Xn n
X Xm X n
a1j + a2j + . . . + amj =  aij  .
j=1 j=1 j=1 i=1 j=1

Adding the numbers in each column first, then adding these sums, we
obtain !
Xm Xm m
X Xn Xm
ai1 + ai2 + . . . + ain = aij .
i=1 i=1 i=1 j=1 i=1

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 19 / 288

 Sums and products

In both cases, we have calculated the sum of all the numbers in the array.
For this reason, we have
X n
m X n X
X m
aij = aij .
i=1 j=1 j=1 i=1

Note: The summation limits for i and j are independent of each other.

Example 2.7

X 4
3 X 3 
X 
(i + 2j) = (i + 2) + (i + 4) + (i + 6) + (i + 8)
i=1 j=1 i=1
3
X
= (4i + 20) = 24 + 28 + 32 = 84.
i=1

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 20 / 288

 Sums and products

Now consider the triangular array of numbers:

a11
a21 a22
a31 a32 a33
.. .. .. ..
. . . .
am1 am2 am3 · · · amm
Adding the numbers in each row first, then adding these sums, we obtain
 
X1 2
X X3 m
X Xm Xi
a1j + a2j + a3j + . . . + amj =  aij  .
j=1 j=1 j=1 j=1 i=1 j=1

Adding the numbers in each column first, then adding these sums, we
obtain
 
m
X m
X Xm m
X Xm Xm
ai1 + ai2 + ai3 + . . . + aim =  aij  .
i=1 i=2 i=3 i=m j=1 i=j

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 21 / 288

 Sums and products

In both cases, we have calculated the sum of all the numbers in the array.
For this reason, we have
m X
X i m X
X m
aij = aij
i=1 j=1 j=1 i=j

Note: The summation limits for i and j are dependent on each other.

Example 2.8
3 X
X i 1
X 2
X 3
X
ij = 1j + 2j + 3j
i=1 j=1 j=1 j=1 j=1

= (1 · 1) + (2 · 1 + 2 · 2) + (3 · 1 + 3 · 2 + 3 · 3)
= 25.

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 22 / 288

 Sets

Part I: Introduction and some maths

1 Definitions, theorems and proofs

2 Sums and products

3 Sets

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 23 / 288

 Sets

Definition 3.1 (Set)

A set is a well-defined collection of objects. The objects in the set are
called elements or members of the set.
Notation:
Sets can be given as a list of objects in curly brackets:
The set containing the elements 2, 4, ♦ and 7 is written as
{2, 4, ♦, 7}.
Sets can also be defined via a property P :
{x | x satisfies property P},
e.g. {x | x is a natural number and less than 5} = {1, 2, 3, 4}
The order in which the elements are listed is irrelevant:
{1, 2, 3} = {2, 3, 1}.
Multiple listings of the same element are irrelevant:
{1, 1, 1, 2, 2} = {1, 2}.
If x is a member of the set A, then we write x ∈ A.
If x is not a member, then we write x ∈ / A.
Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 24 / 288
 Sets

Important sets:
Natural numbers N = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, . . .}.
Integers Z = {. . . , −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .}.
Rational numbers Q = { qp | p ∈ Z, q ∈ N}.
Real numbers R: all decimal numbers (including those with infinite
many decimal places 6= 0).
The set of real numbers that are not rational are called irrational
numbers.
The set with no elements is called the empty set and it is denoted
by {} or ∅.

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 25 / 288

 Sets

Example 3.2
1 [a, b] := {x ∈ R | a ≤ x ≤ b} . . . closed interval from a to b
2 (a, b) := {x ∈ R | a < x < b} . . . open interval from a to b
3 (a, ∞) := {x ∈ R | a < x} and [a, ∞) := {x ∈ R | a ≤ x}
4 (−∞, b) := {x ∈ R | x < b} and (−∞, b] := {x ∈ R | x ≤ b}
5 R+ := {x ∈ R | x > 0} . . . positive real numbers
6 R−
0 := {x ∈ R | x ≤ 0} . . . non-positive real numbers
7 Zodd := {x ∈ Z | x odd} . . . odd integers
8 Neven := {x ∈ N | x even} . . . even natural numbers
9 Sets can contain other sets as elements:
If A = {1, {2, 3}}, then 1 ∈ A and {2, 3} ∈ A, but 2 ∈
/ A, 3 ∈
/ A,
{2} ∈/ A and {3} ∈ / A.
10 The set {∅} contains one element, namely the empty set.
Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 26 / 288
 Sets

Definition 3.3 (Cardinality)

If the set A has a finite number of elements, then we say that A is a finite
set. If A is finite, then the number of elements is called the cardinality of
A and is denoted |A|.

Example 3.4
1 The set {1, 2, 3} has cardinality 3.
2 The set {1, {2, 3}} has cardinality 2.
3 |∅| = 0.
4 |{∅}| = 1.

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 27 / 288

 Sets

Definition 3.5 (Subset, superset, equal sets)

Let A and B be sets.
The set A is called a subset of B if every element of A is an
element of B.
The set B is then called a superset of A.
If A is a subset of B, we write A ⊆ B or B ⊇ A.
If A is not a subset of B, we write A 6⊆ B or B 6⊇ A.

The sets A and B are called equal if both A ⊆ B and A ⊇ B.

If A and B are equal, we write A = B.
If A and B are not equal, we write A 6= B.

The set A is called a proper subset of B if both A ⊆ B and A 6= B.

The set B is then called a proper superset of A.
If A is a proper subset of B, we write A ( B or B ) A.

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 28 / 288

 Sets

Example 3.6
1 Let A = {1, 2, ♣, {2, 3}, ♠, ♥} and B = {1, {2, 3}, ♠}.
Then B is a proper subset of A, i.e. B ( A.
2 The set N is a subset of N but not a proper subset.
3 For any set A, we have ∅ ⊆ A.
4 The order of elements does not matter:
{1, {♥, ♠}, 2, 3} = {{♠, ♥}, 2, 3, 1}.
5 The sets {1, {2}} and {1, 2} are not equal: {1, {2}} =
6 {1, 2}.
6 The set {7} is not a subset of A = {3, 4, {7}}, but an element of A.
Hence: {7} 6⊆ A and {7} ∈ A.
Do not confuse ‘∈’ and ‘⊆’ !
7 N ( Z ( Q ( R.

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 29 / 288

 Sets

Definition 3.7 (Power set)

Let A be a set. The power set of A is the set of all subsets of A,
including the empty set and A itself. It is denoted by P(A).

Example 3.8
If A = {1, 2, 3}, then

P(A) = {∅, {1}, {2}, {3}, {1, 2}, {1, 3}, {2, 3}, {1, 2, 3}}

Note: If A is a finite set with |A| = n, then |P(A)| = 2n .

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 30 / 288

 Sets

Definition 3.9 (Union of sets)

Let A and B be sets. The union A ∪ B of A and B is defined by
A ∪ B := {x | x ∈ A or x ∈ B}.
Note: The ‘or’ in the definition is an inclusive ‘or’, i.e. an element x is in
A ∪ B if it is in A or in B or in both.
Example 3.10
1 The union of {1, 2, 3, 4} and {3, 4, 5, 6} is {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}.
2 The union of [2, 4] and (3, 5) is [2, 5).
3 The union of {x ∈ R | x ≤ 5} and {x ∈ Z | x ≤ 7} is
{x ∈ R | x ≤ 5 or x = 6 or x = 7}.
Notation: Union of sets Ai with i ∈ I (i is called index, I is called index
set): [
Ai := {x | x ∈ Ai for at least one i ∈ I }.
i∈I

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 31 / 288

 Sets

Definition 3.11 (Intersection of sets)

Let A and B be sets. The intersection A ∩ B of A and B is defined by
A ∩ B := {x | x ∈ A and x ∈ B}.

Example 3.12
1 The intersection of {1, 2, 3, 4} and {3, 4, 5, 6} is {3, 4}.
2 The intersection of {x ∈ R | x ≤ 5} and {x ∈ Z | x ≤ 7} is
{x ∈ Z | x ≤ 5}.
3 The intersection of {−2, −3, −4} and N is ∅.
Notation: Intersection of sets Ai with i ∈ I :
\
Ai := {x | x ∈ Ai for all i ∈ I }.
i∈I

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 32 / 288

 Sets

Definition 3.13 (Difference of sets, complement)

Let A and B be sets.
The difference A\B of A and B is defined by
A\B := {x | x ∈ A and x ∈
/ B}.
Let B ⊆ A. Then the set A\B is also called the complement
of B in A .
If A is the universal set (that means that all sets are a subset of A),
then we can also write B c := {x | x ∈
/ B} instead of A\B.
Example 3.14
1 Let A = {1, {3, 4}, ♣, ♠, ♦} and B = {1, 3, 4, 5, {♦}, ♥, ♠}. Then
A\B = {{3, 4}, ♣, ♦}.
2 Let A = R and B = Z. Then
S
A\B = . . . ∪ (−2, −1) ∪ (−1, 0) ∪ (0, 1) ∪ (1, 2) ∪ . . . = n∈Z (n, n + 1)
3 The complement of N in Z is {. . . , −4, −3, −2, −1, 0}.
Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 33 / 288
 Sets

A Venn diagram is a useful way of representing sets:

Union A ∪ B of A and B: A B

Intersection A ∩ B of A and B: A B

Difference A\B of A and B: A B

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 34 / 288

 Sets

Definition 3.15 (Product of sets)

Let A and B be sets. The (Cartesian) product A × B of A and B is the
set of all possible pairs (a, b) where a ∈ A and b ∈ B, i.e.

A × B := {(a, b) | a ∈ A and b ∈ B}.

Note: Here (a, b) denotes a pair and has nothing to do with the open
inverval from a to b!

Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 35 / 288

 Sets

Example 3.16
1 Let A = {♥, 1} and B = {1, 2, 3}. Then A × B has six elements:

A × B = {(♥, 1), (♥, 2), (♥, 3), (1, 1), (1, 2), (1, 3)}.
2 The set R × R is denoted by R2 , the set R × R × R is denoted by R3
etc. For n ∈ N the set Rn consists of all n-tuples (x1 , x2 , . . . , xn−1 , xn )
where x1 , x2 , . . . , xn−1 and xn are real numbers.
3 The set A = {(x, y ) ∈ R2 | x 2 + 4y 2 ≤ 4} contains all points of the
plane that lie on or inside the ellipse with length of the major axis 2
and length of the minor axis 1.
y
1 A
x
-2 2

-1
Evelina Erlacher Think Maths! 36 / 288