Number Theory

Catalog description

Elements, divisibility of numbers, congruences, residues, and forms. MATH 465 Number Theory (3) (BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.This course serves as an upper-level introduction to the fundamentals of elementary number theory. A major emphasis in the course is placed on the role that the prime numbers play in the study of properties of the integers along with the related topics of divisibility and factorization of integers. Additional topics covered in the course include congruences (and the theorems of Euler and Fermat which are classics in this area), properties of arithmetic functions including those which are multiplicative, and other topics such as Pythagorean triples and representations of numbers as sums of squares. This course is completed by a wide variety of students across the university, especially those majoring in mathematics. (In many of the options in the MTHBS degree, MATH 465 can be used to satisfy one of the major requirements.) The course is also taken quite frequently by non-mathematics majors who wish to use the course to satisfy an upper-level requirement for the mathematics minor.