Finite And Discrete Mathematics

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Discrete mathematics has now established its place in most undergraduate mathematics courses. This textbook provides a concise, readable and accessible introduction to a number of topics in this area, such as enumeration, graph theory, Latin squares and designs. It is aimed at second-year undergraduate mathematics students, and provides them with many of the basic techniques, ideas and results. It contains many worked examples, and each chapter ends with a large number of exercises, with hints or solutions provided for most of them. As well as including standard topics such as binomial coefficients, recurrence, the inclusion-exclusion principle, trees, Hamiltonian and Eulerian graphs, Latin squares and finite projective planes, the text also includes material on the ménage problem, magic squares, Catalan and Stirling numbers, and tournament schedules.

SYMMETRY AND GEOMETRY. One of the core concepts essential to understanding natural phenomena and the dynamics of social systems is the concept of “relation”. Furthermore, scientists rely on relational structures with high levels of symmetry because of their optimal behavior and highperformance. Humanfriendships, socialandinterconnectionnetworks, trafficsystems, chemical structures, etc., can beexpressed asrelational structures. A mathematical model capturing the essence of this situation is a combinatorial object exhibiting a high level of symmetry, and the underlying mathematical discipline is algebraic combinatorics—the most vivid expression of the concept of symmetry in discrete mathematics.

When elementary courses in discrete and combinatorial mathematics first became popular, they usually covered a broad spectrumofpure and applied topics. Most of the students were in Mathematics and Computer Science, with a handful ofbrave souls from other disciplines. Those other students usually found the courses quite difficult. However, the applications were useful in a numberofareas. The teaching of discrete topics has evolved into two streams. The more math­ ematical parts are studied in courses called Discrete Mathematics, and more ad­ vanced, more rigorous courses called Combinatorics, or named for specific areas (Graph Theory, Combinatorial Designs, Cryptography, and so on). Introductions to those areas of applicable discrete mathematics used by students in business, management and the social sciences are usually called Finite Mathematics, and e1ementary courses on this material are now standard at many colleges and uni­ versities.These courses are typically offered at the freshman level although many students take them later in their careers.

When elementary courses in discrete and combinatorial mathematics first became popular, they usually covered a broad spectrumofpure and applied topics. Most of the students were in Mathematics and Computer Science, with a handful ofbrave souls from other disciplines. Those other students usually found the courses quite difficult. However, the applications were useful in a numberofareas. The teaching of discrete topics has evolved into two streams. The more math­ ematical parts are studied in courses called Discrete Mathematics, and more ad­ vanced, more rigorous courses called Combinatorics, or named for specific areas (Graph Theory, Combinatorial Designs, Cryptography, and so on). Introductions to those areas of applicable discrete mathematics used by students in business, management and the social sciences are usually called Finite Mathematics, and e1ementary courses on this material are now standard at many colleges and uni­ versities.These courses are typically offered at the freshman level although many students take them later in their careers.