Understanding the concept of completeness for an ordered field is known to be difficult for many university mathematics students. We hypothesise that the variety of possible axioms of completeness for the set of real numbers is one of the sources of difficulties as is the lack of understanding of the "raison d'être" of these axioms. In…

When first learning how to write mathematical proofs, it is often easier for students to work with statements using the universal quantifier. Results that single out special cases might initially come across as more puzzling or even mysterious. In this article we explore three specific statements from abstract algebra that involve the number…

Most any students can explain the meaning of "a[superscript b]", for "a" [element-of] [set of real numbers] and for "b" [element-of] [set of integers]. And some students may be able to explain the meaning of "(a + bi)[superscript c]," for "a, b" [element-of] [set of real numbers] and for…

Until recently the testing of a 100-digit number to determine whether it is prime or composite could have taken a century. However, in the past two years a method has been developed enabling a computer to determine the primality of an arbitrary number in about 40 seconds of running time. (Author/JN)

Describes properties of Fibonacci numbers, including the law of recurrence and relationship with the Golden Ratio. Discussed are some applications of the numbers to sewage of towns on a river bank, resistances in electric circuits, and leafy stems in botany. Lists four references. (YP)

Describes a number sequence made by counting the occurrence of each digit from 9 to 0, catenating this count with the digit, and joining these numeric strings to form a new term. Presents a computer-aided proof and an analytic proof of the sequence; compares these two methods of proof. (YP)

Presents examples of 3-by-3 and 4-by-4 magic squares. Proves that the numbers 1 to 10 can not be fitted to the intersections of a pentagram and that the sum of the 4 numbers on each line is always 22. (YP)