The purpose of this study was to examine the ways advanced mathematics students define "number" and the degree to which their definitions extend to different number domains. Of particular interest for this study are learners' fundamental conceptions of number and the implications for learners' interpretations of complex numbers (a + bi).…

The teaching of mathematics does not only require the teacher to have knowledge about the subject, but the teacher also needs mathematical knowledge that is useful for the teaching and explaining thereof, as the teacher's knowledge effects the students' knowledge. A teacher should use appropriate mathematical explanation to be understood well by…

In this study, it was aimed to reveal the explanatory strategies that preservice teachers use in the process of explaining the concept of divisibility by zero. It was investigated how the concept of divisibility by zero, which can be used in expressing the case where the denominator is present in the definition of important concepts of the…

This study examines data from college students who worked in pairs to make decisions about a list of potential definitions of prime number. Analysis focused on the evidence each student pair cited when they decided whether or not a statement could be used as a definition for prime number. The purpose of this paper is to describe patterns in the…

The method of proof by mathematical induction follows from Peano axiom 5. We give three properties which are often used in the proofs by mathematical induction. We show that these are equivalent. Supposing the well-ordering property we prove the validity of this method without using Peano axiom 5. Finally, we introduce the simplest form of…