Discrete Mathematics

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The language of mathematics is an unambiguous one, which makes it play an important part in many scientific studies. In the Discrete Mathematics course students learn to speak the mathematical language, to think like a mathematician. The students will learn the mathematical meaning of the following fundamental concepts: 1.Numbers, e.g. integers, rational numbers and real numbers and properties that these numbers have; 2.Logic and how to use logic to construct mathematical proofs; 3.Sets and concepts related to sets, like intersections, unions and differences; 4.(Mathematical) relations and their properties; 5.Functions and related concepts; 6.Combinatorics, the science of ‘smart counting’, with basic concepts like permutations and combinations. These basic issues will, in one way or another, be discussed in just about every mathematics course, making the Discrete Mathematics course very useful to combine with other mathematics courses. The course also is useful for students who are interested in Computer Science and Econometrics. Just how frequently and widely applied the concepts, introduced in the Discrete Mathematics course, are, is very well captured by a quote from a former UCM-student, who took the course a few years ago. She wrote: ‘In hindsight, this probably was the most useful course I’ve ever taken and it has helped me in many others.’