Arthur T Benjamin (EDT) Biscuits of Number Theory

Annotation

In Biscuits of Number Theory, the editors have chosen articles that are exceptionally well-written and that can be appreciated by anyone who has taken (or is taking) a first course in number theory. This book could be used as a textbook supplement for a number theory course, especially one that requires students to write papers or do outside reading. The editors give examples of some of the possibilities. The collection is divided into seven chapters: Arithmetic; Primes; Irrationality and Continued Fractions; Sums of Squares and Polygonal Numbers; Fibonacci Numbers; Number-Theoretic Functions; and Elliptic Curves, Cubes and Fermat's Last Theorem. As with any anthology, you don't have to read the Biscuits in order. Dip into them anywhere: pick something from the table of contents that strikes your fancy, and have at it. If the end of an article leaves you wondering what happens next, then by all means dive in and do some research. You just might discover something new!