Posts Tagged ‘principle’
Friday, December 18th, 2009
Explanation of the Pigeon-Hole Principle
Description
A detailed tutorial on the pigeon-hole principle. Step by step tutorial including several examples of the pigeon-hole principle for reference.
Overview
The pigeon-hole principle is an important principle in math that states that if n items are to be put into m pigeon-holes, and n > m, then at least one pigeon-hole must contain more than one item. It is thought of as an extension of the counting principle. The pigeon-hole principle was first referred to as the drawer principle, or the shelf principle. Because of this, it is commonly called Dirichlet’s box principle or Dirichlet’s drawer principle. It is most commonly used with finite sets of elements; however, this principle can also be used with infinite sets.
Tags: algebra, box, counting, Dirichlet, drawer, elements, extension, finite, infinite, leftover, more, pigeon-hole, principle, remainder, sets, shelf, theory
Posted in Algebra | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Overview of the Fundamental Counting Principle
Description
A detailed tutorial on the fundamental counting principle. Step by step tutorial including several examples of the fundamental counting principle for reference.
Overview
The fundamental counting principle is a simple method of finding out how many times something occurs. It is a simplified form of finding permutations and combinations, and is used very often in statistics when permutations and combinations must be found. The fundamental counting principle states that if an event can occur in M ways, and another event can occur in N ways, then the first event followed by the second event can occur M * N ways. Basically, if you have two different options, and a different amount of each option, you can multiply them together to find the total number of ways you can combine these options.
Tags: algebra, amount, combinations, combine, counting, fundamental, multiplication, option, permutate, permutations, principle, statistics
Posted in Algebra | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Well-Ordering Principle Explained
Description
A detailed tutorial on the well-ordering principle. Step by step tutorial including several examples of the well-ordering principle for reference.
Overview
The well-ordering principle states that every nonempty subset of the set of all natural numbers has a smallest element. This is possible because the number zero is not included in the set of natural numbers, and therefore cannot appear in a subset of all natural numbers. The well-ordering principle is equivalant to the Principle of Mathematical Induction, but they are proved in different ways and have different sets. Sometimes it is a better idea to use the Well-Ordering Principle, and other times it is a better idea to use the Principle of Mathematical Induction.
Tags: discrete math, element, induction, mathematical, n!, natural, nonempty, number, ordering, PMI, principle, set, smallest, subset, well, well-ordering, WOP
Posted in Discrete Math | No Comments »
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
Inductive Sets in Set Theory
Description
A detailed tutorial on inductive sets in set theory. Step by step tutorial including several examples of inductive sets in set theory for reference.
Overview
An inductive set is a continuous set of natural numbers that follows a basic pattern of n + 1. This means that for all numbers in the set, that number plus the number one must also be included in the set.The set does not need to include all natural numbers – that is, the set may start at any natural number provided it is greater than or equal to one. However, the set must continue to infinity or it cannot be considered an inductive set.
Tags: -1, addition, complete, continuous, discrete math, element, equal, greater, induction, inductive, infinity, mathematical, natural, numbers, one, pattern, principle, set, subset, theory
Posted in Discrete Math | No Comments »
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
Introduction to the Principle of Mathematical Induction
Description
A detailed tutorial of the principle of mathematical induction. Step by step tutorial including several examples of the principle of mathematical induction for reference.
Overview
The principle of mathematical induction is basically a method of proof-writing, which involves trying to prove that a certain statement is true for all natural numbers. The first statement will be proved, and then the next statement, and the next one. In this way, it is similar to a proof by exhaustion. However, since the statement must be proven for all numbers, eventually an integer will be used in the calculations. This should not be confused with mathematical induction – the principle of mathematical induction is actually a type of deductive reasoning.
Tags: deductive, discrete math, exhaustion, induction, interger, k, Math, mathematical, n!, natural, number, principle, proof, reasoning, statement
Posted in Discrete Math | No Comments »
