For other messages in this series, see https://explainingmaths.wordpress.com/?s=Taster+Sessions
In case you missed Alan Barker’s Taster Lecture on Fermi Estimates back in December 2021, the talk is now available on YouTube at https://tinyurl.com/uonfermi
Continue readingIn this post we’ll look at some applications of the result from last time that we gave the non-standard name Modular Arithmetic Consistency Theorem, or MACT for short. In particular, we will finally have a proper look at powers of integers.
Theorem (MACT)
Let 
In this part, we will confirm that modular arithmetic works well with sums and products, as claimed in Part 1. We’ll also have a look at powers (where a little care is needed). [Actually, powers will be postponed until Part 3b.]
Continue readingThere was some discussion on my first-year Pure Maths (FPM) Piazza forum recently of one of my quiz questions about prime numbers.
In my introductory pure maths module (FPM), one of the things we look at is the connection between sets and their characteristic functions, and how set operations affect the characteristic functions.
Continue readingHere is another Piazza post I sent to my first-year pure maths students (FPM) about a particular kind of question involving functions.
Continue readingToday I answered the following question on my FPM Piazza forum: What is the definition of an equivalence class and what is an example of it in use?
In this part, we revise some of the material from Part 1 (with some more examples), and we discuss some of the basic properties of congruence modulo 
For the purposes of these posts, we will take it as standard that if you multiply or add two integers the result is always an integer. (We have to start somewhere!)
Continue readingI have mentioned modular arithmetic (sometimes known as “clock arithmetic”) in several of my posts. But this may not be helpful if you haven’t come across this type of arithmetic before.
Continue readingIn a recent FPM class we discussed how to determine 
[See also my earlier post on Greatest Common Divisors]
Continue readingFor other messages in this series, see https://explainingmaths.wordpress.com/?s=Taster+Sessions
In case you missed Lisa Mott’s Taster Lecture on Statistics back in October, the talk is now available on YouTube at https://tinyurl.com/uonmaths-LM-21
Continue readingI just posted the following on this year’s FPM Piazza forum.
Hi everyone,
I saw this a few years ago on QI, and found another version on the web at
http://mathandmultimedia.com/2014/12/02/merry-christmas-equation/
If we are told that
See all posts about the UoN maths newsletter
The first issue of our new maths e-newsletter for teachers and students, Mathematics News from the University of Nottingham, is now available from https://tinyurl.com/uonmathsnews-Volume-1-Number-1
Continue readingFor other messages in this series, see https://explainingmaths.wordpress.com/?s=Taster+Sessions
This is a reminder about today’s final pre-Christmas Taster Session (Wed Dec 8th 2021) starting at 5PM GMT.
Continue readingFor other messages in this series, see https://explainingmaths.wordpress.com/?s=Taster+Sessions
(This post to our Maths Taster Sessions Mailing List was dated November 30th 2021)
Our final pre-Christmas Taster Session will be on Wed Dec 8th 2021.
Study with us: https://tinyurl.com/mathscourseuon
Open Day maths talk videos: https://tinyurl.com/uonmathsvod
Maths taster sessions: https://tinyurl.com/uonmathstaster
Sign up for our new maths e-Newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/uonmathsnewsform
Explaining mathematics 