Welcome to MT194!

What this class is about.

Motivational example 1

∞
P (−1)(n−1)
Consider the alternating harmonic series n
n=1
Motivational example 1

∞
P (−1)(n−1)
Consider the alternating harmonic series n
n=1
Call its value S:
Motivational example 1

∞
P (−1)(n−1)
Consider the alternating harmonic series n
n=1
Call its value S:

Multiply by 2:
Motivational example 1
∞
P (−1)(n−1)
Consider the alternating harmonic series n
n=1
Call its value S:

Multiply by 2:

Tidy

so
Motivational example 1
∞
P (−1)(n−1)
Consider the alternating harmonic series n
n=1
Call its value S:

Multiply by 2:

Tidy

so

so 2S = S, giving 2 = 1
Questions:

2 6= 1 so we did something that we shouldn’t have. What did

we do wrong?
Questions:

2 6= 1 so we did something that we shouldn’t have. What did

we do wrong?
(In fact by rearranging the order of summation of the series,
you can make it equal to any number!)
Questions:

2 6= 1 so we did something that we shouldn’t have. What did

we do wrong?
(In fact by rearranging the order of summation of the series,
you can make it equal to any number!)
Finite sums a1 + a2 + · · · an make sense, but what does it
mean to add infinitely many numbers a1 + a2 + a3 + · · · ?
Questions:

2 6= 1 so we did something that we shouldn’t have. What did

we do wrong?
(In fact by rearranging the order of summation of the series,
you can make it equal to any number!)
Finite sums a1 + a2 + · · · an make sense, but what does it
mean to add infinitely many numbers a1 + a2 + a3 + · · · ?
∞
P (−1)(n−1)
n = ln(2). What does it mean for these to be
n=1
equal?
Motivational example 2

d x
dx e = ex .
Motivational example 2

d x
dx e = ex .
d
What does “ dx f (x)” actually mean?
Motivational example 2

d x
dx e = ex .
d
What does “ dx f (x)” actually mean?
what’s e?
Motivational example 2

d x
dx e = ex .
d
What does “ dx f (x)” actually mean?
what’s e?
p
What does ax mean? (E.g., 23/5 = 5
(2 · 2 · 2), but what’s
2π ?)
Motivational example 2

d x
dx e = ex .
d
What does “ dx f (x)” actually mean?
what’s e?
p
What does ax mean? (E.g., 23/5 = 5
(2 · 2 · 2), but what’s
2π ?)
Rb
What about a f (x)dx?
Motivational example 3

Is f (x) = sin(x) a continuous function?

Motivational example 3


−x
 if x < 0
Is g (x) = 1 if x = 0 or x > 3 a continuous function?

x if 0 < x < 2

Motivational example 3

Is the “popcorn function” continuous?

(
1
p if x = qp in lowest terms with q > 0
h(x) =
0 otherwise
Motivational example 3
Is the “popcorn function” continuous?
(
1
if x = qp in lowest terms with q > 0
h(x) = p
0 otherwise

It is discontinuous at rational numbers but is continuous at all

irrational numbers!
What does it mean for a function to be continuous?
Motivational example 4

√
You all know that 5, −47
23 , 2, π are examples of real
numbers.
Motivational example 4

√
You all know that 5, −47
23 , 2, π are examples of real
numbers.
But what is a “real number”?
Motivational example 4

√
You all know that 5, −47
23 , 2, π are examples of real
numbers.
But what is a “real number”?
What is a “number”?
This class

In this class we answer this type of question.

This is an area of maths called real analysis.
You can think of this is as:
Putting calculus on a rigorous foundation.
Studying infinite processes.
infinite processes are very tricky, so we have to be very careful!
This class is part of a 2-course series, with MT294 being the
follow on class.
How this class is organised

3 lectures per week

Gappy notes.
Some examples on slides during class. (I’ll post the slides on
moodle, so you can just make a note of the exercise number
for your notes.)
Ask questions during lectures. I love questions! :-)
1 weekly problem sheet
Remember to put you name and your MT194 tutor’s name
on what you hand in.
I’ll post sample solutions on moodle.
Your work will be returned during tutorials.
How this class is organised

Tutorials
Weekly from week 2. (time & place arranged with your MT
194 tutor.)
This is a time for you to ask about things you don’t
understand. Think about what you want to ask before you go.
Be sure to attempt the problem sheets before your tutorial.
You should find these enjoyable and helpful.
Office hours
Tue at 11
You can drop by and ask questions during them (no
appointment needed).
They can get quite busy (you outnumber me), so do use
tutorials for help too.
How this class is organised

Assessment
10% based on homework. (Good effort or not?) You will get
lots of things wrong, but I don’t care. The role of the problem
sets is to help you learn.
10% January test. In January 2017. You’ll get info on this
closer to the time.
80% final exam. In the summer term.
Remember you must pass all your courses to progress.
Moodle
I’ll post course material, including extra reading, on moodle.
Books
Alcock, How to think about analysis, (Bedford Main (515
ALC) & online through library).
Bartle & Sherbert, Introduction to real analysis, (Bedford Main
(515.23 BAR))
You should find plenty of copies in the library. If there are too
few, let me know and I will order more.
You don’t need to buy a copy.
Me

I am Iain Moffatt (you can call me Iain).

Office: McCrea 227.
Email: iain.moffatt@rhul.ac.uk
Office hours: Tue at 11.

Now let’s do some mathematics!