This document provides an introduction to number theory and mathematical induction. It discusses the following key points:
- Number theory studies properties and relationships between numbers like integers and primes. The primes are important building blocks.
- Mathematical induction is a method of proof that allows proving statements about infinite sets of numbers. It involves proving a base case and an induction step to show if the statement is true for one number, it is true for the next.
- As an example, induction is used to prove that the sum of the first n odd numbers equals n^2 for all positive integers n. This involves proving the base case of n=1 and assuming the statement is true for an arbitrary n before showing it holds for