Conics and Cubics: A Concrete Introduction to Algebraic Curves / Edition 2

by Robert Bix

Overview

Conics and Cubics offers an accessible and well illustrated introduction to algebraic curves. By classifying irreducible cubics over the real numbers and proving that their points form Abelian groups, the book gives readers easy access to the study of elliptic curves. It includes a simple proof of Bezout’s Theorem on the number of intersections of two curves. The subject area is described by means of concrete and accessible examples. The book is a text for a one-semester course.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780387318028
Publisher:	Springer New York
Publication date:	07/24/2006
Series:	Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics Series
Edition description:	2nd ed. 2006
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	9.21(w) x 6.14(h) x 0.81(d)

Table of Contents

Intersections of Curves.- Conics.- Cubics.- Parametrizing Curves.

Editorial Reviews

"...This book therefore belongs to the admirable tradition of laying the foundations of a difficult and potentially abstract subject by means of concrete and accessible examples. ... Two major strengths of the book are its historical perspective, in the form of informative introductions to the chapters which give the main developments in non-technical language, and its exercises, which are numerous and interesting." Peter Giblin for MathSciNet

From the reviews of the second edition:

"Algebraic geometry is a hard subject. ... But could it, or at least some of it, be presented, at the undergraduate level? This book attempts to do that. ... At the beginning of each of the four chapters, the author provides a synopsis of the historical development of the subject. And within each section many exercises are provided for further discussion and illumination. ... And the author manages to keep things concrete. So, the end result is a book which is accessible … ." (Donald L. Vestal, MathDL – online, October, 2006)

From the Publisher