Undergraduates' Uses of Examples in Introductory Topology: The Structural Example

Example use in undergraduate mathematics has been extensively studied. However, little is known about undergraduates' example use in the context of introductory point-set topology. We present a case study of one undergraduate and describe her example use when constructing proofs in the context of introductory topology. We describe her use of a type of example previously undiscussed in the research literature, which we call structural examples. We conclude by drawing distinctions between structural examples and other, more specific forms of example.