Office: LN-2218, Phone: 777-2465, Office Hours: MWF 12:00 - 1:00 and by appointment.
Class meets: MWF 9:40 - 10:40 in SW - 327,
NOTE THAT ON EXAM DAYS, THE TUESDAY MEETING WILL BE 8:30 - 9:55.
``Contemporary Abstract Algebra'',Sixth Edition by Joseph A. Gallian, Houghton-Mifflin Company, Boston, MA, 2006. ISBN: 0-618-51471-6
In the first semester we will cover material on group theory (Chapters 1 - 11, 24 - 26 if time allows) and give an introduction to ring theory (Chapters 12 - 13). In the second semester, we will continue in this book with ring theory, field theory and Galois theory. Additional topics may be covered if there is interest by the students.
There will be 3 ``hourly'' exams (actually 1 hour and 25 minutes) administered during the Thursday meeting, and 1 Final Exam during the scheduled Finals period. The hourlies will be worth 100 points each, and the (2-hour) Final Exam will be worth 150 points. The contents of each exam will be determined one week before the exam. The Final Exam will be comprehensive, covering the whole course. ANYONE UNABLE TO TAKE AN EXAM SHOULD CONTACT THE PROFESSOR AHEAD OF TIME TO EXPLAIN THE REASON. A MESSAGE CAN BE LEFT AT THE MATH DEPT OFFICE. NO ONE SHOULD MISS THE FINAL!
Exam 1: Tuesday, October 10, 2006. Covering Chapters 1 - 5.
Exam 2: Friday, November 10, 2006. Covering Chapters 6, 7, 10 (partially).
Exam 3: Tuesday, December 5, 2006, 8:30 - 9:55 AM, LH - 5. Covers Chapters 7 (Cosets, Lagrange's Theorem, Orbits and Stabilizers), 8 (External Direct Products, orders of elements in direct products), some of 10 (Group homomorphisms, kernel, image).
Final Exam: Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006, 8:30 - 10:30 in AAG-007. Covers all topics from the course.
Exam solutions were discussed in class after each exam was graded and returned. If you need a copy of Exam 1, 2 or 3 to study for the final, send an email to the professor, or come by his office. One student in the class became ill just before Exam 3, and could not take the final exam, so information about those exams should be kept confidential until all students have completed the course.
Each exam will be curved, giving each student a letter grade as well as a number grade, and the Total of all points earned will also be curved. The letter grades on the exams indicate how a student is doing, and will be taken into consideration in making the curve for the Totals. The course grade will be determined by the curve of Total points earned. Only borderline cases will be subject to further adjustment based on Homework. Any cases of cheating will be subject to investigation by the Academic Honesty Committee of Harpur College.
For each section of material covered there will be an assignment of problems from the textbook. They will be due one week from the day they are assigned (or the next scheduled class meeting after that if there is a holiday). Late assignments will be accepted at the discretion of the Professor. Assignments will be examined by a grader, who will record the fact that an assignment was attempted, and give some feedback on how selected problems were done. QUESTIONS ABOUT PROBLEMS SHOULD BE ASKED OF THE PROFESSOR AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS. DO NOT DEPEND ON THE GRADER TO FIND AND CORRECT YOUR MISTAKES. Although homeworks will not be precisely graded, the number of homeworks attempted and the quality of the attempts will be considered as a factor in determining your course grade if you are a borderline case in the Total curve.
Chapter 2: Problems 19, 26, 29, 34.
Chapter 3: Problems 14, 15, 20, 27, 28, 44, 46.
Chapter 4: Problems 8, 13, 30, 40, 53.
Chapter 5: Problems 3, 4, 7, 8, 24, 25, 35.
Chapter 6: Problems 14, 16, 17, 24, 27.
Chapter 7: Problems 7, 12, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21.
Chapter 10: Problems 7, 8, 14, 20, 23.
Class attendance is absolutely essential. The theoretical material is rather abstract, and it is necessary to understand the theory in order to do sensible calculations and interpret them correctly. Exams will be a combination of theory questions (proofs) and calculations appropriate for a course of this level. Lectures can be interrupted at any time for questions. At the start of each class be ready to ask questions about homework problems or about the previous lecture.