MATH 332: Fall 2009

Instructor: Professor Lauren Rose

Office: Albee 305, x 7362

Class Meetings: T/Th 10:30-11:50, Hegeman 106

Office Hours: MW3, T1:30, and by appointment

Website: math.bard.edu/rose, Email: rose@bard.edu

Text: A First Course in Abstract Algebra, by John B. Fraleigh, 7^th edition.

Course Requirements:

Homework: Homework problems will be discussed in class, and several proofs will be handed in each week, and/or presented at the board.

Exams: There will be a midterm exam, a final exam, and an occasional quiz.

Project: There will be a final project consisting of a 20 minute class presentation. Suggested topics are Sections 12, 16-17, 24, 25, 28, 39-40.

Your grade will be based on homework and quizzes (30%), midterm (25%), final (25%), project (15%), and attendance and class participation (5%).

If this is your first 300-level course, you will discover that in addition to coming to class and taking notes, you will need to read the book, and you might need to spend several days thinking about the homework problems before coming up with the solution. Keep this in mind when planning your study time. Free free to discuss the homework problems with your fellow students; in some cases you will be allowed to hand in homework in pairs.

Abstract algebra is a beautiful but difficult subject. If you want to understand the material on a deep level, you will likely undergo periods of frustration along the way. This is part of the process of becoming a mathematician. When things finally fall into place, I hope you will find that the journey was well worth it!

Course Assistant: Ming Gan

Office hour: M10:30-11:30, 3rd floor Albee

MATH 332 Assignments, Fall 2009

Items with an asterisk(*) are to be handed in.

Note: This schedule is subject to change.

Week	Due Date	For class Tuesday	Due Date	Hand in Thursday
1			9/3	Section 2: 5-19 odds (don’t hand in) Find an interesting fact about Abstract Algebra.
2	9/8	Section 2: 23 Section 3: 5, 7, 11, 13 Section 4: 3, 5, 11, 15	9/10	2: 28, 37 3: 26*
3	9/15	Section 5: 15, 17, 23, 26, Section 6: 13, 15, 17	9/17	4: 19, 29, 32,36 (38: Challenge problem)
4	9/22	Section 8: 3, 5, 9, 13, 17, 24, 35	9/24	5: 47, 51, 53* 6: 46*, (48)
5 Updated	9/29	Section 9: 3, 5, 9, 11, 13, 23 Section 8: 40-43 be prepared to discuss in class	10/1	*Hand in: Section 8: 47, 52, (45)* Note: 52 has 3 parts: 1. Prove p_a is a permutation, for all a. 2. Prove The set of all p_a is a group 3. Prove this group is isomorphic to G
6 Updated	10/6	Section 9: 34 Section 10: 3, 9, 10, 15	10/8	Hand in: 9: 29* Prove: If f:G -> G' is an isomorphism, then for all a in G, o(a) = o(f(a)).
7 Updated	10/13	No class, fall break	10/15	10: 30 - 33 : for class 10: 28, 29: Hand in
8 Updated	10/20	Section 13: 2, 17, 21, 27, 33, 37, 45	10/22	Section 11: 3, 16, 25, 49
9 Updated	10/27	Hand in: 13: 44, 47 Prove: If f is a group hom. from G to G' and a is in G, then, o(f(a)) \| o(a).	10/29	Quiz
10 Updated	11/3	Work on midterm	11/5	midterm due Friday
11 Updated	11/10	Section 14: 3, 7, 11, 15 Section 15: 3, 6	11/12	14: 30* 15: 37*
12 Updated	11/17	Section 18: 11, 13, 15, 20, 38, 40 Section 19: 14, 23	11/19	18: 37, 41, 55*
13 Updated	11/24	20: 3, 5, 27 22: 5, 6, 13, 14, 17, 22, 25	11/26	No class: Thanksgiving
14 Updated	12/1	22: 23 23: 3, 11, 12, 17, 25, 28	12/3	19: (26) 20: 28* 22: 24, 27
15	12/8	Extra	12/10	Presentations
16	12/15	Presentations	12/17	Final exam due