Course Guidelines Math 433
Dr. R. Beezer Fall 2004
Text   We will be using Contemporary Abstract Algebra (Fifth Edition) by Joseph A. Gallian. We will cover material from Chapters 0 through 11, and 24 - see the attached tentative schedule for the exact sections covered.
Home Page   Start at http://buzzard.ups.edu/courses.html to locate the WWW page for this course.
Office Hours   My office is Thompson 321G; the telephone number is 879-3564. Making appointments or simple, non-mathematical questions can be handled via electronic mail - my address is beezer@ups.edu. Office hours will be 11:00-11:50 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 10:30-12:20 on Tuesday. I will always be available during these times on a first-come, first-served basis. If these times are not convenient, please do not hesitate to make an appointment with me for another time. You are also welcome to drop by my office without an appointment at any time that I am in (2 P.M. to 4 P.M. is a good time to try). Office hours are your opportunity to receive extra help or clarification on material from class, or to discuss any other aspect of the course.
Homework   Homework will be assigned for each chapter, but will not be collected. Of course, you are not limited to working just these assigned problems. Once a week, generally on Friday, we will have a problem session where we can discuss these problems. It is your responsibility to be certain that you are learning from the homework exercises. The best ways to do this are to work the problems diligently when assigned and to participate in the classroom discussion. If at this point you are still unsure about a problem, then a visit to my office is in order. Making a consistent effort outside of the classroom is the easiest way to do well in this course.
Mathematics not only demands straight thinking, it grants the student the satisfaction of knowing when he or she is thinking straight. - D. Jackson
Mathematics is not a spectator sport. - Anonymous
I hear, I forget.
I see, I remember.
I do, I understand.
    - Chinese Proverb
Reading Questions   Reading questions will be posted on the course WWW page for each chapter. Your answers are due back to me by 10 P.M. the night before we begin discussing a new chapter (usually this will be Monday night). These should be submited to the email address announced in class, not my beezer@ups.edu address.
Quizzes   There will be thirteen one-hour quizzes - see the attached sheet for tentative dates - though mostly they will be on Monday, at the conclusion of each chapter. The lowest two of your quiz scores will be dropped. The comprehensive final exam will be given at 8 AM on Tuesday, December 14. The final exam cannot be given at any other time, so be certain that you do not make any travel plans that conflict, and also be aware that I will allow you to work longer on the final exam than just the two-hour scheduled block of time.
Grades   Grades will be based on the following breakdown: Quizzes - 75%; Reading Questions - 5%; Final - 20%. Homework, attendance and improvement will be considered for borderline grades. Scores will be posted on the World Wide Web at
http://buzzard.ups.edu/courses.html. A reminder about withdrawals - a Withdrawal Passing grade (W) can only be given during the third or fourth weeks of the semester, after that time (barring unusual circumstances), the appropriate grade is a Withdrawal Failing (WF), even if your work has been of passing quality. See the attached schedule for the last day to drop with an automatic `W' and please read The Logger about these often misunderstood grades.
Attendance   Daily attendance is required and expected, and is a pretty good idea.
Purpose   At this point in your college career, you should be well on your way to being an independent scholar, who appreciates the beauty of mathematics and understands the effort needed to master new and difficult ideas. Consistent with that, I will be giving you a fair degree of freedom to learn this material in a manner that suits you.
Read the book before the lectures, work the exercises diligently, tidy up your class notes each evening, and ask questions. Arriving late to class, or having conversations with others during class, not only disrupts your peers, but tells me you are not serious about your education. I will not routinely check attendance, but our class is small enough that I will notice when you are not here, and again this will be another way that you signal me about your commitment to the endeavor.
Many consider group theory (the branch of Abstract Algebra that we will concentrate on this semester) one of the most fascinating areas of mathematics. The investment of your time and energy applied to studying it will be amply repaid by a full understanding of its deeper ideas.
Homework Exercises
Chap Page Computational Theoretical
0 23 4, 16, 29, 38, 41, 46 8, 12, 14, 15, 21, 24
1 37 4, 13, 19, 22 6, 7, 8, 9
2 53 3, 5, 8, 13, 22, 24, 37 12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 29, 33
3 67 9, 24, 27, 28, 31, 33, 34, 41, 42 10, 13, 14, 16, 19, 21, 22
4 82 19, 22, 33, 40, 45, 46, 55, 65 24, 31, 41, 54, 56, 62, 64
5 111 4, 6, 24, 25, 32, 33, 36, 43 13, 16, 22, 31, 40, 45, 46
6 129 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 16, 22, 23 2, 10, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35
7 145 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 12, 13, 26, 33 10, 15, 19, 21, 23, 24, 36
8 162 5, 8, 12, 18, 20, 22, 26, 30, 40, 49, 51, 53 3, 14, 16, 55
9 186 3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 14, 21, 24 6, 10, 30, 37, 41, 43, 46, 48, 49, 58
10 205 2, 6, 10, 11, 14, 17, 19, 20 22, 37, 38, 42, 45, 46, 53 (see #7 p. 169)
11 219 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 15, 19, 25, 28 20, 30, 32, 34
24 407 5, 7, 11, 12, 18, 21, 44 1, 4, 10, 33, 36, 39, 42
Tentative Daily Schedule


Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Friday

Aug 30
Chapter 0

Aug 31
Chapter 0

Sep 1
Chapter 1


Sep 3
Problem Session

Sep 6
Labor Day

Sep 7
Quiz #0

Sep 8
Chapter 1


Sep 10
Problem Session

Sep 13
Quiz #1

Sep 14
Chapter 2

Sep 15
Chapter 2


Sep 17
Problem Session

Sep 20
Quiz #2

Sep 21
Chapter 3

Sep 22
Chapter 3


Sep 24
Problem Session

Sep 27
Quiz #3
Last day to drop

Sep 28
Chapter 4

Sep 29
Chapter 4


Oct 1
Problem Session

Oct 4
Quiz #4

Oct 5
Chapter 5

Oct 6
Chapter 5


Oct 8
Problem Session

Oct 11
Quiz #5

Oct 12
Chapter 6

Oct 13
Chapter 6


Oct 15
Problem Session
Mid-Term
Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Friday

Oct 18
Fall Break

Oct 19
Quiz #6

Oct 20
Bonus Day
RSA Encryption


Oct 22
Bonus Day
RSA Encryption

Oct 25
Bonus Day
Rubik's Cube

Oct 26
Chapter 7

Oct 27
Chapter 7


Oct 29
Problem Session

Nov 1
Quiz #7

Nov 2
Chapter 8

Nov 3
Chapter 8


Nov 5
Problem Session

Nov 8
Quiz #8

Nov 9
Chapter 9

Nov 10
Chapter 9


Nov 12
Problem Session

Nov 15
Quiz #9

Nov 16
Chapter 10

Nov 17
Chapter 10


Nov 19
Problem Session

Nov 22
Quiz #10

Nov 23
Chapter 11

Nov 24
Chapter 11


Nov 26
Thanksgiving

Nov 29
Problem Session

Nov 30
Quiz #11

Dec 1
Chapter 24


Dec 3
Chapter 24

Dec 6
Problem Session

Dec 7
Quiz #24

Dec 8
Housekeeping



Final Examination
8 AM, Tuesday, December 14


File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.40.
On 23 Aug 2004, 12:10.