| Assignment (PDF) | Assignment (LaTeX) | Due Date |
| HW1.pdf | HW1.tex | 01/11/08 |
| HW2.pdf | HW2.tex | 01/18/08 |
| HW3.pdf | HW3.tex | 01/25/08 |
| HW4.pdf | HW4.tex | 02/01/08 |
| HW5.pdf | HW5.tex | 02/08/08 |
| HW6.pdf | HW6.tex | 02/15/08 |
| HW7.pdf | HW7.tex | 02/22/08 |
| HW8.pdf | HW8.tex | 02/29/08 |
| HW9.pdf | HW9.tex | 03/21/08 |
| HW10.pdf | HW10.tex | 03/28/08 |
| HW11.pdf | HW11.tex | 04/04/08 |
| HW12.pdf | HW12.tex | 04/11/08 |
| HW13.pdf | HW13.tex | 04/18/08 |
| HW14.pdf | HW14.tex | 04/25/08 |
| Day of Week | Time | Place |
| Mon., Wed., Fri. | 9:05am-9:55am | Roop 327 |
This is a widely used textbook for senior-level undergraduate abstract algebra classes. It covers a tremendous number of topics and has a huge number of examples for each topic. Although we will not cover anywhere near all the topics in this books, I hope that it will serve you well as a reference in your continued adventures in mathematics. Some find it wordy in places, but most would argue that that is a good feature for an introductory text.
Professor Foote maintains an errata for the textbook on his webpage.
We will also be doing a small amount of programming in the course to explore examples, learn some fundamental algorithms, and hone a valuable skill. For our programming, we will be using SAGE, which is a collection of computational mathematical libraries gathered together in a Python-like language. I have set up a local SAGE mirror on the JMU network which should give us faster downloads... let me know if it's down or out of date.
I have also created accounts for all the registered students of this class on a departmental Linux machine so that you have access to a working Sage installation (and LaTex). I will pass out account details in class.
I, personally, find almost all the information I need on Python or Sage on the internet. However, some people are more comfortable with books, so here are some that I recommend.
| Books for beginning programmers |
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| Books for intermediate programmers |
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| Books for experienced programmers |
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| Homework | 80% |
| Class Participation | 20% |
You may work with other students while solving the homework problems, in fact I encourage you to work in groups. You may use the library, and you may use the internet. However, you must write up your solutions alone and without consulting outside references. It is imperative the you write up your solutions by yourself because what you put on your paper must reflect your understanding of the problem. You must not simply copy solutions from your peers or from books or internet articles... doing so will make you feel sick in your stomach when I call on you to present your solution at the board. You also should not write down rubbish when you don't understand how to solve a problem. If you have no idea how to approach a problem, just indicate that you couldn't solve the problem. I do not expect everyone to be able to solve every homework problem. In your written homework solution, you must acknowledge other students or outside sources that you used to solve the problems.
Unless otherwise noted, homework assignments will be given out on Mondays and will be due at the beginning of class on Friday. During that class period I will randomly call on students from the class to present solutions to the homework problems. If I discover that a student has submitted a solution which he or she clearly does not understand then I will become very cross and say mean things and, the offending student's homework grade will suffer. It is far better to just say, "I can't solve that problem," than to violate the honor code or attempt to bluff the professor.
Are you getting nervous just reading that last paragraph? Relax! I can tell when someone is just nervous about talking in front of a group or forgets a step in a proof versus someone who cheated. Don't cheat, and you have nothing to worry about. I expect us all to make lots of mistakes while we present at the board, and I expect the rest of the class to be paying close attention and correcting the mistakes! The time we spend working problems together at the board will be in a friendly, supportive, atmosphere.
The homework solutions you submit must be legible, extremely neat, and clearly organized. If you think that you might have a problem doing that, then I suggest you use LaTeX. If you submit a messy homework assignment, then I'll give you a warning. If you submit a second messy homework, then I will require all of your future homework assignments to be typeset using LaTeX.
Your two lowest homework scores will be dropped. I do not accept late homework assignments. Period. No exceptions for any reasons including illness, death of family members, or religious observances. Instead, I drop the two lowest homework grades. So, if you are sick or have a death in the family, then you just don't worry about the homework assignment since that grade will be dropped. This also means that you should not gamble with these dropped homeworks. Don't decide to blow off your homework one week just because you're feeling lazy; you never know what the future holds and you might need to use those dropped homeworks to deal with an illness or family emergency. If something comes up that makes you miss more than two weeks of classes, then you should just withdraw from the course (I'll sign whatever paperwork is needed) because it just isn't possible to make up that much material in a course that is as fast paced as this one.
Of course, I will always accept homework submitted early. So, if you know ahead of time that you need to miss class on a homework day, then just submit your homework before hand.
To encourage everyone to do the assigned reading, I have a "class participation" portion of your grade. To assign the class participation grade, I will be randomly, and frequently, calling on students during the class period to ask them to explain concepts from the reading. Hence, it is not sufficient to merely skim over the material. You must read it in depth and thoroughly digest it.
This is a senior level class, so the class lecture will not simply be a re-hashed version of the textbook. You must do the reading and participate in class.
| Date | Event |
| 01/15/08 | Last day to add without signatures. Last day to drop without a "W". |
| 01/21/08 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day (No classes) |
| 01/24/08 | Last day to add a class. |
| 03/03/08-03/07/08 | Spring break |
| 03/1408 | Last day to drop with a "W". Last day to change grade option. |
| 04/25/08 | Last day of classes |