Math 5285H Honors: Fundamental Structures of Algebra I, Fall 2014

ANNOUNCEMENTS: here I will post the latest news related to the course; please check this area regularly.

Sept. 12: The first homework assignment (Due on Friday, Sept. 19, in class) has now been posted.
Sept. 25: The second homework assignment (Due on Friday, Oct. 3, in class) has now been posted.
Oct. 10: The third homework assignment (Due on Friday, Oct. 17, in class) has now been posted.
Oct. 22: The fourth homework assignment (Due on Friday, Oct. 31, in class) has now been posted.
Nov. 6: The fifth homework assignment (Due on Friday, Nov. 14, in class) has now been posted.
Nov. 14: The sixth homework assignment (Due on Friday, Nov. 21, in class) has now been posted.
Nov. 25: The seventh homework assignment (Due on Wednesday, Dec. 3, in class) has now been posted.
Dec. 4: The eighth homework assignment has now been posted. Do NOT turn in this homework, but do as many as you can of the exercises in preparation for the final exam. The final exam will be a take home exam. I will give it to you on Wednesday, Dec. 10, in class, and you are to return it in my mailbox by 3 pm on Tuesday, Dec. 16.

Instructor: Ionut Ciocan-Fontanine
Office: VinH 450; 625-7801
email: ciocan@math.umn.edu
URL: http://www.math.umn.edu~cioca001
Lectures: MWF 10:10 - 11:00, VinH 211
Office hours for Fall 2014: M 3:35pm - 4:25pm, WF 11:15 am - 12:05 pm, VinH 450, or by appointment.
Text: Dumitt and Foote ABSTRACT ALGEBRA, 3rd Edition

Course description: This course's main purpose is to provide an introduction to the basic structures of Algebra. The text contains more material than we can cover in a one-year course, so I will skip some of the sections/chapters.

Prerequisites: Some previous knowledge of linear algebra might help, and familiarity with proofs is necessary.

Homework and Final Exam: There will be about 10 homework assignments, usually due on Fridays, in class. The homework scores will contribute 60% to your course grade. Late homework will NOT be accepted. You are encouraged to collaborate on homework, as long as you write up the solutions individually and state on your paper with whom you have collaborated. There will be a final exam which will account for the other 40% of your grade. The final will consist mainly of problems illustrating and applying the material covered in class (and in your homework assignments), but I may also ask you to give proofs that were presented in the lectures. I will decide later in the semester if the final exam will be given in class or as a take-home exam. You will find the homework assignments here .