Math 5286H Honors: Fundamental Structures of Algebra II, Spring 2015

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

Jan. 22: The first homework assignment (due on MONDAY, Feb. 2, in class) has now been posted.
Feb. 17: The second homework assignment (due on WEDNESDAY, Feb. 25, in class) has now been posted.
March 12: The third homework assignment (due on WEDNESDAY, March 25, in class) has now been posted.
April 14: The fourth homework assignment (due on WEDNESDAY, April 22, in class) has now been posted.
April 28: The fifth homework assignment (due on WEDNESDAY, May 6, in class) has now been posted.

Instructor: Ionut Ciocan-Fontanine
Office: VinH 450; 625-7801
email: ciocan@math.umn.edu
URL: http://www.math.umn.edu~cioca001
Lectures: MW 9:45 - 11:00, VinH 311
Office hours for Spring 2015: Tuesday 3:35pm - 4:25pm, MW 11:15 am - 12:05 pm, VinH 450, or by appointment.
Text: Dumitt and Foote ABSTRACT ALGEBRA, 3rd Edition

Course description: This course is a continuation of Math 5285H from Fall 2014. The overall goal 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. For the Spring semester we will start with Part III of the textbook (Chapter 10).

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

Homework and Final Exam: There will be 7-10 homework assignments, usually (but not always) due on Wednesdays, 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 .