Syllabus for Math 451: Abstract Algebra I

Section 1

Fall 2008

Prerequisite: By permission only

Text: Michael Artin's Algebra, Prentice Hall, 1991, ISBN 0-13-004763-5.

Meeting times: The lecture will be held every Monday and Thursday from 10:20am until 11:40am in the Science and Engineering Resource Center (SEC) room 217 on Busch Campus.

Lecturer:

Name:

Simon Thomas

Office:

Hill Center 220 (on the Busch Campus)

Office hours:

Mondays and Thursdays from 1:40pm to 3:00pm

Phone:

(732) 445-1316

Email:

sthomas@math.rutgers.edu

Webpage:

http://www.math.rutgers.edu/~sthomas

Course topics: We will cover selections from the first 9 chapters of Artin's Algebra. I plan to cover most or all of chapters 2 (basic group theory), 5 (groups and symmetry), 6 (more group theory including the Sylow theorems), and 9 (group representation theory). Although we will be focusing on group theory, we may delve into the chapters on linear algebra (1, 3, 4, and 7) as needed.

The term grade will be based on the results of the examinations and the solutions of the homework problems. We will have 2 midterm (80 minute) exams and a final exam. Homework be assigned during most lectures and will be collected each Thursday. Here are the weights of the different components:

Component

Percentage

Exam #1

20%

Exam #2

20%

Final Exam

40%

Homework

20%