Math 153

instuctor: Prof. Rich Schwartz
time TuTh 2:30-3:50 (K hour)
place Barus & Holley 153

my office hours: Thurs. 12-2

course summary: This is a first course on abstract algebra:
groups, subgroups, homomorphisms, quotients, rings, ideals, etc.
Here is a longer summary

text: Topics in Algebra (2nd ed.) by I.N. Herstein

grading: Your grade is based on 4 components:

homework: 30%

midterm 1: 20%

midterm 2: 20%

final exam: 30%

homework: I will assign homework each Tuesday
and collect it the following Tuesday. No late HW.

Click here for the assignments.
And here is one last assignment

The HW assignments will often require you to write
proofs. In case this is new to you, you might like to see
some sample proofs I wrote.
Also, the math notes section of my website has many proofs.

syllabus: I plan to cover most of the first 3
chapters in Herstein's book. I will cover the material
in Chapter 1 only briefly, and then concentrate
on chapters 2 and 3.

exam info

Midterm 1: Tue 4 March 5-9 PM, B&H 166

Midterm 2: Thu 24 April 5-9 PM, B&H 166

Final: Due Tue 13 May, 3 PM, Kassar 302
download it here

exam solutions
midterm1
midterm2

notes
quaternions and the spin cover
notes on a HW problem
a non-Euclidean PID (by G. Bergman)
The 4-square theorem
tensor products
(not) cutting a cube into a regular tetrahedron