COURSE: MATH 5420-001

TIME AND PLACE: 12:45-2:05, Room 224 of Rogers-Stout Hall

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Robert Gardner OFFICE HOURS: 3:35-4:00 TR and by appointment

OFFICE: Room 308F of Gilbreath Hall

PHONE: 439-6979 (308F Gilbreath), Math Department Office 439-4349

E-MAIL:gardnerr@etsu.edu
WEBPAGE: http://faculty.etsu.edu/gardnerr/gardner.htm (see my webpage for a copy of this course syllabus, copies of the classnotes in PDF, and updates for the course).

TEXT: Algebra, by Thomas W. Hungerford (1974).

CLASS NOTES: We will use projected digital notes for the component of the lecture consisting of definitions, statements of theorems, and some examples. Proofs of the vast majority of theorems, propositions, lemmas, and corollaries are available in Beamer presentations and will be presented in class as time permits. The white board will be used for marginal notes and additional examples and explanation. Copies of the notes are online at: http://faculty.etsu.edu/gardnerr/5410/notes-rings.htm and http://faculty.etsu.edu/gardnerr/5410/notes-fields.htm It is strongly recommended that you get printed copies of the overheads before the material is covered in class. This will save you from writing down most notes in class and you can concentrate on listening and supplementing the notes with comments which you find relevant. You should read the online notes to be covered in class before each class (we may not have class time to cover every little detail in the online notes). Try to understand the definitions, the examples, and the meanings of the theorems. After each class, you should read the section of the book covered in that class, paying particular attention to examples and proofs.

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES:
A First Course in Abstract Algebra, 7th Edition, John B. Fraleigh, NY: Addison-Wesley, 2003.
Abstract Algebra, 3rd Edition, David S. Dummit and Richard M. Foote, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2004.
A History of Abstract Algebra, by Isreal Kleiner, Boston: Birkhauser, 2007. As time permits, I will insert some historical comments and this is be a reliable source of such information.

PREREQUISITE: The prerequisite for this class is Modern Algebra 1 (MATH 5410).

HOMEWORK: YOU MUST SHOW ALL DETAILS ON THE HOMEWORK PROBLEMS!!! Justify every step and claim you make - this is how you convince me that you know what you are doing. You may find some answers online, but these rarely sufficiently justify all steps and are unacceptable as homework solutions.

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT: While I suspect that you may work with each other on the homework problems (in fact, I encourage you to), I expect that the work you turn in is your own and that you understand it. Some of the homework problems are fairly standard for this class, and you may find proofs online or in an online version of the solutions manual. The online proofs may not be done with the notation, definitions, and specific methods which we are developing and, therefore, are not acceptable for this class. If I get homework from two (or more) of you that is virtually identical, then neither of you will get any credit. If you copy homework solutions from an online source, then you will get no credit. These are examples of plagiarism and I will have to act on this as spelled out on ETSU's "Academic Integrity @ ETSU" webpage: http://www.etsu.edu/academicintegrity/ (last accessed 8/29/2017). To avoid this, do not copy homework and turn it in as your own!!! Even if you collaborate with someone, if you write the homework problems out in such a way that you understand all of the little steps and details, then it will be unique and your own work. If your homework is identical to one of your classmates, with the exception of using different symbols/variables and changing "hence" to "therefore," then we have a problem! If you copy a solution from a solution manual or from a website, then we have a problem! I will not hesitate to charge you with academic misconduct under these conditions. When such a charge is lodged, the dean of the School of Graduate Studies is contacted. Repeated or flagrant academic misconduct violations can lead to suspension and/or expulsion from the university (the final decision is made by the School of Graduate studies and the graduate dean, Dr. McIntosh). We will have two in-class tests. To address potential academic misconduct during the test, I will wander the room and may request to see the progress of your work on the test while you are taking it. You will not be allowed to access your phone during the tests. You will not be allowed to stop during a test to go to the bathroom, unless you have presented a documented medical need beforehand.

GRADING: Homework will be assigned and collected regularly. Grades will be assigned based on a 10 point scale with "plus" and "minus" grades being assigned as appropriate. Based on the assignment of grad points by ETSU, the plus and minus grades should be given on a 3 point subscale. For example, a B+ corresponds to an average of 87, 88, or 89; an A- corresponds to an average of 90, 91, or 92; an A corresponds to an average of 93 to 100 (ETSU does not grant A+ grades, nor passing graduate grades lower than C), etc. Remember that the lowest passing grade in a graduate course is a C, so you need an average of 73% on all assignments in order to pass this class.

DESIRE2LEARN: I will not rely on the Desire2Learn ("elearn") website. Instead, I will simply post all material directly on the internet. However, I will post your homework grades on D2L.

NOTE: The plan for Modern Algebra 2 is to cover the material on rings and fields. We will only touch on modules very lightly and comment on the material necessary for our work on fields. We will give a thorough survey of Galois theory. In the opinion of your humble instructor, the two main goals of the Modern Algebra sequence are to give a proof (which is as "algebraic" as possible) of the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra (we do this in Section V.3) and to prove the insolvability of the quintic (we do this in Section V.9).

IMPORTANT DATES: (see http://www.etsu.edu/etsu/academicdates.aspx for the official ETSU calendar; accessed 8/28/2017): UPDATE

• Tuesday, January 16 = First day of classes.
• Monday, January 18 = Last day to change to/from audit grade.
• Monday, January 22 = Last day to register or add without departmental permit.
• Monday, January 29 = Last day to add with departmental permit.
• Monday, January 29 = Last day to drop without a grade of "W."
• Monday, March 5-Friday, March 9 = Spring Break (no class).
• Tuesday, March 6 = Last day to drop without dean's permission.
• Monday, March 12 = Last day to schedule thesis defense for spring graduation.
• Monday, March 26 = Last day to defend thesis for spring graduation.
• Tuesday, April 24 = Last day to withdraw from the university.
• Thursday, April 26 = Last day of classes.

• October 2011 marked the bicentennial of the birth of Evariste Galois, one of the giant figures in modern algebra. To celebrate this anniversary, I prepared a seminar presentation. Details can be found on the seminar and the presentation itself online. A YouTube video of the presentation is here. (accessed 10/25/2016)
• Information on the Nova episode The Mathematical Mystery Tour from 1985 can be found on my webpage http://faculty.etsu.edu/gardnerr/Math-Mystery-Tour/mathematical-Mystery-Tour.htm. The webpage includes a link to the YouTube site which contains the show (last accessed 10/25/2016).
• A more contemporary documentary is The Story of Maths, a BBC production from 2008. This is a four part series and all of this series is available online: The Story of Maths. (In fact, this is posted on an excellent website which includes a number of documentaries and is a "must visit": Top Documentary Films!) Also of interest is the Wikipedia page for The Story of Maths. The series is available from a number of online streaming video sources, as revealed by a Google search. This websites were all active as of 10/25/2016.
• A lighter documentary on the history of math is The Story of One, narrated by Monty Python-er Terry Jones. It is also a BBC production and dates from 2005. If you are involved in teaching, this is a nice documentary which should be accessible by highs schoolers and middle schoolers. It is on TopDocumentaryFilms at: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/story-of-one/ (last accessed 10/25/2016).

Our tentative schedule for the year is as follows:

Return to Bob Gardner's home page
Last updated: April 14, 2018.