Class Meetings: MWF 9:30-10:20 in EMS E495A
[Spring Break March 18-26; Last class May 10]
Instructor: Allen Bell, EMS E449, 229-4233; e-mail adbell@uwm.edu
Office Hours: MF 11:30-11:20; W 11:30-1:00.
Other times by appointment: don't hesitate to contact me
by phone or e-mail, or to drop in. (I teach MWF
10:30-11:30, so don't drop in then.)
Web Page:
http://www.uwm.edu/~adbell/ -- then follow the
link for Math 631 or Math 632.
Text and Topics: Algebra by Michael
Artin.
I expect to cover parts of Chapters 5, 7, and 10-13
this semester, starting with inner products and a little
more group theory, then focusing on rings. (As you may
have noted last semester, the above is an upper, not
lower, bound.)
You should begin by reading the notes on inner products
posted on the web - these notes have some intersection
with Chapter 7 in Artin's book, but do not cover most of
the material in Chapter 7. After that, read Chapter 5 of
Artin's book or whatever new notes have been posted on the
web.
Grades: Your grade will be based on the examinations and the homework: the grading scale will be determined based on the class performance (i.e., there will be a curve). The homework will count for approximately 65% of your grade and the final exam for 35%. (See comments under Exams below.)
Homework: It is crucial that you do the
homework. It is impossible to really learn
mathematics without doing problems!
Some homework will be collected and graded; you may be
asked to present some problems at the board. Most of the
assigned problems will not be collected or graded, but we
will discuss homework in class whenever you have questions
about it, and I encourage you to come to my office hours
to discuss homework problems. You are free to discuss
homework problems among yourselves, but you must do
your own work. Please remember: if you don't do it
yourself, you won't learn it.
Exams: I anticipate that there will be no exams
during the regular semester, only homework, but I may
change my mind about this. I would be happy to discuss
this with the class; did you like this system last
semester?
I plan to have a comprehensive
in-class written final exam. The final exam will
take place on Wednesday, May 17 from 10 a.m. until noon.
There will be no make-up exams. If you cannot come to an exam for a very good reason, we may be able to make some kind of arrangement if you let me know in advance: you may call me or leave a message at the Mathematics office, 229-4836.
Other: If you have any special requirements or concerns regarding this course, please let me know as soon as possible. Friday, March 17 is the last day to drop the class (with a W on your transcript) without special approvals.