Section 001: Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00-3:15, Hart Hall 211
Instructor: Heidi Burgiel, hburgiel@bridgew.edu
Office Hours: Monday 2:00-3:00 Hart Hall, Tuesday 11:00-12:00 and Wednesday 2:00-3:00 Math Services, Academic Achievement Center, or by appointment
Text: Gallian, Contemporary
Abstract Algebra (Sixth Edition), Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
Study of relations, functions, and binary operations. Introduction to the theory of rings, integral domains and fields through a study of integers, rational numbers, real numbers, complex numbers and polynomials, elementary group theory.
The Spring 2008 section will focus on group theory with definitions and examples of rings, integral domains and fields presented at the end of the course.
Course web page: http://webhost.bridgew.edu/hburgiel/MATH301/
Last day to withdraw from this course:
Final exam: 5/13/08
Grades for the course will be computed on a curve. The final grade will be determined as follows:
Homework: Unless otherwise noted, homework is due on Tuesday of each week. Please try to start working on homework assignments early. I will give detailed answers to questions during my office hours and quick tips on questions asked before class. Please feel free to collaborate with other students in the class, but please also be sure that the homework you submit is written in your own words.
Quizzes and Assignments: Approximately every other week there will be a short quiz at the end of Thursday's class. A typical quiz question might be "Describe what it means for a group to be Abelian" or "Complete the group multiplication table below." You are allowed to use calculators on quizzes (though you're unlikely to need them), but not cell phone calculators or computers. There may also be projects or in-class group work which contribute additional "quiz grades" to your final grade.
Class Participation: Please use common courtesy during class. Turn cell phones off, refrain from discussing subjects other than mathematics, and if you must leave early please notify me in advance and sit near an exit. Your attention in lecture will be noted and appreciated.
Final Exam: The final exam will be open book and open note. Questions on the final will be of the type found on the homework and will deal primarily (but not necessarily exclusively) with material covered during the final weeks of class. The purpose of the final is to assess your ability to solve and write up homework-type problems without assistance.
Blackboard Registration: The official gradebook for the course will be on BSC's Blackboard system. This allows you to view your grades at any time. You must have a Blackboard account in order to have your grades entered in the gradebook. Visit Bridgewater State College's Account Registration Page to register for Blackboard.
Make-up exams: There will be no make-up exams or quizzes. Instead, at the end of the semester there will be an opportunity to redo and resubmit one assignment or quiz. If the grade on the resubmitted quiz is greater than the previous grade, the old grade will be replaced with the new.
Materials: Pencil and paper will be required for in-class exercises. It is strongly recommended that students bring a pencil (not a pen), eraser, straightedge and working calculator to quizzes and exams. Students will also need graph paper for working linear programming problems.
Office hours: I will be available in Mathematics Services in the Academic Achievement Center (basement of Maxwell Library) or in Hart Hall 213 during these hours. If these hours are not convenient for you or if you wish to have a confidential discussion with me, I will be happy to schedule a meeting at some time convenient to both of us.
I will check my email frequently, but email is not a good way to get help on your homework. For help with the mathematics in this course, I encourage you to visit me in my office. If you miss class, please either visit me in my office or contact a fellow student to learn what material was covered during class.
Academic conduct: Academic integrity is expected of all students in this class. Suspicions of copying homework word-for-word or other unethical acts will be addressed via BSC's academic misconduct procedures.