Math 3230 Abstract Algebra I Fall 2022 
Instructor: Ralf Schiffler
Office: Mont 336
Office hours: TT 10:00-11:00 or by appointment
Email: schiffler at math dot uconn dot edu

Lectures: MONT227, TT 8:00-9:15

Exam schedule :
Exam 1: Tuesday Oct 11
Exam 2: Tuesday Nov 15
Final Exam: during finals week

Description: This is the first part of a two-semester course on Abstract Algebra. It gives an introduction to the theory of groups with an emphasis on the development of careful mathematical reasoning. Among the topics covered in the course are groups, subgroups, factor groups, cyclic groups, permutation groups, linear groups, isomorphism theorems. We will cover chapters 3-6, 9-15 of the textbook. Each topic will be illustrated and explored through examples.

This course will be quite different from other math courses you have taken so far. We will work through many new definitions and concepts and most of them are rather abstract. We will develop many theorems and their proofs, and you will write plenty of proofs yourself in homework assignments and exams.

It is essential that you work on the material outside the classroom. Carefully work through the material, learn the definitions and theorems by heart, restate them in your own words and think about their meaning. Study examples and proofs and fill in the details whenever necessary.

Textbook: Thomas Judson, Abstract Algebra, Annual Edition 2022. Free textbook available here. You can use the online book and/or download the pdf-version.

Homework: Homework will be assigned on Thursdays and collected the following Thursday. I will only grade a subset of the assigned problems in detail and you will know which ones. For the remaining problems, I will only check if the work is done. These problems will be important for the exams. I encourage you to work on the homework assignments in groups. However, each student must hand in their own copy.

Homework must be on letter-size paper only and multiple pages must be stapled together. I will NOT accept any LATE HOMEWORK, but I will drop the two problem sets with the lowest grades when I compute the final homework grade.

Exams: The two “midterm” exams will cover the material seen in class since the previous exam. The final exam is cumulative.

Course Grade:

Exam 1: 20%
Exam 2: 20%
Final Exam: 30%
Homework: 30%