Math 512 Fall 2007

MATH 512 Modern Algebra (Fall 2007) (17400)
Zongzhu Lin
MWF, 9:30am-10:20am, CW 143

ATTENDING CLASSES: It should be clear that it is the students' responsibility to attend the classes at the scheduled time and place to get all announcements and handouts (including homework assignments with due dates), to take the exams, to hand in or take back your homework, and, of course, to listen to the lecture. The returning homework will be brought to class at most three consecutive class meetings and then will be sent to recycling services unless you have made prior arrangements with the instructor. If you have any concerns or special needs, please let me know as early as possible. Let me remind you that it is your responsibility to observe all deadlines for adding to or dropping from classes and to know the final exam time and room scheduled by the university.
EXAMS: There will be two 50-minute in-class exams in addition to a comprehensive 110-minute final exam and their schedules are listed below. The exam scores will be given on a percentage basis.
Exam 1: Monday, Oct. 8, 2007, in class.
Exam 2: (take home) Due on Monday. November 19, 2007 due in class.
Final Exam: Monday, Dec. 10, 2007 11:50am-1:40pm (Check the university final Exam schedule)

HOMEWORK: There will be two sets of problems (called HW and PRAC) assigned about every three lectures (about twelve in total). HW are homework problems, which students are required to do carefully and will be graded. PRAC are practice problems and many exam problems will be based on them. The homework grades will be taken into your final course grade. Warning: No joint homework or project will be accepted unless you are told to do so. Although you are strongly encouraged to form study groups and to discuss anything you want, but make sure that no one copies anything from others.

GRADING: An important learning experience is critical reading of your peers work, in particular, in practice writing mathematical proofs. the second exam will be a take home and students should have enough time to carefully write their proofs. This time, the grader will not be the professor, whom students often assume that they are convincing. This time, the grader will be just one of the students in the class, whom does not know more than he/she knows and has to be convinced. To grader, make sure that you are convinced without any
doubt, i.e., you can also convince others using the argument in the work you are grading. If in any part you are totally convinced, you should pointout the place where you are not sure. The Exam will be regraded by the instructor and any incomplete and non-convincing argument were not pointed out, a particial credit will be token off from both the grader and the examinee.
TEAM WRITING and GRADING: Later in the semester, students will be divided into groups of two or three . Each group will be give a project generalizing certain concepts. The team should write an exposition, which should include the definition, examples, propositions and theorem on the properties of the concepts. It will be limited to maxiam of five wordprosessed pages.

"CHEAT SHEET": About two week prior to the final exam, a special piece of paper will be distributed to every students in class. Students can write any useful information and bring it to the final exam to help them. The size is not large enough and special organization of the materials will be necessary. Students who missed or misused this piece of paper will have to take the final exam without a cheating sheet. No substitute will be allowed.
COURSE GRADE: Your course grade is calculated from the overall course score (%) by the following rules:A: 89-100, B: 77-88, C: 63-76, D: 50-62 and F: below 50. In principle, grades of any exams o homework will not be curved or converted to letter grades. The overall score is calculated by

Overall(%)=HWx15% + EX1x20%+ EX2x20% +hw-Proofx5%+Group-Proj* 10%+FEx30%

REMARKS: (1) There will be no makeup exams to be given or late homework to be accepted unless you have the permission from the instructor before the due time or you have an emergency, such as illness, in such a case, doctor's proof (clearly indicating that it is an emergency) is necessary. However, the HW will be the average after dropping two of the lowest (%) grades (missing homework will be treated as 0).
(2) In your solutions to problems of exams or homework, you have to show your work and write them clearly (literally) for the grader to understand. The grader will not guess unless you write clearly. All grades will be given based on your presentation on the paper (no oral explanation afterwards will be counted).

Office Hours: MWF 1:30pm--2:20pm or by appointment.
Office Location: Cardwell Hall 210. Tel.: 532-0573
Course Webpage: http://www.math.ksu.edu/~zlin/m512

Text Book: Abstract Algebra Third Edition, I.N. Herstein Published John Wiley &Sons. The book should be available in K-State Union Book Store.

Advance Math Help Session Schedule

Homework Assignments
Homework is due by 5:00pm on the due day in homework box

HW No.	Sections	Homework Problems	Practice Problems	Due Day
#1	1.2 1.3	6, 8, 10, 13, 14, 22 2, 7, 10, 13, 17, 25	5, 7, 9, 12, 16 1, 6, 8, 12, 16, 23	F. 8/31
#2	1.4 1.5	2,3,6,8,10,16 2(b), 3, 4, 10, 17	1, 4, 5, 9, 14, 18 5(d) 6, 8, 11(c), 15	M. 9/10
#3	1.6 2.1	2, 4, 5, 7,10 2, 8,14, 15	1,,3, 6,7,9 1, 4, 9,17	M. 9/17
#4	2.2 2.3	1, 5 1, 4, 6, 10,14, 17	2, 3, 6 3, 5, 7, 13,19, 20	M 9/24
#5	2.4 2.5	1(a), 6, 8, 11, 19, 23 1, 3, 8, 12, 14, 18, 19, 26	1(c), 4, 9, 12, 24 2, 6, 15, 20, 28	W.10/3
#6	2.6 2.7	1, 3, 8, 11, 12, 16 2, 4, 7,	2, 4, 7, 13, 15 3, 5, 6	W. 10/24
#7	3.1 3.2	1(a)(c), 2(a)(c), 4 2(c), 3(a)(c), 8, 10, 11, 14	1(b), 2(b), 3, 5 2(a), 3(e, f), 9, 12, 15	W. 10/31
#8	3.3 4.1	1(b)(c), 2 4, 3, 7(d), 8, 9, 13, 14, 18, 23, 24	1(a)(c), 3, 5 2, 6,7, 10, 11, 16,19	W. 11/7
#9	4.2 4.3	1, 2, 8 1, 2,, 6, 16, 20	3, 4, 5 4, 5, 9, 17, 18, 19	F. 11/16
#10	4.4 4.5	2, 6, 9 1, 3(b), 5(b), 8,13, 14(a),15, 20	1, 7, 10 2, 3(c), 5(c),10, 14,16,19	M. 12/3
#11	4.6 4.7	2, 5, 9, 1	3, 6, 10 2	F. 12/7

hw=(sum(hw1:hw11)-small(hw1:hw11,1)-small(hw1:hw11,2))/9
Final Exam is on a 100 pt scale
Then computer will do the work!

Why do I have to do reasoning?
Can you convince Pa and Ma that you are right and they wrong?
What happens if Pa and Ma are your working boss?

Homework Grading Rubric

Other Information on University Policies:
Add-Drop, and Exam Policies
Procedures on dealing disruptive students in class
Student Code of conduct
Statement of Student Classroom Conduct