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INTRODUCTION TO MODERN ALGEBRA
(MATH 3163-002, Fall 2019)

Instructor: Gábor Hetyei
Office: Fretwell 335F, Phone: 704-687-1045, E-mail: ghetyei@uncc.edu
Office hours: MW 2:00- 3:30 pm or by appointment.
This syllabus is subject to minor corrections and updates at any time! Eventual changes will be announced in class.
Text: Abstract Algebra: An Introduction, 3rd Edition, by Thomas Hungerford ISBN: 9781111569624.
Some information may be provided on supplementary handouts, and you can not expect everything told in the lecture to be found in the book. Attendance is mandatory!
Prerequisites: MATH 1242 or MATH 2164 with a grade of C or better or consent of the department.
Topics: Chapter 1: Arithmetic in ℤ Revisited.
Chapter 2: Congruence in ℤ and Modular Arithmetic.
Chapter 3: Rings.
Chapter 4: Arithmetic in F[x].
Chapter 5: Congruence in F[x] and Congruence-Class Arithmetic.
Chapter 6: Ideals in Quotient Fields.

Time permitting, and depending on the interest of the audience, we may also cover some of Chapter 7 (Groups).
Test Dates:
Test 1 Monday, September 23, 4:00 - 5:15 pm
Test 2 Monday, October 28, 4:00 - 5:15 pm
Final Exam Wednesday, December 11, 5:00-7:30 pm
(Double-check in the UNCC Exam schedule !)
The final exam will be cumulative, consisting of two parts. The first part will be mandatory, covering only material taught after Test 2. The second half will contain questions reviewing the material taught before Test 2. This part will be optional, if left unanswered, I will reuse the average of your test scores (with the appropriate weight).
Attendance: Required. Each absence reduces your total score by 1% (not to exceed 3%). Furthermore, having 8 or more absences results in an automatic course grade of F! Even excusable absences are counted toward the maximum of 7 allowed absences.
Homework: Homework will be assigned every day, and will be usually collected once every week. I will make an effort to regularly post the homework on the webpage
http://webpages.uncc.edu/ghetyei/courses/3163/hw.html
In case of discrepancy, what I said in class is "official". The number of exercises per week will be low, but I will expect a detailed writeup. Keep in mind that this is a writing intensive class. A random selection of the assigned exercises will be graded. Past due assignments will be counted at the rate of 90% of their value. No credit will be given for solutions submitted after we discussed them in class. No partial credit will be given for bonus questions, only perfectly good solutions will be accepted. However, a bonus assignment may be resubmitted an arbitrary number of times before its final due date of November 25. Some of my test questions may be very similar or even identical to homework questions that have been previously discussed in class. This by itself is a great reason to regularly attend every lecture, another reason being that mathematics is cumulative, failing to understand one section will impact the ability to learn several subsequent sections.
Evaluation: Grades will be based on: 3% for attendance, 20% for the homework, 22% for each of the tests, and 33% for the final (22% for the mandatory part, 11% for the optional part).
Tentative grading scale: 90 - 100 % A, 75 - 89% B, 60 - 74% C, 50 - 59 % D, 0 - 49% F. (This scale is applicable only if you have 7 or less absences.)
Class meeting: Mondays and Wednesdays 4:00 - 5:15 pm in Colvard 5091
Homepage: http://webpages.uncc.edu/ghetyei/courses/3163/index.html
Disabilities: UNC Charlotte is committed to access to education. If you have a disability and need academic accommodations, please send me your accommodation letter as early as possible. You are encouraged to meet with me to discuss the accommodations outlined in your letter. For more information on accommodations, contact the Office of Disability Services at 704-687-0040 (Fretwell 230).