Math 321

Foundations of Abstract Algebra

General Information Schedule Homework

Schedule

The following is a sketch of the topics we covered on each day.

Class Number Date Brief Description
1 Friday, 8/27 Introduction, The Group Axioms, Examples
2 Monday, 8/30 Properties of Groups, Induction, Well-Ordering, The Binomial Theorem
3 Wednesday, 9/1 Divisibility in the Integers, Division with Remainder
4 Friday, 9/3 Common Divisors, GCDs, The Euclidean Algorithm
5 Monday, 9/6 Primes, The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic
6 Wednesday, 9/8 Equivalence Relations, Defining Functions on Equivalence Classes, Modular Arithmetic
7 Friday, 9/10 Modular Arithmetic, The Groups Z/nZ and U(Z/nZ)
8 Monday, 9/13 Orders, Subgroups
9 Wednesday, 9/15 Subgroups, Cyclic Groups, Generating Subgroups
10 Friday, 9/17 Functions, Symmetric Groups, Cycle Notation
- Monday, 9/20 Class Canceled
11 Wednesday, 9/22 Alternating and Dihedral Groups
12 Friday, 9/24 First Exam
13 Monday, 9/27 Dihedral Groups, Cosets
14 Wednesday, 9/29 Index of a Subgroup, Lagrange's Theorem and Applications
15 Friday, 10/1 Direct Products, Quotients of Abelian Groups
16 Monday, 10/4 Quotients of Abelian Groups, Normal Subgroups
17 Wednesday, 10/6 Quotient Groups, Simple Groups
18 Friday, 10/8 Isomorphisms
19 Monday, 10/11 Cayley's Theorem, Internal Direct Products
20 Wednesday, 10/13 Homomorphisms, The First Isomorphism Theorem
21 Friday, 10/15 The Isomorphism and Correspondence Theorems
- Monday, 10/18 Fall Break
- Wednesday, 10/20 Fall Break
- Friday, 10/22 Fall Break
22 Monday, 10/25 Group Actions, Orbits, Stabilizers
23 Wednesday, 10/27 Conjugation, The Class Equation
24 Friday, 10/29 Cauchy's Theorem, Counting Orbits
25 Monday, 11/1 Using the Class Equation to find Normal Subgroups, Simplicity of A_5
26 Wednesday, 11/3 Rings, Units and Zero Divisors
27 Friday, 11/5 Integral Domains, Fields, Polynomial Rings
28 Monday, 11/8 Power Series Rings, Matrix Rings, Ideals, Quotients, Homomorphisms
29 Wednesday, 11/10 Principal Ideals, Prime and Maximal Ideals
30 Friday, 11/12 Characteristic of a Ring, Divisibility in Integral Domains
31 Monday, 11/15 Polynomial Rings over Fields
32 Wednesday, 11/17 Euclidean Domains, The Gaussian Integers
33 Friday, 11/19 Principal Ideal Domains
34 Monday, 11/22 UFDs, Roots of Polynomials
35 Wednesday, 11/24 Gauss' Lemma, Eisenstein's Criterion
- Friday, 11/26 Thanksgiving Break
36 Monday, 11/29 Quotients of F[x], Field of Fractions
37 Wednesday, 12/1 Third Exam
38 Friday, 12/3 Field of Fractions, Field Extensions
39 Monday, 12/6 Algebraic Elements, Minimal Polynomials
40 Wednesday, 12/8 Extensions by One Algebraic Element
41 Friday, 12/10 Finite Extensions, Algebraically Closed Fields