Math 602/3, Algebra, fall 2020 and spring 2021
Instructor:
Ching-Li Chai
Office Hours: M 3:15-3:45 pm on days with no Algebra Seminar,
and M 5:30-6:00 pm on days with Algebra Seminar, and by appointments.
Email: chai@math.upenn.edu
Grader :
Yao-Rui Yeo
Email: yeya@math.upenn.edu spring 2021;
Souparna Purohit
Email: soupur@sas.upenn.edu fall 2020
Exercises
Evolving plan for the coming lecture(s)
Notes
General Information
- Synchronous Zoom sessions: MF 1:30-3:00 pm.
Meeting URL
https://upenn.zoom.us/j/92988879794?pwd=ZDJma29FRC95Z0ZIVFQzVjZCZHBqdz09
Passcode: 320519
- Students are encouraged to use Piazza as a platform for
discussions, posing and answering questions. You can sign up
following link to the
Piazza signup page.
- Course Prospectus
- Homeworks/Exercises will be assigned regularly. This is the most
important part of this course; see the first paragraph of "For the
Student" in Shatz and Gallier
- Completed assignments are to be submitted, in the pdf format, to
the Canvas page for this course.
- At least one problem in each assignment should be done with
TeX/LaTeX. The rest can be hand-written and scanned.
(There are a number of apps which allow you to use a
smartphone as a scanner.)
- Penn Math
Department TeX resources page,
TeX resources on the web
- Textbook: Algebra by Gallier and Shatz,
developed from decades of lectures by Shatz at Penn.
The heart of the book is the
Problems section. Working out these problems was a rite of passage
for generations math graduate students at Penn.
The authors have kindly granted permission for students in Math 602/3
to download this book for personal use. Here are the files of
individual chapters:
problems,
chapter 1,
chapter 2,
chapter 3,
chapter 4,
chapter 5,
bibliography.
Please report to me all errors/typos/inaccuracies you find.
- References: You are encouraged to study one of the standard
textbooks for graduate algebra, such as items 1-5 below.
Van der Waerden's book is a timeless classic.
Bourbaki's treatment is the most comprehensive, and the problems are
delicious. But it's not a "textbook". References 7-10 are for specific topics.
- Serge Lang, Algebra.
- Nathan Jacobson, Algebra I, II.
- Michael Artin, Algebra.
- Dummit and Foote, Abstract Algebra.
- van der Waerden, Algebra I, II.
- Bourbaki, Algebre.
- M. F. Atiyah and I. G. MacDonald, Commutative Algebra.
- Ernst Kunz, Introduction to Commutative Algebra and Algebraic Geometry.
- Jean-Pierre Serre, Linear Representations of Finite Groups.
- I.-N. Herstein, Noncommutative Rings.
- Sample of past exams:
Math 602 midterm exam fall
2016,
Math 602 final exam fall 2010
- Course Grade: Homework 50%,
presentation (=explaining your work during zoom meetings) 20%,
take-home exams 30%.
- academinc calender, spring 2021:
- first meeting: Friday 1/22
- course selection period ends: 2/02
- engagement day (no class) Friday 2/12
- drop period ends: 3/01
- spring break: Wednesday 3/10-Thursday 3/11
- last day to withdraw: 3/29
- engagement day (no class) Tuesday 3/30
- engagement day (no class) Monday 4/12
- last day of classes: Thursday 4/29
- final exam (take-home): Friday 4/30 (whole day)
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