MATH 4510/5510 COURSE SYLLABUS
Fall 2015
No Textbook for this Course
Prerequisites: This is an advanced, theory-based course. Math 3460 is a required prerequisite; Math 2010 is strongly recommended but not required.
Purpose: This course is intended to provide advanced undergraduates with additional experience in proof techniques while also giving them extensive exposure to groups. Topics covered include basic properties of groups, subgroups, group homomorphisms, quotient groups, and direct products.
OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, students will have developed an understanding of:
1. operations and equivalence
relations,
2. basic properties of groups,
3. special classes of groups,
4. homomorphisms and isomorphisms,
5. normal subgroups,
6. quotient groups.
REQUIREMENTS: In general, you are expected to
1. attend class lectures and work
with your assigned small group,
2. read and study class assignments
and solve assigned problems,
3. ask questions in class when unsure of any concept or unclear on any assigned problem;
4. take all announced exams (including the final) on the day they are scheduled
5. present assigned homework
problems regularly in class.
Grading: This is an inquiry-oriented class. Among other things, this means many class meetings will involve working in small groups on challenging problems that are designed to help you develop the fundamental concepts of group theory on your own. It is your responsibility as a member of this learning team to be actively participating, rather than merely taking notes. You will be frequently working in a small group, and your group leader will be assessing the degree to which you are participating in moving the group forward. Groups will be randomly selected each day, and everyone will have multiple chances to serve as group leader.
Ten percent of your grade will come from your participation in these groups. The group leader will assess your participation in your group each day and assign you zero to four participation points. Participation points relate to the following questions:
Did you come to class with carefully worked solutions to the assigned homework? (Preparation is the issue here, not correctness.)
Were you actively engaged with your other group members?
I will hand out a blank group roster each day. You will sign it (for roll taking purposes) and your group leader will place your participation points next to your signature.
Class meetings will be divided into inquiry-oriented clusters that develop a specific concept, followed by presentation clusters where you will present worked homework to the class. The homework problems are designed to flesh out the specific concepts. You will be graded on your in-class presentations.
CLICK HERE FOR PRESENTATION GUIDELINES
Students making presentations should be prepared to share corrected solutions with the rest of the class. You are encouraged to work with your classmates or use other outside resources to help complete your homework. However, you must credit all individuals or outside sources that you used; and this credit must be given as part of your presentation.
A word of caution: Never draw upon ideas or concepts from outside of class if you cannot explain them. If you use notation or concepts that have not been developed in class during your presentation, then I and everyone else in the class reserve the right to question you about their meaning. Your ability to explain these outside ideas and connect them to class content will be part of your presentation grade.
Ten percent of your grade will come from your homework presentations.
You will be responsible for maintaining a class portfolio that will serve as a record of class activities, discussions, and homework assignments. Your portfolio will be graded three times during the course of the semester. To receive full credit, you must be present on the day it is taken up and have an entry for each class day and assignment up to that point. You are responsible for including complete solutions to all assigned homework in the portfolio, even the ones you are not presenting. You are likewise responsible for including in your portfolio all comments, discussion highlights, or anything else earmarked as portfolio material, even from days when you are not present. The portfolio will be your study guide for the exams and the final. There will be no other review.
Ten percent of your grade will come from your portfolio.
There will be regular definitions and concept quizzes. Most of these will be announced a class day in advance, and there will be roughly one per week starting in the second or third week. All quizzes will be about twenty minutes long and cannot be made up, unless you have made prior arrangements with me.
Ten percent of your grade will come from these quizzes.
There will be two closed-book in-class exams, each lasting a full class period. These exams will be accompanied by a take-home portion that will focus exclusively on proofs.
Fifty percent of your grade will come from these exams.
There will be a two-hour, closed-book, comprehensive final exam.
Ten percent of your grade will come from the final exam.
A standard grading scale will be used on all graded work: 90-100 --- A, 80 - 89.5 --- B, etc. Particular grades are not curved; there will be an end-of-semester curve on exams based upon class performance. (The curve is separate for graduate and undergraduate students.)
ATTENDANCE: Attendance is expected and vital for this class. Absences are not excuses for presenting late, missing a graded in-class activity, turning in an assignment late, or having missing entries in your portfolio. Late assignments will not be accepted and makeup exams will not be given unless you have made prior arrangements with me. With the exception of dire family emergency, you must contact me no later than the due day to get approval for late work.
Except for medical or family emergencies, the scheduled makeup time cannot be more than two weekdays after the due date.
I usually return an exam or quiz no more than two class days after it is given. It is your responsibility to monitor your progress in the course. I strongly recommend you actively ask questions in class or come to my office regularly to discuss your progress. I will be happy to suggest strategies for helping you succeed, but no strategy provides a quick-fix. Do not wait until the last few weeks of class to try improving your grade.
THERE ARE NO OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXTRA CREDIT IN THIS COURSE.
IMPORTANT: It is Department policy not to grant withdrawals after the withdrawal deadline has passed, unless circumstances have arisen which make it impossible for you to complete the course. Late withdrawals must be approved by the Department Chair and often require documentation for the extenuating circumstances.
No one will be exempt from the final.
LOTTERY
STATEMENT:
INCOMPLETES: An incomplete will be given only in accordance with the University Policy.
If you have a disability that may require assistance or accommodation, or you have questions related to any accommodations
for testing, note takers, readers, etc., please speak with me as soon as possible. Students may also contact the
Office of Disabled Students Services (898-2783) with questions about such services.
ACADEMIC
MISCONDUCT:
Middle
Tennessee State University takes a strong stance against academic misconduct.
Academic Misconduct includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism,
cheating, and fabrication. Plagiarism,
cheating, fabrication, or facilitating any such act.
For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)
Plagiarism:
The adoption or
reproduction of ideas, words, statements, images, or works of another person as
one’s own without proper attribution. This includes self-plagiarism, which
occurs when an author submits material or research from a previous academic
exercise to satisfy the requirements of another exercise and uses it without
proper citation of its reuse.
(2)
Cheating:
Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or
study aids in any academic exercise. This
includes unapproved collaboration, which occurs when a student works with others
on an academic exercise without the express permission of the professor.
The term academic exercise includes all forms of work submitted for
credit or hours.
(3)
Fabrication:
Unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or
citation in an academic exercise.
Going
online and taking information without proper citations, copying parts of other
student’s work, creating information for the purposes of making your paper
seem more official, or anything involving taking someone else’s thoughts or
ideas without proper attribution is academic
misconduct. If you work together
on an assignment when it is not allowed, it is academic misconduct. If
you have a question about an assignment, please come see me to clarify.
Any cases of academic misconduct will be reported to the Office of
Academic Affairs for violating the academic honesty requirements in the student
handbook. They will also result in
failure for the course. Remember –
ignorance is NOT a defense.
Students with Disabilities: Middle Tennessee State University is committed to campus access in accordance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Any student interested in reasonable accommodations can consult the Disability & Access Center (DAC) website and/or contact the DAC for assistance at 615-898-2783 or dacemail@mtsu.edu.
This syllabus is only a guide for your convenience; I reserve the right to make changes as class needs dictate.
Important dates:
September 7 --- Labor Day Holiday
September 6 --- Last day to drop without a grade October 28 --- Last day to drop with a "W"
October 10 - 13 --- Fall Break December 3 --- Study Day (No Classes)
December 4 - 10 --- Finals Week
FINAL EXAM --- Tuesday December 8 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM