MA 424-01: Modern Algebra II

Spring 2012

Section 1

Instructor: John Perry
Office: Southern Hall, 317C
Office Hours: MWF 10-11a, MW5-6p
Office Phone: 601⋅266⋅5505
Email: john.perry@usm.edu
Instructor's web page: http://www.math.usm.edu/perry/
Class web page: http://www.math.usm.edu/perry/mat424sp11/
Class meeting time and location: MW 3·30-4⋅45p SH 303

Required text: Applied Abstract Algebra, by Rudolf Lidl and Günter Pilz, published by Springer, 1998 (second edition), ISBN 0-387-98290-6.

Course Description: Survey of standard algebraic systems; rings, integral domains, fields, modules, polynomial rings and fields of quotients, with applications.

Prerequisite: MAT 326 (Linear Algebra I), MAT 340 (Discrete Mathematics), and MAT 423 (Modern Algebra I).

Grading policies

Grading: The semester grade will be determined by a weighted average, according to the weights listed below.

Tests
(there will be two)
25% each
Homework
(problems are graded randomly)
25% of total
Independent project
(presentation of a topic in the textbook)
25% of total

Late Assignments: Any assignment turned in past the specified due date and time will receive a grade lowered by ten percent for each school day late.

Makeup work: I do not give makeup tests/quizzes/etc. without an excused absence. If you must miss class, then you must also produce documentation of the reason for your absence. If you were sick, you can show me the receipt from the hospital or doctor; if you had a sports event, you can show me the schedule; if someone died, you can show me an obituary notice; if the tire on your car blew out, you can show me the receipt from the mechanic.

Homework: I generally collect the homework for grading, but I will grade only a few random problems, not the entire assignment. It is important for you to understand every problem on the assignment, and I will provide some homework solutions to help you study.

Final Exam Date:

    Monday 7 May 2012, 10⋅45a-1⋅15p.

Other policies

Additional class materials: Language and behavior: I do not tolerate profanity or rude behavior. You are free to express any opinion you choose, but you must do so in a manner that conforms to the formal, respectful setting of a classroom lecture. Mathematicians value the ability to reason and to solve problems, not the ability to inflame passions or to express oneself colorfully.
My beef with mobile phones

Mobile phones are not merely useful for business, they are by now necessary. For personal use, however, they have become a curse on the human race. We lived for thousands of years without them and never once felt a pressing need to interrupt a class, worship service, or business meeting so as to remind someone of our undying love.

Imagine: lovers once waited days or even weeks before a letter arrived from one's beloved. They caressed the paper in their hands, breathed the aroma of a drop of perfume left on the page, glanced at the postmark, and anguished over why the Post Office took so long to deliver such a precious package. They waited days or even weeks to send and receive replies — and they only lived down the street from each other!

We once considered it a vice to answer quickly! After all, an intelligent answer requires one to think before speaking. By contrast, modernity considers a silent pause following a question to be a mark of ignorance, dishonesty, even mental deficiency. As the enemy of elegant speech and intelligent conversation, mobile phones, popular music, and television have contributed more to the decline of discretion, intimacy, and privacy than any common gossip, media outlet, or government surveillance program could hope to do.

Please, turn off your phone before entering the classroom. Text messaging, wearing an earpiece, etc. are prohibited and will lead to expulsion.

Note: The last day to drop a full-semester course without academic penalty is Wednesday, 29 February.

ADA Syllabus Statement

If a student has a disability that qualifies under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and requires accommodations, he/she should contact the Office for Disability Accommodations (ODA) for information on appropriate policies and procedures. Disabilities covered by ADA may include learning, psychiatric, physical disabilities, or chronic health disorders. Students can contact ODA if they are not certain whether a medical condition/disability qualifies.

Address:

The University of Southern Mississippi
Office for Disability Accommodations
118 College Drive # 8586
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
Voice Telephone: (601) 266-5024 or (228) 214-3232

Fax: (601) 266-6035
Individuals with hearing impairments can contact

ODA using the Mississippi Relay Service
at 1-800-582-2233 (TTY) or
email Suzy Hebert at Suzanne.Hebert@usm.edu.