Maths & Stats / Teaching program / Intermediate / MATH2968

MATH2968 Algebra (advanced)

General Information

This page contains information on the Intermediate Unit of Study MATH2968 Algebra (advanced).

This unit is offered in Semester 2.

The lecturer for this unit of study is David Easdown.

For further information on Intermediate Mathematics and Statistics, refer to the Intermediate Handbook.

You may also view the Faculty Handbook entry for MATH2968 in the central units of study database.

  • Credit point value: 6CP.
  • Classes per week: Three lectures, one tutorial and one practice class.

Course Notes

Course notes in two parallel strands will be handed out in lectures from week to week:

Almost everything we discuss in the course is readily explained by a variety of sources freely available using search engines on the internet, and especially in some excellent entries in Wikipedia. If you wish to do some prereading, the following books contain good introductions to algebra:
  • Abstract Algebra by I.H. Herstein (Fisher Short Loan 512.8 97A)
  • Topics in Algebra by I.H. Herstein (Fisher Short Loan 512.8 13A)
  • Introduction to the Theory of Finite Groups, by Walter Ledermann (Fisher Research 512.86 337)
  • The Theory of Groups, by I.D. Macdonald (Scitech 512.2 102)
  • Algebra, by T.W. Hungerford (Scitech 512 58)
  • Linear Algebra, by Serge Lang (Scitech 512.897 65 B)
  • Differential Equations, Dynamical Systems and Linear Algebra, by Morris Hirsch and Stephen Smale (Fisher Short Loan 517.382 92)

Assessment

Assessment for the course will be made up of

  • three quizzes worth 10% each, planned for Weeks 5, 9 and 13 respectively,
  • a final examination worth 70%.

Examination:

Click here to see the information sheet about the examination, which includes instructions, topics and pre-exam consultation times.

Third Quiz:

The third quiz was held on Wednesday 28 October in Room 175 (the normal lecture theatre). Click here to see the notice which includes rules for the quiz and the topics that were covered. Marked quizzes have been handed back in the Practice Class on Thursday 29 October, and uncollected quizzes can be picked up from the collection boxes on level 3 Carslaw.

Second Quiz:

The second quiz was held on Wednesday 23 September in Room 175 (the normal lecture theatre). Click here to see the notice which includes rules for the quiz and the topics that were covered. Marked quizzes have been handed back in the Practice Class on Thursday 24 September, and uncollected quizzes can be picked up from the collection boxes on level 3 Carslaw.

First Quiz:

The first quiz was held on Wednesday 26 August in Room 175 (the normal lecture theatre). Click here to see the notice which includes rules for the quiz and the topics that were covered. Marked quizzes have been handed back in the Practice Class on Thursday 27 August, and uncollected quizzes can be picked up at the lecture on Monday 31 August.

Click here to get the Assignment and solutions , which is to be completed by students and self-marked by Week 13 as preparation for some parts of examination questions.

Tutorials

Tutorials commence in Week 2 (beginning 3 August).

Practice Classes

Practice classes are planned weekly on Thursdays at 9 am (with some possible variations depending on needs and overall responses to the pace of the material), in which students work individually or in groups on sets of problems handed out at the beginning of class. Practice classes act as a bridge between more passive roles attending lectures or reading and active roles solving problems in tutorials.

Lecturer Consultation Times

Wednesdays 1pm--2pm from Week 2 in Carslaw 619.

Timetable