Dr. Frank Garvan

408 Little Hall
(352) 294-2305
fgarvan@ufl.edu

Office Hours (in person and zoom)

Monday 4th Period (10:40-11:30am),
Wednesday 8th Period (3:00-3:50pm), and
Friday 6th Period (12:50-1:40pm).
To arrange a ZOOM MEETING send email to Dr.G. in advance.

Prerequisites

Grade of B or better in MAS 3300 or MHF 3202, or
a grade of C or better in MAS 4105.

Textbook

Contemporary Abstract Algebra, 9th Edition,by Joe Gallian.
Students are expected to read the relevant sections of the text in preparation for class and to supplement the material covered in lectures. Reading examples in the textbook is important preparation for doing homework.

Course Description

MAS 4301 is a 3 credit course on Abstract Algebra which focuses mainly on group theory and ring theory. Topics include sets and mappings, groups and subgroups, homomorphisms and isomorphisms, permutations, rings and domains, arithmetic properties of domains, and fields. This course requires facility in writing proofs.

Course Objectives and Goals:

• For the student to master the definitions and theory of groups
  and rings.
  
• For the student to write clear and logical proofs.
  

Tentative Weekly Course Schedule

• WEEK 1: Preliminaries
  
• WEEK 2: Groups
  
• WEEK 3: Finite Groups and Subgroups
  
• WEEK 4: Cyclic Groups
  
• WEEK 5: Permutation Groups
  
• WEEK 6: Isomorphisms
  
• WEEK 7: Cosets and Lagrange’s Theorem
  
• WEEK 8: External Direct Product
  
• WEEK 9: Normal Subgroups and Factor Groups
  
• WEEK 10: Group Homomorphisms
  
• WEEK 11: Fundamental Theorem of Finite Abelian Groups
  
• WEEK 12: Rings
  
• WEEK 13: Integral Domains
  
• WEEKS 14 and 15: Ideals

Homework

Homework will be assigned weekly, and should be uploaded in CANVAS. Doing all the homework is essential for success in this class as the exams test your conceptual understanding of the homework assignments. Many homework problems involve proofs. The solution to all homework problems should be clear, logical and complete. Students are encouraged to check their work with their instructor. See Tokens below.

Assessment

Assessment will be based on the following

Exam 1	32%
Exam 2	34%
Exam 3	34%

Makeup Exams

Makeup exams (documentation required)
will be given during the time the reserved time in Exam Week:
Wednesday, May 1: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

In Class Exams

• Exam 1: Friday, February 2
  
• Exam 2: Friday, March 8
  
• Exam 3: Monday, April 22

Grading

Grading scale: A 90%; A- 87%; B+ 83%; B 80%; B- 77%; C+ 73%; C 67%; D 60%

Green and Pink Quizzes:

Each regular class begins with a Green Quiz,
this is a short, no-stakes quiz which is usually based on material
from the prior class. The Green Quiz is not graded but a solution
will be provided. Each regular class ends with a Pink Quiz. The
Pink Quiz provides an opportunity to ask questions about class
material. Dr. Garvan gathers the Pink Quiz questions from the entire
class and creates an answer sheet which is then posted to CANVAS.

Tokens:

There are 3 ways to earn a Dr. G token: 1) attendance
(white token), 2) coming to office hour (red token), and 3)
submitting homework (blue token) to CANVAS by 11:59 pm on each
Thursday when it is due. Attendance and Homework tokens can be
picked up during class. Office hour tokens are given when a student
attends an office hour. Tokens can be redeemed after each exam for
the opportunity to redo ONE of the four exam questions. For Exam 1 a student
needs 6 white attendance tokens, 1 red office hour token, and
2 blue homework tokens in order to redo an exam question. Tokens
cannot be “rolled over”, e.g., tokens to redo a question from
Exam 2 must be earned in the period after Exam 1 and prior to Exam
2. Tokens may NOT be shared with other students.

Friday In-Class Homework Session:

A portion of Friday’s class
will be devoted to working in small groups to collectively check
the week’s homework assignment. Homework will not be graded, but
through the review process at the Friday In-Class Homework Session,
it will be checked for correctness.

Attendance

Attendance is strongly recommended.

UF Grading Policies

See THIS LINK

Accommodations for students with disabilities

Students with disabilities who experience learning barriers and would like to request academic accommodations should connect with the disability Resource Center. Getting Started with the Disability Resource Center
It is important for students to share their accommodation letter with their instructor and discuss their access needs, as early as possible in the semester.

Online course evaluation process

Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/students./ Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens, and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl/. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results.