Math 366: Introduction to Abstract Algebra
Time/place: MWF 12-12:50 p.m. in Engineering E105
Course website: www.math.colostate.edu/∼bates/courses/F10/366 (eventually)
Text: Keep Gilbert & Gilbert as reference so that you can go read about the things we talk about
and (possibly) get a different perspective. We won’t have a specific textbook – your notes from the
course will suffice for homework and exams, so come to class!!
Instructor info: Prof. Dan Bates, bates@math.colostate.edu, Weber 221 (1-1037)
Office hours for 366: TBD. For now, let me know (via email) if you have questions or concerns
and we’ll figure out a time. Once I have an idea of who wants to come to office hours and what
times work for that subset of the class, we could look at setting something formal. I am also always
game for answering questions via email if we can’t meet.
Prerequisites: Absolutely nothing.
Topics to be covered: All sorts of things, though we will focus on groups and rings. We’ll also
hit fields a bit. There will be both computation and theory in the lectures, the homework, and the
exams. I understand that you probably aren’t an expert at proofs yet, so we’ll work on those a bit,
too.
I am treating this as a terminal course in algebra for future math educators (K-12) and for people
outside of math looking to learn some basic algebra. If you are looking for something more rigorous,
you should think about 466/467, especially if you are thinking of grad school in math (though this
could be thought of as a warmup for that sequence).
I know that the first half of this particular course covered a lot of rudiments in great detail. We’ll
hit the topics above (groups, rings, fields) in short order, covering the highlights and main ideas;
skipping the less essential and/or less interesting stuff.
Structure of the class: This will be a fairly standard lecture class. I welcome your comments
and ideas during lectures! There will be weekly (more or less) homework, an in-class midterm
(mid-November or so, since I am starting on this course on October 8), and a final exam. Feel free
to work together on the homework, but you MUST write up your own solutions! I take plagiarism
very seriously.
Grading: For my portion of the course, the homework is worth 50% (split evenly between the
assignments) and each of the two exams is worth 25%. Your final grade will be some combination
of your scores from the first half of the course and those from the second half. My plan is that at
least half of the final score must come from the second half of the course while some percentage
(maybe just 10%) must come from the first half of the course. I’ll determine this on a case-by-case
basis and will take the grade that is best for you.
Feedback: I am always happy to hear it, even if it is negative. This is my first time teaching this
course, so I am happy to change parts of my style to make the course work better for you. As
somebody who cares about teaching, I am always working on improving my pedagogical skills, so
all feedback is most welcome!
Final Note: You should know that I have insulin-dependent diabetes and may therefore need to
sit down and take it easy occasionally. There is also the very slight risk that I could have very low
blood sugar at some point, causing me to pass out. If that happens (the probability of this is very
low), I will need somebody to call 911. Please don’t worry: I haven’t passed out yet and don’t
intend to! Even if I do pass out, I am not in any significant danger.