Math 611: Algebra I
Fall 2019
Instructor: Paul Hacking, LGRT 1235H, hacking@math.umass.edu
Meetings:
Classes: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 12:20PM--1:10PM in LGRT 202.
Office hours: Mondays 3:00PM--4:00PM and Tuesdays 1:00PM--2:00PM in LGRT 1235H.
Course text: Abstract Algebra, by D. Dummit and R. Foote, 3rd ed., Wiley 2004. googlebooks.
Other useful references:
Algebra by M. Artin. googlebooks.
Algebra by S. Lang. googlebooks.
Introduction to commutative algebra by M. Atiyah and I. MacDonald. googlebooks.
The Todd--Coxeter algorithm (original paper) pdf.
Prerequisites: Undergraduate abstract algebra at the level of UMass Math 411--412.
Homework:
Homeworks will be assigned every 1--2 weeks and posted on this page.
HW1. Due Friday 9/20/19. Solutions.
HW2. Due Wednesday 10/2/19. Solutions.
HW3. Due Wednesday 10/16/19. Solutions.
HW4. Due Wednesday 11/13/19. Solutions.
HW5. Due Wednesday 12/11/19. Solutions.
Exams:
There will be one midterm exam and one final exam.
The midterm exam will be held on Wednesday 10/23/19, 7:00PM--9:00PM, in LGRC A201.
Please try the midterm review problems here. Solutions pdf.
The midterm exam is here. Solutions are here.
The final exam will be a take home exam distributed on Wednesday 12/11/19 and due on Wednesday 12/18/19.
The final exam is here.
The algebra sequence 611--612 is also assessed via the algebra qualifying exam. Syllabus.
Grading:
Your course grade will be computed as follows: Homework 30%, Midterm 30%, Final 40%.
Overview of course:
Here is the syllabus for 611. Roughly speaking it correponds to Chapters 1--12 of Dummit and Foote. The full syllabus for the Graduate algebra sequence 611--612 is here.
(1) Group Theory.
Group actions. Counting with groups. p-groups and Sylow theorems. Composition series. Jordan-Holder theorem. Solvable groups. Automorphisms. Semi-direct products. Finitely generated Abelian groups.
(2) Rings.
Euclidean domain is a principal ideal domain (PID). PID is a unique factorization domain (UFD). Gauss Lemma. Eisenstein's Criterion.
(3) Modules.
Exact sequences. First and second isomorphism theorems for R-modules. Free R-modules. Hom. Structure Theorem for finitely generated modules over a PID. Rational canonical form. Jordan canonical form. Bilinear forms. Tensor product of vector spaces, Abelian groups, and R-modules. Right-exactness of the tensor product. Restriction and extension of scalars. Symmetric and exterior algebras.
This page is maintained by Paul Hacking hacking@math.umass.edu