SETS AND ALGEBRAIC STRUCTURES

SETS AND ALGEBRAIC STRUCTURES
Course Code
MA 2004
Credit Points
15
Course Coordinator
Professor D Benson

Pre-requisites

MA 1502 or, with the permission of the Head of Teaching, MA 1504.

Overview

This course provides an introduction to algebraic structures and elementary number theory. The course includes a discussion of sets (notation, functions, maps, injections, surjections, bijections), countability of the rational numbers and uncountability of the real numbers, the integers and factorization (prime numbers, Euclidean algorithm, uniqueness of factorization), the integers ( mod n), equivalence relations, permutations, group axioms, the symmetric group, Lagrange's theorem, definition of commutative ring and of a field with examples, vector spaces and linear transformations.

Structure

12 week course - 3 one-hour lectures and 1 tutorial per week (to be arranged).

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (80%); in-course assessment (20%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination paper (maximum of 100% resit and 80% resit with 20% in-course assessment).