Instructor: Dr. Michael Weingart.
Teaching Assistant: Michael Weingart. If you are shy about
asking the instructor for help, please don't hesitate to ask the TA.
Email: weingart [at] math [dot] rutgers [dot] edu.
Office hours: TBA in Hill 209, and by appointment.
Required Text: Number Theory and its Applications, Fifth
Edition by Kenneth H. Rosen; Addition Wesley, 2005,
ISBN# 0-321-23707-2.
We will cover most of chapters 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 11. As
time permits, we will study parts of chapters 5, 8, and 10.
Lecture time and location:
LSH
B-110, MWTh 6:00-8:30PM.
Tentative
list of topics and sections of the book to be covered, with an
approximate schedule.
Course Webpage: www.math.rutgers.edu/~weingart/356.
Final Exam: Thursday July 3, 6:00-9:00PM.
Grading Scheme:
20%
Homework
20% Midterm 1
20% Midterm 2
40% Final Exam
There will be five written
homework assignments, each to be handed it AT THE BEGINNING OF
CLASS on the day on which it is due. The lowest of the five homework
grades will be dropped. Late homework will not be accepted!
You are encouraged to work with classmates
on these assignments, but you are not permitted to copy someone
else's work; any work you submit must ultimately be your own.
The midterms are tentatively scheduled for Wed. June 11 and Wed. June 25.
Since our classes are two and a half hours each, which is far too long for
a midterm exam, each midterm will be about half a class period, to be
followed by a regular lecture in the second half of the class period.
This will stretch your attention span, as will each of our class meetings
even where there is no exam! Please prepare for this mentally. Attending
all classes is essential.
Fundamental pedagogic paradox: Courses offered in the summer
session are expected to be equivalent in content and level of difficulty
to those taught in the fall or spring semesters. On the other hand, we
are compressing a 14 week course into 6 weeks, which leaves very little
time for conceptual subject matter to sink in.
A few friendly words of advice addressing the fundamental paradox:
Never fall behind in a math course!!!!! Since there is relatively little
time for the ideas we'll be discussing to sink in, and they are very
difficult to learn quickly right before an exam, it is important to clear
up your confusions sooner rather than later. Go over your notes and work
through suggested homework problems soon after each class rather than
delaying. Don't be shy about asking questions in class or office hours.
An excellent way to improve your understanding of the subject is to study
and work on homework together with classmates. Explaining mathematical
ideas to others is often the most effective way to sort out
your own confusions and clarify your understanding; you don't know just
what it is that you don't know until you try explaining it to someone
else.
Disclaimer: All of the above is given for informational purposes only; any of the above details are subject to change by the instructor, by announcement in class.