The Final Exam will be given on Wednesday, December 16, from 1-3 p.m. in the usual classroom (Cupples I, room 218).
The
style of the exam will be similar to Exam 1: for example,
statements of definitions and theorems, example, lots of true/false
questions. All questions will be of the "short-answer" variety.
Questions
will focus on Chapters 3-4 and the material we covered in 5. Of
course, there are things that you will need to know from Chapters
1-2 in order to answer these questions but I will not be "directly
targeting" material from Chapters 1-2.
I
will keep my regular office hours (see below) up until the day of the
final. But there will probably be other times when I'm available
too. E-mail me if you need an appointment.
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| Instructor | Ron Freiwald | | My Office | Cupples I, room 203A | | My Office Hours |
Special: 3-4 on each of: Thursday August 27; Tuesday, Thursday September 1, 3; and Tuesday September 8.
Thereafter, until the end of the first semester: M 10:30 - 12:00 and W 11:30 - 12:30 on days when classes are in session, and by appointment.
| | Lectures |
TuTh 1-2:30 in Cupples I, room 218. We
can also schedule special meetings to talk about problems if enough
people are interested. Let me know.
For all lectures, you should
have read through all the notes handed out
in the preceding class. Make a note to yourself
about anything you don't understand, particularly for the part of those
notes that I have already covered in a lecture.
| | Background Information |
This link
connects you to a document with background information about the
course. I e-mailed this document to everyone enrolled a few days
before the course began. Read the document now if you didn't
receive it earlier.
| | Textbook |
The
textbook for the course is one that I have written. It will be
photocopied two-sided, on punched paper and distributed by installments
in class (since I continue revising and correcting each time I use
it). I recommend that you get a three-ring binder to hold these
pages. There will be about 100-125 sheets (so, 200-250 printed
sides) each semester.
There will be a charge of $10.00
each semester to cover the cost of paper, toner and copying time.
You can pay this charge to the secretary in the Mathematics Department
Office (Cupples I, room 100). She will give me a list of the people who
have paid. The office will accept a check made out to “Washington
University Department of Mathematics” or cash (but the exact cash
amount is required; the Office cannot “make change”). I will
distribute the first 20 pages or so free of charge so that there's no
rush; but please try to make your payment by Friday, September 4.
Some fairly standard reference texts that are available in the library are
Kaplansky, Irving Set Theory and Metric Spaces
Willard, Stephen General Topology
Munkres, James Topology
Kahn, Donald Topology:
An Introduction to the Point-Set and Algebraic Areas
Simmons, George Introduction
to Topology and Modern Analysis
Eisenberg, Murray Topology
Each of these is quite different, and none follows the material as I'll present it.
| | Exams |
There will be the equivalent of four
exams in the course:
1)
Exam 1 Tuesday, October 6 (in
class)
2)
Exam 2 Take-home, given
out
in class on Thursday, November 5 and due in class
Tuesday, November 10.
3)
Exam 3 Final exam, on Wednesday,
December 16, 1-3 pm
4)
"Exam 4" See description under "Homework" The
dates for 1) and 2) can be moved slightly if a majority of the class
wants the change. However, if there's going to be a change, I'd
like to decide that within about a week so that some
students aren't upset by a sudden change later. The "in-class" exam and the final
will be "short-answer", consisting
of such things as definitions, statements of theorems, giving
examples/counterexamples,
and true/false questions.
The “take-home" exam will consist
of more substantial questions,
analogous
to homework problems.
| | Homework |
There will be 6-8 homework sets
during the semester. Usually these will be distributed in class
and will be due in class three lectures later. Some of
the homework problems
are fairly routine, but many are quite challenging.
Most homework problems will be
read by a grader. However, on about 5-6 homework sets during the
semester, I will select a problem (after homework is collected) and grade that problem myself.
Your total accumulated score on
the homework problems I grade will
count
as "Exam 4". Your accumulated score on the remaining
homework
problems will count as your homework score. Homework assignments will be posted on this web page.
| | Basis for Grading |
The four exam scores and the
homework
score will each count about 20% of your
grade. However, homework
assignments are an essential part of the course. If you neglect the homework, your course grade may be dramatically lowered
(regardless
of test scores) at my discretion. I will not have a scale
for converting numeric scores into letter grades until the end of the
semester.
| | Academic Integrity | During examinations "in class" and
on take-home Exam 2, no
discussion
or consultation of any kind with any other person (including internet or other electronic communication) is permitted. You may consult class notes, the text, or any other
references for ideas—but any such references must be explicitly documented in your solutions and solutions must be completely written up in your own words. You should avoid trying to "find" solutions to problems
elsewhere: that just undercuts your learning.
Any solutions taken from other sources without good documentation will
result
in a grade of 0 for the test or assignment and might be cause for
referral to the Academic Integrity Committee. If you have
questions about
what is appropriate, please ask me.
Students are encouraged to discuss
homework assignments with each
other;
you should share questions and ideas. It is a powerful way to learn the
concepts. Each student, however, must write up the homework
solutions
independently
in his/her own words and notation. One handy way to avoid
"borrowing
too much" from sessions with others is to talk together but not take
any
written notes away from the conversation. Suspicious similarities
between solution sets may be noted by the grader and may result in a
grade
of 0 for the homework.
| | Web Pages | The following web pages may be
give some interesting historical sidelights on
the
material.
The
MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
George
Cantor
Bertrand
Russell
Kazimierz
Kuratowski
Kurt
Godel
Paul
Cohen
Felix
Hausdorff
Robert Sorgenfrey
Ernst
Lindelof
Augustin-Louis
Cauchy
Rene-Louis
Baire
Pavel
Alexandroff
The
Beginnings of Set Theory
The
Axiom of Choice
Topology
Enters Mathematics The
"Kuratowski 14 Problem"
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