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SYLLABUS - MAT 108: INTRODUCTION TO ABSTRACT MATHEMATICS

FALL QUARTER 2016; SECTIONS C01 & C02

Instructor: Rohit Thomas, rthomas@math.ucdavis.edu


Office hours: MWF 12-2 PM in MSB 1101
Course website: See Canvas, http://canvas.ucdavis.edu
Course meeting time: MWF 3:10-4:00 PM in Hart 1150
Discussions: Thursdays in Cruess 107
Section Time
TA
TA email
C01
3:10-4 PM Jamie Haddock jhaddock@ucdavis.edu
C02
4:10-5 PM Jamie Haddock jhaddock@ucdavis.edu
TA office hours: TR 12:10-1:50 PM, in MSB 3127
Textbook: A Transition to Advanced Mathematics, 8th edition, by Smith, Eggen, & St. Andre.
Prerequisite: Math 21B or equivalent.
Course description. This course is preparation for upper-division mathematics. Students will learn basic
logic and set theory, to read and write proofs, and to understand and communicate abstract mathematical
ideas.
Grading. Your grade will be based on your performance on homework, quizzes, tests, a final exam, and a
minimum mastery criterion. Grades will be weighted as follows:

Homework - 15%
Quizzes - 25%
Midterms - 30%
Final exam - 30%

Homework. You will submit weekly homework assignments weekly. You must type homework assignments
using LATEX, the industry standard for typesetting mathematics. You will also submit certain proofs for
double-blind peer feedback, give your classmates feedback on their proofs, revise your proofs based on peer
feedback, and submit a final portfolio of polished proofs. Collaboration on homework is acceptable and
encouraged, but you are responsible for writing and understanding all work yourself. Plagiarism will not be
tolerated and will be reported to Student Judicial Affairs.
Quizzes & exams. Quizzes will be held during discussion sections. Midterm exams will be held in
class on Friday, October 14, and Friday, November 18. Each midterm will cover all the material since the
previous midterm. The final exam will be held at 10:30 AM on Friday, December 9, and will cover the entire
quarters material. In general, there will be no make-up exams in the course; it is your responsibility to plan
your schedule so as to not miss them. If you miss an exam due to complex and unusual circumstances which
are beyond your control, contact the instructor immediately, providing a detailed account of the situation
and supporting documents. No calculators, books, notes, or other resources are allowed on exams. Cheating
will not be tolerated and will be reported to Student Judicial Affairs. I reserve the right to ask students for
identification and to change seats during exams.
If you find a mistake in the grading of an exam, you should bring this to my attention within 48 hours of
receiving the graded work; exams will not be regraded for other reasons or at other times.

Minimum mastery criterion. One of major objectives of this course is to train you to write proofs.
Quizzes and exams will contain many opportunities for you to demonstrate your proficiency at various types
of proofs. In particular, if out of all your quizzes and exams you do not receive a perfect score on at least
one proof by contradiction, at least one proof by contraposition and at least one proof by induction, then
you will not pass this course. (Note that the converse is not necessarily true.)
Disability information and special accommodations. Any student with a documented disability (e.g.
physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must
contact the Student Disability Center (SDC). Faculty are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the SDC. If you have any questions, please contact the SDC at 530/752-3184 or sdc@ucdavis.edu.
Conduct. Students are expected to have read, to have understood, and to act in accordance with the Code
of Academic Conduct, available at http://sja.ucdavis.edu/cac.html.
Communication. Announcements will be made by email and/or on Canvas. It is your responsibility to
check your email regularly.
Advice.
Be sure to attend class and discussion section.
Dont hesitate to come to office hours. If youre not available during office hours, email the instructor
to find another time to meet.
This class will be very different from any math class youve taken before. Be prepared to change the
way you study, and expect to put in lots of time.
Learning to write mathematics is in some ways similar to learning a foreign language. In particular,
its helpful to read mathematics as often as you can. Sample articles will be posted on Canvas; do
spend time reading them and getting used to the way mathematics is written.
When reading mathematics, its important to slow down and carefully analyze the structure of
sentences. It can be helpful to draw pictures of what is being discussed, break down complex
sentences into simpler pieces and logical connectors, and work through your own examples of every
definition. Depending on the complexity of the writing, reading just a few paragraphs of mathematics
can take hours.
It is imperative to read the textbook closely (and understand it), much more so than for, say, a
calculus class.
Precision in mathematical writing is extremely important. Most homework & exam problems will
not be possible to complete without starting with correct definitions. For now, it is a good habit to
memorize definitions; it can take a few years to develop the ability to precisely (and correctly) define
mathematical terms in your own words.
Some English words that come up in everyday conversation (for example, and, or, and then)
often have subtle yet important differences when they are used in mathematics. Be prepared.
Writing well in any discipline takes dedication and practice. Dont be discouraged when at first you
dont succeed.
This class is supposed to be difficult. Dont hesitate to ask for help!
Disclaimer. With the exceptions of grading information and exam dates, all information on this syllabus
is subject to change. Any changes will be announced on Canvas.

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