Inga Johnson
Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematics
Willamette University
302 Collins Bldg.
ijohnson(at)willamette(dot)edu
503.370.6551
Math 486 - Topology - Syllabus
Class Meetings: MWF 9:10-10:10 Collins 306
Course Goals: To learn and practice proof writing. To understand fundamental concepts in point-set topology, graph theory, homotopy theory and knot theory.
Textbooks: Beginning Topology Sue Goodman.
Course Grades: Your course grades will be calculated out of the total points possible via the standard 90%, 80%, 70% scheme. You may check your grades and the class average on the course grades page throughout the semester.Homework: The homework for this course will be due in class on Wednesday. The weekly homework assignments will be posted on the course schedule. Your homework must be written up using LaTeX. An introduction to LaTeX and information about how to download it can be found here.
Late Homework policy: You may turn in ONE homework assignment late (within one week of when it was due) with no penalty. All late homework assignments should be clearly labeled with the phrase "Late Math 486 HW" at the top of the first page. Any late assignment turned in without this phrase might be lost, or confused with garbage and accidentally thrown out. Any additional late homework assignment that is turned in will be accepted and corrected at my discretion.
Reading the Book and Class Participation: You will be given reading assignments from the textbook to read before the next class period. To guide your reading and assist in your preparation for class discussion, I may hand out a list of reading and discussion questions. When reading questions are given we will begin the next class by discussing the questions on the handout. Assuming the discussions go well and all students participate we will not have need for many quizzes.
Quizzes: Quizzes are 15 to 20 minutes long, with problems that resemble homework and in-class examples, and include questions asking for precise statements of definitions and theorems. Each quiz will be worth 10 points. Quizzes might be given without warning if class discussions do not go well. Hopefully there will be very few quizzes during the semester (see above info re: reading the book and class participation).
Math Colloquium: You are encouraged to go to many of the Math Department Colloquia this semester, and as part of the course you are required to go to four. Attendance will be taken in Colloquium and you should turn in your notes from each talk you attend. If your schedule conflicts with all the Colloquia scheduled, please see Professor Johnson for an alternate reading and writing assignment.
Midterm Exams, and Final Exam:
There will be two midterm exams and a final exam. These exams will be taken
Presentations: Each week, selected students will be asked to present selected homework solutions. Each student will present approximately 2-4 problems over the course of the semester.
Special Note: If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please make arrangements to meet with me within the first two weeks of the semester. Please request that a Disability Services staff send me the appropriate forms verifying your disability and specifying the accommodation you will need. If your disability allows for extra time on an exam you must remind me of your needs at least one week before the exam and send me an email reminder at least three days before the exam to ensure appropriate accommodations have been made.
Academic Honesty: In accordance with Willamette University CLA catalog: ``Plagiarism and cheating are offenses against the integrity of the courses in which they occur and against the College community as a whole... Ignorance of what constitutes plagiarism shall not be considered a valid defense." For further information about the Willamette University academic honesty policy please refer to the CLA catalog.
On homework: It is appropriate and very helpful to have study groups for homework, and indeed the Wednesday writing labs are a form of study group. Sharing ideas and approaches is a good way to learn. However, all students must find their own phrasing and wording for the written homework. This is a writing class, and students need to practice actually writing the solutions to problems in their own words and symbols. Again, plagiarism is not expected and will not be tolerated. Copied homework will earn a grade of zero for all parties involved.