18.705 (fall 2011): COMMUTATIVE ALGEBRA

Please see the course syllabus for important additional information about the assignments.

Web pages: http://web.mit.edu/18.705/www or http://math.mit.edu/18.705.

Lectures: TR 11:00-12:30, Room 2-151.

Lecturer: Steven L. KLEIMAN, 2-278, x3-4996, Kleiman@math.MIT.edu

Lecturer's office hours: TR 9:00-11:00, 1:00-2:30 and by appointment.

TA: Oleksandr (Sasha) Tsymbaliuk, sashats@math.MIT.edu

TA's office hours: MW afternoons 5:00 to 6:00 in 2-229 and by appointment.

Prerequisites: 18.701-18.702 or equivalent.

Text: Lecture notes, written in collaboration with Allen Altman, available via the course syllabus

References

  1. Michael ARTIN, "Algebra," Prentice Hall, 1991.
  2. Michael ATIYAH and Ian MACDONALD, "Introduction to commutative algebra," Addison-Wesley, 1969.
  3. David EISENBUD, "Commutative algebra," GTM 150, Springer-Verlag, 1994.
  4. Serge LANG, "Algebra,'' GTM 211, Springer-Verlag, 2002.
  5. Saunders MAC LANE, "Categories for the working Mathematician," GTM 5, Springer-Verlag, 1971.
  6. Miles REID, "Undergraduate commutative algebra," Cambridge University Press, LMS Student Texts 29, 1995.
  7. Balwant SINGH, "Basic commutative algebra," World Scientific, 2011.

Grading: Based 60% on the weekly problem sets and 40% on the 60-minute oral final.

Final (40%): At the blackboard, you must solve four randomly selected homework problems, and answer questions about their general context. Fifteen minutes will be available for each problem.

Problem sets (60%): Assignments are available from the course syllabus. Each problem set is due in class on the first Thursday at least seven days after it was assigned; the exact date is given on the syllabus.

On occasion, a late problem set will be accepted provided that you send me <Kleiman@math.MIT.edu>, not our TA, an email request stating the following:

  1. a good REASON why you need the extra time and
  2. the DATE when the set will be turned in.

Late sets MUST be turned in directly to the TA.

Collaboration is permitted, indeed encouraged, provided that you

  1. THINK THROUGH each problem on your own, and
  2. WRITE it up in your OWN words.

Please KEEP your graded sets to show me later as you may someday ask me to write a reference for you.