Knot Theory - Mathematics 395 - Fall 2010

Syllabus

Class Meetings: MWF 10:30-11:25, Room: Fowler 307.

Text: The Knot Book, by Colin Adams; American Mathematical Society. 

Topics: This is an introduction to the theory of knots and links. We will cover topics such as: knot and link diagrams; Reidemeister moves; prime, composite, alternating knots; invariants, including crossing number, unknotting number, and polynomial invariants; Dowker notation; chirality; and other topics, depending on time.

Homework: HW will be assigned in every class meeting, due the next class meeting. Doing HW is essential to learning mathematics -- there is no way around it.  You should spend at least two to three hours on homework every other day.  I encourage you to work with your classmates and/or get help from me or the CAE on problems you can't do yourself. But be honest with yourself: after working with classmates or getting help, ask yourself: "Will I be able to do this problem on my own if it's on the exam?" To find out, turn in your own work -- write it up without looking at any books or notes.

Midterms: We will have three midterm exams, on the following dates: W9/22, F 10/22, W 11/17. Changes to these dates, if any, will be announced in advance.

Final : The final exam date and time is determined by the Registrar's Office (www.oxy.edu/Registrar.xml). Please check to make sure you do not have any time conflicts with this date and time (or any early travel plans); I do not give early or late finals. The final exam will cover all topics covered during the semester.

Make-ups: No make-up exams will be given. If you miss a midterm with a valid excuse (e.g., a medical reason), and provide documentation for it, that midterm will simply not count for you—instead, your other midterms and final exam will count proportionally more. This policy does not apply to the final exam.

Grading: Your grade for the semester will be computed according to this table:

Homework 5% Midterms 60% Final 35%

Attendance: You are responsible for everything that goes on in every class meeting, such as announcements, handouts, taught topics that are not in the class notes, etc.  This means even if you miss a class for a valid reason, it is your responsibility to contact me and find out what you missed. I may or may not decide to count attendance as part of your grade; if I do, I will let you know in advance; it will count as a small part of the 5% for homework.

E-mail: When necessary, I will make announcements via the class mailing list, instead of in the classroom. I expect you to check your email at least once a day. Feel free to use our class email list, math395-L@oxy.edu, to send messages to everyone in the class.

Academic Honesty: I feel strongly about protecting honest and hard-working students against unfair and dishonest actions sometimes committed by a few. I don't give warnings; I refer all suspicious cases to the Judicial Examiner without hesitation.

Students with learning disability: Please see me and the CAE to arrange for any special needs.