Mathematics 131AH Handout -- Fall 2009

Instructor: Thomas M. Liggett

Instructor's office hours: MWF 1:30-2:30 in MS 7919

Teaching Assistant: Neel Tiruviluamala. His office hours are M 4-5 and Th 11-12.

Text: Principles of Mathematical Analysis, 3rd edition, by Walter Rudin. We will cover roughly chapters 1-5 in the Fall and chapters 6-9 in the Winter. Many of the topics will be familiar from the Calculus sequence, but now the emphasis is quite different. While your Calculus courses were largely computational in nature, this course emphasizes rigor and precision. We will use the Calculus as a vehicle for learning how to construct careful mathematical arguments (also known as proofs).

Discussion sections: The discussion sections (Tuesdays at 11) are conducted by the teaching assistant, and are an integral part of the course. They provide an opportunity to have your questions answered on a more personal basis and at greater length than is possible in the lecture. Particularly in this course, there will often be aspects of solutions to exercises that you will not have considered. You should take advantage of the chance to ask questions that go beyond the particular problems that were assigned that week.

Homework: It is practically impossible to learn mathematics without doing a lot of problems. Therefore, it is extremely important that you do the assigned problems carefully and promptly. Don't get behind! I will assign homework each Wednesday (except for the first assignment, which I will make on the first day of class). It will be due in the discussion section the following Tuesday. I expect that graded homework will be returned to you a week later. You may discuss homework problems with other students, the TA or me before they are turned in. In fact, the right kind of discussion can be quite valuable. I do expect two things, though: (i) you should try seriously to do the exercise yourself before discussing it with anyone, and (ii) you should write up the solution yourself after understanding it thoroughly, without following someone else's written version. Otherwise, the homework does you no good.

Examinations: There will be one midterm, on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and a final exam on Wednesday, December 9, 8-11 am.

Grading: The final grade will be based on the the exams and homework with the following weights: final (50%), midterm (30%) and homework (20%).