Memorial University of Newfoundland


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Yorck Sommerhäuser

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Group Theory

  • Winter semester 2025
  • Course: MATH 4321 (Undergraduate), MATH 6320 (Graduate)
  • Course record number: 43198 (Undergraduate), 43184 (Graduate)
  • Instructor: Y. Sommerhäuser
  • Schedule:
    • Time: Tue, Thu 3:30 pm-4:45 pm
    • Room: HH 3015
  • Office hours of Y. Sommerhäuser: Tue 5:00 pm-6:30 pm, Thu 5:00 pm-5:30 pm and by appointment
  • Textbook: H. Kurzweil/B. Stellmacher: The theory of finite groups, Universitext, Springer, Berlin, 2004 (required resource)
  • Outline: The course covers selected parts of the first ten chapters of the textbook, usually from the earlier chapters. Important topics covered are subgroups, Lagrange's theorem, Sylow's theorems, the fundamental theorem for finite abelian groups, symmetric groups, as well as solvable and nilpotent groups.
  • Examinations: There will be a midterm examination and a comprehensive final examination. The midterm examination takes place on Tuesday, March 4, during regular class time in our usual classroom. The final examination takes place on Wednesday, April 16, from 9:00 am to 12:00 m in A 3017.
  • Homework: Beginning Tuesday of the second week, a weekly exercise sheet will be handed out. This has to be submitted in class on the following Tuesday. There will be no exercise sheet during the week of the midterm examination and no exercise sheets during the last two weeks of the semester. In addition, a reading assignment from the textbook will be given in every lecture.
  • Writing assignments: To distinguish the graduate course from the undergraduate course, the graduate course will have two additional writing assignments. They should be written as an essay of about five to ten pages. The precise description of the first writing assignment will be given out on Tuesday, February 4, and the precise description of the second writing assignment will be given out on Tuesday, March 25.
  • Prerequisites: MATH 3320 (Abstract Algebra) or equivalent
  • Examination criteria: The final mark will be computed using the following weights.
    • Homework: 25 percent
    • Midterm examination: 25 percent
    • Final examination: 50 percent
  • Policies: Eating, drinking, and smoking is not permitted in the classroom. While attendance is not required, it will be recorded. The use of electronic devices, especially cellphones, calculators, and laptop computers, is not permitted without explicit permission of the instructor. Electronic devices have to be turned off completely.
  • Syllabus.
  • Exercise sheets:

Former courses
Last modified: April 15, 2025