MAS 4203             Introduction to Number Theory          MWF 5th(11:45-12:35)
Section 3173                                                             LIT 235
Spring 1997

INSTRUCTOR:        Dr. Garvan
                   483 Little Hall
                   392-0281 extn 248
                   email: frank@math.ufl.edu

HOME-PAGE:  http://www.math.ufl.edu/~frank/numthyspring97.html

OFFICE HOURS: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:40-11:30, or by appointment.

PREREQUISITES: MAC 3312 or MAC 3512 or MAC 3473; MAS 3300 recommended.

TEXT: James K. Strayer, Elementary Number Theory (1994), 1st edition.

COURSE CONTENT: This course is designed as an introduction to elementary number 
theory and its applications for Mathematics and Computer Science majors. This 
course is theoretical in nature. Emphasis is placed on theory and proofs. We 
hope to cover most of Chapters 1-4 of Strayer. As well we hope to cover some 
additional topics. The basic topics include the greatest common divisor, 
the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, arithmetic functions, multiplicative 
functions, congruences, the Chinese remainder theorem, quadratic residues and 
quadratic reciprocity. We will also use the computer package MAPLE to do some
number theoretic computations. We hope to cover some material on cryptography.

COURSE GOALS: By the end of the semester, you should know:
     1. how to communicate mathematical ideas effectively;
     2. how to write a mathematical proof;
     3. the basic theory and applications of elementary number theory;
     4. how to use MAPLE to do basic number theoretic computations;
     5. know how to use the internet to access course material.

GRADING: There will be weekly homework assignments. The worst 10% of the 
homework scores will be dropped. There will be two mid-term two-hour evening 
exams and a final. The final exam will cover the whole semester's work. 
The point values are given below:

                   Homework               100
                   Computing Assignment    25
                   Mid-term exams         200
                   Final Exam             100
                   Total                  425

Grades will assigned as follows:
A (90%)  B+ (85%)  B (80%)  C+ (75%)  C (70%)  D+ (65%)  D (60%)

DATES:        Martin Luther King Day   Monday, January 20
              Exam I                   Monday, February 17, 6:15-8:10pm
              Spring Break             March 10 - March 14
              Exam II                  Monday, March 31, 6:15-8:10pm
              Last day of classes      Wednesday, April 23
              Study/Review days        April 24-25
              FINAL EXAM               Saturday, April 26, 8:00pm-10:00pm

NOTE: Documentation is needed for a make-up midterm exam.

COMPUTER ACCOUNTS: Each of you will be given an account on the network of 
Sun computers run by the Mathematics Department. During the semester we will 
have some sessions in the Math Dept Computing Lab in 425 Little Hall.