Math 429H, Spring 2009
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 1:50 PM - 2:40 PM, C107 Wells Hall

Instructor: Jeff Schenker, D221 Wells Hall, 432-3590, jeffrey@math.msu.edu
Office Hours: M 11:30-12:30pm, T 1:00-3:00pm, or by appointment
Web-site: http://www.math,msu.edu/~jeffrey/429H
Textbook: Principles of Mathematical Analysis, 3rd Ed. by Walter Rudin

Homework: The most important thing you can do to succeed in this, or any other, math course is to thoroughly work problems until you understand the material. Thus homework will be assigned and collected bi-weekly. A selection of the assigned problems will be graded. To receive credit for the homework, you must write in a clear manner and with sufficient English prose to make the argument readily understandable. If I cannot easily follow your work, you will lose points.

Presentations: Certain class days will be set aside for discussion of the homework. See schedule below. In each of these discussions, three students present solutions to homework problems. I will announce in advance who is presenting on a given day and which problems will be presented. If you want to present a particular problem on a particular day please feel free to volunteer. They will be informal; expect interruptions and questions. You don’t need to write a script, but you should try to streamline your solution to highlight the essential details. This has been revised: The discussions will be open ended, but directed discussions of the homework assignements. They will be informal; expect interruptions and questions. All students are required to participate.

Exams: There will be three exams. Each exam will focus on the material since the last exam, but may draw on earlier material as appropriate.

Grading: Your preliminary grade will be calculated as follows:
Preliminary grade = 1/5 homework + 1/5 presentations participation + 1/5 first exam + 1/5 second exam + 1/5 final exam
Your lowest homework grade will be dropped. Your final grade may differ slightly from your preliminary grade. Exceptional effort, positive contributions to the classroom, or clear improvement over time could raise your final grade. (Negative factors, e.g., lack of effort, declining performance, or disruptive behavior, would lower your grade, were they to occur.)

Collaboration: I encourage you to discuss the homework with your fellow students. However, each of you should write up your solutions individually and any help received must be acknowledged in the written homework assignment when it is turned in. If there is persuasive evidence of widespread, unacknowledged collaboration, then exams will be made to count more and the homework less. Discussion will not be allowed during exams. Cases of flagrant cheating will be handled according to the University's policy on Integrity of Scholarship and Grades; see pages 77 and 109-110 of the Spartan Life Handbook available at http://www.vps.msu.edu/Splife/

Important dates:
January 19: Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, no class
January 23: homework discussion
February 6: homework discussion
February 20: first exam
March 3: mid semester, last day to drop with no grade
March 6: homework discussion
March 9 -- March 13: spring break, no class
March 27: homework discussion
April 1: second exam April 3: second exam
April 17: homework discussion
May 4: final exam

Tentative Schedule: A tentative schedule of topics may be found here.