MATH 230

Logistics

When: MW 10:25 to 11:40
Where: LeChase 181

Instructor info

Eric Hopper
Hylan 813
eric.hopper@rochester.edu
Office hours Monday 4:30-5:30 and Tuesday 3:30-4:30

Course description

This course is an introduction to number theory. We will cover divisibility, primes, congruences, quadratic residues, quadratic reciprocity, and primitive roots. As time allows, we will also discuss RSA and elliptic curve cryptography.

Textbook

J. H. Silverman, A Friendly Introduction to Number Theory, 4th Ed., ISBN 978-0321816191.

The author has made the first six chapters of the text available on his personal webpage. This should be helpful if you are still waiting for your book to arrive or if you are still deciding whether to take the course.

Grading

Each student’s more successful exam will be weighted more heavily than their less successful exam. This choice is intended to provide those who are unsatisfied with their performance on the first exam significant opportunity to improve their grade with the second exam while at the same time not diluting the importance of the first exam.

Exams

Both exams will take place in class. The second exam is not cumulative, but many concepts from the second half of the course build upon those from the first. Mastery of topics from early in the course is essential for success late in the course.

Exam 1: Thursday, October 20
Exam 2: Thursday, December 8

Please let me know as soon as possible if you will have an excused absence (academic conference, athletic competition, etc.) on one the exam dates.

Homework

At the end of most class meetings, you will be assigned one or two exercises as daily homework. These will typically be computational in nature and are intended to solidify your understanding of topics in the lecture. These will be due at the beginning of the following class and graded for good faith effort. No late submissions will be accepted, but the three lowest grades will be dropped.

Weekly problem sets will include exercises from Silverman’s text as well as other sources or be written by the instructor. Problems will be posted no later than Wednesday on this page. Solutions are due at the beginning of class every Wednesday. Late homework will not be accepted without prior arrangement with the instructor. If you are going to be absent on Wednesday, you may email the instructor images/scans of your homework in a single PDF no later than Wednesday at 10:25am ET.

Students may work together on both the daily homework and weekly problem sets, but solutions must be written on your own without reviewing others’ work. The use of online solution guides, paid resources (e.g. Chegg), and forums (e.g. Math Stack Exchange) is prohibited. If you are struggling with a problem, please consult your classmates, come to office hours, or reach out to the instructor or TA.

Disability support

The University of Rochester respects and welcomes students of all backgrounds and abilities. In the event you encounter any barrier(s) to full participation in this course due to the impact of disability, please contact the Office of Disability Resources. The access coordinators in the Office of Disability Resources can meet with you to discuss the barriers you are experiencing and explain the eligibility process for establishing academic accommodations. You can reach the Office of Disability Resources at (585) 275-3424 or visit Disability Resources.

Please note that to be granted alternate testing accommodations, you (the student) must fill out forms with Disability Resources at least seven days before each and every exam. These forms are not sent automatically. Instructors are not responsible for requesting alternative testing accommodations at CETL or making accommodations on their own.

Academic integrity

All assignments and activities associated with this course must be performed in accordance with the University of Rochester’s Academic Honesty Policy. More information is available at www.rochester.edu/college/honesty.

Math Department policy on unauthorized online resources: Any usage whatsoever of online solution sets or paid online resources (chegg.com or similar) is considered an academic honesty violation and will be reported to the Board on Academic Honesty. In particular, any assignment found to contain content which originated from such sources is subject to a minimum penalty of zero on the assignment and a full letter grade reduction at the end of the semester (e.g. a B would be reduced to a C). Depending on the circumstances, this may apply even if the unauthorized content was obtained through indirect means (through a friend for instance) and/or the student is seemingly unaware that the content originated from such sources. If you have any questions about whether resources are acceptable, please check with your instructor.