Mathematics 453, Fall 2006

TuTh 14:55-16:10 Malott 207

Professor Tara Holm
Office: Malott 589
Phone: 607-255-2392
Office Hours:
  • Tuesday 11:00-12:00
  • Wednesday 3:00-4:00
  • By appointment

If you have any questions, please come by my office, or send me email!!

Topics: Point-set topology: topological spaces, open and closed sets, continuous functions, connectedness, compactness, and quotient spaces.  Algebraic topology: homotopy, the fundamental group.  Perhaps the classification of surfaces.

Text: Singer & Thorpe, Lecture Notes on Elementary Topology and Geometry.  You can buy it from Amazon or the Cornell bookstore.

Syllabus:  Available in PDF.

TA Bradley Forrest is the TA for the course. His email address is btf4(at)cornell(dot)edu. His office is in 114 Malott and he has office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:15--2:15pm.


Homework Assignments

The first Extended Glossary is due on 31 August 2006.
The first Problem set is due on 7 September 2006.
The second Extended Glossary is due on 14 September 2006. If you want to hand in a draft, it is due by noon on 11 September 2006.
The second Problem set is due on 21 September 2006.
The third Extended Glossary is due on 28 September 2006.
The third Problem set is due on 5 October 2006. If you want to LaTeX your solutions, and you the source for the diagram in question 9, please email me. Deadline extended to 12 October 2006
The fourth Writing assignment is due on 26 October 2006.
The fourth Problem set is due on 2 November 2006.
The fifth Writing assignment is due on 9 November 2006. Here are some extra problems about groups. You do not need to turn these problems in.
The fifth Problem set is due on 16 November 2006.
The sixth and last Writing assignment is due on 28 November 2006.

Exams

The Prelim Take-Home Exam is due on 19 October 2006.
The Final Take-Home Exam is due at 12 noon on 12 December 2006.