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Re: What difficulties encountered by beginners in abstract algebra?
Posted:
Jan 6, 2013 11:58 PM
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On Sunday, January 6, 2013 11:46:37 PM UTC-5, Dan Christensen wrote:
> I am working on some introductory notes for group theory. What difficulties are typically encountered by math or science undergrads in an introductory course on abstract algebra?
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> Dan
The same kind of difficulties as moving from Calculus to Analysis. Need set theory, need some intro to logic and proofs.
In fact, the same difficulties are encountered by those taking the course of Linear Algebra. With a mindset of Calculus, they don't realize it's quite a different ball game. No longer "just go ahead, apply some rules, do some number crunching, get the answer". So they expect to spend a few minutes right before the class start to do the homework, and of course they fail. What they must realize: need some time to think and absorb the problem. I went through all of that.
PPJr.
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