Introduction to Set Theory

Goals and Prerequisites: This is an introductory course in set theory. There's no presupposition that you've studied set theory before, or logic before. The aim of this course is to learn the basics of set theory and to simultaneously enhance our ability to write formal proofs. (If you are interested in some slightly more advanced material, see this course).

Textbooks: We're using the following textbooks by Hrbacek-Jech and Velleman. The Hrbacek-Jech textbook is an introductory set-theory textbook, while the Velleman book is designed to help you write proofs, and also has a bunch of worked-out problems. 

• Karel Hrbacek and Thomas Jech. Introduction to Set Theory, volume 220 of Monographs and Textbooks in Pure and Applied Mathematics. Dekker, New York, third edition, 1999.
• Daniel J. Velleman. How to Prove It: A Structured Approach. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, second edition, 2006.

For copies of the first two chapters of these books which we will be using, see Files. The books are available at the bookstore and easily available via online booksellers.

Requirements: The requirements are four homework sets (40%), one midterm exam (25%), one final exam (25%), and maintaining a notebook consisting of lecture notes and problems that we do together in class (10%). The notebooks will be assessed primarily for completeness rather than correctness (you should aim for minimum of around 3 pages handwritten, double-spaced per day).

Homework and Exams: You may work in groups of 2-3 on the homework, but everyone must write up their own solutions, and you must clearly indicate with whom you worked on the first page of your homework. Homeworked should be turned in via canvas in the form of a single scanned pdf of handwritten work. For the location of scanners on-campus, see here (and then click the 'locations' tab); for a CNET article on scan apps for phones, see here. There is no late homework (except in the usual exceptional health-related etc. circumstances, in which case you should just get in contact with the instructor). Below is the schedule for the homework and exam dates. These will be assigned roughly 2 weeks ahead of time, and you'll get a very clear study guide for the midterm and final two weeks ahead of time. 

• Homework 1: Due Friday September 30 by 5pm.
• Homework 2: Due Friday October 14 by 5pm.
• Notebook check 1: collected at end of Tuesday October 18 lecture, returned next lecture.
• Midterm Exam: In-class, Thursday October 27.
• Homework 3: Due Friday November 18 by 5pm.
• Homework 4: Due Friday December 2 by 5pm.
• Final Exam: Thursday December 8, 8:00am-10:00am.
• Notebook check 2: during final exam.

Lecture Schedule. For the schedule of the lectures, and the associated readings, see Lecture Schedule.

Instructor Information: Sean Walsh, email: walsh108 at uci.edu, office: SST 703 (go to 7th floor of SST, veer left out of elevators and head to end of hall).

Office Hours: Thursday 5:00-6:00. If you are unable to attend my office hours, please feel free to make an appointment. The procedure for appointments is: email me with some of your time availabilities.

Other Resources: see the course pages for previous years: Fall 2015, Fall 2014.

Academic Integrity: see here for the university's academic integrity policies and procedures, which we shall follow.

Problems with the website? Please let me know (email: walsh108 at uci.edu). I would greatly appreciate any information about elements of the website which are not working properly.