Algebraic Techniques in Number Theory (MATH3521)

MATH3521 is a Mathematics Level III course.

Units of credit: 6

Prerequisites: 12 units of credit in Level II Math courses

Exclusions: MATH3711

Cycle of offering: Term 1 

Graduate attributes: The course will enhance your research, inquiry and analytical thinking abilities.

More information The course outline contains information about course objectives, assessment, course materials and the syllabus.

Important additional information as of 2023

UNSW Plagiarism Policy

The University requires all students to be aware of its policy on plagiarism.

For courses convened by the School of Mathematics and Statistics no assistance using generative AI software is allowed unless specifically referred to in the individual assessment tasks.

If its use is detected in the no assistance case, it will be regarded as serious academic misconduct and subject to the standard penalties, which may include 00FL, suspension and exclusion.

The online handbook entry, opens in a new window contains up-to-date timetabling information.

If you are currently enrolled in MATH3521, you can log into UNSW Moodle for this course.

This course examines key questions in the theory of numbers whose solution led to the development of modern abstract algebra. The basic notions of rings, fields, groups and field extensions will be developed and used to solve problems relating to the integers, as well as certain geometric problems that interested the ancient Greeks.

This course covers the integers, residue class arithmetic, theorems of Lagrange, Fermat and Euler, groups of units, Chinese remainder theorem, primitive roots, Gaussian integers, division algorithm and principal ideals in Z[i], quadratic residues, algebraic number fields, extensions, Eisenstein's test, ruler and compass constructions.