MATH 324 - Topology

Institution:

Williams College

Subject:

Mathematics

Description:

Topology is the study of when one geometric object can be continuously deformed and twisted into another object. Determining when two objects are topologically the same is incredibly difficult and is still the subject of a tremendous amount of research, including current work on the Poincare Conjecture, one of the million-dollar millennium-prize problems. The first part of the course on "Point-set Topology" establishes a framework based on "open sets" for studying continuity and compactness in very general spaces. The second part on "Homotopy Theory" develops refined methods for determining when objects are the same. We will prove for example that you cannot twist a basketball into a doughnut.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Mathematics 301, or permission of instructor and Mathematics 305 or 312. Not open to students who have taken Mathematics 323

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Other

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.williams.edu

Phone Number:

(413) 597-3131

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Four-one-four plan

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