Instructor: Peter Ozsváth (petero@math.princeton.edu)
Lectures: TTh 1:20-2:40, Fine 110
Office hours: TBA Fine 1106
Textbook: An Introduction to Analysis by Robert C. Gunning, Princeton University Press.
MAT 216 covers chapters 1–3 and MAT 218 covers chapters 4–7. Additional topics might also be covered.
MAT 216 and MAT 218 together provide a rigorous theoretical introduction to analysis in several variables and linear algebra. It is assumed that students have experience with writing formal mathematical proofs. Students without this experience should take MAT 215 instead (usually followed by MAT 217 and MAT 300). It is possible to switch between MAT 216 and MAT 215 at the beginning of the semester. Feel free to ask about which course is most appropriate!
Lectures will be interactive, and you are expected to attend and participate. Lectures will have an informal style, and you are expected to write up your proofs in a more formal manner. To help with this, you should also read the book.
The Undergraduate Course Assistants (UCAs) will host weekly sessions throughout the semester for homework help and exam preparation. They are:
David Fargalla, Kaden Knight, Deni Aliko, Sai Nallani Chakravartula, Ella Gonzalez, Kaleb So, Kiran Reddy, Yuming Zhu, Vincent Stone, Timothy Li
The TAs are: Jiamin Wang, Onyx Gautam, Alexey Pozdnyakov, Minas Margaritis, Gheehyun Nahm.
The problems at the end of each section of the textbook are divided into two groups. The Group I problems are reasonably straightforward, though not necessarily easy, and they illustrate some of the main points covered in the text; the Group II problems are more challenging. Homework is graded by graduate student graders, not the UCAs.
You are encouraged to discuss the problem sets with your classmates. You should, however, try to get started on the problems on your own, since the major difficulty in solving a problem often lies in understanding clearly the statement of the problem and in deciding how to approach the problem. Once you have grappled with the problems yourself, it is usually helpful to discuss strategies/solutions for them with others in the class. You must write up the solutions yourself: you may not refer to others’ written solutions when writing your own. However, after you have written up your solutions, you are encouraged to seek out classmates who are also finished and compare your solutions with each other. This can be a useful way to catch mistakes.
As mentioned above, there are many resources to help you complete your assignments: multiple weekly UCA sessions, multiple weekly office hours, and your classmates. Do not get answers from students who have taken this course in previous years. Do not use AI or the internet to find solutions.
Each week, homework is due at 10am on Thursday. Late work will not be accepted, except under exceptional circumstances. In that case, make arrangements in advance with the grader.
The lowest homework grade will be dropped.
Submit through Gradescope by 10am on the due date.
We will have an in-class midterm and an in-class final exam.