Content: Symmetry is a phenomenon that plays a role in all natural sciences. Groups and the notion of group operation were invented to describe symmetries of mathematical objects. In this proseminar we will first study symmetries of figures in the plane, developing the basic mathematical notions of "group" and "group operation" needed to describe symmetries. Later lectures will cover groups with amazing properties.

More information can be found on the Homepage of the pro-/seminar.

Literature: 

• Michael Artin. Algebra. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice Hall 1991 [First Edition]
• John Meier. Groups, graphs and trees. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2008.

Additional Information
Target group: students in the 3rd semester of mathematics.
Prerequisites: Only knowledge of some basic mathematical concepts (group, vector space, linear mapping, metric, scalar product) is assumed. In addition to learning mathematical content, the goal of a proseminar is also to gain initial experience with scientific presentations in front of an audience.

Language: The course will be taught in English.