Course Information

Lectures: MWF at 10:00am in MSB 3106. Attendance not mandatory.

Textbook: Differential Topology by V. Guillemin and A. Pollack.

Recitations: Tuesdays at 1:10pm in MSB 3106. Attendance not mandatory.

Syllabus: The course syllabus contains the basic guidelines for the course.

Office Hours: The office hours of Professor Casals (casals--at--ucdavis.edu) are Fridays 3:30-4:30pm at MSB 3214. Always feel free to ask after class. TA Simons' office hours 3:30-4:30pm on Tuesdays and 11:00am-12:00pm on Thursdays at MSB 2137.

Important Dates: First Day (9/25), First Midterm (10/25), Veterans Day (11/11), Second Midterm (11/25), Thanksgiving (11/29), Last Day (12/6), Final Exam (12/12).

Grade: The grade will be determined by Problem Sets (25%), Midterm Exams (35%) and a Final Exam (40%).

Problem Sets: Weekly assignments due on Fridays at 9pm, submitted through Gradescope.

Problem Sets

1. Problem Set 1: Available 26/9, due 10/4.
   
   
2. Problem Set 2: Available 10/5, due 10/11.
   
   
3. Problem Set 3: Available 10/18, due 10/25.
   
   
4. Midterm Exam 1: on 10/25.
   
   
5. Problem Set 4: Available 10/28, due 11/8.
   
   
6. Problem Set 5: Available 11/8, due 11/15.
   
   
7. Problem Set 5: Available 11/8, due 11/15.
   
   
8. Midterm Exam 2: on 11/25.
   
   
9. Solutions to Midterm Exam 2.
   
   
10. Problem Set 6: For practice.
    
    

Further Resources

Books: "Topology from the Differentiable Viewpoint" by J. Milnor is a useful reference. The book "Introduction to Smooth Manifolds" by John M. Lee is a reasonably self-contained and complete reference, slightly more on the encyclopedic style. Though a bit more advanced, I particularly like "Differential Forms in Algebraic Topology" as a colorful invitation to the many facets of modern topology. Also, the first two chapters of "Introduction to Differentiable Manifolds " by S. Lang can be helpful.