GRE Mathematics Test November-2011 aspirants

[nikhil_may92]

Hi guys,
Myself Nikhil,taking gre mth subject test this november,i`m a non-math major....so hw is your preparation going on?? we can meet here and share our ideas ...and can clear our doubts ? what do u think...? so waht all books u r preffering for the test???

[sahilarora89]

hi i m sahil from delhi india i am planning to give maths gre dis november ....are der ppl interested in studyng 2gether just for beter prep....contact me on 09873099099

[nikhil_may92]

hi sahil...nice to meet u.
hwz the preparation goin on ??? what are the books that u r using for the preparation...
i`m using::
1.cracking gre 4th edition.
2.schaums outlines

[sharat12]

Hi folks

I too am giving it in November. Of course, Steve Leduc's Cracking GRE Mathematics seems to be indispensable. If you're done with calculus, then picking up Israel Nathan Herstein's Topics in Algebra can help. Or even Peter Cameron's Introduction to Algebra is nice and teems with exercises. Is it true that we can safely neglect topology and numerical analysis?

[nikhil_may92]

hello sharat...
it is not that we can neglect complete topology and numerical analysis...but when ur very confident about the other topics ...u can leave it...as u can score a high percentile without attempting abstract algebra and topology..
btw,what are your qualifications??

[sharat12]

I've a background in Computer Science but found it exceedingly dumb. I've been indulging in self-study of no-nonsense Mathematics for about an year...

[sharat12]

Found this: http://www.math.ucla.edu/~yaoyao/bootcamp.html

[nikhil_may92]

hey sharat12,
thanks for sharing such a nice site...even i`m doing btech in metallurgy @it-bhu ,but want to do ms in mathematics..so which college r u in..how about books in calculus..i use stewart`s calcuus

[sharat12]

Boy! Am quite old for you guys. I've never touched Stewart's Calculus; so don't know.

Did you try out Tom Apostol's Single-variable Calculus (Volume 1 I think)? For a quicker check, Steve Krantz's Calculus Demystified (however awkward it may sound). If I may ask, what got you hooked to Mathematics? Of course, for me it was the nice little but profoundly wise autobiography of Godfrey Hardy, the mentor of Srinivasa Ramanujan -- A Mathematician's Apology. Later, it was the disgust that I could not proceed beyond a few pages of Hardy's A Course on Pure Mathematics. Hardy is my hero.

[manas]

Even I'm planning to appear this november.

Is this the book are you talking about?
http://www.flipkart.com/books/037542972 ... dvw3f3vnid

Also, can anyone please post the links to other required books?

[sharat12]

Yes that's an affordable book, but not the One that can get you through. Refer to the UCLA link above -- there are some references there. Calculus is damn important...if you got a strong pre-calculus background, it will greatly help. Apostol's book is nice but will take you on a rigorous (historical as well) tour of Calculus. Analysis by TW Korner is also good but depends on your depth and engagement with Mathematics.

[sharat12]

http://www.cosmolearning.com/

[rahulshr]

Hi,
Anyone in Bangalore?
I am contemplating taking Maths-GRE in Nov.. Just wondering whether I have enough time to prepare.
I can manage Calculus, just not sure about Abstract Algebra, Topology and Real Analysis.

-Rahul

[rahulshr]

Can anyone suggest a good book for Abstract Algebra and Topology?

The material in Princeton book is too concise and is too detailed in "Michael Artin" - plus there is a slight difference in notations/examples in the two.

[owlpride]

Are you good with combinatorics and modular arithmetic? If not, you should study those before you start thinking about algebra or topology.

As far as abstract algebra is concerned, I would focus on elementary group theory: basic properties, the isomorphism theorems and standard examples (finitely generated abelian groups, permutation groups, the dihedral group). That's not a lot of material but you want to understand it really really well. Artin is a great resource for this, but any other comprehensive algebra book should be fine too. (Why bother studying at all if you are not going to learn it well enough to use it on the GRE?)

You also want to know what rings and fields are, but you don't need to know much about them. I found that the GRE questions involving rings and fields could be answered straight from the definitions. (Though it might help to have a bit of practice proving simple statements about algebraic structures.)

I personally would not study topology for the GRE unless I had everything else down cold. Put your effort where you expect the highest pay-off per study time. Working through an entire topology book for 1-2 questions on the GRE is probably not a good use of your time.

[rahulshr]

Are you good with combinatorics and modular arithmetic? If not, you should study those before you start thinking about algebra or topology.

As far as abstract algebra is concerned, I would focus on elementary group theory: basic properties, the isomorphism theorems and standard examples (finitely generated abelian groups, permutation groups, the dihedral group). That's not a lot of material but you want to understand it really really well. Artin is a great resource for this, but any other comprehensive algebra book should be fine too. (Why bother studying at all if you are not going to learn it well enough to use it on the GRE?)

You also want to know what rings and fields are, but you don't need to know much about them. I found that the GRE questions involving rings and fields could be answered straight from the definitions. (Though it might help to have a bit of practice proving simple statements about algebraic structures.)

I personally would not study topology for the GRE unless I had everything else down cold. Put your effort where you expect the highest pay-off per study time. Working through an entire topology book for 1-2 questions on the GRE is probably not a good use of your time.

Thanks for the response.

That (in bold) is exactly the reason I want to read beyond what it is presented in Princeton book.
I was pretty good with calculus, and decent with combinatorics & modular arithmetic (JEE level (assuming you are Indian), and whatever is taught in first year Maths courses in Engineering). But I have been out of touch of maths for very long time, and studying specifically for GRE-Maths.
I understood the definitions of Groups (Abelian etc.), fields, rings and other stuff mentioned in Princeton book. However, I have this habit of going a bit deep into the topic - so that I can understand the how this knowledge is used in real life ( and/or analysis, problems).
E.g. Even if I am out of touch with Calculus, it took me only single reading to recall how it is used, in real world or theoretical problems. However, when it comes to Abstract Algebra, I am still struggling to use it to solve problems.
So, I picked this Artin book, but it seems too big, and as you said perhaps not an intelligent investment of time with goal of solving GRE problems. So, I am looking for some material that can be done within 10-15 days.

Also, your point is well taken on Topology. I was under the impression that there might be 4-5 question on that topic, so thought perhaps I can tackle the easy ones.

[owlpride]

It's extremely unlikely that you will find 5-6 topology questions on the exam. In the most recent "Mathematics GRE Practice Test Booklet", only questions 52 and 62 were somewhat topology-ish and neither actually required any knowledge of abstract topology. My real GRE had exactly one abstract topology question.

Or consider the numbers: only 25% of the 66 questions, that's roughly 16, are not calculus or linear/abstract algebra. That area includes combinatorics, statistics, probability, graph theory, algorithms, set theory, logic, real analysis, complex analysis, numerical analysis, topology, geometry and whatever else the test makers feel like throwing in the mix. If they devoted 5 full questions to topology, they couldn't really test you on much of anything else.