Lecturer: Dr. Peter Wolfe
Lecture: MWF 11:00a.m.-11:50a.m. in ARM 0126.
Discussion sections: meet on Tuesday and Thursday in the Mathematics Building.
| Section | Time | Room | Assistant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0111 | 12 p.m. | 0306 | Mr. Kobi Snitz |
| 0112 | 12 p.m. | B0425 | Mr.Ming Wai Ong |
| 0121 | 1 p.m. | 0306 | Mr. Kobi Snitz |
| 0122 | 1 p.m. | B0425 | Mr. Ming Wai Ong |
| 0123 | 1 p.m. | 0103 | Mr. Christian Zorn |
| 0131 | 2 p.m. | 0306 | Mr. Sean Lawton |
| 0141 | 3 p.m. | 0306 | Mr. Sean Lawton |
This course will present the main concepts and terminology of linear
algebra that play an essential role in mathematics and in many technical
areas of modern society, such as computer science, engineering, physics,
environmental science, economics, statistics, business management, and
social sciences.
Management of the course will be conducted with the help of WebCT, a course-management program adopted by the University of Maryland. Each student will have a password-protected WebCT page that contains all pertinent information about the course: the complete syllabus, schedule of lectures and quizzes, list of homework assignments, and review sheets. Each student will be able to view the WebCT quiz grades as the semester progresses.
For help with WebCT (including a student manual), go to
http://www.courses.umd.edu/studentresources.html.
Click on myWebCT@Maryland to login.
Texts:
Lay, Linear Algebra and Its Applications, 3rd ed., Addison-Wesley,
2003
Lay, Study Guide, 3rd ed. (for Linear Algebra and Its Applications)
Exams: There will be three hour exams; on February 28 ( note the change ), April 2 and May 5 and a Final Exam on May 16. In addition there will be online quizzes. (the dates are noted on the syllabus.) Make-ups for hour exams will be given only upon presentation of an acceptable excuse. No make-ups for quizzes will be given.
Online Quizzes:
An important use of WebCT will be to administer online quizzes, to help you learn the course material. Anonymous student evaluations the past three semesters have given these quizzes high marks. Most quiz questions can be answered by reading the text carefully. (You may find this difficult at first, but in this course and in most math courses that follow it, reading and rereading the text word by word is absolutely essential for success.)
Typically, each quiz will be available on WebCT any time between the end of one lecture and the beginning of the next lecture. Most quizzes will consist of five questions: true/false questions or multiple choice questions (which ask you to decide whether a certain statement is always true, sometimes true, or never true). In some cases, a question will ask for a computation similar to those at the beginning of a section in the text. You may save your answers and change/save them at any time until you press Finish. At this point, the quiz will be graded and your graded quiz will be displayed, with comments about each answer.
The quizzes are conducted on the honor system. You should read the text carefully before starting a quiz. Once you start a quiz, you will have twenty minutes in which to complete it. (Most students spend between five and fifteen minutes on a quiz) No two students will have exactly the same quiz, but the questions will be similar and cover the same basic material. You should have your book open for reference, but you must not communicate with any other person about the quiz while taking the quiz. Also, you should not look at any other student's quiz before taking your own quiz. (You will be asked to agree to this policy on WebCT.)
The schedule of lectures shows the date each quiz is to be completed (before the lecture) and identifies the text section on which the quiz is based.
To help you learn the quiz system, you may take each
of the first two quizzes two times each, with only the higher scores
counted. In addition, you should take a survey before the second
lecture (Jan. 31). In WebCT, click the "Quiz and Survey" button. At the top of the list of quizzes, click on "Survey 1". It has the same format as a quiz and counts as a quiz, but it is anonymous. You get 5 points just for taking the survey. There will be two other surveys later in the course. Each survey and most quizzes will count 5 points. Four of these grades will be dropped from the final "quiz" total.
Computer Work: We will be using the software system MATLAB .
MATLAB HELP: For help with MATLAB, this link will take you to the software info page of the Mathematics Department. SOFTWARE
Introduction to MATLAB: Here is a short introduction to
MATLAB that can be downloaded in either pdf or postscript format
Click here for
postscript . Click here for pdf
Homework: Homework is assigned according to the syllabus to be discussed at the next discussion session. (It is up to the indivual assistant whether or not it will be collected.) Students are responsible for all homework problems. There also will be five MATLAB asignments to be handed in.
Grading: The three lowest quiz grades will be dropped and the rest will count as one hour exam. The final will count as two hour exams. The MATLAB assignments will count at half an hour exam. Therefore the final grade will be based on 650 points. Grading is on the scale 90-100 = A, 80-89=B, 70-79 = C, 60-69 = D, < 60 = f. However, grades may be adjusted upwards on the basis of (a) improvement over the semester, or (b) an exceptionally good final examination.
MATLAB Assignments