Linear Algebra I

(15-Math-351)

Department of

Mathematical

Sciences

This page is a work in progress! All information is subject to change (Last revised 3 January 2011)

Instructor Prof David A Herron
810D Old Chem Bldg, 556-4075 		My Office Hours
Mon, Wed 12:30-1:45 and by appt		 E-mail me at David's e-address
My web page is at David's w-address

Textbook Introduction to Linear Algebra by Donald J Wright

General Syllabus Chapters 1 & 2 and selected sections from Chapters 3 & 7.

Calculus III (Math 253) is a prerequisite for this course. There are no co-requisites.

Daily class attendance and participation is expected. Your final Course Grade will be based on three in class hour exams, seven weekly quizzes, and classroom activities. Here is the precise breakdown: In order to receive audit credit for this course, you must attend all lectures and take all quizzes and exams.

There will be a quiz or exam every Friday. Your lowest two quiz scores will be dropped. The in-class hour exams are (tentatively) scheduled for Friday 28 January and Friday 18 February and Friday 11 March (the last day of the quarter). Classroom activities include attendance and participation.

There will be NO make-up quizzes or exams; if you have a valid reason for missing one of these, please contact me before the quiz or exam.

The use of calculators or other electronic devices will not be permitted on any exam or quiz.

Homework will be assigned daily via blackboard, but not collected. I will start each class by answering questions on the assigned problems. I encourage you to talk to other members of the class or to ask me or the TA for help.

The main Course Goal is the study of linear vector-valued functions of vectors. We'll start by learning how to solve systems of linear equations; specifically, you'll learn the Gaussian elimination method, as well as basic matrix arithmetic. More importantly though is how we'll use this theory to help us understand such things as the Rank-Nullity Theorem. There will be a number of algorithmic computations that you will have to understand; all of these involve simple arithmetic.

The Primary Goal of this course is your understanding of the underlying concepts; this is the most important task for you to focus on.

If you are seeking help, there are Graduate Student Teaching Assistants on duty at the Mathematics Learning Center located in 614 Old Chemistry. Check their web page for their hours. You can also see me directly after class, during my office hours, or by making an appointment. In addition it is possible to hire a private tutor; the main office has a list available and I will happily help you find someone. Perhaps the best way to get help is to ask your fellow classmates!

It is an excellent idea to go over your notes as soon as possible after class. You may want to get two notebooks for this course: use one to write down class notes and problems that I work in class; do your homework problems in the other notebook. I think you will find it easier to study for exams if your class notes are not cluttered with your homework problems.

The last day to withdraw from this class is Monday 1 March 2011. This is an official UC policy and something I cannot change. If you withdraw from this course, I will be required to verify whether or not you minimally participated in the class. Although I will try my best to respond accurately, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I will state that you did not minimally participate. Ways for you to provide clear evidence of your presence in the class include taking at least one quiz or taking one exam.

Academic Integrity Policy
The University Rules, including the Student Code of Conduct, and other documented policies of the department, college, and university related to academic integrity will be enforced. Any violation of these regulations, including acts of plagiarism or cheating, will be dealt with on an individual basis according to the severity of the misconduct.

Special Needs Policy
If you have any special needs related to your participation in this course, including identified visual impairment, hearing impairment, physical impairment, communication disorder, and/or specific learning disability that may influence your performance in this course, you should meet with the instructor to arrange for reasonable provisions to ensure an equitable opportunity to meet all the requirements of this course. At the discretion of the instructor, some accommodations may require prior approval by Disability Services.

Except for a few courses (132, 133, 134, 139, 173, 174, 178), all mathematics classes satisfy the University Quantitative Reasoning Requirements. This course satisfies the QRR of UC's General Education program.

Here I explain my Regrading Policy. Mistakes are made in grading, especially when there is only one person responsible for grading all of your exams and quizzes. Sometimes these mistakes are in the student's favor, and unfortunately sometimes not. By following the procedure outlined below, you can have mistakes in the grading of your tests corrected. Please be aware that just as it is likely that you will receive more points, it is also possible for you to actually lose points -- this generally happens to at least one person each quarter. That is, there are three possible outcomes of a regrade request: your score may remain the same or your score may increase or your score may decrease.

Note that partial credit is awarded only for work that is mostly correct except for one or two minor errors. You will not be given partial credit for attempting to solve a problem by the wrong method. Nor will you receive credit---even for a correct answer---if no supporting work is present.

Here is the Procedure to Follow for a Regrade Request If you believe an error was made in grading your test, then you must appeal the grade in writing within one day of the day the test was returned to the class. A late request for regrading will automatically be denied. To have your test regraded, you must return it along with a clearly written note indicating the mistakes that you believe were made in grading. If your point totals were added incorrectly, simply indicate this on your regrade request. Otherwise, please provide the following information for each problem that you believe was graded incorrectly.

  1. The number of the problem to be regraded.
  2. The score you think you should receive.
  3. An explanation of why you think you deserve more points. This means that you should indicate which parts of your solution were graded incorrectly. You should be able to distinguish which part of your answer is correct and which part is incorrect. For example, you might say something like "I solved the problem correctly but forgot to multiply by 2 at the third step".
Note that no credit is given if you use the wrong method to solve a problem, even if your computations and/or your answers are correct. In order to provide the information asked for in part (3) above you will probably want to compare your solutions with the Answer Key which will available be via blackboard.

Failure to provide any of the above information may result in your test not being regraded.