MATH 309, MATRIX ALGEBRA

MATH 309, MATRIX ALGEBRA

Fall 2006, SECTION 1

Meets at: Room 249, Psychology Building, MWF 10-11 am.

Click here for the Lesson schedule and Homework Assigments

  • Instructor: Jimin Ding; Office: 112A, Cupples I; Email: jmding@math.wustl.edu
  • Office Hours: Mon. 11-12:30, Fri. 11-12, Wed 11-1 or by appointment
  • Text: Elementary Linear Algebra, 8th edition B. Kolman and D. Hill
  • Calculators and computers: Most modern calculators, in particular the TI-83 used in our calculus courses, are capable of matrix operations, and are very useful in math 309 for checking homework answers and other problems. However, since these calculators automate many of the skills that are taught in this course, it was decided that use of calculators on exams will not be allowed.

Access to a computer and a mathematical utility program like MATLAB, Maple or Mathematica can be very helpful indeed. If you are in science or engineering you'll want to learn to use such a program in any case, but it is not strictly required in this course. It will, however, greatly reduce the tedium involved in doing matrix algebra problems. The textbook contains an excellent chapter describing matrix operations in MATLAB, and the MATLAB program is widely available in computer labs around the campus.

  • Exams:

            Midterm I:       10/04/06 (W), 249 Psychology

            Midterm II:     11/06/06 (M), 249 Psychology

            Final:               12/19/06 ( T),  TBA

Exams are closed book-and-note and calculators are not allowed. Each of the two in-class midterms will count for 20% of the grade and final will count for 30%. Midterm I will cover Chap1.1—3.5, Midterm II will cover Chap 3.6—5.4, and Final will be cumulative, with an emphasis on Chap 6 and 7. All exams will be hand-graded and partial credit for a problem will be awarded when appropriate.

  • Homework and take-home problems: There will be (roughly) weekly homework assignments. The homework is given everyday and will be collected on Monday (in bolded font). No late homework is acceptable. These will be graded and returned to you as soon as possible. The grader for this course is Carolyn Auchter and you may email her at cauchter@wustl.edu with any of your concerns regarding homework grading. One lowest homework grade will be dropped off and the left 10 homework will make 30% of the final grade.

Often, especially early in the course, problems may amount to performing a matrix operation that can in principle be done with a calculator without much understanding of the subject. Make sure to show enough work in those cases so that we know you did those problems by hand. Of course, you can still use your calculator to check the answer. This requirement (of solving problems by hand) may be relaxed as the course progresses and problems become more complex. In addition to the homework problems, I strongly recommend that you attempt as many problems from the book as possible. This will be a good indicator of whether you have understood the class material.

It is expected that you will write homework clearly and cleanly. Even if your answer to a particular problem is correct, you may still lose points for writing it in a sloppy or confusing way. Pay attention on the comments by the grader when you get your graded homework back. At least 20% of exam problems will be draw from your homework problems. (Longer problems may have to be modified to make them doable in the amount of time available during exams.)

  • Grades: Your grade will be calculated on the basis of the two midterms, final, and homework. Each midterm will account for 20% of the grade, final 30%, and homework 30%. Only highest 10 homework assignment will account for final grade. The exact grade scale will not be decided till the end of the course. However, the final letter grade is guaranteed to be no harsher than the following:

Score

Grade is at least (possibly with a + or - attached)

85-100%

A

70-84.99%

B

55-69.99%

C

40-54.99%

D

Below 40%

NCR(F)