Linear Systems - Mathematics 214 - Fall 2007

Class Meetings: MWF 9:30-10:25, Room: TBA.

Text: Linear Algebra, a Modern Introduction (Second Edition), by David Poole. We will cover most of the sections in Chapters 1-5, and possibly a few from Chapters 6 and 7. Topics: vectors; matrices and systems of linear equations; row reduction; determinants; inverses; linear independence, basis, dimension; vector spaces; linear transformations; eigenvectors, eigenvalues; projections; orthogonality.

Homework: HW will be assigned in every class meeting, due the next class meeting. Not all problems can be graded. Those that are, will be graded strictly, but the scores will not be recorded! Instead, you will receive full credit for each assignment that you turn in! The purpose of HW is not for me to evaluate you, but to help you learn the material and evaluate yourself. You are strongly encouraged to work with your classmates and/or get help from me or the CAE on problems you can't do. Doing HW is essential to learning mathematics -- there is no way around it. You must take it seriously, and should expect to spend at least two to three hours every other day on it!

Midterms: There will be three exams, on the following dates (subject to change, with advance notice): F 9/21, F 10/19, and F 11/16.

Final : The final exam will be on TBA W 12/12/07 8:30-11:30AM. Please make sure you do not have any time conflicts with this date and time (or any early travel plans), as I do not give early or late finals!

Make-ups: No make-up exams will be given. If you miss a midterm with a valid excuse (e.g., a medical reason), and provide documentation for it, that midterm will simply not count for you -- instead, your other midterms and final exam will count proportionally more. This policy does not apply to the final exam.

Grading: Your grade for the semester will be computed according to this table:

Homework 5% Midterms 60% Final 35%

Attendance: You are responsible for everything that goes on in every class meeting, such as announcements, handouts, taught topics that are not in the book, etc.  This means even if you miss a class for a valid reason, it is your responsibility to contact me and find out what you missed.

E-mail: When necessary, I will make announcements via the class mailing list, instead of in the classroom. You are expected to check your email at least once a day. You are encouraged to use our class email list, math214sec0-L at oxydotedu, to send messages to everyone in the class.

Academic Honesty: I feel strongly about protecting honest and hard-working students against unfair and dishonest actions sometimes committed by a few. I don't give warnings; I refer all suspicious cases to the Judicial Examiner without hesitation.

Students with learning disability: Please see me and the CAE to arrange for any special needs.