Math 340: Elementary Matrix and Linear Algebra

Final Exam

cutoffs for exams 1, 2 and 3

Lecturer:       Gabriele Meyer
Office:            720 Van Vleck
Office hours:  MW 12 - 1:30 pm
email:             meyer at math dot wisc dot edu
Tel:                (608)-262-3745

TA:          Weidong Yin
Office:            718 Van Vleck
Office hours:  Tu  1:10 - 2:10pm
                        Th  1:10 - 2:10pm and 3:25 - 4:25pm
email:             yin at math dot wisc dot edu
Tel:                (608)-262-0079

Grader:          Sriram Gopalan
email:             gopalan3 at wisc dot edu

Lecture:
 

Text:      Bernard Kolman, David Hill: Elementary Linear Algebra, 9th edition, Prentice Hall

 Syllabus

 some minimal notes

Homework Solutions:
Homework 1
Homework 2
Homework 3
Homework 4
Homework 5
Homework 6
Homework 7
Homework 8
Homework 9
Homework 10
Homework 11

computation tools:
simple Matlab Tutorial
the ultimate  Matlab site
You are very much encouraged to use the computers in  these locations or any online matrix calculator when doing your homework, so that you can check your computations. You still need to be able to do these things by hand, though.
link to online linear equation solver and
link which   produces reduced row echelon form and
a link to a matrix calculator
link to  phenomenal demos and explanations from Prof Gilbert Strang, MIT

Catalog Statement:
Math 340 is our standard Linear Algebra course for non math majors. Math majors are also allowed to take Math 340 for their requirements, although the more theoretical, proof-based Math 341 is recommended in their case. Math 340 covers the principles of Linear Algebra and the theory of matrices with an emphasis in understanding the concepts and being able to perform calculations. Some proofs are also introduced in Math 340. Note, it is not the purpose of this course to learn MATLAB, however students are encouraged to experiment with the matrix calculation program on their own.

Prerequisites:
Math 234 or Math 222 and 240

Study Habits
If you are coming into this course, as most students are, having just finished the calculus sequence, you will notice some change in emphasis from the problem-oriented calculus. There are many ideas and concepts in this course that we will explore and interrelate. We will explain some proofs, in order to understand the implications of the various ideas and their dependency on each other. You will be expected to do some simple proofs relating the various concepts and ideas. Of course, we also want to be able to compute and solve problems. There are software tools for solving problems, notably MatLab. We will not explain MatLab in this course. Once you understand the ideas, then solving problems in MatLab is a breeze, but you have to know what answers mean, how to interpret them, how to use them, etc. and this is what you will learn in this course.
There are two complementary resources for you for learning the material in this course: the lecture and the book (I find the book to be a little wordy, but maybe you won't - it has lots of examples and, at least in the first two chapters, some redundancy). It is important that you make use of both of these resources. I expect students to be present at every class.
In the lecture I will try to motivate you to study and understand the material in the book, give you a short writeup of the theorems, explain the proofs and do problems. Ideally, you should do a first reading, even if it is superficial, of the sections covered in the book before they are discussed in lecture. We will be moving at a goodly pace so it is important not to get behind, as it takes some time to understand all the concepts and their relation with one another. Really, you should be devoting 6 to 8 hours each week to this course outside of the class.

Exercises (Very important)
There are many exercises at the end of each section, of which the odd-numbered ones have answers or helpful hints in the back of the book. By doing exercises you will get to understand the concepts and ideas and be able to work with them. For each section I have selected some of the exercises for you to do for practice and understanding and some to be handed in for marking - less of the routine ones and more of the more difficult ones. These constitute a minimum of exercises. You will probably be mistaken if you think you can succeed by just doing the exercises that are to be handed in. For extra practice and understanding, you should be also trying similar exercises with answers in the back of the book for checking. Exams will have problems similar to the
assigned exercises at the end of each section, and all the examples/material done in lecture.
Your work on the exercises to be handed in.not just the answers.should be well-presented in good English, and not written carelessly. While you can work
with fellow students on the exercises (and indeed are encouraged to), the work you hand in should be your own write-up and not copied from someone else.

Grades:
There will be 11 homework assignments, posted on the web. Selected problems will be graded in each homework. Out of fairness considerations,

                        ***  late homework will not be accepted ***.

However, we will drop the lowest homework score. So if you were sick once or had some kind of emergency that made you unable to submit a homework on time, this might be the one that could be dropped.

Your course grade will be composed of:
 
 
 
 
 
 

***** You are required to attend the final exam. *****

Making the most of your math class:

attend lectures and sections. In many years of teaching I found that nonattendance almost always goes along with poor grades.

start working on the homework assignments EARLY. If you cannot do a problem, ask for help. Hand in your attempts. Consider the homework as practice for the exams.

if you need help, don't delay. Go to see your lecturer. If you wait until almost the end of the semester, it is too late to make a significant impact on the grade.

Getting Help:

If you are having difficulty, come and see me.
Here are some other places you can get help:

          Mathlab:

Graduate and undergraduate tutors are available MTWR 3:30-8:30 pm in B227 Van Vleck to answer questions on homework and standard course material.

Private Tutoring:

 The Mathematics Department publishes a list of Mathematics graduate students who are willing to tutor students; copies are available on the second floor of Van Vleck Hall, next to the elevators.

Location: Varies; many tutors will meet in Van Vleck Hall: some will meet off-campus.
Cost: Fees vary from tutor to tutor; typical costs are $20 to $30 per hour.

Math Board

The Math Board is a wooden board with slots labelled for many of the departments mathematics courses (101 through 632); interested students can fill out a card with information about themselves (name, course, instructor, contact information), and put that card in the slot which matches their course. Students can also read the cards that have been placed into the various slots, and use the information from the cards to contact one another to set up study groups, etc.