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MA 305 Spring 2002 Syllabus

Course Outline*

Note: all underscored links are active; future links will be installed over the listed items as the class progresses.
Lecture Topic(s) Audio Slides Maple ws Notes/Book(s)
1. Jan 8 Course overview streamed audio(*.ra 7.4MB) 1.html 1.mws (1.txt)  
2. Jan 10 Solution of linear equations streamed audio(*.ra 7.4MB) 2.html 2.mws (2.txt) H §1.2; S §1.1, S §1.2,
3. Jan 15 Reduction to REF, Gaussian elimination streamed audio(*.ra 7.8MB) 3.html 3.mws (3.txt)
 H Appendix B; S §1.3, S §1.4
4. Jan 17 Reduced REF, Gauss-Jordan elimination streamed audio(*.ra 8MB) 4.html
H §1.3
Tuesday, Jan 22 Martin Luther King holiday, no class
5. Jan 24 Matrix algebra streamed audio(*.ra 8.2MB),
 5.html 5.mws (5.txt) S §2.1, S §2.2, S §2.3, Part S §2.4; Mathematicians on paper money
6. Jan 29 Matrix multiplication streamed audio(*.ra 8.5MB) 6.html 6.mws (6.txt)
7. Jan 31 Fibonacci numbers streamed audio(*.ra 8.2MB) 7.html 7.mws (7.txt)
8. Feb 5 Matrix inverse, transposition streamed audio(*.ra 8.1MB) 8.html 8.mws (8.txt) S §2.4; H §1.5
9. Feb 7 elementary matrices; matrix factorization streamed audio(*.ra 8.3MB) 9.html 9.mws (9.txt) S §2.8-10
Tuesday, Feb 12 class time First midterm exam, counts 17.5%
10. Feb 14 Determinants streamed audio(*.ra 7.5MB) 10.html 10.mws (10.txt) H §2.1-3; S §3
11. Feb 19 Return of exam streamed audio(*.ra 7MB) 11.html

Wednesday, Feb 20 Last day to drop course without grade
12. Feb 21 Minor (co-factor) expansion; cost of recursion streamed audio(*.ra 8.5MB) 12.html 12.mws (12.txt) H §2.4; S §3.6-7
13. Feb 26 Cramer's rule streamed audio(*.ra 8.1MB) 13.html 13.mws (13.txt)
14. Feb 28 Vector Spaces streamed audio(*.ra 8.1MB) 14.html 14.mws (14.txt)
H §3.1-3; S §4.1,
15. Mar 5 Subspace streamed audio(*.ra 8.6MB)
15.html 15.mws (15.txt)
H §3.4 S §6.1
16. Mar 7 Lin independence, span, basis streamed audio(*.ra 7.8MB) 16.html
H §3.5; S §6.6-7 H §3.6; S §6.12
Week Mar 11-15 Spring break, no classes
17. Mar 19 Nullspace, dimension streamed audio(*.ra 8.2MB),
 17.html
H §3.7; S §6.3-4
18. Mar 21 Row and col space, rank streamed audio(*.ra 8.2MB) 18.html
H §3.7
Tuesday, Mar 26, at class time Second midterm exam, counts 17.5%
Thursday Mar 28 Holiday, no class
19. Apr 2 Orthogonal vectors and complement spaces streamed audio(*.ra 8.5MB) 19.html
H §4.2; S §4.1, S §6.18
20. Apr 4 Return of exam streamed audio(*.ra 8.2MB) 20.html

21. Apr 9 Orthogonal projection, least squares streamed audio(*.ra 8.5MB) 21.html
H §4.2-3; S §6.28
22. Apr 11 Application of least squares: curve fitting streamed audio(*.ra 8.3MB) 22.html
22.mws (22.txt)

23. Apr 16 Abstract inner product, norm; weighted least squares streamed audio(*.ra 8.4MB) 23.html
H §4.4
24. Apr 18 Curve fitting for algorithm analysis streamed audio(*.ra 8.1MB) 24.html 24a.mws (24a.txt); 24b.mws (24b.txt)
25. Apr 23 Gram-Schmidt process streamed audio(*.ra 7.9MB
25.html 25.mws (25.txt) H §4.5-6; S §6.22
26. Apr 25 Ortho proj by QR factorization streamed audio(*.ra 8.0MB
26.html 26.mws (26.txt)
27. Apr 30 Linear transformations streamed audio(*.ra 7.0MB)
27.html 27.mws (27.txt); more Maple animation commands H §4.1; S §5.1-4
28. May 2 Eigenvalues
28.html
 28a.mws (28a.txt) 28b.mws (28b.txt) H §5.2-3, 5.6; S §6.36
The cassette recorder did not work and we have no audio track. However, Lecture 28 of last year's class covered the same material. After you have listened to that class, you may wish to look at the transparencies and worksheets of this year's lecture to see what was done.
Tuesday, May 7, 13h00-16h00, in class room Final exam, counts 25%
* This is a projected list and subject to amendment.

Instruction Personnel

For instructor, teaching assistant, office hours, telephone numbers, email and physical addresses see the homepages of Erich Kaltofen and George Yuhasz.

Textbook and Online Text and Notes

I have obtained Professor Mark Sapir's online linear algebra text book. The book was purchased by a lump sum and is free for you.

If you really need a hardcopy textbook, I have ordered We will be following Sapir's book, but the material in Hill's book is very similar and you should not have any difficulty finding the corresponding sections.

On-line information: All information on courses that I teach (except individual grades) is now accessible via html browsers, which includes this syllabus. My courses' directory is at

You can also find information on courses that I have taught in the past, and examinations that I have given.

Grading and General Information

Grading will be done with plus/minus refinement.

There will be five or six homework assignments of approximately equal weight, some to be done on computers using the Maple systems, two mid-semester examinations during the semester and a final examination during examination week. Class attendance will not be monitored in any way. If you need assistance in any way, please let me know (see also the University's policy).

Grade distribution of Spring 2001.

Academic Standards

Examinations:All three examinations will be closed book-closed notes. However, you will be able to bring note sheets of paper with pertinent information to the examinations (1 for first exam, 2 for second exam, and 3 for final exam with the intent that you reuse your sheets for subsequent exams). The examinations will require your physical presence on campus.

Collaboration on homeworks: I expect every student to be his/her own writer/Maple programmer. Therefore the only thing you can discuss with anyone is how you might go about solving a particular problem. You may use freely information that you retrieve from public (electronic) libraries or texts, but you must properly reference your source.

Late submissions: All homeworks must be submitted on time. The following penalties are given for (unexcused) late submissions:

Alleged cheating incidents: I will not decide any penalty myself, but refer all such cases to the proper judiciary procedures.

©2002 Erich Kaltofen. Permission to use provided that copyright notice is not removed.