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MA 305 Spring 2000 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 11 Course overview streamed audio(*.ra 4.7MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.6MB)
1.html 1.mws (1.txt)  
2. Jan 13 Solution of linear equations streamed audio(*.ra 4.9MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 4.0MB)
2.html 2.mws (2.txt) H §1.2; S §1.1, S §1.2,
Tuesday, Jan 18 Martin Luther King holiday, no class
3. Jan 20 Reduction to REF, Gaussian elimination streamed audio(*.ra 4.7MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.7MB)
3.html
H Appendix B; S §1.3, S §1.4.
Jan 25 & 27 Winterstorm, no class
4. Feb 1 Reduced REF, Gauss-Jordan elimination streamed audio(*.ra 4.7MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.8MB)
4.html 4_1.mws (4_1.txt), 4_2.mws (4_2.txt) H §1.3
5. Feb 3 Matrix algebra streamed audio(*.ra 5.0MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.6MB)
5.html 5.mws (5.txt) S §2.1, S §2.2, S §2.3, Part S §2.4.
6. Feb 8 Fibonacci numbers streamed audio(*.ra 4.9MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.4MB)
6.html 6.mws (6.txt)
7. Feb 10 Matrix inverse, transposition streamed audio(*.ra 5.2MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.5MB)
7.html 7.mws (7.txt) S §2.4
8. Feb 15 Elementary matrices streamed audio(*.ra 4.8MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.0MB)
8.html 8.mws (8.txt) H §1.5; S §2.8-10
Thursday, Feb 17 class time First midterm exam, counts 17.5%
9. Feb 22 Matrix factorization streamed audio(*.ra 4.9MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.6MB)
9.html 9.mws (9.txt)
10. Feb 24 Determinants streamed audio(*.ra 5.1MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.4MB)
10.html 10.mws (10.txt) H §2.1-3; S §3
11. Feb 29 (one in 400 years!) Return of exam streamed audio(*.ra 4.4MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 2.5MB)
11.html 11.mws (11.txt)
Tuesday, Feb 29 Last day to drop course without grade
12. Mar 2 Cramer's rule streamed audio(*.ra 5.1MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.4MB)
12.html 12.mws (12.txt) H §2.4; S §3.6-7
13. Mar 7 The cost of minor expansion streamed audio(*.ra 4.9MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 2.9MB)
13.html 13_1.mws (13_1.txt) 13_2.mws (13.txt)

Warning: executing fibo(50); consumes all your memory
14. Mar 9 Vector Spaces, Subspaces streamed audio(*.ra 5.1MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.2MB)
14.html
H §3.1-4; S §4.1, S §6.1
Week Mar 13-17 Spring break, no classes
15. Mar 21 Lin independence, span streamed audio(*.ra 4.7MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.9MB)
15.html
H §3.5; S §6.6-7
16. Mar 23 Nullspace, basis streamed audio(*.ra 4.8MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.4MB)
16.html
H §3.6; S §6.12
17. Mar 28 Dimension streamed audio(*.ra 5.0MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.3MB)
17.html 17.mws (17.txt) H §3.7; S §6.3-4

The Maple worksheet shows how the example was synthesized
Thursday, Mar 30, at class time Second midterm exam, counts 17.5%
18. Apr 4 Row and col space, rank streamed audio(*.ra 4.9MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.5MB)
18.html 18.mws (18.txt) H §3.7
19. Apr 6 Orthogonal vectors and complement spaces streamed audio(*.ra 4.8MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.1MB)
19.html
H §4.2; S §4.1, S §6.18
20. Apr 11 Return of exam streamed audio(*.ra 4.9MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 2.5MB)
20.html

21. Apr 13 Orthogonal projection, least squares streamed audio(*.ra 4.7MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.7MB)
21.html 21.mws (21.txt) H §4.2-3; S §6.28
22. Apr 18 Application of least squares: curve fitting streamed audio(*.ra 4.5MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.8MB)
22.html
QSORT run trace
22a.mws (22a.txt); 22b.mws (22b.txt); 22c.mws (22c.txt) incsolve. mpl (used in 22a.*)
23. Missed due to snowstrom; material merged into previous classes
24. Apr 20 Make-up class, no holiday

Abstract inner product, norm; weighted least squares streamed audio(*.ra 5.1MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.7MB)
24.html; More QSORT tests 24.mws (24.txt) H §4.4

The QSORT tests were recreated as I had difficulty saving the script :-(as you can hear on the audio). During the Maple demo, I compared the weighted least squares solution with old data. I have recomputed the unweighted solution in the worksheet that is posted (it is now much worse than the weighted one:-).
25. Apr 25 Gram-Schmidt process streamed audio(*.ra 5.2MB,
streamed audio (*.ra 2.9MB)
25.html 25.mws (25.txt) H §4.5-6; S §6.22
26. Apr 27 Ortho proj by QR factorization streamed audio(*.ra 5.0MB
streamed audio (*.ra 1.0MB)
26.html 26.mws (26.txt)

The first example in 26.mws is from the Spring 1997 final exam.
27. May 2 Linear transformations streamed audio(*.ra 5.2MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.2MB)
27.html 27.mws (27.txt); more Maple animations H §4.1; S §5.1-4
28. May 4 Eigenvalues streamed audio(*.ra 5.4MB),
streamed audio (*.ra 3.1MB)
28.html
28_1.mws (28_1.txt) 28_2.mws (28_2.txt) H §5.2-3, 5.6; S §6.36
Tuesday, May 16, 1pm-3, 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 Will Turner.

Textbook and Online Text and Notes

I have obtained Professor Mark Sapir's online linear algebra text book. This will require each student to pay $10.

If the deal does not go through we can use a hardcopy book, which 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. The linear algebra courses have been linked to the Project25 server.

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 two years ago.

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.

©2000 Erich Kaltofen. Permission to use provided that copyright notice is not removed.