MA-405-001 Linear Algebra and Matrices Spring 1996

Harrelson 207, TH 1:05 pm-2:20

Instructor:

Teaching Assistant: Text:

General Information

Grading will be done with plus/minus refinement.

There will be homework assignments, some to be done on computers using the Maple systems, two mid-semester examinations during the semester and a final examination during examination week. The final will count 30% of the grade, the midterm exams will count 20%. Homeworks will count 30%. Class attendance will not be monitored in any way.

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. Our course is further under LinAlgebra/Spring96.

Course Standards

Examinations: Both examinations will be "closed book--closed notes." However, you will be able to bring a single sheet of paper with pertinent information to the examinations.

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 penalities are given for (unexcused) late submissions:

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

Course Outline

Date                    Topic(s)                               Reading


Lect. 1 (Jan 11)        Course overview                        L §1.1
Week 2 (Jan 16, 18)     Reduction to REF, Gaussian elimination L §1.2
                        Reduced REF, Gauss-Jordan elimination
Week 3 (Jan 23, 25)     Matrix algebra                         L §1.3
Week 4 (Jan 30, Feb 1)  Elementary matrices and applications   L §1.4
Week 5 (Feb 6)          Partitioned matrices                   L §1.5
Thu, Feb 8              First Midterm Exam, counts 20%
Week 6 (Feb 13, 15)     Determinants                           L §2.1, 2.2
Week 7 (Feb 20, 22)     Cramer's rule                          L §2.3
Week 8 (Feb 27, 29)     Vector spaces, subspaces               L §3
                        Lin independence, span, basis, dim
Week 9 (Mar 5, 7)       Solution by CEF; lin. transformations  L §5
Mar 11-15               Spring break, no classes         
Week 10 (Mar 19)        Review for second exam
Thu, Mar 21             Second Midterm Exam, counts 20%
Week 11 (Mar 26, 28)    Return of exam; orthogonality          L §5
Week 12 (Apr 2, 4)      Orthogonality cont.
Week 13 (Apr 9, 11)     Eigenvalues                            L §6.1-4
Week 14 (Apr 16, 18)    Eigenvalues cont
Week 15 (Apr 23, 25)    Quadratic forms                        L §6.5-6
Tue, Apr 30, 1-4pm      Final examination, counts 30%


* This is a  projected list and subject to amendment.

Welcome back!
Good luck for this semester!