Description and goals:

An introduction to Linear Algebra with dual emphasis on theoretical and computational aspects. The presentation begins with the age-old problem of solving systems of linear equations, which motivates the introduction of matrices, which in turn leads to the basic notions of vector spaces and linear maps between them.

Picture: C. F. Gauss undergoes a linear transformation

My webpage: Saeed Zakeri

My email:

Text and References

WebAssign

Course Syllabus

Announcements:

• 4/20: Check out your midterm 2 grades.

• 4/16: Check out the midterm 2 solutions (password protected; check your college email for the password).

• 4/6: Here is the midterm 2 review sheet including some practice problems which I'll discuss during the review session on Thursday 4/11. Make sure you work on these problems ahead of time.

• 4/1: Please note that the date of midterm 2 has been pushed back by one week to April 16.

• 3/9: Check out your midterm 1 grades.

• 3/7: Check out the midterm 1 solutions (password protected; check your college email for the password). I'll post the grades here before Monday.

• 3/1: Here is a very short note on comparing the size of independent and spanning sets. We used this result to conclude that any two bases for a subspace $S$ of ${\mathbb R}^n$ must have the same number of vectors in them, which in turn allowed us to define the dimension of $S$ unambiguously.

• 2/28: Here is the midterm 1 review sheet including some practice problems which I'll discuss during the review session on Tuesday 3/5. Make sure you work on these problems ahead of time.

• 2/12: Due to the impending snow storm and class closures tomorrow, our Math 231 lecture will be held remotely during the usual time 11:00am-12:50pm. Please check your QC email for the Zoom link of the meeting.

• 2/4: Here is a short proof of the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality.

• 1/25: Welcome!

General Information and Ground Rules:

• Class lecture meetings are Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:00AM - 12:50PM in Kiely 320.

• Homework is an absolutely essential part of this course. You cannot master the course material without solving many problems consistently throughout the semester. This course uses WebAssign, an online homework management system.

• The exams are scheduled as follows:
  
  

  Midterm 1	Midterm 2	Final
  Thursday March 7 (in class)	Tuesday April 16 (in class)	Tuesday May 21, 11:00-1:00 Kiely 320

• Course grade is based on the following scheme:
  
  

  Assignments	Two Midterms	Final Exam
  20%	25% each	30%

• The prerequisite for this course is MATH 141 or MATH 151 with a minimum grade of C-. In the absence of this prerequisite, you should not be enrolled in this class. Please contact the Math Department office and seek advice.

• If a midterm exam is missed because of a documented illness or valid emergency, the course grade will be determined on the basis of the other work done during the semester. Exams missed for other reasons will count as failures. In any case, there will be no make up exam.

• At the end of the semester, everyone who has not withdrawn from the class will receive a grade. Incompletes will not be given to avoid F's.