640:250:C2–Spring 2010
Course Policies and Information
- Instructor: Professor E. Speer
- Hill Center 520
- 732-445-2390, extension 1313
- speer at math.rutgers.edu
- Office hours:
- Monday and Wednesday, 10:20--11:40 A.M., Hill 520
- Or by appointment or chance in Hill 520
- Text: L. E. Spence, A. J. Insel,
and S. H. Friedberg,
Elementary Linear algebra: A Matrix Approach, 2nd Edition; ISBN
978-0-13-187141-0. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458.
- General: We will cover a lot
of material; we start fast and it is important not to fall behind.
Remember that the way to learn mathematics is to do problems: you should be
able to do all the suggested problems on the list posted on the web site.
If you have trouble with these, I urge you to come in during my office
hours, or at some other time, and discuss them.
- Homework: Homework will not be
collected. There will be one short written quiz each Wednesday (except for
the weeks of midterm exams), covering the work of the previous two lectures
and the corresponding homework problems.
- Computer labs: There will be
six computer assignments, all based on the MATLAB software package. For
each assignment you are asked to carry out linear algebra calculations, to
create a printed writeup of your MATLAB session, and to hand this in for
grading. Links to these assignments, as well as MATLAB tutorials and
related web sites, can be found on the course web page. No previous
programming knowledge of MATLAB is required.
- The low score on the six MATLAB assignments will be dropped in computing
the final lab average.
- MATLAB assignments are due at the beginning of the
class period, and late labs are not accepted. There is a loophole for this
policy, which you may use at most once in the term: If you have completed a
lab but cannot attend the lecture due to an emergency, you may email the
lab to me (as an attachment). The email must be sent by the beginning of
the lecture at which the lab is due, and you must turn in a printed copy
which is the same as the lab you emailed within twenty-four hours (put it
under my door if I am not in my office).
- The MATLAB software package is installed on PC's in all the
Rutgers public computer labs (in ARC, Loree, College Avenue, Livingston).
If you want to install MATLAB on your personal computer, the Student
Edition (for Windows, Linux or Macintosh) can be purchased directly from
the publisher, The MathWorks, Inc., by going to their website:
www.mathworks.com. Note: Some of the MATLAB assignments use
the symbolic toolbox, which is not installed in the computers in the
engineering school running MATLAB. The MATLAB program is not available on
MacIntosh computers in the Rutgers public computer labs.
- Exams: There will be two
in-class exams, on February 24 and April 7; the final exam is
on May 12 from 12:00 to 3:00 P.M. Make-up exams will be given only
in the case of well-documented illness or major emergency or (only with
permission in advance) of a major outside commitment.
- Grading: Grading will be based on a
weighted average of homework and exams:
| Quizzes |
|
9% |
| Computer labs |
low lab dropped |
18% |
| Class exams |
18% each |
36% |
| Final exam |
|
37% |