| Course page: |
ON CAMPUS: http://www.math.fsu.edu/~mesterto/ALAI.html (this
page—but obviously, if you are reading a hard copy of it, then you
won't be able to activate the links until you go online)
OFF CAMPUS: http://www.math.fsu.edu.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/~mesterto/ALAI.html (with your
FSUID username and password) |
| Professor: | Dr M-G
|
| Office: | 202B Love
|
| Office hours: |
Please click here.
Office hours are subject to change during the semester
at 24 hours notice, but current times are always posted
online. Note that office hours are primarily for
personal matters that cannot be addressed in class (as
opposed to tutorial help, for which see under Course
format and How to
study below) |
| Phone: | (850 64) 42580
|
| Main website: |
Professor M-G's
Home Page Email:
|
| Goal: | The purpose of this course is to introduce
the elements of linear
algebra and its applications from both a theoretical and a computational perspective by reading and understanding the text |
| Class meets: |
In 201 LOV, Mondays 2:30—3:20
p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:00—3:15 p.m.
|
| Text: | Lay,
Linear Algebra and Its Applications, 3rd edition
(Addison-Wesley, 2005, ISBN 0-321-28713-4), selected topics from chapters
1-2 and 4-7 |
| Credit: | 4 semester hours |
| Prerequisites: |
| (i) |
C- or better in MAC 2312 (Calculus with Analytic Geometry
II) or equivalent; and |
| (ii) |
self-motivation and industriousness. Dr M-G's philosophy of
learning is perhaps best expressed by the following
diagram: |
|
| |
ALTERNATIVE THEORIES OF LEARNING VERSUS
PAIN
 |
For further details, please click here.
|
| Communication: | It is your responsibility to register for
an FSU computer account so that I can send you email, which you are
expected to check regularly. If you prefer to read your email elsewhere
then you can arrange to have messages
forwarded, but you must still obtain an FSU account in the first
instance |
| Your name: |
 |
|
I don't know who you are, but because
everything works so much better when I do, I would like to
learn your name as soon as possible. So, please take a sheet of
card stock (or even paper), fold it in half, write your name in large letters on
one side and stand it up on your desk so that I can see it.
(Write what you want me to call you: if you're a William who
likes to be called Dubya or a Margaret Jane who likes to be
called Dee Dee, write Dubya or Dee Dee, not William or Margaret
Jane.) Please bring your nameplate to every class
until I have finally learnt your name (which will take
significantly longer than it used to take when I started
out) |
|
| Course format: |
Each period, one or two sections of text and related exercises
will be assigned for the following period. In class, it will always be
assumed that you have both read this material and at least attempted
(not necessarily completed) the exercises. Typically, a few minutes
will be spent on recalling key results and placing them in perspective,
a few minutes on resolving any difficulties that arise from the text
itself, and the rest of the time (which is most of it) on solving
problems interactively to facilitate comprehension of the material.
Questions may be asked at any time—and should be, if there's
anything you don't understand. (Perhaps you have a question about the
assigned reading that you anticipate being answered by one or more of
the problems we work together; in which case, it may well be socially
minded not to ask your question at the outset. However, if it turns out
that you anticipated incorrectly, then be sure to ask your question
before the class is over!).
On Tuesdays and Thursdays we will attempt to
end the formal class period after 50-55 minutes so that the last 20-25
minutes can be devoted to individual tutorial help |
| First homework: |
Please read both A Note to Students (pp. xxxv-xxxvi) and
Section 1.1, Systems of Linear Equations (pp. 2-10) before our
first meeting at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, August 25. On that day I will
assume that you both have read the assigned passage and are
prepared to ask about anything you didn't understand, because all I
will do in class—before moving on to solving problems—is to
summarize key points to jog your memory. Be sure to attempt the
practice problems on p. 10 and—as A Note to Students
cautions—don't even dream of peeking at the solutions until you
have made a serious attempt to solve the problems all by yourself! |
| Test format: |
Begin each question (but not subsequent parts of the same question)
on a fresh sheet of paper, use one side of the paper only, and have
your solutions stapled together in order at the end of the examination.
(Please do not use dog ears. Not owning a stapler is no excuse: I will bring a
stapler to every classroom test, and for the take-home test you can
borrow the stapler in 208 Love.) Needless to say, in either case, your
name must appear on Page 1 |
| Calculator policy: |
You are allowed to use a Texas Instruments TI30XA Scientific
Calculator or a four-function calculator for classroom tests. The use
of any other calculator for a classroom test is strictly
forbidden |
| Grades: | Will be based on three classroom tests
(15%, 15% and 20%), a take-home test (20%) and a cumulative final
examination (30%). Note that quality of presentation is extremely
important. It is not enough merely to produce an answer: the method by
which you obtain it must be sound, and you must clearly demonstrate that
you understand it. Therefore, there will be penalties (commensurate with
degree of infraction) for bad presentation—which includes bad grammar,
illegibility, incompleteness, incoherence and untidiness—especially on
the take-home test. Even on a classroom test, however, you must show
all necessary steps in your method, with enough comments and/or diagrams to
convince me that you thoroughly understand.
Precise cut-off points for A, B and C will be
determined by the distribution of grades at the end of the semester,
but are likely be in the vicinity of 90%, 80% and 70%, respectively. In
borderline cases, a smaller number of completely correct solutions will
carry more weight than a proportionate number of fragmentary answers;
later test scores will carry more weight than earlier test scores; and
a record of active participation in class will carry more weight than a
record of passive attendance (in that order of relative importance
among these three factors). Plus or minus grades may be assigned
in a manner consistent with standard University practice.
Please note that partial credit will be awarded
only when part of a solution is completely correct (not when all of a
solution is partially correct, whatever that means, if anything). Also,
a grade of I will not be given to avoid a grade of F or to give
additional study time. Failure to process a course drop will result in
a course grade of F |
| Test solutions: |
Will always be posted online (along with the test itself). There
are two advantages. First, online solutions make grading far more
efficient: instead of writing the same corrections on numerous
manuscripts, I simply identify the point(s) at which a solution goes
awry. Second, the online tests and solutions together form a test bank
for use by students in future years (all accessible to you from the top of this page). I caution you, however:
never read my solution to a problem until first of all you have
seriously attempted the problem yourself. If you have at least
made a serious (and I do mean serious) attempt, then—even if you
were unable to complete the problem yourself—you will benefit from
reading my solution to it; if not, then not (rather, you will merely
form a false impression of how well you understand ... as indicated by
the above learning-versus-pain diagram) |
| Attendance policy: | You are expected to attend class
regularly, and bear the full responsibility for learning anything covered
during any class that you miss |
| Exam policy: |
No makeup exams. An absence may be excused given sufficient
evidence of extenuating circumstances (in which case, extra weight will
be attached to the other exams). But you must either have discussed
the matter with me (well) in advance; or, in the case of illness, have
brought me a note from a physician explicitly stating that you were too
ill to attend class on the day in question. An unexcused absence will
result in a grade of zero |
| Etiquette: |
You are firmly bound by Florida State University's Academic Honor Code. Briefly, you have the
responsibility to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in
your own work, to refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity
in the University community, and to foster a high sense of integrity
and social responsibility on the part of the University community. Even
more briefly, you must neither cheat nor enable others to cheat. The
penalties for violations can be severe. Please carefully read the
section in the FSU Student Handbook on the Honor Code and official
procedures for dealing with students who violate it. If you are in any
doubt at all as to what constitutes acceptable behavior in this regard,
you should ask me for clarification.
In particular, for a take-home test you may
use any inanimate aid (including any calculator), but all such use must
be explicitly declared. Although you may discuss the test with
other students in general terms—meaning that discussion is
oral, and absolutely nothing is copied down—the solutions
you present must be your very own work; moreover, any such discussions
must be explicitly declared (i.e., you must supply the name of
every such discussant and the nature of the discussion, or else you are
in violation of the Academic Honor Code).
You are also bound by the ordinary rules and
customs of polite behavior that prevail in a civilized society. I
assume that you know these rules and customs, and I expect you to
comply with them. (In particular, you are not allowed to use a cell
phone or otherwise have private conversations with others during
class.) |
| Probable test dates: |
Tuesday, September 23
Tuesday, October 21
Tuesday, November 18—Tuesday, November 25
Thursday, December 4 |
| Final: | Monday, December 8, 7:30
a.m.—9:30 a.m. in 201 LOV |
| How to study: |
There is a lot of material to be covered in this course, so it is
important that you keep up from the very beginning, always attempting
as many as possible (or as necessary) of the homework problems. If you
get stuck, then send me a question by email. As soon as I possibly can,
which might be as soon as within half an hour, but might also be a day
or two later (I have a life, too, you know), I will reply—not to
you, but rather to the class alias (after carefully concealing your
identity, just in case you are inexplicably bashful about being
perceived as smart enough to ask a question). Note, however, the following. First, you must
identify yourself (i.e., you remain anonymous to the other students in
the class, but not to me) in the body of your message (because
your username does not identify you to me): I don't reply to anonymous
email. Second, you should be as specific as possible in describing your
difficulty: the more precisely you identify how you got stuck, the more
helpful my reply is likely to be.
You may also find these resources useful. |
| Disabilities: | If you have a disability requiring
academic accommodations, then not only should you register with the Student
Disability Resource Center (SDRC),
but also you should bring me written confirmation from SDRC during the
first week of class. This and other class materials are available in
alternative format upon request. |
