Math 308 Section A Fall 2013
LINEAR ALGEBRA WITH APPLICATIONS
Instructor: Prof. James Burke
Phone: 543-6183 E-Mail: burke@math.washington.edu
Office: C-443 Padelford Hours: MWF 11:40-12:30
Pre-Requisites: Math 126 & by appointment

Text:

Introduction to Linear Algebra by Johnson, Riess and Arnold, 5th ed.
Note: Although the Student's Solutions Manual for the textbook will not be ordered by the University Bookstore, students may be able to locate their own copy. This contains detailed solutions to all odd-numbered exercises.

CLUE Study Sessions:

Tu-Thu 11am-2pm HUB 141
Sun-Thu 7pm-Midnight MGH 1st floor Commons

Course Content:

Math 308 is an introductory linear algebra course and it is assumed that students have a higher level of mathematical maturity. Math 308 is not supposed to be a course in abstract vector spaces.
Math 308 should stress some difficult abstract ideas in concrete form (e.g., linear dependence, subspace) but there should also be substantial time spent on examples of applications of linear algebra. The applications which are found in Johnson and Riess are included in the syllabus below; some instructors may wish to pick applications from other sources, such as Applications of Linear Algebra by Rorres and Anton.

Grading:

Homework: There are 9 homework sets. They may or may not be collected on the day they are due. However, the homework is necessary to prepare you for the weekly quizzes and the exams. If collected for grading, the homework will be assessed for completeness and one or two of the problems will be graded. The homework is worth 50 points in total.

Quizzes: There are 7 15--minute quizzes each worth 60 points. The quizzes are given each Friday except Sep 27, Nov 8, 29, and Dec 6. The quizzes cover the homework of the previous week. The potential content of the quiz will be announced the Wednesday before the quiz. Each quiz will contain one vocabulary word to which you are to provide the definition plus one or two questions related to the assigned homework. Only the top 5 of your quiz scores count toward your grade.

Midterms: There is one midterm: Friday, Nov 8. The midterm is worth 300 points.

Final Exam: The final exam is given on Monday, Dec 9, 2:30pm-4:20pm. The final exam is comprehensive. The final exam is worth 350 points.

Final Grade: The total number of possible points is 1000:

50 HW points + 300 quiz points + 300 midterm points + 350 final exam points = 1000 points.
Your final grade will be based on these points. One class curve is computed after the final exam has been scored.

Time Conflicts with an Exam:

There will be no make-up quizzes or exams except in the case of a documented emergency. In the event of an unavoidable conflict with a quiz or the midterm (an athletic meet, wedding, funeral, etc...), you must notify me at least 2 weeks before the date of the exam so that we can arrange for you to take the exam BEFORE the actual exam date. In the event of an unavoidable conflict with the final exam, you will need to submit a written petition for this purpose to me by Wednesday, Nov 27.

Incomplete:

A grade of Incomplete will be given only if a student is doing satisfactory work up until the end of the quarter, and then misses the final exam due to a documented medical or family emergency.

Important Dates:

Holidays: Veteran's Day, Monday, Nov 11.
Thanksgiving, Thu-Fri, Nov 28-29.

Midterm Date: Friday, Nov 8

Final Exam: Monday, Dec 9, 2:30-4:20pm

Studying:

I expect that you will spend about 2-3 hours of study time for each hour of class time. That is, you should be spending about 6-9 hours a week studying for this course in addition to the time spent in class. Of course, some students will need more and some less.

It is advised that you form study groups as soon as possible. Study groups have several advantages: (i) you can practice and learn how to solve more problems in less time (doing as many problems as possible is the key to success), (ii) the best way to really learn something is to explain it to someone else (misunderstandings that you never knew you had come to light under someone else's questioning), (iii) no two people solve the same problem the same way, in a group you may discover new and more efficient ways to solve the same problem, (iv) seeing that others also struggle with this material helps to put your own level of understanding in a better perspective and will hopefully reduce some of your anxiety.