Instructor: James King
Email: king@uw.edu
Office: Padelford C440
Office Hours: Mon 2-3 and Tuesday 1-2 and by appointment
Course Website: http://www.math.washington.edu/~king/coursedir/m308w12/
All information about the course, including links to assignments and the Catalyst workspace, is on this website. There is also a course email list that will be used for brief announcements.
Nature of the Course: The mathematics of linear algebra is arguably the most useful mathematics subject for essentially all applications. We will learn some algorithms and solution methods in this course, but the focus even for practical applications is much more on some big mathematical ideas and concepts and less on the skills of hand computation than in some subjects. The modern uses of linear algebra and matrices are mostly to problems so large that they demand the use of computer tools, so it is the ability to understand and manage these tools that is needed, and this rests on conceptual understanding. So be aware that a great weight will be on concepts and Òwhat-ifÓ and not just solving problems by hand.
Textbook: Introduction to Linear Algebra by Johnson, Riess, Arnold (Fifth Edition).
The course will cover most of Chapters 1, 3, 4. (Students are assumed already to know the material of Chapter 2 from Math 126 or will be expected to learn it outside of class time). A detailed syllabus is linked to the website.
Tests and Activities: There will be two midterms and a Final Exam. Dates are on the website. There will also be class activities that will be turned in and recorded (often ungraded). The latter are mostly for the instructor to get a sense of how the class is doing, but also to address important or tricky points to prepare students for tests.
Homework: Like all math courses, a linear algebra course is not a spectator event. You will need to develop skills on routine procedures and you will also need to wrestle with some challenging math concepts. There will be written homework for both aspects of the course, to be turned in on Wednesdays. Some of this homework will be graded and recorded each time; it will be part of the course grade. There will be two numbers recorded for each homework set. Read the Homework Instructions page for details.
On-Line Assessments: I will be assigning WebQs with short questions/problems/quizzes online as another form of practice and assessment, with the hope of stimulating thinking about sticky points in the subject.
Computing Technology: You are encouraged make friends with a calculator or software (on a computer or on a website) to do bigger, more complicated computations. But there will be no technology on the exams.
Grading: The course grade will be based on a Total Score computed from three components:
á Exams (two midterms and the final) will be 75% of the Total Score, with each midterm counting for 20% of the Total Score and the Final counting 35%.
á Homework: The homework will count for 15% of the Total Score. The homework has two numbers associated with it. 80% of the homework score will be the percentage score of the graded problems and 20% will consist of the percentage of the total problems worked.
á Quizzes and miscellaneous: This part will count for 10% of the Total Score. This will include the WebQs and any small quizzes or activities in class.
I will set the grade scale for the course at the end of the quarter. My preliminary estimate is that the scale will be linear, with 4.0 = 93% and 2.0 = 65%. The actual grading scale will be no tougher than this preliminary estimate, so your course grade will be at least as good as the preliminary scale indicates.