Math 308 E Matrix Algebra (3 credits), Winter 2018
Professor : Rekha Thomas
- Office : Padelford C-438
- E-mail : rrthomas (at) uw (dot) edu
(Please use email only for emergencies such as if you are sick and cannot take a test because of it. Please ask all other questions in class, TA section, or office hours.)
- Office hours : Monday 3:30-4:30 BAG 154 (Review style office hours), Friday 1-2 PDL C-438
Teaching Assistant : Benjamin Palacios
- Office : Padelford C-402
- Email : bpalacio (at) uw (dot) edu
- Office hours : Tuesday 10-12 PDL C-402
Course Information
- Lecture : Bagley Hall 154, MWF 2:30-3:20 pm
- TA sections : Denny Hall 112, Tuesdays at 1:30 (EA), 2:30 (EB), 3:30 (EC)
- Course materials :
- Textbook : Linear Algebra with Applications, Second Edition, by Jeffrey Holt
- Videos : These YouTube videos by 3Blue1Brown are an excellent resource for understanding the geometry behind many of the concepts we will learn in this class.
- Structure of the course and expectations: : Matrix
algebra is the first course in the math curriculum that introduces a
student to mathematical abstraction. While it still has a lot of
computational and mechanical components it also requires you to make
logical arguments to justify answers. It is a mathematical
language that underlies many modern day applications, but because it
is a language, it is important to learn and use its vocabulary
correctly. Another feature of this subject is that it is deeply rooted
in geometry which is a powerful part of its modeling power. So all in
all this might be a new type of math course for many students, but one
that you can master by putting in the required work and coming to
lectures.
The material in this course will be taught through the lectures,
reading assignments (from the textbook), videos and
homeworks .
The lectures introduce the concepts and hence tend to be the most
straightforward. You will be expected to read the appropriate sections
of the textbook to solidify your understanding of the concepts and fill in
the parts not covered in lecture. Attending lectures is
critical for doing well in this class.
Homework will be based on the material taught in class but is intended
to stretch your thinking and teach new concepts. Hence you should not
expect that the homework problems will be entirely like the examples
in the book or problems worked out in lecture. Understanding how to do
the homework problems and learning definitions and vocabulary is
crucial for doing well in this class.
After each lecture I will post a summary of the material covered in
class and all reading, video and homework assignments from that lecture. The
general expectation is that each hour of lecture needs about three
hours of work outside the classroom to master the material.
-
Homeworks and Exams
- Homeworks (20% of overall grade):
There are two types of homework assignments each week.
- WebAssign homework (10% of overall grade): These are problems
from the textbook and mostly give you practice with the basic mechanics
of the course. Here is the link for UW WebAssign login.
- Test prep homework (10% of overall grade):
I will post two problems after each lecture that are more challenging
than than the problems on WebAssign. At least half of every exam will be modeled
on these homeworks. Each student must turn in solutions
to these problems (from MWF of the previous week) in their weekly TA section
on Tuesday. The TA will grade them for completeness.
Solutions : Students will work in groups of two to write
solutions to the test prep problems. Your partner is in your TA
section. Please find them. Solutions to problems posted in a lecture
must be turned in by the designated groups in the next lecture. I will
correct them and return them to the groups in the following
lecture. The groups can make further corrections to create a final
version which should be given to me in the next lecture. This will be
shared with the whole class if it looks good. Please give me hard
copies of all solutions. I would like a single solution from the
group, not two individual solutions.
Example : Problems assigned on Monday should be turned in by the designated groups on
Wednesday. They will be corrected and returned to the groups on Friday. I would like to receive
their final version (hard copy) the next Monday to be sent to the whole class.
Exams will be modeled closely on the homework problems and
lectures. It would be worthwhile to spend time really understanding
how to do the homework.
- Exams (80% of overall grade):
There will be two midterms and a final exam.
- Midterm I (20% of overall
grade) :
Wednesday, January 31, in class.
- Midterm II (20% of overall
grade) :
Friday, February 23, in class.
- Final Exam (40% of overall grade) :
2:30-4:20 p.m. Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in class.
Policy for Exams
- One handwritten 8.5 by 11 sheet of notes is allowed. 2-sided is OK.
- The only calculator allowed is the Texas Instruments TI-30X IIS.
- There are no make-up exams. If you have a compelling and well-documented reason for missing a test, speak to the professor about it as soon as you can.
- General Comments
- Guidelines on how to write up solutions to problems on tests
:
You must show all your work to get full credit. Explain your
steps or methods clearly. Use words to give explanations if
needed. After you have written a solution ask yourself if someone else
in the class could follow and understand your solution easily. Always
put yourself in the shoes of the grader when you write solutions to
problems. It is important that it be apparent to the grader that you
did this work on your own and that he/she understands your logic. Make
it easy to grade your work. This also requires you to be organized and
clear in your writing. Writing that is hard to understand or
disorganized will be assumed to be wrong.
- Make-ups: : There are no make-up exams. If you have a
well documented medical excuse, please talk to me as soon as possible.
- Partial Credit: There might be questions on exams that
carry no partial credit. This is usually because of the nature of the
question where a partially correct answer may make no sense at
all. For instance, a misstated definition is just a false
statement and couldn't be graded with partial credit. It is important
to learn to do computations and make arguments correctly from
beginning to end.
- Keep records : Please hold on to all your graded work
until you receive your final grade. You
will be asked to produce these if there are any questions or
complications regarding records during the quarter.
- Tips on getting a good grade:
- Read the assigned reading materials and attend lectures. It is
very important to really understand the concepts (as opposed to
memorizing facts). It is not enough to know recipes to solve numerical
problems. You will be asked questions that test your understanding of
the material. A good way to find out whether you really understand
something is to try to explain it to someone. You might be surprised
to see how hard it is to accurately explain/reproduce a concept that
you think you understand.
- Write clearly and correctly. Be logical in your arguments. Learn
definitions and statements of theorems accurately. Remember that I can
only evaluate your written work and so it is important to convey your
knowledge precisely in your writing.
- Do the homework problems. Even if you understand the material, it
is hard to reproduce this on a test without practice. It's important
to learn to work relatively quickly. This can only come with
practice.
- Come to office hours if you are having
trouble. Let me or your TA know early in the quarter if you are having problems
with the course for whatever reason.
Weekly Assignments
Overview: Week 1 (Jan 3-5)
Readings from the textbook:
- 1/3: Section 1.1: Lines and linear equations
- 1/5: Section 1.2: Linear systems and matrices
Video to watch:
Essence of linear algebra
Homework: (due 1/9)
- 1/3: WebAssign homework from Section 1.1 [UW WebAssign login]
- 1/5: WebAssign homework from Section 1.2
- 1/3 & 1/5: Test Prep Problems
Vocabulary to know:
solution set of a linear system of equations, consistent and inconsistent systems, echelon form of a linear system, free variables, homogeneous system, elementary operations, Gaussian elimination
Standards for Chapter 1
Overview: Week 2 (Jan 8-12)
Readings from the textbook:
- 1/8: Section 2.1: Vectors
- 1/10: Section 2.2: Span of vectors
- 1/12: Section 2.3: Linear independence (up to page 82)
Video to watch:
- Vectors
- Linear combinations, span, bases
Homework: (due 1/16)
- 1/8: WebAssign homework from Section 2.1 [UW WebAssign login]
- 1/10: WebAssign homework from Section 2.2
- 1/8,1/10,1/12: Test Prep Problems
Vocabulary and theorems to know:
elementary operations, Gaussian elimination, Gauss Jordan elimination, reduced echelon form,
pivot positions, pivot columns, augmented matrix, Theorem 1.3, linear combination of vectors, span of a collection of vectors, linear independence, linear dependence
Standards for Chapter 2
Overview: Week 3 (Jan 16-19)
Readings from the textbook:
- 1/17: Section 2.3: Linear independence (up to page 83)
- 1/19: Section 3.1: Linear transformations
Video to watch:
- Linear combinations, span, bases
- Linear transformations
Homework: (due 1/23)
- 1/17: WebAssign homework from Section 2.3
- 1/19: WebAssign homework from Section 3.1
- 1/17, 1/19: Test Prep Problems
Vocabulary and theorems to know:
linear combination of vectors, span of a collection of vectors, linear independence, linear dependence, linear transformation
Standards for Chapter 2
Overview: Week 4 (Jan 22-26)
Readings from the textbook:
- 1/22, 1/24: Section 3.1: Linear transformations
- 1/26: Section 3.2: Matrix algebra (until page 117)
Video to watch:
- Linear transformations
- Matrix multiplication
- Three-dimensional linear transformations
Homework: (due 1/30)
- 1/22: WebAssign homework from Section 3.1 (deadline extended to 1/26)
- 1/22: No test prep problems today
- 1/26: WebAssign Section 3.2
- 1/24, 1/26: Test Prep Problems
Review
- Summary of Sections 2.2 and 2.3
- Practice Quiz
- Solutions to Practice Quiz
Standards for Chapter 3
Overview: Week 5 (Jan 29- Feb 2)
Midterm 1 on 1/31
On everything we covered in Weeks 1-4, including Section 3.2.
Readings from the textbook:
- 1/29: Section 3.3: Inverses (until pp 137)
Video to watch:
- Linear transformations
- Matrix multiplication
- Three-dimensional linear transformations
Homework: (due 2/6)
- 1/29: WebAssign homework from Section 3.3
- 1/29: No test prep problems today
Standards for Chapter 3
Overview: Week 6 (Feb 5 - Feb 9)
Readings from the textbook:
- 2/5: Section 4.1: Subspaces
- 2/7: Section 4.2: Bases and Dimension
- 2/9: Section 4.3: Row and Column Spaces
Video to watch:
- Inverses, column space, rank and nullspace
- Linear transformations with non-square matrices
Homework: (due 2/6)
- 2/5: WebAssign homework from Section 4.1
- 2/7: WebAssign homework from Section 4.2
- 2/9: WebAssign homework from Section 4.3
- 2/5, 2/9: Test Prep Problems
Standards for Chapter 4
Overview: Week 7 (Feb 12 - Feb 16)
Readings from the textbook:
- 2/12: Section 5.1: Determinants
- 2/14: Section 5.2: Properties of determinants
- 2/16: no class, students are encouraged to go to the MathAcrossCampus talk at 2:30
Video to watch:
- Determinants
Homework: (due 2/6)
- 2/12: WebAssign homework from Section 5.1
- 2/14: WebAssign homework from Section 5.2
- 2/12, 2/14: Test Prep Problems
Practice Quiz 2
Standards for Chapter 5
Overview: Week 8 (Feb 20 - Feb 23)
Midterm 2 on 2/23 on Chapters 3,4,5
Readings from the textbook:
- 2/21: Section 4.2: Finish
Overview: Week 9 (Feb 26 - Mar 2)
Readings from the textbook:
- 2/26: Section 6.1: Eigenvalues and eigenvectors
- 2/28: Section 6.2: Diagonalization
Video to watch:
- Eigenvalues and eigenvectors
Homework: (due 3/6)
- 2/26: WebAssign homework from Section 6.1
- 2/28: WebAssign homework from Section 6.2
- 2/26, 2/28: Test Prep Problems
Standards for Chapter 6
Overview: Week 10 (Mar 5-9)
Material to finish and readings from the textbook:
- Geometry of eigenvectors and eigenbases, change of bases, complex eigenvalues
(Chapters 4.4 and 6.2 and some of 6.3)
Video to watch:
- Eigenvalues and eigenvectors
- Change of bases
Homework: (due 3/6)
- WebAssign homework from Section 6.1
- WebAssign homework from Section 6.2
- Test Prep Problems
Standards for Chapter 6
Office hours until the final exam
- Monday Mar 5 : 3:20-4:20 BAG 154
- Tuesday Mar 6 : 10-12 in Ben's office PDL C-402
- Friday Mar 9 : 12:30-1:50 LOW 102
- Monday Mar 12 : 10-12 in Ben's office PDL C-402
- Monday Mar 12 : 3-5 LOW 101
Final exam on Tuesday Mar 13: 2:30-4:20 p.m BAG 154 (usual classroom)