Contact: 214-5 Elizabeth Hall ext. 7551 campus box 8340 http://www.stetson.edu/~mhale/

Office Hours: Mon 12:00 - 12:50 Tues 11:00 - 11:50 Wed 2:30 - 3:20 Fri 1:30 - 2:20 or by appt.

Course Overview   This course is for students working on a degree in mathematics, computer science, or physics, and for others who are simply interested. The prerequisites are a good knowledge of high school algebra and trigonometry and a willingness to think abstractly. This is a skills-oriented course: you are required to remember your previous courses and master new procedures. It is also an applications course: understanding concepts, terminology, and notation is important. And it is a theory course, opening the door to higher mathematics. You will be acquiring proof skills gradually during the first semester. By the second semester the theory will be a major component of the course.

The text is Anton & Rorres, Elementary Linear Algebra: Applications Version, 8^th ed., chapters 1-4 and selected sections from chapter 11. Please read the book as well as participating in class. Tips on reading and studying mathematics are available. Along with the book, you will be learning the computer software Mathematica. I recommend downloading my Introduction to Mathematica, intro.nb. Read through it, execute the commands, experiment with modifying them. You may also find a matrix-enabled calculator useful.

Grading   Your grade will be based on 3 tests (20% each), 2 projects (5% each), and a final exam (30%). The grading scale is A: 90% - 100%, B: 80% - 90%, etc., with +'s and -'s in the top and bottom 2%.

Policies and Due Dates   Attendance and Homework are assumed and will not be graded. You may ask questions about homework during class and office hours.

You must take the major tests during the scheduled class time unless you have a valid excuse cleared with me ahead of time. Projects must be submitted on time through Blackboard. Test dates are W 9/11, W 10/9, F 11/8, and Wednesday 12/11, 4-6 pm (final exam).

Communication   Please ask questions in class. Make use of my office hours to ask more questions, make comments, and just converse. See my contact information above. If you ask me to send grades to you via email, I will send them to your Stetson account. If you prefer to use another account (such as aol or hotmail), you can forward your Stetson email there. Blackboard may also be configured to use your preferred email address. CIT (ext. 7217) can help you with both. I'm looking forward to getting to know you.

Questions? send me email:
fall 2002 syllabus
project guidelines
Mathematica files
fall 2002 class profile
study tips
course evaluation form
notes on the final exam
back to linear algebra
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