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 Linear Algebra I (MS 245 or equivalent), a good knowledge of high school algebra and trigonometry, and a willingness to think abstractly. Most students have also had calculus and logic, both of which will make this course easier. Linear algebra 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. By now you should be discovering and writing proofs with some facility.

The text is Anton & Rorres, Elementary Linear Algebra: Applications Version, 8^th ed., chapters 5, 7, and 8, and selected sections from chapters 9-11. Please read the book as well as participating in class. Tips on reading and studying mathematics are available. Along with the book, you will need computer software to do your homework effectively. I recommend Mathematica, but Matlab is also acceptable. Both programs are accessible from the Elizabeth lab 205E. I recommend downloading my Introduction to Mathematica, intro.nb. Read through it, execute the commands, experiment with modifying them. Linear algebra commands are included at the end of that document. For some work, a matrix-enabled calculator may be enough.

Grading   Your grade will be based on 3 tests (20% each), 1 paper and 2 talks (5% each), and a final exam (25%). 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   Attendence is required at all talks. Homework is assumed and will not be graded. You may ask questions 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. Papers and talks must be submitted on time. Test dates are F 2/14, W 3/26, Wednesday 4/23, and Friday 5/2, 9-11 am (final exam). The paper and first talk are due the week of 2/24 (just before spring break) and the second talk will be during the last three days of class

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. 7069) can help you with both. I'm looking forward to getting to know you.

Questions? send me email:
spring 2003 syllabus
project guidelines
Mathematica files
spring 2003 class profile
course evaluation form
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