Spring 2012

Harvard Extension School

Mathematics E-21b - Spring 2012

Linear Algebra

Instructor:
Robert Winters

Course Assistants:
John Tsai
Renée Chipman

Handy Links:

Calendar of topics and
homework assignments

Linear Algebra Toolkit

Math E-21b syllabus

Solutions
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Course Textbook

Linear Algebra with Applications, 4th Edition
by Otto Bretscher
ISBN: 0136-00926-3
ISBN 13: 978-0136-00926-9
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Bretscher, 4th Edition

Compare prices:
Linear Algebra With
Applications, 4th Ed.

OR

Linear Algebra with Applications, 3rd Edition
by Otto Bretscher
ISBN: 0131-45334-3
ISBN 13: 978-0131-45334-0
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Bretscher, 3rd Edition

Compare prices:
Linear Algebra With
Applications, 3rd Ed.

 

The older 2nd edition of the text may also be used. The material is fundamentally the same in all editions and all homework assignments will be made available as printable PDFs. Additional supplements on various topics in differential equations will also be made available during the course.

A key matching HW exercises in different editions is available on request.

A copy of the text will be put on reserve in the Grossman Library in Sever Hall.

Go for a Walk

AMC Local Walks:

http://amcboston.org/walks

 

Announcements:

The Final Exam took place on Thursday, May 10. The exams have geen graded and course grades submitted to the Extension School. Any inquiries regarding the availability of grades should be directed to the Extension School.

Thanks for attending the course!

Classes met every Thursday evening from 7:35pm to 9:35pm in Harvard Hall 202 (next to Johnson Gate) starting January 26.

Each week on Thursday evening before class (starting February 2) there was an optional pre-class Q&A session starting at 6:30pm (or soon thereafter) in Harvard Hall 103. The primary purpose of this Q&A session was to take last-minute questions on the assigned homework problems after you have struggled with them. Robert Winters conducted the session.

Academic Integrity Letter from Robert Neugeboren, Dean of Students, Harvard Extension School
In particular: All work submitted ... must be your own words and ideas, or the source must be clearly acknowledged. Copying material from public websites (or other sources) ... is plagiarism, unless the source is properly cited ....

Math E-21b Course Information and Syllabus (Spring 2012)       PDF version (Spring 2012)

A weekly problem session was conducted by the course assistants beginning Sunday, Jan 29.

Message from CA John Tsai (Jan 27):

Section: Section for E21b will meet at 7-8 PM on Sundays, in Science Center 221. The first session will be this Sunday, January 29th. These sections are optional; you are welcome to come to as many or as few of these as you desire. During section, I'll briefly review key concepts from the previous lecture, go through a few practice problems, and answer any questions you have about the week's assignment. If any material necessary to the homework was not addressed in lecture due to time constraints, I'll go over that as well.

Homework deadlines: All homework is due in class the week after it is assigned, or into the dropbox marked "Math E-21b" on the third floor of the Science Center by 9:30PM the day it is due. Assignments submitted by 8PM the following Sunday will receive a 5-point deduction (the equivalent of one problem), and assignments submitted after this will be worth half credit at most. You may turn in one assignment late, but you must email me before the assignment's deadline to let me know you are using this "freebie". Additionally, your lowest homework grade will not factor into your course grade.

Homework policies: Please write up your solutions neatly and show all work. (In particular, using WolframAlpha is not acceptable, except to check your work.) When asked to "prove" or "justify" a statement, you must write clear verbal explanations in addition to doing out the math; the idea behind a proof is to convince the reader that the statement is true. Most problems will be marked out of 5 points (with the exception of some longer problems, which may be 10 points).
If there are any questions on these policies, please let me know. I look forward to working with you all! - John

Additional Math E-21b Homework Policies and Procedures

Guidelines: Please 1) staple all your pages; 2) write assignment # on the top; 3) include your name.

Completeness: It is always best to attempt every problem and to turn in each homework assignment even if there are some errors or omissions. Please always include work you have done that led to the final solution; this way we can point out where you have made an error.

Collecting and Returning: We will collect your homework each week during professor's break (roughly between 8:45-9:00pm), but homework may also be submitted via our mailbox on the 3rd Floor of the Science Center (Math Department Mail Box named E-21b at the bottom of the rack near the elevators). Any provision for submitting homework via e-mail or otherwise should be worked out individually with the course assistants. Graded homework will usually be available before and after class and during professor's break.


Harvard Hall - This is where class meets (from a 1910 postcard - 100 years ago).

Restore America's competitiveness!
Don't forget to pick up a textbook!

A letter to the New England Courant, dated May 14, 1722, and actually written by Benjamin Franklin under the
pseudonym "Silence Dogood." This was one of 14 letters by Silence Dogood and concerns Harvard University.

with the permission of Bill Griffith

posted with the permission of Bill Griffith

A word about calculators:

Though you can do this course without a matrix-capable calculator or mathematical software, it's certainly easier if you have an electronic servant to handle the drudge work. I use a TI-85 (no longer sold, but a good buy if you can find a used one) and I've been very happy with it. Ideally, you'll want a calculator that can find the reduced row echelon form of a matrix (RREF). You might also want one that can calculate determinants, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors, but that's a lesser priority. The TI-83 Plus, the TI-84 Plus, the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition, the TI-86 (also discontinued), and the TI-89 calculators can handle these operations. You don't need anything fancier than this.

One feature that I find very handy is the ability to display fractions and convert a decimal expression (for a rational number) to a fraction. That's useful when translating the results of an RREF calculation into parametric equations for a solution to a system of linear equations.

Here's a link that gives a comparison of the various TI calculators. Other manufactures also produce calculators that will work well with this course.

Linear Algebra Toolkit - an excellent online collection of tools that will not only do the calculations but also walk you through the steps. (The PERL scripts are written by Przemyslaw Bogacki.)

Useful Links:

Download your free Adobe Acrobat Reader for reading and printing PDF formatted documents.

Please send comments to Robert Winters.

URL: http://math.rwinters.com/E21b

Last modified: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 2:43 PM