Course Textbook

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

OR

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

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

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.

Announcements:

This course will again be offered in Summer 2012.
Registration is open through May 21.

Course Calendar (2012)      Math S21b syllabus (2012 - HTML)      Printable syllabus (2012 - PDF)

Classes begin Monday, June 25, 2012.
We will meet in Science Center 309 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:30am to 11:30am.

Topics to be covered include Gauss-Jordan reduction and systems of linear equations; matrices and linear transformations; linear independence; subspaces; matrices and coordinates relative to different bases; general linear spaces; orthogonality and least-squares approximation; inner product spaces; determinants; eigenvalues, eigenvectors, and the spectral theorem; discrete and continuous dynamical systems; phase-plane analysis of linear and nonlinear systems of ordinary differential equations; and function spaces and differential operators.

Note: This is primarily a course in Linear Algebra. We will cover a number of applications to differential equations, but for a more comprehensive approach it is advisable to take a Differential Equations course.

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

Text: Linear Algebra With Applications, 4th Edition (2008) or 3rd Edition (2005) by Otto Bretscher, published by Prentice-Hall. We will cover almost all topics in this book, and homework will be assigned from its large collection of exercises. The material is fundamentally the same in all editions and all homework assignments will be made available as printable PDFs. A key matching HW exercises in different editions is available on request. Additional supplements on various topics in differential equations will also be made available during the course.

Don't forget to pick up a textbook!

by permission of Bill Griffith

(adapted from a Gary Larsen cartoon)

Click for today's comic.

Useful Links:

• Harvard Summer School
• Harvard Extension School
• Harvard University Dept. of Mathematics 
• Harvard University

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

Please send comments to Robert Winters.
URL: math.rwinters.com/S21b
Last modified: Thursday, May 10, 2012 10:49 AM