Summer 2009

Harvard Summer School
Mathematics S-21b – Summer 2009
Linear Algebra and
Differential Equations

Instructor:
Robert Winters (Sci Ctr 509)

Course Assistant:
Aleksandar Subotic

Calendar of topics and
homework assignments


Solutions to homework assignments (and exams)
[requires username and password]

Student Solutions Manual
PDF for each chapter
(odd-numbered problems)

Course Textbook 
Linear Algebra with Applications, 3rd Edition, by Otto Bretscher,  published  by Prentice Hall. The ISBN for the text is 0-13-145334-3. It will available at the Harvard Coop bundled with the student solutions manual. It's also available on the web:

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

It's possible to get by with the previous (2nd) edition or the new 4th edition. All assigned homework problems will be posted as printable PDF files.

Conversion of the problems in the 3rd Edition to their equivalents in the 2nd Edition. [Some problems in the 3rd Edition have no equivalents in the previous edition of the text.]

 

Announcements:

HW #3 (due Mon, July 6) is now posted in the Calendar.

The Independence Day holiday for Harvard will take place on Friday, July 3. We won't meet that day, but we will meet on July 6.


Exam #1 will take place on Wednesday, July 8 at 2:00pm in our regular classroom. The exam should take about 75-90 minutes and will cover topics from Chapters 1 to 3 of the text.

Practice Exam #1     Practice Exam #1 solutions will be posted soon.
(use same username/password as HW solutions)


Homework should generally be submitted on its due date either in class or in our mailbox on the 3rd floor of the Science Center diagonally across from the elevators. Look for the red labels. (Graded homework will also be available there for pickup.) Any requests for additional time or alternate ways to submit the homework should be directed to CA Aleksandar Subotic.

We are also setting up an e-mail distribution list for the class which can be used for course-related matters such as setting up study groups. Details to follow - apologies in advance for any annoyances during the setup. Anyone can opt out of the list, if desired.


Class meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:30am to 11:30am (except Fri, July 3) in Science Center 507. Exams will be scheduled at a time outside of regular class. The midterm exam dates will be July 8 and July 22.

CA Aleksandar Subotic will have a weekly review class/problem session, currently scheduled for Thursdays at 4:00pm in Science Center 507 (this may change). Due to the upcoming exam, Alex's problem session may be rescheduled to Tuesday, July 7. Details to follow.

There are currently 43 students registered in the course.


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.

Text: Linear Algebra With Applications, 3rd Edition, by Otto Bretscher, Prentice-Hall, 2005; ISBN 0-13-145334-3. A student solutions manual is also available with the text. We will cover selected topics from this book, and homework will be assigned from its large collection of exercises. If you can pick up the 2nd Edition of the text (or the new 4th Edition), they will work fine. The content is essentially the same and all homework assignments will be available as printable PDFs.


Course Calendar 

Math S21b syllabus (HTML)      Printable syllabus (PDF)



(adapted from a Gary Larsen cartoon)



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Please send comments to Robert Winters.
URL: math.rwinters.com/S21b 
Last modified:  Friday, July 03, 2009