W. Stephen Wilson:
wwilson3@jhu.edu
or
wsw@math.jhu.edu
TA: David Myers:
dmyers40@math.jhu.edu
Textbook: Linear Algebra, 4th edition, Friedberg, Insel and Spence. ISBN 0-13-008451-4
Monday, Wednesday, 1:30-2:45, Krieger 308, Section, Friday, 1:30-2:20, Krieger 308.
Office hours are Wednesday, 2:45-3:45. (Krieger 421.) This is right after class, so if you want to come to office hours, you arrange that in class, or I won't be there. You can always email me with questions or to set up a meeting if the office hours don't work for you or aren't enough.
In addition, you should all know about the math department help room that is open nearly all day and most evenings during the week. It is in Krieger 213. Your TA will be there in the help room on EDIT but anyone in the help room can help you with linear algebra.
Linear algebra videos made by me that are relevant to the course. Linear algebra videos made by the Khan Academy. And then there are Linear algebra videos made by Gil Strang at MIT. Feel free to make use of these resources in your "spare time".
The Honors Linear Algebra course is designed for students with the mindset of a math major even if the student is not majoring in math. It is for students who have self selected because they are brighter, harder working, and more motivated. In particular, they are happy to be free to learn. The prerequisites are 113, Calc II, or a 5 on the AP BC exam.
All students must attend every class and maintain a high level of consciousness during the entire class. You will have something serious to do during the entire class, every class (except the first one on Aug 30).
Students are expected to make the transition to proving things in this course if they have not already made that transition. Few will have done this already. It is a great introduction to proving things because everything in the course is simultaneously geometric and algebraic. Great material, and you use linear algebra in nearly every math, science, and engineering course you take.
The transition to proving things is a difficult one and the course will be fast paced. It is best for students to keep an eye on the regular linear algebra course so they can drop down to it if it looks like the honors course will not go well.
The flow of the course. The normal flow is to have a reading assignment, then to be examined as to whether or not you did the reading. Next, homework on that reading will be assigned and then, of course, it will come due. When it is turned in, you get another exam to see if you understood it.
The reading assignments are already set for the entire course and are at the bottom of this website.
The pattern for the above is:
Monday: Your homework is due at the start of class on Monday. A test will be given immediately. The test will cover the material that you read for the homework just handed in. There will probably be two problems, one from the homework just handed in, and one from the sections the homework was based on. I reserve the right to ask whatever I want though.
Monday Continued: After the quiz, I will assign small groups to work on a sequence of problems. These problems will be from the material you read for the homework you just handed in, so you should be really good at it. The group will do as many of them as they can, sequentially, and write them up to be handed in at the end of the class for the whole group. The whole group will get the same grade on this. The groups will vary day to day.
Wednesday: I give you a quiz when you walk into class to see if you have done the reading for that week. It will cover really basic things like definitions and statements of theorems. No understanding is required to do well on this, but I want people prepared to work, not read, when they come to class on Wed.
Wednesday continued: After the quiz on the reading, I might tell you what was important in the reading. Then, together, we'll go over the True/False problems in the book. If we have time, you will then be assigned to small groups to work on a sequence of problems. These problems will be for the reading you were just quizzed on. As above: The group will do as many of them as they can, sequentially, and write them up to be handed in at the end of the class for the whole group. The whole group will get the same grade on this. The groups will vary day to day.
Wednesday: I will post the homework on this reading assignment sometime before the end of the day on Wednesday.
Friday: This is your TA section. The TA will grade your homework and in-class work. In section he can go over common problems he sees when grading your proofs and/or give guidance on the homework due next.
Grades: As you can see, you have an exam that gets graded every day you have class. We call the Wednesday exam on reading a "quiz" and the Monday exam on content a "test."
More: In addition, you have homework. Three problems of my choice, unknown to you, will be graded by the TA. Also, on Mondays, certainly, and Wednesdays, when we have time, you will be working problems in groups most of the class. Some of these problems will be graded. All in all, there are lots of things that get graded that will go into your grade. How they will all be weighted will get worked out during the semester. For example, you will probably get graded on more problems worked in groups than individually, but your individual work will probably dominate the grade.
Group work: You are welcome to, even encouraged to, work together on homework, but you must write up your own homework. If you write up your own, it will not be the same as that written up by students you worked with.
The syllabus, subject to, but not likely to, change.
The first two weeks of class are awkward because we only have one main class each week. We meet first on Thursday, August 30, but will have little to do. Likewise, you can meet your TA on Friday, September 1, and won't have much to do. Well, you could get busy reading because I've given you a big reading assignment because you have a week to do it.
Reading assignment # 1: Sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5. Quiz to see if you read it, Sept 5.
Homework # 1 due Sept 10. Test to see if you understood it same day.
Reading assignment # 2: Sections 1.6, 2.1. Quiz to see if you read it, Sept 12.
Homework # 2 due Sept 17. Test to see if you understood it same day.
Reading assignment # 3: Sections 2.2, 2.3. Quiz to see if you read it, Sept 19.
Homework # 3 due Sept 24. Test to see if you understood it same day.
Reading assignment # 4: Sections 2.4, 2.5, 3.1. Quiz to see if you read it, Sept 26.
Homework # 4 due Oct 1. Test to see if you understood it same day.
Reading assignment # 5: Sections 3.2, 3.3. Quiz to see if you read it, Oct 3.
Homework # 5 due Oct 8. Test to see if you understood it same day.
Reading assignment # 6: Sections 3.4, 4.1. Quiz to see if you read it, Oct 10.
Homework # 6 due Oct 15. Test to see if you understood it same day.
Reading assignment # 7: Sections 4.2, 4.3. Quiz to see if you read it, Oct 17.
Note that there is no section meeting on Oct 19, thus the short reading assignment.
Homework # 7 due Oct 22. Test to see if you understood it same day.
Reading assignment # 8: Sections 4.4, 4.5, 5.1. Quiz to see if you read it, Oct 24.
Homework # 8 due Oct 29. Test to see if you understood it same day.
Reading assignment # 9: Sections 5.2, 6.1. Quiz to see if you read it, Oct 31.
Homework # 9 due Nov 5. Test to see if you understood it same day.
Reading assignment # 10: Sections 6.2, 6.3. Quiz to see if you read it, Nov 7.
Homework # 10 due Nov 12. Test to see if you understood it same day.
Reading assignment # 11: Sections 6.4, 6.5. Quiz to see if you read it, Nov 14.
Note thanksgiving break Nov 19-23. No classes.
Homework # 11 due Nov 26. Test to see if you understood it same day.
Modified 11/21/18. You can skip pseudo-inverse in 6.7. Reading assignment # 12: Sections 6.6, 6.7. Quiz to see if you read it, Nov 28.
Homework # 12 due Dec 3. Test to see if you understood it same day.
Modified 11/21/18. Don't bother to read this. Reading assignment # 13: Sections 6.8. Quiz to see if you read it, Dec 5, last lecture.
Last section is Dec 7.
There is no final exam.