Professor: W. Stephen Wilson, Krieger 421, (410) 516-7413, wsw@math.jhu.edu
Textbook: Linear Algebra with Applications, Second Edition, by Otto Bretscher
Syllabus and General facts of life for the course.
There is a lecture I give to many students one-on-one every semester when they get into trouble. It is about how to read a math book, i.e. basic study skills. I recommend it for all my students. How to read a math book.
For those who want to learn Matlab in relation to this material you can go here.
Exams and some solutions from the Spring, 2003, version of the course are here: Exam 1 Exam 2 Final
Exams from the Fall, 2003, version of the course are here: Exams and distributions.
The department's exam archive for this course is Math Dept Linear Algebra Exam Archive. The site is a bit of a mess but I don't have any control over it. Poke around and you'll find some old exams.
Another very nice resource for the course is the web page for the course last summer.
There are a number of really pretty computer aids which can help you get a feel for the material in this course. The tools are at TOOLS. The required plugins used to be located at PLUGINS. but they are not there anymore. Perhaps if you poke around at the next site or on google you'll find what you need. Another web site which might have the same thing in a more, or less, organized fashion: OPTION. These are really pretty neat and if you get them working then you can play with them til your heart's content. The ones which are perhaps most interesting to our linear algebra class are LinearMatrixTrace, LinearParameters, and LinearTransform.
The web site for last Spring's course and last Fall's course in case you are interested. It should be pointed out that last spring we had a major snow storm that disrupted the course and last fall we had a hurricaine which messed things up. It is unclear what natural disaster is planned for this term. If none shows up then you should learn more than students in the previous two courses. Good luck.
Snow, no class the first day. Read appendix A. Read the first couple of sections.
Problem set assignments:
Problem Set Number 1, Due Thurs Fri Jan 29-30.
Problem Set Number 2, Due Thurs Fri Feb 5-6.
Problem Set Number 3, Due Thurs Fri Feb 12-13.
Problem Set Number 4, Due Thurs Fri Feb 19-20.
Problem Set Number 5, Due Thurs Fri Feb 19-20 and room assignments for the exam on Tuesday, Feb 24.
Our First Exam and the Distribution of the grades.
Problem Set Number 6, Due Thurs Fri Mar 4-5.
Problem Set Number 7, Due Thurs Fri Mar 11-12.
Problem Set Number 8, Due Thurs Fri Mar 25-26.
Problem Set Number 9, Due Thurs Fri Apr 1-2.
Problem Set Number 10, Due Thurs Fri Apr 8-9. And the seating assignments for the upcoming exam on April 6, Tuesday.
Our Second Exam and the Distribution of the grades.
Problem Set Number 11, Due Thurs Fri Apr 15-16.
Problem Set Number 12, Due Thurs Fri Apr 22-23.
Thursday, April 22.
Our final exam is Thursday morning, 9-12, May 6. I will post your room assignments next week, i.e. the last week of classes. All of the big service courses in the mathematics department have their exams at the same time. If you are also scheduled to take another exam at this time then you MUST let me know by Wednesday, April 28, if you need special consideration from me to work out the conflict. Otherwise you must show up or will be considered absent.
Problem Set Number 13, Due Thurs Fri Apr 29-30.
Sections 3 and 7 (Su) and 2 and 6 (Tinaglia) will be in Krieger 205, our regular class room. All others, Sections 1 and 5 (Suh) and 4 (Reza) and 8 (Flatley), will be in Mergenthaler 111. The final exam is Thursday, May 6, 9am to noon.
The three students who require extra time should report to Angela Ruddle in Academic Advising in Garland Hall at 9am Thursday, May 6. You will take the exam there.
Before the exam I will hold office hours on Tuesday, May 4, from 11:30 to 1:30.
After the exam we have to grade them all and then it takes me several days to make up the grades because I want to make sure I get them right. For those who need to talk to me or see their exam I will have office hours on Thursday, May 13, 11:30-1:30. You can also contact me by email if you have questions about your grade. As soon as I can after the exam I will post the final exam score distribution on this web site as well as the final exam.
Our Final Exam and the Distribution of the scores.