Syllabus for Linear Algebra, 110.201. Spring 2021.


Professor:  W. Stephen Wilson, wwilson3@jhu.edu


Head TA:  Qingci An, qan2@jhu.edu


In times of need, you can contact either one of us.  For bureaucratic issues, best to try the Head TA first but don’t hesitate to come to me.  On the other hand, you should always feel free to email me, the head TA, your TA, the help room when it is set up, at any time with math questions.  I’m always happy to deal with math questions.  If your TA is not responsive, then you should let me know quickly.  Any issues you have with your TA should be brought to my attention, the sooner the better.  This goes just as well for the course as a whole.  If there is something you feel is wrong with the course, please contact me so I can try to adjust. 


Textbook: Linear Algebra with Applications, Fifth Edition, by Otto Bretscher


ISBN-13: 978-0-321-79697-4   ISBN-10: 0-321-79697-7


The Course:  I’ve recorded lectures in short spurts, seldom much more than 10 minutes and often shorter.  When you watch them, you can rewind and watch them over and over again until you understand.  I taught this course in the fall and learned a great deal from the experience. 


This document.  What I’m going to do here is lay out what will happen in the course.  If there are changes to any of the information outlined in this document, I will send an announcement from blackboard.


https://blackboard.jhu.edu/webapps/login/


There you will find modules for every week of the course.  They will tell you what is expected of you for the week.  The reading assignment for the week is there as are links to all of that week’s video lectures.  Instructions are there for the weekly quizzes and problem sets.  PILOT sessions are required for this course.  You should automatically be enrolled and receive information from  your PILOT leader.  In addition, the Head TA will organize and monitor a discussion forum. 


Although it is on Blackboard, here is a link to the guide to the course video lectures.


http://www.math.jhu.edu/~wsw/S21la/Video-guide-for-spring-2021-Linear-Algebra.pdf


The grade breakdown is as follows:


Quizzes:                      15%  (lowest quiz dropped)


Homework                  15%  (lowest homework dropped)


PILOT                           10%  (attendance only)


Discussion                   10%


Exam 1                        15%


Exam 2                        15%


Final                            20%


 


Of your 5 scores, quiz, homework, midterms, and final, the lowest one will be adjusted upwards.  The dividing line between A’s and B’s will be, at most, 90.  Similarly, the line between B and C will be, at most, 80.  Plus and minus grades will be determined at the end of the semester.  Everyone has the option of taking a standard grade instead of the default S/U. 


 


Letters of Recommendation: I will, of course, always be happy to write letters of recommendation for students who need them later on.  If you ask for a letter of recommendation from me, I will assume you have given me permission to use the grade you got in the course unless you specify otherwise.


 


Quizzes:  There will be weekly quizzes on Fridays.  These are timed on-line quizzes on blackboard.  You will have 2 attempts for each quiz.  The higher of the two grades will be counted.  The lowest quiz grade for the semester will be dropped.  Details on blackboard.


 


Homework: Each week you can download the homework from Blackboard.  When you are done with it you can upload it back to Blackboard.  You will need some sort of scanning software for your phone or computer for this and other things in the course.  Only 3 questions will be graded in order to give you better feedback.  I will post solutions on Monday.  Your lowest score homework for the semester will be dropped.


 


PILOT:  All students are required to be in the PILOT Program for this course.  The grade will be based on attendance.


 


Discussion forum:  Discussion posts are designed to create engagement and interaction in the online course. Follow the directions in Blackboard to answer your weekly discussions posts.



Exams:  There will be two midterms (Friday, Feb 26, and Friday, Apr 2) and a final exam (TBA).  The midterms will be between 8am and noon with time limits from start to finish.  Details from blackboard announcements when we get closer in time.   We will be available for questions by email.  You will download the exam and then upload your answers.  Work must accompany your exam.  The TAs and I will grade them.  The final will be more like a 3rd midterm than a final.


 


Weekly classes.  All the lectures are online in blackboard, so nothing new will be presented during the regular zoom classes.  I will set up zoom class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 10am and 11am.  I will start the class with an overview of what you should be learning, but will not repeat the online lectures.  After that, it will be like office hours and you can ask questions.  Zoom classes are light weight because you have enough to do with the online lectures, book reading, TA section, discussion, quizzes, homework, and PILOT.  Class starts Monday, Jan 25.


 


If you have specific questions you would like addressed during class, it works a lot better if you email them to me before class and I can properly prepare a response.


 


In addition to my classes, you have your TA and PILOT sections to attend.


 


Office hours.  There will be no formal office hours.  You just email me and we’ll set up a Zoom time to get together, but feel free to email me with math questions at any time.  During the pandemic I am unable to distinguish the difference between weekdays and weekends, so everything is fair game.  Your TA is also generally available and I will let you know the details of the Math Help room when it is set up.


Old Exams (http://www.math.jhu.edu/~wsw/S18/201/):  are posted on the web.


Personal Problems: If, at any time during the course, particularly associated with exams, you experience serious physical, mental or psychological problems, then email me immediately so we can try to adjust the situation to alleviate the problem.


Grade disputes.  If you have an issue with grading (or your final grade), do not hesitate to bring it to your TA’s attention or to my attention.  We can make mistakes grading and they should be corrected.  I will certainly adjust anything that was done wrong.    If you are not receiving enough individual feedback on written assessments, please bring this to my attention immediately. Individual feedback is an integral aspect of learning in this online environment.


CONFLICTING INFORMATION: If someone associated with the course gives you “information” that conflicts with the lectures and/or the book, you should get is clarified with me.  This could be quite serious. For example, last semester a PILOT leader introduced students to an abbreviated version of the singular value decomposition that was not what was taught in the book or my lectures.  The final exam was entirely about the SVD and it did not go well for students who believed the PILOT version instead of the course version


Linear Algebra: Linear algebra is everywhere. You've been using it for years without naming it. The integral is linear, the derivative is linear. Most applications of mathematics to the `real' world only work when you only look at the linear part. It is great material which will be with you always.  One of the many mathematical joys of linear algebra is that everything we do can be viewed both geometrically and algebraically.  Try to keep both in mind as you study.


There are two distinct new levels of abstraction in this course (abstract linear spaces and then inner products on them). The intellectual transition for each of these is quite difficult so if you find yourself having a hard time with the material it might not be your imagination. The best way to make these transitions is, as usual, to work lots of problems. Although these transitions can be difficult, they are well worth the investment. Successfully making these transitions opens up a whole new type of thought process which will remain available to you even if you never do math again.  Being able to absorb abstract nonsense fast and then work with it is a great skill being offered in this course.  As great as the material is and as ever present as linear algebra will be for those who continue to use mathematics, this ability to understand a new level of abstraction may well be the most important thing in the course.


From the Course Catalogue: 110.201 (Q) Linear Algebra 
Vector spaces, matrices, and linear transformations. Solutions of systems of linear equations. Eigenvalues, eigenvectors, and diagonalization of matrices. Applications to differential equations. Prerequisite: Calculus I. 4 credits 


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