M346, Applied Linear Algebra

Unique number: 57290

Meeting time and place: TuTh 11-12:30,  RLM 6.124.

Web page: www.ma.utexas.edu/users/sadun/F13/M346

Professor: Lorenzo Sadun, RLM 9.114, x1-7121

email: sadun@math.utexas.edu

Office hours: MW 1-2. I generally keep an open door and welcome visitors at all times.

Textbook: Applied Linear Algebra, 2nd edition, by Lorenzo Sadun.

Prerequisites: M341 or M340L with a grade of at least C-. This is not an easy course. If you struggled in M340L or M341, you probably will have a very hard time with M346.

Syllabus: Chapters 1 through 8, with occasional skipped sections. You can find an online day-by-day schedule here.

Homework: There will be weekly problem sets, due in class on Tuesday.

Exams: There will be three in-class midterm exams, on September 26, October 22 and November 19, plus a final exam on Wednesday, December 11, 9-12. These exams will all be closed book. However, each student will be allowed to bring a single letter-sized ``crib sheet'' (2-sided) to each midterm, and 2 crib sheets to the final. These notes must be HANDWRITTEN ORIGINALS - NO XEROXING ALLOWED.

Pre-class material: I have prepared a series of videos and web pages to go along with the book. You can find an index here. You are expected to go over each section's materials before class, and to understand the easy parts, so that we can spend class time working through the hard parts.

Participation: You will occasionally be called upon, by name, to present a calculation or to answer a question. The grading for this will be on a 4 points scale: 4 points for a good job, 3 points for a so-so job, 2 points for a poor job, or for being too unprepared to present, and 0 points for being absent. If you need to miss class for a valid reason (e.g., a religious holiday), let me know in advance and I won't call on you.

Grading: Each midterm counts 20%. The final exam counts 20%. The homework, taken together, counts 10%. Class participation counts 10%. If you do better on the final than on your worst midterm, then I will replace that midterm score with the final. In other words, your grade will probably be based on 40% final, 20% each for your best two midterms, 0% for your worst midterm, plus 10% each for homework and participation. The final cannot replace your homework or participation grade. The final grade distribution is neither a straight scale nor a fixed curve. It depends on how well the class does as a whole, but I hope to give mostly A's and B's.

Disabilities: The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY