Math 342	Elementary Linear Algebra	Winter 2008
CRN 13181	***Preliminary Version***	Prof. M. Vitulli

Text: Applied Linear Algebra and Matrix Analysis by Thomas Shores, Springer

Lectures: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1:00–1:50 p.m. in Deady 307

Prerequisites/Course Content: The prerequisite for this course is Math 341 or the instructor's consent. Unless you have spoken with me privately, I will assume you have had a year sequence of calculus at the university level as well as Math 341. In Math 341-342 we study the following topics: systems of linear equations; vector and matrix algebra; vector spaces; linear combinations; linear independence, bases, and dimension; linear functions (a.k.a. linear transformations); rank and nullity; determinants; inner product spaces; eigenvalues and eigenvectors. We will also cover many applications of these topics.

Expectations: I expect that you will attend lectures and actively participate. You must read the text book with a pencil and paper nearby and figure out the answers to the questions posed in the text as well as convince yourself of the veracity of the author's assertions. You must learn the definitions so well that you can repeat them virtually verbatim. Mathematics courses are like language courses: you must prepare between class meetings to avoid falling behind. I expect you to work on the homework problems as we cover the material in class.

Office Hours/Contact Info: My office is 310 Fenton Hall and my campus phone number is 346-5633. My office hours tentatively are:

Mon.

2:00 –3:30

Tues.

2:00 – 3:30

Weds.

2:00 – 3:00

You can reach me by e-mail at vitulli@math.uoregon.edu. You should check the web site for this http://blackboard.uoregon.edu/ information on exams, office hours, etcetera.

Exams/Homework: I will assign homework problems each week; check the course website on Blackboard for updates. Late homework will not be accepted; I will drop the lowest homework score. It is essential that you do the homework; you can work with others but you must write up the solutions yourself. There will be 2 in-class exams, and a final exam. The final exam is on Tuesday, March 18^th at 3:15 p.m. Make-ups for the exams will be given only if you have my PRIOR CONSENT and the circumstances are extraordinary. On the exams roughly 50% of the problems will be based on the homework problems. When writing explanations, make sure you write complete sentences that follow the usual rules of grammar.

Course Grade: I will tentatively determine your course grade by the following weights:

Homework: 20%

Exam 1: 25%

Exam 2: 25%

Final: 30%

Technology: I expect you to be able to carry out matrix calculations by hand so as to gain a solid understanding of what these calculations entail. You may use technology (graphing calculators, Mathematica, etc.) on your homework problems unless you are explicitly told not to. You will be allowed to use graphing calculators on your quizzes and exams, but you will have to show all intermediate steps for credit. Texas Instruments and Hewlett Packard have copies of their manuals on the Web at the addresses below.

TI-82 web manual: http://education.ti.com/us/product/tech/82/guide/82guideus.html

TI-83 web manual: http://education.ti.com/us/product/tech/83/guide/83guideus.html

TI-83+ manual: http://education.ti.com/us/product/tech/83p/guide/83pguideus.html

TI-86 manual: http://education.ti.com/us/product/tech/86/guide/86guideus.html

TI-89 manual: http://education.ti.com/guidebooks/graphing/8992p/8992bookeng.pdf

HP Website for Calculators: http://www.hp.com/calculators/

Important Dates

January 6	Last day to drop without a grade of “W”
January 16	Last day to add, change from credit to audit or audit to credit
January 21 (M)	Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday-no classes
January 30 (W)	Exam 1
February 20 (W)	Exam 2
February 24	Last day to: drop with a grade of “W” recorded, change grade options or variable credits
March 18 (U)	Final Exam at 3:15 p.m.

Classroom Behavior:

• Class starts promptly at 1:00 p.m.. You should be in your seat and ready to begin class at this time. Class ends at 1:50 p.m. Packing up your things early is disruptive to your fellow students and to me.
• If you enter the classroom late or need to leave early please sit near a door. Walking across the room during the lecture is disrespectful of your fellow students and me.
• Attendance and classroom participation is a necessary part of this course. To participate you must attend class having prepared the materials for the day.

• Please raise your hand to be recognized.
• Please turn your cell phones off during class. If the phone rings it will be embarrassing for you and disturbing for everyone else in the class.
• Remove your ear buds and close down your computers. I won’t tolerate web surfing or email activities during lecture.
• Classroom discussion should be civilized and respectful to everyone and relevant to the topic we are discussing. If you miss a lecture please ask someone else in the class for lecture notes; we can’t use class time to revisit a topic that was covered in your absence.

Academic Dishonesty: The university has detailed guidelines covering various forms of academic dishonesty including plagiarism, fabrication, cheating, and academic misconduct. This information can be online at academic-dishonesty.htm . You may work with fellow students on your homework assignments but I expect that what you turn in or complete online is your own work in your own words. I expect that you won’t consult anyone else’s paper on exams. I will hold you responsible for academic dishonesty if you don’t follow both my and university guidelines.