Spring 2017 MAT 310 Linear Algebra   

ANNOUNCEMENTS (check regularly).

The MLC will close for the summer starting May 11.
Minoocheri will hold his office hours as usual the week before the final.
De Cataldo's office hours the week before the final will be held on Friday (not on Th) May 12, 3pm-5pm.
Review for final: Wed May 10, 2-3:30pm, Harriman Hall 104

Prerequisites: In order to take this course, you must have passed MAT 211 (Introduction to Linear Algebra) or 305 (Calculus IV) or 308 (Differential Equations with Linear Algebra) or AMS 210 (Applied Linear Algebra); you must have passed MAT 200 (Logic, Language, and Proof) or have permission of the instructor.

Course Description: This course will focus on mathematical proofs as well as on computations. Some of the topics we will cover are: matrices and operations on matrices; determinants of matrices; vector spaces and subspaces; linear transformations and linear operators: kernels and images; bases for vector spaces and the dimension of a vector space; eigenvalues, eigenvectors; the diagonalization of linear operators; the Cayley-Hamilton Theorem; the Jordan canonical form; the minimal polynomial. Important: we are going to re-learn, in a more rigorous way, some material that you may have already encontered; for example, various ways to solve linear systems of equations, to compute determinants, to find dual bases, etc.; it is important, and REQUIRED, that, in your homework solutions and in your exams, you ONLY use the methods we develop in this course.

Textbook: Linear Algebra, 4th edition, by Stephen Friedberg, Arnold Insel and Lawrence Spence, Prentice Hall, 2003. Amazon orders FAQ.

Instructor: Mark Andrea De Cataldo, Math Tower 5-108, Office Hours: Th 11:30am-2:30pm, Email: mark.decataldo AT stonybrook.edu

Recitation Instructor: Cristian Minoccheri, Math Tower 2-115, Office Hours:  and  MLC hours: Tu 10-12, Wed 1-2, Email: cmin AT math.stonybrook.edu.

Class schedule: TuTh 2:30-3:50pm, LIGHT ENGINEERING 102 (we no longer meet in ESS 079).

Recitation schedule: R01 (C. Minoccheri): M 9:00am-9:53am, Library E4310; R02 (C. Minoccheri): Tu 8:30am-9:23am, Earth&Space 181.

Syllabus (subject to change): (students will read 1.1 on their own), 1.2, 1.3; 1.4, 1.5; 1.6, 2.1; 2.2, 2.3; 2.4, 2.5; 2.6;  3.1, 3.2; 3.3, 3.4; 4.1, 4.2; 4.3; 4.4, 4.5; 5.1,5.2; 5.4, 7.1; 7.2, 7.3. 

Homework: Homework is a fundamental part of this course and will account for 20% of the total grade. Each homework is worth a max of  20 points. When we assign the final grade, we count only the ten best scores, for a maximum of 200 points. We can only assign so much homework: you should try most of the other un-assigned problems on your own and feel free to discuss them with us. Homework is collected  during YOUR recitation on a Monday, or a Tuesday morning.  Graded homework will be returned during YOUR recitation, the following week. You will have to work hard on the assigned problems in order to succeed. Copying the hmk will not help you much: time and again, we have seen perfect hmk scores, followed by very poor test performances. It is very unlikely you ill pass this class without the practice coming from doing your homework regularly.

Late homework will not be accepted. Staple the hmk with a metal staple. Mark clearly Rec #.

Homework assignments (Collected and returned during YOUR recitation) 

Homework 1 (Due week of 2/6) - 1.2: 1,4,9,18,21; 1.3: 6,9,10,12,20. Solutions. (Posted few days after hmk is turned-in.) 

Homework 2 (Due week of 2/13) -  1.4: 4,5,12,15,16; 1.5: 1,6,15,16,18. Solutions.  (Hmk week # etc. may be mis-matched; but all solutions are here!)

Homework 3 (Due week of 2/20) - 1.6: 1,8,9,14,15; 2.1: 5,11,13,17,25. Solutions.

Homework 4 (Due week of 2/27) - 2.2: 2,5,10,12;  2.3: 2,12,13,15,18. Solutions.

Homework 5 (Due week of 3/6) - 2.4: 3,4,10,16,20; 2.5: 4,6,8,11,14. Solutions.

Midterm I (Th March 2, in class) - Covers all material in sections 1.1-2.3, except: section 1.7, and Lagrange interpolation (end of section 1.6). There will be 6 problems. Some have multiple parts. They resemble actual problems/proofs/examples in the book. They will be graded using partial credit. Here is the first page of the test with some instructions. If you want to practice do the following six problems from the textbook: 1.4: 9; 1.5: 19; 1.6: 7; 2.1: 4; 2.2: 4; 2.3: 9 (Solutions). Arrive at least 5 minutes early: test starts at 2:30pm sharp and ends at 3:50pm sharp. Once you are given the test, do not look at it until you are told to start working on the test. We cannot provide extra time for late arrivals. Grades will be posted on blackboard as soon as possible after the grading is completed. The tentative curve for midterm I is: 175 <=A range; 140<=B range <175 ; 110 <= C range <140; 90<= D < 110 range; F range < 90.  This is just an indication of how you have done on this test. The actual final curve takes into account pre-test, hmk, midterms and finals. The exam with solutions will be posted here.

Homework 6 (Due week of 3/20) - 2.6: 3,4,7,9,20. Solutions.

Homework 7 (Due 3/27) - 3.1: 2,3,6,9,12; 3.2: 2,5,7,12,17. Solutions.

Homework 8 (Due 4/3) -  3.3: 3,4,6,7,10; 3.4: 2(a,c,e,g,i), 3,4,6,8. Solutions.

Homework 9 (Due 4/10) -  4.1: 5,6,10,11,12; 4.2: 11,21,23,25,30. Solutions.

Midterm II (Th April 6, in class) - Covers all material in sections 2.4-3.4, except section 2.7 (no ``Application" at the end of sections 2.3 and 3.3). There will be 6 problems. Some have multiple parts. They resemble actual problems/proofs/examples in the book. They will be graded using partial credit. Here is the first page of the test with some instructions. If you want to practice do the following six problems from the textbook: 2.4: 17; 2.5: 2b,c; 2.6: 14; 3.2: 6d; 3.3: 7d; 3.4: 9 (Solutions).  Arrive at least 5 minutes early: test starts at 2:30pm sharp and ends at 3:50pm sharp. Once you are given the test, do not look at it until you are told to start working on the test. We cannot provide extra time for late arrivals. Grades will be posted on blackboard as soon as possible after the grading is completed. The tentative curve for midterm II is: 175 <=A range; 140<=B range <175 ; 110 <= C range <140; 90<= D < 110 range; F range < 90. This is just an indication of how you have done on this test. The actual final curve takes into account pre-test, hmk, midterms and finals. The exam with solutions will be posted here.

Homework 10 (Due 4/17) -  4.3: 7,9,13,15,18. Solutions.

Homework 11 (Due 4/24) -  4.4: 4(b,g),5,6; 4.5: 7,12,13. Solutions.

Homework 12 (Due 5/1) - 5.1: 2 (parts a,c,f), 3(parts b,d), 7,8; 5.2: 8,10,12. Solutions.

Homework 13 (Due 5/4 in class; this is the last day of class for MAT 310; this week we cover 7.1 and 7.2) - 5.4: 4,6,11,15,18; 7.1: 2,3,4, 7 (a,b,c,d). This is the last homework assignment! Solutions.

Homework 14 (not to be handed-in; it's practice) - 7.2: 2,3,4,6,12; 7.3: 2,3(a,d), 10, 13.

Exams and Scores. Pre-test counts 5%. Homework counts 20%.There will be two in-class midterms as well as a final, each respectively accounting for 20%, 20%, and 35% of the total grade, for a total maximum of 1000 points. The final exam will take place on Monday, May 15, 11:15am-1:45pm, and the two in-class midterms will occur on Th March 2 and Th April 6. Make sure to resolve any conflict the first week of class. There will be no make-up exams. Scores are posted regularly on Blackboard.

Final (Monday, May 15, 11:15am-1:45pm) (in-class LIGHT ENGINEERING 102; this is subject to change check here for updates) - Covers all the material covered during the semester: see the syllabus above. More precisely: all material in sections 1.1-2.2, except: section 1.7, and Lagrange interpolation (end of section 1.6); all material in sections 2.3-3.3, except section 2.7 (no ``Application" at the end of sections 2.3 and 3.3); all material in 3.4-5.4 (in 5.2 no differential equations and no direct sums; no 5.3; in 5.4: only up to the Corollary to Cayley-Hamilton for matrices (included)); 7.1-7.3. The final exam will take place on Monday, May 15, 11:15am-1:45pm, in-class (but stay tuned in case of changes from the registrar's). The final test has 10 questions. Do the last one last. To get an idea of the length, do the following 10 sample problems: 1.3: 8.c; 1.6: 9; 2.5: 5; 2.6: 5; 3.4: 2.h; 4.5: 18; 5.1: 4.c; 5.2: 3.c; 5.4: 6.a; 7.1: 2.c. You have also been sent a link to last year's midterm with solutions. The curve for the final will appear here: ... The final with solutions will be posted here.

Grades. The curve for the final LETTER grade in the course will appear here: ... Please read about grades.

Help. The Math Learning Center (MLC) is located in Math Tower S-235 in the basement of the Math Building (former COLA site), and offers free help to any student requesting it. It also provides a locale for students wishing to form study groups. The MLC is open 10am-7pm Monday through Wednesday, 10am-6pm Thursday and 10am-2pm on Friday. A list of graduate students available for hire as private tutors is maintained by the Undergraduate Mathematics Office, Math Tower P-143.

Some ``hand-outs": Some symbols to know well. Solutions to problems in section 1.1. (Anti)-symmetric matices. Summary of section 2.5.

Disability Support Services (DSS). If you have a physical, psychological, medical or learning disability that may impact your course work, please contact Disability Support Services, ECC (Educational Communications Center) Building, room 128, (631) 632-6748. They will determine with you what accommodations, if any, are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation is confidential. Students who require assistance during emergency evacuation are encouraged to discuss their needs with their professors and Disability Support Services. For procedures and information go to the following website: http://www.stonybrook.edu/ehs/fire/disabilities
Academic Integrity. Representing another person's work as your own is always wrong. Faculty are required to report any suspected instances of academic dishonesty to the Academic Judiciary. Faculty in the Health Sciences Center (School of Health Technology & Management, Nursing, Social Welfare, Dental Medicine) and School of Medicine are required to follow their school-specific procedures. For more comprehensive information on academic integrity, including categories of academic dishonesty, please refer to the academic judiciary website at http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/academic_integrity/index.html
Critical Incident Management. Stony Brook University expects students to respect the rights, privileges, and property of other people. Faculty are required to report to the Office of Judicial Affairs any disruptive behavior that interrupts their ability to teach, compromises the safety of the learning environment, or inhibits students' ability to learn. Faculty in the HSC Schools and the School of Medicine are required to follow their school-specific procedures.