Math 250
Spring 2006

Course Description

From the catalog:
01:640:250 Introductory Linear Algebra (3) Systems of linear equations, Gaussian elimination, matrices and determinants, vectors in two- and three-dimensional Euclidean space, vector spaces, introduction to eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Possible additional topics: systems of linear inequalities and systems of differential equations.

For more information see the schedule for this section, or the main math department 250 page.

Instructor

Name Office E-mail Phone Office Hours
Diane Maclagan 240 Hill Center maclagan at math.rutgers.edu 732-445-3481 MW 11-12:30

Course Time and Location

MW4 (1:40-3:00), ARC 333, Busch.

Text

Spence, Insel, & Friedberg: Elementary Linear Algebra: A Matrix Approach

Key Dates

There will be two midterm exams and a final.
Midterm 1: Wednesday, February 22, in class.
Midterm 1: Wednesday, April 5, in class.
Final: Tuesday, May 9, 12-3pm, ARC 333 (usual classroom).

Announcements

Extra office hours for the first midterm: Tuesday (2/21) 10am-1pm in Hill 240.

Office hours before the final:
Monday (5/1): 4:45-6pm (may be late). No OH at 11am.
Tuesday (5/2): 11am-12pm.
Wednesday (5/3): 11am-12pm.
Monday (5/8): 11am-12pm.

Homework

There will be quizzes every week in class on Wednesday. No make-up quizzes will be given, but your lowest two quiz scores will be dropped when computing your grade if you do the following two things (one quiz per item):
  • Give me a photocopy of your student ID by the 3rd class (Wednesday, January 25), and
  • Come to visit me in office hours before the first midterm.

There will also be weekly homework assignments. The list of homework assignments for each section of the book is available in PDF or Postscript. Homework will not be collected, but the quizzes will be heavily based on the homework.

Lastly, there will be six MATLAB labs. These are available on the main 250 Matlab page. Due dates are on the schedule page.
MATLAB is available on the PCs in the Rutgers public computer labs (in ARC on Busch, for example). You can also buy the student version; this should be available at the bookstore.

Grades

Grades will be based on a 600 point basis as follows:
Quizzes: 50 points
Matlab labs: 25 points each (150 total)
Midterm: 100 points each
Final: 200 points