Math 304, Linear Algebra, First Summer Session 2006
Harold P. Boas

What's new

Friday, June 30
We had the second (and final) examination, for which solutions are available.
Thursday, June 29
We reviewed for the second examination, which will be held tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 28
We discussed diagonalization of matrices and some applications: exponentiation of matrices and the solution of systems of differential equations via exponential matrices. The slides from class are available. We also worked on Chapter Test A at the end of Chapter 5 by way of review.
Note that exercises 26, 27, and 28 in section 6.3 (on pages 343-344) have answers in the back of the book on pages 511-512, but the answers are incorrectly labeled as 24, 25, and 26.
Tuesday, June 27
We discussed the solution of systems of differential equations via eigenvectors. The slides from class are available, and so are solutions to the quiz.
Monday, June 26
We discussed eigenvalues and eigenvectors. The slides from class are available along with solutions to the quiz.
Friday, June 23
We did a worksheet about the Gram-Schmidt orthonormalization process and the QR factorization.
Thursday, June 22
We discussed orthonormal sets. The slides from class are available, as are solutions to the quiz.
Wednesday, June 21
We discussed inner products and norms. The slides from class are available. We did a group quiz, and solutions are available.
Tuesday, June 20
We discussed least-squares solutions for overdetermined linear systems. The slides from class are available, and so are solutions to the quiz.
Monday, June 19
We discussed orthogonal subspaces and reinterpreted the rank-nullity theorem in terms of orthogonality. The slides from class are available. Since many students had trouble on Friday's quiz, there will be a second opportunity to show mastery of the same material on tomorrow's quiz. Solutions to today's quiz are available.
Friday, June 16
We discussed the scalar product and applications to projections and distances from points to lines and planes. The slides from class are available. The quiz caused general distress; solutions are available.
Thursday, June 15
We did a group quiz about matrix representations of linear transformations. Part of the worksheet was about similar matrices, so you should now be able to do the exercises for section 4.3.
Wednesday, June 14
We discussed matrix representations of linear transformations, but the lecture seemed to leave most people more confused than enlightened. The slides from class are available. Tomorrow we will try to obtain enlightenment on this topic as well as the closely related topic of similarity of matrices in section 4.3.
Tuesday, June 13
We discussed the notion of a linear transformation and some examples. The slides from class are available, as are solutions to the quiz.
Monday, June 12
The graded exams were returned. We discussed the row space and the column space of a matrix and the rank-nullity theorem. The slides from class are available.
Tomorrow morning (Tuesday) I am having my first physical therapy session for rehabilitating my knee, so I will not have my scheduled office hour. If you want to see me, please make an appointment.
Sunday, June 11
The class had an outstanding performance on the first exam! The median score was 88.
Since I am recovering from surgery, I will not hold my office hour on Monday morning, but I will be in class at noon.
Friday, June 9
This was the day of the first examination and my knee surgery. Solutions for the exam are available.
Thursday, June 8
We reviewed for the exam to be given tomorrow, and we did a group quiz on the true-false questions at the end of Chapter 3. Dimitrije Kostic will be administering the exam, since I am having knee surgery. Good luck tomorrow!
Wednesday, June 7
There was no quiz in class today, because we discussed both section 3.4 (about basis and dimension) and section 3.5 (about changing coordinates). The slides from class are available. Tomorrow we will review for the exam to be given on Friday.
Tuesday, June 6
We discussed the concept of linear independence. The slides from class are available, and so is the quiz.
Monday, June 5
We discussed the concepts of vector spaces, subspaces, the nullspace of a matrix, and the span of a set of vectors. The slides from class are available, and so is the quiz.
Friday, June 2
Starting on Monday, June 5, the mathematics department will have a help session for Math 304. The help session for Math 304 will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:00pm to 4:30pm in ENPH 215.
You can check your grades for this course at WebCT.
In class we discussed determinants: how to compute them and properties that they satisfy. The slides from class are available. We did Chapter Test A on page 88 of the textbook as a group quiz.
Thursday, June 1
We saw how to use row reduction to compute inverse matrices and the LU factorization of a matrix. The slides from class are available, and so is the third quiz.
Wednesday, May 31
Tomorrow (June 1) and Friday (June 2), I will not have my usual 10:00-11:00 office hour due to conflicting meetings. If you want to meet with me on those days, please contact me to arrange an appointment.
In class today we discussed matrix algebra (section 1.3 of the textbook); the slides from class are available. The graded papers from the first quiz were returned, and we took the second quiz.
Tuesday, May 30
We did some examples of Gaussian elimination and Gauss-Jordan reduction (sections 1.1 and 1.2 of the textbook). The slides from class are available. Also we had the first quiz, for which solutions are available.
Friday, May 26
This site went live today. Summer courses go fast, so it is important to be organized and to hit the ground running. The first-day handout and the course syllabus are both available online.

These pages are copyright © 2006 by Harold P. Boas. All rights reserved.