Spring 2020
Lectures / office hours / Q&A sessions / etc. on Zoom will be recorded and reposted.
Textbook
Linear Algebra and Its Applications (Fifth Edition), David C. Lay,
Pearson 2015, ISBN-10: 0-321-98238-X, ISBN-13: 978-0-321-98238-4.
Course Description
We aim to cover Chapters 1-6 of the textbook. Topics covered in the course will include:
Matrix algebra, Gaussian elimination, determinants.
Linear and affine subspaces, bases of Euclidean spaces.
Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, quadratic forms.
Orthogonal matrices, diagonalization of symmetric matrices, applications.
Computing symbolic and graphical solutions using Matlab.
Instructor and TAs
Hang Xu
Email: h9xu@ucsd.edu
Office Location: AP&M 6305
Office Hours: MW 4:00-5:30 pm via Zoom
Email: h5moon@ucsd.edu
Office Location: AP&M 6446
Office Hours: MW 2:00-3:00 pm via Zoom
Kehan Long (D03, D04)
Email: k3long@ucsd.edu
Office Location: AP&M 6436
Office Hours: TuTh 9:00-10:00 am via Zoom
Finley McGlade (D05, D06)
Email: fmcglade@ucsd.edu
Office Location: AP&M 6436
Office Hours: F 9:30-10:30 am and 3:30-4:30 pm via Zoom.
Lecture (delivered via Zoom)
MWF 1:00-1:50 pm
Discussion Sections (delivered via Zoom)
D01 Th 4:00-4:50 pm
D02 Th 5:00-5:50 pm
D03 Th 6:00-6:50 pm
D04 Th 7:00-7:50 pm
D05 Th 8:00-8:50 pm
D06 Th 9:00-9:50 pm
Grading
Your cumulative average will be:
5% MATLAB assignments, 5% MATLAB quiz, 30% homework, 30% best exam, 30% second best exam.
We will have three exams in total and each exam will be 50 minutes long. You can take it at your convenient time within a given 24 hours time window. We will examine your starting time and submission time on Canvas and Gradescope. Here are the exam schedules:
Exam I time window: 0:00 am – 11:59 pm PST on Monday, April 27;
Exam II time window: 0:00 am – 11:59 pm PST on Monday, May 18;
Exam III time window: 0:00 am – 11:59 pm PST on Thursday, June 11.
Follow-up AI checks via Zoom: Our TAs will look for any possible signs of academic misconduct during grading the exam. Any student may be asked to a follow-up Zoom meeting in which they will be asked to justify their work on the exam and show that it was their own work. If the follow-up is unconvincing, or the student is unable or unwilling to engage, their exam will be forwarded to the AI Office for a potential violation.
Your course grade will be determined by your cumulative average at the end of the quarter, and will be based on the following scale:
|
A+ |
A |
A- |
B+ |
B |
B- |
C+ |
C |
C- |
|
97 |
93 |
90 |
87 |
83 |
80 |
77 |
73 |
70 |
The above scale is guaranteed: for example, if your cumulative average is 80, your final grade will be at least B-. However, your instructor may adjust the above scale to be more generous.
The detailed online exam instructions are available on Canvas.
MATLAB
In applications of linear algebra, the theoretical concepts that you will learn in lecture are used together with computers to solve large scale problems. Thus, in addition to your written homework, you will be required to do homework using the computer language MATLAB. The Math 18 MATLAB Assignments page contains all information relevant to the MATLAB component of Math 18, including due dates. You can also make use of UCSD's MATLAB site license to install MATLAB on your own computer by visiting the MATLAB for UCSD Students page. Questions regarding the MATLAB assignments should be directed to the TAs. Please upload your MATLAB homework assignments to Gradescope by the due date according to the instructions found on the Math 18 MATLAB Assignments page; note that late MATLAB homework will not be accepted, but in case you have to miss one MATLAB assignment, your lowest MATLAB homework score will be dropped. There will be a MATLAB quiz at the end of the quarter.
Gradescope homework
The homework should be submitted directly to Gradescope through Canvas by 8:00 pm on Sundays.
Guidelines for submission through Gradescope:
Submissions must be PDF files.
If your homework is handwritten, you must upload a scanned document.
You may type your homework (using LaTeX, for example) and save your file as a PDF.
You may write your solutions using a tablet device.
Gradescope will ask you to match each of the exercises with the page on which your solution for that exercise appears.
For more information, watch the Gradescope tutorial video: https://gradescope.com/get_started#student-submission
We will allow the first homework (only) to be submitted up to one day late. This is to allow for the fact that students may be unfamiliar with the system and may experience some technical issues during the first submission. But this is a one-time only rule. After the first homework, no homework will be accepted late.
If, for any reason, you cannot turn in a homework assignment, keep in mind that the lowest score will be dropped.
Course policies
You need a computer for this online course. If you do not have one, there is an option to request a loaner laptop here.
Lectures / office hours / Q&A sessions / etc. on Zoom will be recorded and reposted.
To access the materials for the lecture, discussion session and SI/SG session on Google drive, please make sure to log out of all Google accounts except for your UCSD email address.
No late homework will be accepted. No makeup exams will be given in this course.
Your lowest Matlab assignment (out of five assignments in total) will be dropped. Likewise, your lowest homework and your lowest exam will be dropped.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you do not have a schedule conflict involving the exams. You should not enroll in this class if you cannot sit for the exams at their scheduled time.
You are responsible for lecture notes, any course material handed out, and attendance in class. The lectures will be conducted as if you have already read the material and attempted some homework problems. In this manner, you can focus mainly on those parts of the lectures that cover the areas of your reading you found difficulty to understand.
Your exams will be graded using Gradescope. You will be able to request regrades directly from your TA through Gradescope for a specified window of time. Be sure to make your request within the specified window of time; no regrade requests will be accepted after the deadline. Note: Your grader will consider your regrade request only if you have explained clearly, thoroughly, and politely why you think an error in grading was made.
If you have any math questions, please feel free to ask me anytime. You can find me after lectures, in office hours, or you can reach me by email. Please refer the questions that are related to your Matlab assignments, homework and exams to your TA first. This is because I do not grade or keep your coursework.
Resources for assistance and tutoring (via Zoom)
Supplemental
Instruction Session is
a
free
academic
resource for students where they will be able to work interactively
as a group to help their learning process. The SI Leader for Math
18, Amy Park, will be leading sessions based on lecture notes and
plan activities for students to guide their discussions and
learning. Here is the schedule for Math 18:
|
SI Leader |
SI Session |
|
Amy Park |
F 2:00-3:20 pm on Zoom |
Online Tutoring is a free service to get help on the course material from a tutor. No appointment is needed. General tutoring hours for Math 18 are 12pm - 9pm from Monday to Thursday and 12pm-7pm on Friday on Zoom.
Piazza is an online discussion forum. It will allow you to post messages (openly or anonymously) and answer posts made by your fellow students, about course content, homework, exams, etc. The instructors and TAs will also monitor and post to Piazza regularly. You can find our class registration page and class homepage. Note: Piazza has an opt-in "Piazza Careers" section which, if you give permission, will share statistics about your Piazza use with potential future employers. It also has a "social network" component, based on other students who've shared a Piazza-based class with you, that comes with the usual warnings about privacy concerns. Piazza is fully FERPA compliant, and is an allowed resource at UCSD. Nevertheless, you are not required to use Piazza if you do not wish.
Accommodations
Students requesting accommodations for this course due to a disability must provide a current Authorization for Accommodation (AFA) letter issued by the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) which is located in University Center 202 behind Center Hall. The AFA letter may be issued by the OSD electronically or in hard-copy; in either case, please make arrangements to discuss your accommodations with me in advance (by the end of Week 2. We will make every effort to arrange for whatever accommodations are stipulated by the OSD. For more information, see here.
Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty is considered a serious offense at UCSD. Students caught cheating will face an administrative sanction which may include suspension or expulsion from the university. It is in your best interest to take pride in your work maintain your academic integrity. (Click here for more information.)
Noise and common courtesy: When class/section begins, please stop your conversations. Wait until class/section is over before putting your materials away in your backpack, standing up, or talking to friends. Do not disturb others by engaging in disruptive behavior. Disruption interferes with the learning environment and impairs the ability of others to focus, participate, and engage.
Electronic devices: Please do not use devices (such as cell phones, laptops, tablets, iPods, smart watches) for non-class-related matters while in class/section. No visual or audio recording is allowed in class/section without prior permission of the instructor (whether by camera, cell phone, or other means).
Tentative schedule (will be updated as the course progresses)
Homework will be posted on Canvas every Wednesday and due 8:00 pm on the next Sunday.