Math 2121 (Fall 2019)
Overview
Welcome to the homepage for Math 2121: Linear Algebra!
- Send questions for the instructor to emarberg@ust.hk.
- Send questions about grades to your TA.
Check out the syllabus here.
Lectures
The time and locations of the lectures are as follows:
- L1: Wednesdays & Fridays, 1:30-2:50PM, Lecture Theater C
- L2: Mondays & Wednesdays, 10:30-11:50AM, Lecture Theater C
Office hours
My office is Room 3492 in the Mathematics Department, near Lift 25-26.
Drop by anytime, or send an email to make an appointment.
Textbook
The following is our primary textbook:
- Linear Algebra and its Applications, 5th edition, by D. Lay, S. Lay, and J. McDonald
Other resources
Some other online resources:
Grading
Grades will be computed as follows:
- 10%: homework assignments, weighted equally
- 30%: midterm examination
- 60%: final examination
Midterm examination
We will have a 2-hour, out-of-class midterm:
- Date: Sunday, 20 October 2019
- Time: 2:30-4:30PM
- Location:
- L1: Lecture Theater B
- L2: Lecture Theater J
Email the instructor right away if you have a conflict with the midterm date.
Information on what to study:
Midterm solutions
Final examination
Our postponed 3-hour final examination is now scheduled:
- Date: Thursday, 20 February 2020
- Time: 8:30-11:30AM
The final examination will be conducted online using the WeBWorK system.
More detailed instructions about the exam will be announced later by email.
Information on what to study for the final:
Review assignments:
Schedule
The following is a tentative course outline:
- Week 1: Linear systems, row reduction to echelon form (reading: Sections 1.1-1.2)
- Week 2: Vectors, matrix equations, linear independence (reading: Sections 1.3-1.5, 1.7)
- Week 3: Linear independence, linear transformations (reading: Sections 1.7-1.9)
- Week 4: Matrix multiplication, the inverse of a matrix (reading: Sections 2.1-2.3)
- Week 5: Subspaces, bases, dimension (reading: Sections 2.4, 2.8-2.9)
- Week 6: Determinants (reading: Sections 3.1-3.2)
- Week 7: Vector spaces, midterm (reading: Sections 4.1-4.6)
- Week 8: Eigenvectors, and eigenvalues (reading: Section 5.1)
- Week 9: Similarity and diagonalisable matrices (reading: Sections 5.2-5.4)
- Week 10: Complex eigenvalues, properties of eigenvalues (reading: Sections 5.5, 6.1)
- Week 11: Inner products, orthogonality, and projections (reading: Sections 6.1-6.3)
- Week 12: Gram-Schmidt process, least-squares problems (reading: Sections 6.4-6.6)
- Week 13: Symmetric matrices, SVDs (reading: Sections 7.1, 7.4)
Lecture notes
Lectures notes will be posted online each Friday for the following week.
You should try to read the notes before each class.
- Week 1:
- Week 2:
- Lecture 3: Vectors in Euclidean space
- Lecture 4: Matrix-vector products, linear independence
- Week 3:
- Lecture 5: Linear independence, linear transformations
- Lecture 6: One-to-one and onto functions, operations on matrices and functions
- Week 4:
- Lecture 7: Matrix operations, matrix multiplication
- Lecture 8: Invertible functions and matrices
- Week 5:
- Week 6:
- Week 7:
- Week 8:
- Week 9:
- Week 10:
- Week 11:
- Lecture 20: Orthogonal projections, Gram-Schmidt process
- Week 12:
- Week 13:
Homework
We will have weekly homework assignments. Here are the relevant logistics:
- Homework will be submitted online using WeBWorK.
- Assignments will be due at midnight each Tuesday.
- The first homework assignment will be due on 10 September.
- There will be no homework assignment due on 22 October.
- There will be no homework assignment due on 19 November.
- The last homework assignment will be due on 3 December.