Math 1553
Introduction to Linear Algebra
Fall, 2016 — Section B GaTech

Course information

Instructor
Joe Rabinoff
Lecture time
MW 9:05–9:55am
Lecture location
Instructional Center 103
Recitation time
F 9:05–9:55am
Recitation location
  • B1: Skiles 154
  • B2: Skiles 254
  • B3: Skiles 255
  • B4: Skiles 270
Prerequisites
none
My office
Skiles 221
My email
email
Office hours
W 1–2pm, Th 3:30–4:30pm,
and by appointment
Teaching assistants
  • B1: Kamania Ray
  • B2: Fan Zhou
  • B3: Bharat Kanwar
  • B4: Ayush Agrawal
TA office hours
  • Kamania Ray
  • F 10–11am
    Skiles 230
  • Fan Zhou
  • F 2–3pm
    Skiles 164
  • Bharat Kanwar
  • Th 12:30–1:30pm
    Skiles 230
  • Ayush Agrawal
  • M 11am–noon
    Skiles 230

This website serves as the syllabus. Please read through it carefully.

Learning objectives

This is a basic, first course in linear algebra. The main goals are to understand matrices and systems of linear equations, to learn to solve problems from a mathematical perspective, and to prepare for the many applications of linear algebra in science and engineering courses.

More specifically, there are three primary topics in this course:

  1. Solving equations of the form Ax = b.
    • Students will learn to solve this kind of system of linear equations through the use of matrices, including the methods of row reduction and inverse matrices.
    • Students will also learn to understand the set of all solutions to such an equation — with varying parameters — specifically through the parametric forms for solutions, the geometry of linear transformations, the characterizations of invertible matrices, and determinants.
  2. Solving equations of the form Ax = λx.
    • Students will learn to solve these eigenvalue problems through the use of the characteristic polynomial.
    • Students will learn to use the computation of eigenvalues and eigenvectors to understand the structure of a linear transformation, for instance by diagonalization.
  3. Almost solving equations of the form Ax = b.
    • Students will learn orthogonal projections and how they are used to find best-fit solutions to systems of linear equations that have no actual solution.
Lay

Textbook

The primary reference for this course is Linear Algebra and its Applications, 5th edition, by Lay–Lay–McDonald. We will cover selections from chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6.

Students with a Pearson code can access the text via MyMathLab. The course id is rabinoff30402. Instructions for obtaining a Pearson code and logging into MyMathLab can be found here. Note that this section will use WeBWorK and not MyMathLab for online homework assignments, so that the MyMathLab account is really only good for accessing an electronic version of the text.

While the Pearson code is not required for this course, you are likely to need the code for other math courses you take at GaTech. In particular, Lay is bundled with other textbooks for calculus courses, so most likely buying the code now will save you money in the long run.