Quiz #1 is Wednesday! It will cover our first three handouts. In particular, you
should...
• Know how to translate from a linear system to a matrix.
• Know how to perform Gauss-Jordan elimination.
• Know what is meant by...
coefficient/augmented matrix, REF/RREF, & basic/free variables.
• Know how to translate back a matrix to a system.
• Know how to write a general solution in (vector) parametric form.
• Know how the linear correspondence between columns works.
Where are we in the textbook?
• Sections 1.1 & 1.2 correspond to our RREF handout.
• Section 1.3 - We haven't fully discussed this yet.
• Sections 1.4 & 1.5 correspond to our Vector Form handout.
• Section 2.1 - We have just started discussing matrix operations.
08/18
Today we went over syllabus nonsense and "What is Linear Algebra?" Where are we in the textbook?
More-or-less section 1.1.
Mistakes were Made:
I realized during the noon section that I had made a mistake when rushing through my example
at the end of the 9am section. The system's translation, RREF, and solution were fine...but when I added
-7 times row 1 to row 3, I messed that up. Basically I ended up skipping a step or two. I plan to go
over this example again at the beginning of both classes on Wednesday.
No (in person) class Friday!
As I mentioned in class, I will be helping my son move in on Friday. In lieu of in person class, I will
send out a link to a video. Also, as I mentioned, if you would like to come when I record Friday's
video, you are welcome to. I will be recording Friday's class on Thursday at 8am in Walker 304
(our usual classroom).
We will eventually have homework assignments to be completed using technology.
I plan to write them assuming the use of Maple (you can download for free and
activate using the code provided on our coursepage in AsULearn).
I have a video introduction, but it's taylored for Calculus 3: Maple Intro. (38mins).
My Maple examples (mostly for calculus) can be found here.
Mathematica is Maple's main competator. It is the engine that lies behind
Wolfram Alpha.
You probably can get Alpha to do linear algebra computations for you, but the
interface really isn't built for it. So I'll pass.
If you just want to compute the RREF of a matrix of integers
(and show the steps), there are many choices but Bogacki's
webpage is pretty easy to use.
Symbolab is a propular choice for
computing symbolic integrals and derivatives. It can also do linear algebra stuff.
If you want industrial strength numerical calculations, you either code directly in
Python or use Matlab (matrix laboratory). Octave
?was? an open source version of Matlab. If you are a science major, (eventually) learning Python and Matlab are good ideas.
Finally, SAGE is open source mathematical software built on top
of Python. It gives us the easiest access to (free) non-trivial calculations. I have created a sandbox
for doing Linear Algebra in SAGE.
Note: Linear Algebra in SAGE Tutorial.
08/11
From Genie Griffin (griffine@appstate.edu) our tutoring coordinator:
Hi All,
Hope everyone had a great summer!
I wanted to let you all know about the free tutoring offered by the University to our students for this fall semester. Please share with your students!!
Drop-in Tutoring: In person drop in tutoring for general math, business math, and stats will be offered Monday-Thursday from 4:30-7:30 pm in DD Dougherty room 208.
*Also note--Drop-in tutoring will continue to be in-person in the evenings. However, this fall semester, tutoring services are piloting a new online 24/7 asynchronous tutoring option with a small committee of tutors. More information will be sent out about this at a later date!
Appointment Based Tutoring: Many of our math/stats and business math tutors are opening their availability for tutoring appointments between the hours of 9am-4pm Monday through Thursday and 9am-2pm on Fridays. These appointments can be for online or in-person tutoring. Because of drop-in hours in the evenings Monday through Thursday, any appointments that start at 4pm or later will be online only. They can find more information here: https://studentlearningcenter.appstate.edu/tutoring.
Weeknight football:We have a home football game on Thursday, Nov. 7. Tutoring is usually limited on these days. I will update you all as we get closer to that date if there are changes in operations.
Dates Tutoring will not be offered: September 1 (Labor Day), October 13-14 (Fall Break), and November 26-28 (Thanksgiving Break).
New, Starting this Semester! Students are now able to use the Student Learning Center (located in DD Dougherty Room 208) as a study space between the hours of 9am-4pm Monday through Thursday and 9am-2pm on Fridays. They do not need an appointment for this. However, if they find that they need assistance while working in that space, a Front Desk Assistant will be available to help them schedule tutoring appointments or inform them about drop-in hours and other resources.
Tutoring will start on Monday, Aug. 25 and end on Wednesday, Dec. 3.