Math 304, Linear Algebra, First Summer Session 2007
Harold P. Boas

What's new

Monday, July 2
The second exam scores and the final course grades are posted at the TAMU online learning site. On the second exam, the high score was 100 (with multiplicity 2), the low score was 42, and the class mean was 69. For the final course averages, the class mean was 85.
Friday, June 29
The second examination was given, and solutions are available.
Thursday, June 28
We reviewed for the examination to be given tomorrow covering sections 3.5-3.6, 4.1-4.3, 5.1-5.6, and 6.1-6.3.
Wednesday, June 27
We discussed the problem of diagonalizing a matrix by a similarity transformation and applications to the exponential of a matrix and to the solution of linear systems of differential equations. We worked in groups on the first half of Chapter Test A for Chapter 6 (page 406) for a quiz grade.
Tuesday, June 26
We discussed the application of eigenvalues and eigenvectors to solving linear systems of differential equations. Quiz 15 was given (in groups, in honor of Rolando's birthday), and solutions are available.
Monday, June 25
We discussed the concepts of eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and we worked in groups on the Chapter Test A for Chapter 5 (pages 294-295) for a quiz grade.
Friday, June 22
We worked out an example of the Gram-Schmidt orthonormalization procedure and the corresponding QR matrix factorization. Quiz 13 was given, and solutions are available.
Thursday, June 21
We discussed the concepts of orthonormal sets of vectors and orthogonal matrices. Quiz 12 was given (in groups), and solutions are available.
Wednesday, June 20
We discussed the notions of inner product and norm in the setting of general vector spaces. Quiz 11 was given, and solutions are available.
Tuesday, June 19
We discussed a method for finding least squares solutions of inconsistent linear systems, and we worked on Chapter Test A for Chapter 4 in groups for a quiz grade. Our second exam will be on Friday, June 29. I have posted the corresponding exam from summer 2006 along with solutions.
Monday, June 18
We discussed the notion of orthogonal complement and the equality of the orthogonal complement of the null space of a matrix with the range of the transpose matrix. The ninth quiz was given, and solutions are available.
Friday, June 15
We reviewed some notions about the scalar product (dot product), scalar and vector projections, and the distance from a point to a line or a plane. Following Rolando's suggestion, we took a "howdy" quiz, and we ended class just before the rain started.
Thursday, June 14
We discussed the notion of similarity of matrices, that is, how to represent a linear operator with respect to different bases. The seventh quiz was given, and solutions are available.
Wednesday, June 13
We discussed how to represent a linear transformation by a matrix, both with respect to the standard basis and with respect to arbitrary bases.
Tuesday, June 12
We discussed the concepts of linear transformation, kernel, and image. We worked in groups on some of the exercises for Section 1 of Chapter 4 for a quiz grade.
Monday, June 11
The graded exams were returned. We discussed the concepts of row space, column space, rank, and nullity. The fifth quiz was given, and solutions are available.
Friday, June 8
The first exam was given, and solutions are available. The class did an outstanding job on the exam! The median score was 93.
Thursday, June 7
We discussed the concept of change of basis, and we did the Chapter Test A for Chapter 3 as a group quiz.
Wednesday, June 6
We discussed the concepts of basis and dimension, and we worked in groups on the exercises for Section 4 of Chapter 3.
Tuesday, June 5
We discussed Chapter Test A for Chapter 1 on page 88 of the textbook along with some of the homework exercises. Then we looked at the concepts of linear dependence and linear independence. The third quiz was given, and solutions are available.
Monday, June 4
We discussed the concepts of vector spaces and subspaces. By way of review for the examination to be given on Friday, we worked in groups on Chapter Test A for Chapter 1 on page 88 of the textbook. In studying for the upcoming exam, you may wish to consult the first exam from summer 2006 and the solutions.
Friday, June 1
We discussed determinants. The second quiz was given, and solutions are available.
Thursday, May 31
We discussed some of the past homework problems, and then we talked about elementary matrices, the LU factorization of a matrix, and the corresponding algorithm for computing the inverse of a matrix. The class was interrupted by a fire alarm, so we did not have time for a quiz.
Wednesday, May 30
We discussed matrix operations, the connection between matrix equations and linear systems, and the consistency theorem for linear systems (Theorem 1.3.1 in the textbook). The first quiz was given, and solutions are available.
Tuesday, May 29
At the first class meeting, we discussed the solution of systems of linear equations via the method of Gaussian elimination (Sections 1 and 2 of Chapter 1 of the textbook).
Wednesday, May 23
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 © 2007 by Harold P. Boas. All rights reserved.