Math 250 - Introductory Linear Algebra (Summer 2019)

Instructor / Office hours

Dr. Iian Smythe (i.smythe@rutgers.edu) / Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00pm-3:00pm, in 511 Hill Center

Lecture

MWF 6:00pm - 8:45pm in 211 Science and Engineering Resource Center (SEC)

Course description

An introduction to linear algebra, the study of linear equations, transformations, and spaces of vectors, using matrices. We will focus on computational tools and techniques, but students will be required to understand underlying concepts and simple proofs.

We will cover material from Chapters 1-6 of the text, including: matrices, systems of linear equations, matrix algebra, linear transformations, determinants, subspaces, bases and dimension, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization, orthogonality and its applications, particularly least-squares approximation and the singular value decomposition. Other applications (difference equations, principle component analysis, etc) may be discussed if time permits

See the course syllabus for more information regarding grade evaluation, homework standards, important dates, etc.

Textbooks & Resources

Course material (quizzes, homework, solutions, etc) will be posted on Canvas.

Our required textbook is Elementary Linear Algebra, 2nd edition, by Spence, Insel, and Friedberg. It will be available on course reserve in the Mathematical Sciences and Physics Library.

The following are additional resources you may find useful:

• Linear Algebra with Prof. Gilbert Strang, from MIT OpenCourseware, complete with video lectures and notes
• A First Course in Linear Algebra by Robert A. Beezer, a freely available textbook