Course Syllabus, Linear Algebra and Differential Equations

Math 2250, Fall 2012

 

Instructor: Dr. Seth Armstrong, ELC 420, email armstrong@suu.edu, cell: 590-4516. Please relay information to me by email if possible; texting/calling on my cell phone is okay in case of an emergency. Don’t leave me a voice mail in my office: I check voice mail on my office about once per decade. Everything I hand out in class, including this syllabus, will be posted on the Course Information link at www.suu.edu/faculty/armstrong or under G://Classes/Armstrong/Math 2250.

 

Meeting Times and Office Hours: We will meet MTWF, 2-2:50, in SC 230. My office hour will be daily at 10:30-11:30; please try to make your visits during this time if possible. If you can’t make my office hour we can schedule another appointment (preferably by email).

 

Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in Calculus II

Text: Differential Equations & Linear Algebra, 3^rd ed, by Edwards and Penney, Pearson Publishing, ISBN 978-0-13-605425-2

Course Description: First-order differential equations with applications. Systems of linear equations. Matrices. Vector spaces. Higher-order  linear differential equations. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Linear systems of differential equations with applications. Laplace transforms.

 

Policies and Procedures

1.       Attendance is required. I will be unwilling to go through lecture material that you miss without excuse. You may drop your lowest 100-pt test score (see #3) if you have at most one unexcused absences. I will pass around a roll every day that I remember to keep track of your attendance.

2.       Complete each homework (HW) assignment before the next class lecture. The best advice I can give you is to do your HW as independently as possible: That is, do all you can first on a problem before seeking outside help, thinking about it for several minutes and trying it several times. This is because struggling through a problem for a while is the only way to make connections resulting in so-called higher learning and to know material well enough for high test performance and to retain it after the test. Homework from the previous week’s material (meaning M-F assignments) will be collected Monday in class; it is due the second class day of each week, so usually Tuesday. It should be neat, the problems done in order and complete work should be shown for full credit. Because you have Friday afternoon through Tuesday morning between the last HW assignment and handing it in, I will not give any time extension on the HW unless you have a prolonged, legitimate excuse: Late, unexcused HW will not be accepted. The median student should plan on spending two hours outside of class for each hour in. The grader will have limited grading hours per week, so it is your responsibility to make sure you’re getting correct answers using those provided in the back of the book (i.e., “BoB”).

3.       If you have excellent attendance (see #1), only three of your four exam scores will count toward your grade if it helps your grade overall. Should you fall ill or have to be gone for some legitimate excuse on the last test day, email or text me ASAP so I know. Thereafter, you must schedule a makeup test with me, so tell me in an email when you are available to make up the test. If you wait more than one day to contact me, then the score on the test you miss will simply be a zero regardless of excuse (i.e., so if you have been absent less than the allotted days, that will be your dropped one). You must be prepared to provide documentation for missing a test and will have to do so if you have to make up more than one. I recommend that you do not plan on dropping any tests so if you get a lower score on a later exam you don’t have to count that score toward your grade. Things such as a busy week in school, moving, or a doctor’s appointment that can be rescheduled do not merit a makeup exam. All are busy every week, so it’s not fair to give one exception.

4.       Academic Integrity: Scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent. You are expected to have read and understood the current issue of the student handbook (published by Student Services) regarding student responsibilities and rights for information about procedures and about what constitutes acceptable on-campus behavior. HW plagiarism (copying from a solutions manual or someone else’s HW) will result in a zero on any assignment; if it is repeated, you will get a zero on the entire HW score (of 75 points). Passing any test information to another student that hasn’t yet taken it is prohibited and dishonest and will also be fully prosecuted.

5.       The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law.  Detailed information can be found at http://www.suu.edu/it/p2p-student-notice.html.

6.       Students with medical, psychological, learning or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Southern Utah University Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD), in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or phone (435) 865-8022. SSD determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

7.       In case of emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at http://www.suu.edu/ad/facilities/emergency-procedures.html.

8.       Grading The total will be 525 or 625 points, including a total of 75 points from HW, 300 or 400 from the one-hour tests (depending on which score is better in case of excellent attendance – see #1) and 150 from the final exam. Your percentage will be rounded to one digit and your grade will be exactly the following. I cannot and will not raise a grade because you “need a higher grade” nor is there anything you “can do” after a grade is given to raise it, so it is up to you to get the grade you want. I will be happy to check through and make sure I added your final exam correctly, for example, if your grade seems lower than you expected.

 

 

 

Homework Assignments (*“eoo” means “every other odd”; TC: Testing Center)