Syllabus

• Course topics
• Course objectives
• Software
• Grading
• Exams
• Homework
• Academic integrity
• Contacting the professor
• Accommodations for disabilities
• Exceptions

Course objectives

• To understand the elementary definitions, concepts, and theorems of these subjects. This includes knowledge of the underlying assumptions inherent behind the techniques learned in the course, and the ability to recognize situations in which these assumptions do and do not hold.
• To become familiar with some of the basic problems and/or applications addressed using the skills we learn.
• To be able to solve such problems, either by hand (when small) or using technology (when larger).
• To be able to work problems of a routine nature and those that require a more thorough understanding of the concepts.
• To be able to carry out rudimentary mathematical proofs.

Software.   There are two software packages with which you are expected to become familiar during the course. Octave is a very good package for doing numerical computations. It has many commands that are identical to Matlab (code written to carry out simple operations in one may often be used without modification in the other), which is one of the main software packages professionals use for scientific computing. Calvin has Matlab available both in the mathematics and engineering computer labs, and you are welcome to use it whenever software for linear algebra is required. Octave has the advantage of being distributed under a GNU public license, meaning that you can download it to your home computer for free. It is available in Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows versions, so if you get a copy be sure to get one that is appropriate for your machine.

There is another package, which goes by the name R, that is particularly well suited for doing statistical computations. When our focus turns to statistics, we will begin using it instead of Octave/Matlab. You may download R and related material (in particular, manuals) at http://cran.r-project.org/.

Grading.   Your grade will be determined as a weighted average with the following weights

Exams.   There will be 3 exams given during the term. The dates are Oct. 9, Nov. 14, and Dec. 11. Rather than trying to sift through the various reasons why an exam must be missed to decide which ones are excused, I have adopted a policy of allowing the final exam to replace your worst exam if, indeed, the grade on the final is better. No make-up exams will be given, and exams may not be taken early.

The final exam is cumulative, and will take place in our usual classroom. The college requires that I give you the exam at the indicated time, so schedule your travel plans accordingly.

Homework.   Most weeks homework will be assigned on 4 days, generally in the form of problems. The specifics of a particular problem set are elaborated from the homework page, which you should visit after every class period in order to see what problems may have been added to a set on that day. The due dates for problems sets appear on the course calendar. Problem sets will be collected twice per week, in general. It may be submitted in class, or placed in the MATH 232 New Homework folder in the box outside my office, in which case it must be submitted by 3 pm to ensure being on time. Homework will be scored for correctness, and will be placed in the Graded Homework folder outside my office, at which time you may pick it up at your leisure. While late homework is not accepted, doing this work is still one of the important activities for learning the material.

Whether it is due to bad habits or the demands of coursework, it seems some students are prone to doing work only when deadlines demand it. This is a mistake! Do some work related to this class every night, even if time constraints only allow you to read through the notes for that day. If you don't know what you don't understand, then you cannot ask questions the next day, when previous lectures will be used as foundation for the next topic!

Academic Integrity.   Concerning homework, you may borrow someone's idea for solving a problem, but cite your source (a classmate, peer, book—provide the usual bibliographic information, website—provide the url, etc.). All assignments (except for projects specifically assigned in groups) are to be written up separately on your own, using your own words. Give as much attention to presenting your solutions in a coherent manner (using mathematical symbols as part of your sentence structure) as you give to actually solving problems, as it is the explanation of each problem that is graded (not simply the answer itself). Handing in another's writeup of any part of an assignment will be considered an instance of academic dishonesty (See Section 4.2.8 of the Faculty Handbook.), resulting in a zero for the entire assignment.

If any part of an exam write-up is not your own, or is the result of unauthorized access to information stored anywhere in any form, the result on the first instance will be a score of zero. A second occurrence will result in automatic failure of the course.

Contacting me.   My office is NH 281. If you are having trouble in the course — if you do not understand something important or have some special circumstance that impedes your performance — see me about it right away. Do not put things off. The hours I am intentionally in my office for meeting with students are posted on my homepage, as they are subject to change during the semester. If we cannot hook up at one of these times, feel free to talk with me about an appointed time to meet, or swing by my office and see if I am available to help.

I may be reached by phone at x66856, but a better way to reach me for a non-technical question is by email. If you require my approval for something, do not consider having left a message for me as equivalent to having obtained that approval.

Accommodations.   Reasonable academic accomodations will be made for individuals with documented disabilities. Any student who this concerns should notify one of the Coordinators for Services for Students with Disabilities located in the Student Academic Services office, HH 455. That student should also meet with me during the first two weeks of the semester to discuss academic accomodations.

Exceptions.   I reserve the right to make changes or exceptions to course policies — including those described in this document — either for the entire class or for specific individuals. The ultimate goal in this course is learning, and formal requirements should not unnecessarily stand in the way of that. Thus, if you think that any of the conditions of the course are interfering with learning, please speak with me about this, and we will see what can be done.

This page maintained by:
Thomas L. Scofield
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Calvin College