Math 251: Matrix Algebra I – Fall 2007
Instructor: Lu´ıs Finotti
Office: Ayres Hall 212-D
Phone: 974-1321 (please do not ask me to call back – leave your e-mail)
e-mail: [email protected]
Office Hours: MWF 11:15am-12:15pm (subject to change!) or by appointment
Course Web Page: http://www.math.utk.edu/~finotti/f07/m251/M251.html
(Careful with lower and upper case letters!)
Textbook: H. Anton, “Elementary Linear Algebra”,
9th Edition. Wiley, 2004.
Prerequisite: Math 152 or Math 148.
Class: MWF 12:20pm-1:10pm at Ayres 318. (Section 2.)
Midterms: 09/28 (F) and 11/05 (M) during regular class time.
Final: 12/12 (W) from 12:30pm to 2:30pm.
Grade: 20% for homeworks, 20% for each midterm, 40% for the final.
Note the weight of the HWs!
Course Information
This is a first course on Linear Algebra. We will study matrix algebra, system of linear equations,
vector spaces, linear transformations, and eigenvalues/eigenvectors.
The first two of these topics are of computational nature, while the latter topics will be more
theoretical, and hence usually considered harder by the students. Therefore, the initial plan is to
go rather fast through the computational material, so that we can go over the most challenging
topics on a better pace.
Course Structure
We will likely cover the following:
•Chapter 1: sections 1-7.
•Chapter 2: sections 1-4.
•Chapter 3: sections 1-3.
•Chapter 4: sections 1-3.
•Chapter 5: sections 1-4.
•Chapter 6: sections 1-3 (no Gram-Schmidt or QR-decomposition), 5.
•Chapter 7: sections 1-3.
The first three chapters will be covered in a faster pace. Chapter 4 might also be covered
superficially and briefly. The last three chapters should be the more challenging ones, I hope to
have enough time to cover them in a slower pace.
Also, note that this outline is subject to change slightly without prior notice.
