Math H54 Fall 2009

This course meets Tuesday and Thursday 2-3:30pm in room 70 Evans Hall.   Discussion is MWF 11-12pm in 70 Evans.  The textbooks are Linear Algebra (custom berkeley edition) by Lay an
d Fundamentals of differential equations (custom Berkeley edition) by Nagel, Saff, and Snider.   There may be supplemental material, which will be posted on bspace.  

The format of the class is as follows:

Homework will be assigned on bspace and are due Mondays at the beginning of discussion.  The homework will be graded pass/fail.  You are welcome to work on the homework in small groups, but you must write up the solutions individually with a full understanding of what you are writing.  In other words, no copying.  I do not allow late homework.

Quizzes
will be given almost every week in discussion.

Calculator policy:
  All electronic devices must be turned off during quizzes and exams.

Office hours and email
:   Office hours will be held Thusday 3:45-5:45pm in 1083 Evans.  Office hours are a great way to get questions answered.  Please come!  I do not answer math questions by email, but you are welcome to email me to set up an office hours appointment if you can't make the regular scheduled office hours.
 
Exams:
Midterm 1: Thursday September 24th, in class.
Midterm 2: Tuesday November 17th, in class.
Final Exam: Monday December 14th, 12:30-3:30pm.

Grading:  20% homework/quizzes,   20% Midterm 1,  20% Midterm 2,  2x20%  Final Exam.
The lowest 20% portion will be dropped.   If your final exam is the lowest, then just half of it gets dropped.  If for some reason you miss a midterm, that will count as your lowest.

Tips that (almost) guarantee an A: 
    1. Before each class, read the material that you expect will be covered. 
    2. Complete and understand every homework problem.
    3. Before an exam, redo all of the homeworks.  This won't take as long as you think.

Some useful links:

  • Extra tutoring is available from UC Berkeley math tutors.
  • A convenient source for math definitions and theorems, which are usually correct: Wikipedia