18.06 Linear Algebra, Spring 2009


Professor: Steven Johnson (office 2-388, email stevenj at math.mit.edu)
Lectures: MWF 11, in 54-100. Recitations
Course
coordinator:
Liang Xiao (office 2-090, email lxiao at math.mit.edu)
Textbook: Gilbert Strang's, Introduction to Linear Algebra. BOTH 3rd edition and 4th edition will be good.

Pdf versions of Course information and Syllabus are available.


Solution to the final exam is posted here.

Office Hours before Finals

Date Time Room Instructor Comments
Mon (5/11) 1:30-2:30 2-310 Nick
Mon (5/11) 2-3 2-090 Ben
Mon (5/11) 5pm 2-251 Martina old exams 2 (S08, F06, F05, S05)
Mon (5/11) 8-9pm 2-314 Qian
Tues (5/11) 11-12 2-090 Ben
Tues (5/12) 12-1 2-229 Inna
Tues (5/12) 4-5 2-284 Roman
Tues (5/12) 4:30-5:30 2-251 Martina
Wed (5/13) 12-1 2-229 Inna
Wed (5/13) 12-1 2-251 Martina
Wed (5/13) 2:30-3:30 2-310 Nick
Wed (5/13) 3-4 2-284 Roman
Thur (5/14) 1-2 2-229 Inna
Fri (5/15) 12-1 2-090 Ben
Fri (5/15) 2-3 2-090 Ben
Fri (5/15) 2-3 2-314 Qian
Fri (5/15) 6-? 2-131 Martina Review for (old) Exam 3
Mon (5/18) 12-2 2-090 Ben
Mon (5/18) 1:30-2:30 2-310 Nick
Mon (5/18) 2-3 2-229 Inna
Mon (5/18) 4-5 2-251 Martina

Latest Announcements

  05/07/09 - Martina is giving an additional office hour on Monday (May 11), at 5pm. We are trying to reserve a room. Please come back and check.
  05/07/09 - Martina is giving an additional office hour 1-2:30pm in her office 2-251. More additional office hours coming.
  05/06/09 - Please make a special effort to come to the lecture on Monday (05/11) to fill out a course evaluation form. Thanks.
  05/05/09 - A note by Professor Johnson on function spaces, Hermitian operators and Fourier series can be found here.
  04/22/09 - Today, Professor Johnson talked about generalized eigenvectors. A handout is given in during the class.
  03/17/09 - On Monday, March 16, Professor Johnson gave out two handouts on Fourier series and Legendre polynomials.
  02/19/09 - The 18.06 final is on Tuesday, May 19 from 9-12 in the Johnson Ice Rink. More information including conflict exams may be found here.
  02/19/09 - Mark van Buskirk (a professor in Baltimore) suggests that when watching the lectures on OCW, it might be interesting to watch it at 1.5x or 2x speed. To do this, you may follow the link to set up your media player.
  02/09/09 - A Matlab cheat sheet is available here.
  02/01/09 - BOTH the 3rd edition and the new 4th edition of Gilbert Strang's Introduction to Linear Algebra (coming to the Coop about Registration Day) will be good as text this semester. Homework assignments will be given for both books. The new section 1.3 in the 4th edition, to preview key ideas of 18.06, may be found on the Linear Algebra web site.
  archive   

Recitations

Recitations meet on Mondays or Tuesdays.

You must enroll in a specific section. Your homework and exams will go to that section. Default recitation sections are assigned by the Registrar. You may change your recitation and view your grades on Stellar Course Management System.


Homework and Collaboration

Homework will be posted weekly in the Problem Sets section of the class website. Assignments will be due on Wednesdays, BEFORE 4PM. Please put them in the box for your section in 2-106, next to the Undergraduate Mathematics Office. Please staple them (you may use the UMO stapler). They are due every week except exam weeks and are returned in recitation. Late homework will not be accepted and no extension are granted.

The homeworks are essential in learning linear algebra. They are not a test and you are encouraged to talk to other students about difficult problems---after you have found them difficult. Talking about linear algebra is healthy. But you must write your own solutions.


Related Resourses

  • MATLAB: Some homework problems will require you to use Matlab, an important tool for numerical linearl algebra, which is available at MIT on Athena and other systems. No previous MATLAB experience is required in 18.06. You may find useful commands in the Matlab cheat sheet.
  • Open Courseware
  • TUTORING: Tutoring help is available in 2-102, Mon-Tues-Wed-Thurs, 3-5 and 7:30-9:30 pm.
  • VIDEOS: The videos of Professor Strang's Linear Algebra class are here and on ocw.mit.edu.
  • DEMOS: Some demos of linear algebra is also available.
  • The homeworks and exams from previous years are here.

  • Exams

    The course will have three one-hour exams (in Walker) at class times on Monday March 2, Wednesday April 1, and Friday May 1. There is a final exam is scheduled on May 19. The use of calculators or notes is not permitted during the exams.


    Some helpful overviews of Linear Algebra:

  • Goals of the Linear Algebra Course (html)
  • Starting with Two Matrices (pdf)
  • A Factorization Review (ps, pdf)
  • Glossary for Linear Algebra (ps, pdf)
  • Linear Algebra in a Nutshell (ps, pdf)

  • Concerns about homework, grading, exams: see your recitation instructor.

    Checking grade records, changing recitations: online on Stellar Course Management System.


    You are visitor number ??? since October 1, 1996. Welcome!

    MIT Home Page   Copyright ?2007 Massachusetts Institute of Technology