My office is Room 115 in Whitney Hall. My office hours will be MWF 2:20 - 3:20 and by appointment. To arrange for an office hour appointment, send an email at least 2 hours ahead of time to my email address: feingold@binghamton.edu
All class meetings will all be held in person in Whitney Hall, Room G002. Section 2 is scheduled for MWF 9:40 - 11:10 AM, from August 21 through December 4, 2024.
The textbook for this course is below. Other references which can be helpful are listed on the main Math 304 webpage, but the lectures in my section will come from my own notes which are available as pdf files below.
Linear Algebra and Its Applications, 6/e, by Lay/McDonald, Pearson+ etext
Homework assignments will come from the textbook, as described on the main Math 304 webpage.
All the material in my notes, and in the textbook will be covered if time permits. A list of major topics which should be covered is given at the end of this page.
The six sections of this course will be run separately by each instructor. This page contains details relevant only to my Section 2, but some general advice probably applies to everyone. There will be ten quizzes administered in class for 15% of your course grade. Homework done and evaluated through an online system will count for 10% of your course grade. Three 90-minute exams will be administered on announced dates during a normal class time. There will be one Final Exam (2 hours long) during the scheduled Finals period. Each 90-minute exam will be worth 15%, and the Final Exam will be worth 30%. The material being tested in each exam will be determined and announced approximately one week before the exam. The Final Exam will be comprehensive, covering the whole course. ANYONE WITH A SCHEDULING CONFLICT AFFECTING THE FINAL EXAM MUST CONTACT THE INSTRUCTOR AHEAD OF TIME TO ARRANGE FOR AN ALTERNATIVE TIME. A MESSAGE CAN BE LEFT AT THE MATH DEPT OFFICE (777-2147). NO ONE SHOULD MISS THE FINAL!
Information about the general scheduling of exams is posted on the main Math 304 page, but detailed information for this section will be posted here. These dates are approximate and subject to adjustment.
Exam 1 for Section 2 will be on September 20, 2024.
Exam 2 for Section 2 will be on October 25, 2024.
Exam 3 for Section 2 will be on November 22, 2024.
Final Exam for all sections will be on Monday, December 9, 2024, 10:25 am - 12:25 pm, in LH-001.
Final Exam for students with accommodations will be on in the University Testing Center (UTC).
All students who are not in quarantine because of covid or other serious illness are expected to take the exam in person during the scheduled class time. Students with an accommodation for extra time must talk to Prof. Feingold ahead of time to make an arrangement.
After each Exam is graded and returned, solutions will be posted below, along with a letter grade interpretation of the numerical score.
Any student with a special problem or a finals conflict must contact the instructor (me) as soon as possible to make arrangements.
Practice problems of various kinds may be posted here or on the main Math 304 webpage.
It is hoped that classes and exams will be held in-person, with whatever precautions are required due to COVID. Properly worn masks will probably not be required in Fall 2024. A student may test positive for COVID and have to be under quarantine, or a student may be too ill to take an exam or quiz (the flu is still a threat). To deal with those situations, I will make use of Gradescope so that students with a valid medical excuse can take a quiz online remotely, but not exams. That method of testing is not as secure as an in-person exam, so I have to rely on your honesty not to cheat in that situation. If I find that any cheating has occured, the penalty will be severe. Information about how to use Gradescope is in the next section.
In case the university administration cancels classes because of a snow emergency, we can still have a virtual class meeting on zoom. Panopto recordings of lectures from a previous semester are already available with the posted lecture notes, but if we have a class meeting on zoom, it will be recorded and a link made available on this webpage. Since snow cancelations are rare, I will not set up a recurring zoom meeting for this class, but I will only do one at a time if needed. An email announcing each zoom meeting would be sent in the morning including a link to the meeting.
Quizzes and their solutions will be posted here after they are given and graded.
Here is a link to Math 304-2 Quiz 1 and its Solutions.
Here is a link to Math 304-2 Quiz 2 and its Solutions.
Here is a link to Math 304-2 Quiz 3 and its Solutions.
Here is a link to Math 304-2 Quiz 4 and its Solutions.
Students who are unable to attend class in-person for exams or quizzes should find the exam or quiz on Gradescope, take it within the time limit, and submit the solutions as a single electronic pdf file. I highly recommend using CamScanner for this purpose. It is available from this website: CamScanner Website.
All submitted documents should be sent to me using Gradescope according to the directions in the following file: Gradescope Submitting Guide.
Here is the webpage for direct access to Gradescope: Gradescope login page.
Feb 12: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes pages 1-16 and Panopto recording of Lecture 1 on Feb. 12, 2021.
Feb 15: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes pages 17-26 and Panopto recording of Lecture 2 on Feb. 15, 2021.
Feb 17: Lecture recording and notes (note that page 36 has been modified on 2-22-2021): Math 304-6 Lecture Notes pages 27-36 and Panopto recording of Lecture 3 on Feb. 17, 2021.
Feb 19: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes pages 37-47 and Panopto recording of Lecture 4 on Feb. 19, 2021.
Feb 22: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes pages 48-61 and Panopto recording of Lecture 5 on Feb. 22, 2021.
Feb 24: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes pages 62-75 and Panopto recording of Lecture 6 on Feb. 24, 2021.
Feb 26: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes pages 76-85 and Panopto recording of Lecture 7 on Feb. 26, 2021.
Mar 1: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes pages 86-100 and Panopto recording of Lecture 8 on Mar. 1, 2021.
Mar 3: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes pages 101-106_Plus3 and Panopto recording of Lecture 9 on Mar. 3, 2021.
Mar 5: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes pages 107-118 and Panopto recording of Lecture 10 on Mar. 5, 2021.
Mar 8: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes pages 119-127 and Panopto recording of Lecture 11 on Mar. 8, 2021.
Mar 10: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes pages 128-134_Plus5 and Panopto recording of Lecture 12 on Mar. 10, 2021.
Mar 12: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes Exam1_Review and Panopto recording of Lecture 13 on Mar. 12, 2021.
Mar 19: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 134.1-138.3.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 14 on Mar. 19, 2021.
Mar 22: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 138.4-138.94.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 15 on Mar. 22, 2021.
Mar 24: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 138.95-147.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 16 on Mar. 24, 2021.
Mar 26: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 148-155+Webwork.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 17 on Mar. 26, 2021.
Mar 29: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 156-162.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 18 on Mar. 29, 2021.
Mar 31: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 163-175.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 19 on Mar. 31, 2021.
April 2: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 176-188.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 20 on April 2, 2021.
April 5: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 189-200.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 21 on April 5, 2021.
April 7: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 201-216.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 22 on April 7, 2021.
April 9: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 217-218.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 23 on April 9, 2021.
April 12: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 218.1-218.2.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 24 (Review for Exam 2) on April 12, 2021.
April 14: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 218.3-218.9.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 25 (Review for Exam 2) on April 14, 2021.
April 19: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 219-231.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 26 on April 19, 2021.
April 21: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 232-238.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 27 on April 21, 2021.
April 23: Lecture recording and notes: No new notes today, reviewed old notes about eigenvectors, eigenvalues, examples of diagonalization, Exam 2 and webwork problems. Panopto recording of Lecture 28 on April 23, 2021.
April 26: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 239-250.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 29 on April 26, 2021.
April 28: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 251-263.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 30 on April 28, 2021.
April 30: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 264-276.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 31 on April 30, 2021.
May 3: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 277-287.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 32 on May 3, 2021.
May 5: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 288-295.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 33 on May 5, 2021.
May 7: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 296-298.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 34 on May 7, 2021.
May 10: Lecture recording (review for Quiz 10 and Exam 3): Panopto recording of Lecture 35 on May 10, 2021.
May 12: Lecture recording and notes: Math 304-6 Lecture Notes 299-300.pdf and Panopto recording of Lecture 35 on May 12, 2021.
May 17: Lecture recording of review for final exam: Panopto recording of Lecture 36 on May 17, 2021.
Practice exams and actual exams with solutions will be available for download from links posted here.
The following files contain practice exams from previous semesters with material relevant to various Exams. Practice Exam 1, Practice Exam 2, Practice Exam 3, Another Practice Exam 3.
The following file contains a summary of results presented in class and needed for exams. Reading this file is not a replacement for attending class, but could be helpful if you miss some classes because of illness. Here is the link to it: Math304-6 Topics Summary.
Here is a link to Math 304-2 Exam 1 and its Solutions.
Here is a link to Math 304-2 Exam 1 Scores and Letter Grade Interpretation.
The numerial score on each exam will be given a letter grade interpretation, giving each student a letter grade as well as a number grade, and the Total of all points earned will also be given a letter grade interpretation. The letter grades on the exams indicate how a student is doing, and will be taken into consideration in making the interpretation for the Totals. The course grade will be determined by the interpretation of Total points earned. Only borderline cases may be subject to further adjustment based on homework, classroom participation and attendance, as determined by the instructor. Any cases of cheating will be subject to investigation by the Academic Honesty Committee of Harpur College.
Class attendance is required at all scheduled meetings, and sleeping in class does not count as being there. Questions are welcomed at any time during a lecture. At the start of each class be ready to ask questions about homework problems or about the previous lecture. We want to create an atmosphere where you all feel very free to ask questions and make comments. If anyone feels that the instructor has not answered a question clearly, completely, and with respect and consideration for the student who asked it, please let your instructor know about it immediately so he/she can correct the problem. You can do this in class or in office hours, verbally or in writing, on paper or by email, or by whatever means makes you most comfortable, but with enough detail that your instructor can understand what you think was done wrong. It will be too late to help if you only complain at the end of the course. If you are not satisfied by the response of your instructor, please contact the course coordinator, Prof. Alex Feingold.
The material is a combination of theory and calculation, and it is necessary to understand the theory in order to do sensible calculations and interpret them correctly. There is a significant difference between training and education, and we feel strongly that our goal at this university is to educate you, not just to train you to do computations. Theory is not presented to impress you with our knowledge of the subject, but to give you the depth of understanding expected of an adult with a university education in this subject. Some of your instructors have many years of experience teaching mathematics at the university level, but it will require your consistent concentrated study to master this material. While much learning can take place in the classroom, a significant part of it must be done by you outside of class. Using the book, class notes, homework exercises, only you can achieve success in this course. Students who do not take this course seriously, who do not take this advice, are not likely to be rewarded at the end. We are here to help and guide you, and we also grade the exams to judge how much you have learned, but grades are earned by you, not given by us. Exams will be a combination of theory questions and calculations appropriate for a course of this level.
For each section of material covered there will be an assignment of problems from the textbook. Homework will be handled through an online system, and information about how to access it will be provided on the main Math 304 webpage. The homework counts as 10% of your course grade.
Extra topics if time allows (usually not enough time for these in the elementary linear course) :
These paragraphs will be updated before each exam is given.
The list of topics below is most closely related to my lecture notes, but some students have asked to know which sections of the Heffron textbook contain these topics, so I am listing those here: Ch. 1, I. 1-3 (linear systems), III. 1-2 (RREF), Ch. 2, I. 1-2 (vector spaces), II. 1 (linear independence), III. 1-3 (basis, dimension), Ch. 3, I. 1-2 (linear maps), II. 1-2, III. 1-2 (matrix representation of maps), IV. 1-4 (Matrix algebra).
Linear Systems, solving by row reduction of the augmented matrix [A|B] and interpretation in terms of free and dependent variables.
Consistent vs. inconsistent systems. Homogeneous systems AX=O.
Elementary row operations and reduction to Reduced Row Echelon Form (RREF).
Matrices, the set of all mxn real matrices, Rmn, addition of matrices, multiplication of a matrix by a real number (scalar).
The span of a set of vectors in Rmn as the set of all linear combinations from that set.
Matrix shapes, names of special patterns.
Rank of a matrix.
How an mxn matrix A determines a function LA: Rn --> Rm by LA(X) = AX.
Linearity properties of the function LA, that is, LA(X+Y) = LA(X) + LA(Y) for any X, Y in Rn, and LA(rX) = r LA(X) for any X in Rn and any r in R.
Definition of Ker(LA) and of Range(LA) = Im(LA) and how to find them by row reduction methods.
Properties of general functions: one-to-one (injective), onto (surjective), both (bijective), invertible.
Connection between properties of matrix A and function LA.
Defintion of matrix multiplication AB through the definition LA composed with LB equals LAB. Lemma that LA = LB iff A=B.
Formula for the matrix product of an mxn matrix A with an nxp matrix B giving an mxp matrix C = AB whose columns are A(Colk(B)) for k = 1, ..., p.
Defintion of standard basis vectors e1, ... , en in Rn and lemma that Aej = Colj(A), so AX is the sum of xj Colj(A).
Abstract definition of a real vector space, V. Examples, Rmn is a vector space. For any set S, the set F = {f : S ---> R} of all functions from S to the reals R, is a vector space.
Definition of a linear transformation L : V ---> W from a vector space to a vector space. Ker(L), Range(L) = Im(L).
Basic facts about vector spaces and about linear transformations (maps), and examples.
Definition and some examples of subspaces.
Definition of when a square matrix is invertible, uniqueness of the inverse when it exists, and an algorithm to decide and find it by row reduction of [A | In].
Definition of transpose of a matrix, of symmetric and anti-symmetric matrices.
Elementary matrices and how they can be used to achieve elementary row or column operations.
The rules of matrix algebra.
The span of a set of vectors S in a vector space V, and why it forms a subspace of V.
How to check that a subset W in V is a subspace of V.
Linear indepdendence or dependence of a subset of V, definition and method of determining that.
Theorems and examples about spanning and independence, connection with rank of a matrix.
Definition of a basis for a vector space, and how to decide if a subset is a basis of V.
Finding a basis for important examples of subspaces, Ker(L), Range(L), where L:V---> W is a linear map.
Dimension of V as the number of vectors in any basis for V.
The standard basis for several examples of vector spaces, including all the Rmn examples and the vector space of polynomials with degree at most k.
Row-space and Column-space of a matrix, and their dimension related to the rank of the matrix.
Information about the linear transformation LA: Rn--> Rm associated with rank(A).
The relationship between the dimensions of Ker(L), Range(L) and V for L:V---> W.
Extending an independent set to a basis, cutting down a spanning set to a basis.
How to represent a general linear map L:V---> W with respect to a choice of basis S in V and basis T in W by a matrix, that is,
using coordinates with respect to S, [ . ]S, and coordinates with respect to T, [ . ]T, to find a matrix T[L]S, such that T[L]S [v]S = [L(v)]T.
The algorithm for finding that matrix by a row reduction of [T | L(S)].
If S and S' are two bases of V, and T and T' are two bases of W, and L:V---> W then there is a relationship between T[L]S, the matrix representing L from S to T, and T'[L]S', the matrix representing L from S' to T'.
That relationship is T'[L]S' = T'QT T[L]S SPS' where SPS' is the transition matrix from S' to S, and T'QT is the transition matrix from T to T'.
The concept of isomorphism (bijective linear map) and its properties. Two finite dimensional vector spaces are isomorphic iff they have the same dimension.
Use of a basis S of V to give coordinates with respect to S for each vector v in V. How that coordinate function, [v]S, is a linear map from V to Rn when a basis S for V consists of n vectors.
Transition matrices which give the relationship between the coordinates of a vector v with respect to different bases. If S and T are two bases of the same vector space, V, then the transition matrix from S to T is the square invertible matrix TPS such that [v]T = TPS [v]S.
Let L:V-->W be a linear map, dim(V) = n, dim(W) = m, S a basis of V and T a basis of W. Then the map TMS : Lin(V,W)-->Fmn defined by TMS(L) = T[L]S is an isomorphism from the vector space Lin(V,W) = {L:V-->W | L is linear} to the vector space of all mxn matrices with entries in field F.
Material on determinants, their definition using permutations or by cofactor expansion, their properties, and methods of calculating them (definition by permutations or by cofactor expansions, crosshatching method for matrices of size n = 2 or n = 3 ONLY, using row operations).
The use of determinant to get the characteristic polynomial, det(tIn - A), whose roots give the eigenvalues of A, and whose expression as a product of powers of distinct linear factors gives the algebraic multiplicities.
If A and B are similar matrices, so B = P-1 A P for an invertible matrix P, then det(B) = det(A) and the characteristic polynomials of A and B are the same.
Eigenspaces, their properties, and how to decide if a matrix can be diagonalized or not. Theorems about eigenspaces and diagonalizability.
Independence of the union of bases for distinct eigenspaces.
Geometric multiplicity and its relationship to algebraic multiplicity for each eigenvalue, 1 ≤ gi ≤ ki.
Definition and properties of the standard dot product in Rn: bilinear, symmetric, positive definite.
Definition of length of a vector, ||v||, for v in Rn.
Definition of distance between two vectors, ||u-v||.
Definition of the angle a between two vectors u and v in Rn given by the formula cos(a) = u.v/(||u||)(||v||).
Definition of two vectors in Rn being orthogonal (perpendicular) when the angle between them is a right angle (90 degrees = pi/2 radians), so u.v = 0.
The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality |u.v| <= (||u||)(||v||) and the triangle inequality ||u+v|| <= ||u||+||v||.
Orthogonal and orthonormal subsets, projection of a vector onto another vector, Projv(u) = (u.v)/(v.v) v.
A real nxn matrix A is called orthogonal when AT = A-1, its transpose is its inverse.
A real nxn matrix A is orthogonal iff the set of its columns is an orthonormal set in Rn.
When A is orthogonal, the linear map LA(X) = AX preserves lengths and angles because (AX).Y = X.(ATY) for any X and Y in Rn.
The geometrical meaning of projection may be helpful but I would not test it on an exam. Skip decomposing forces.
The projection ṽ = ProjW(v) of vector v into subspace W of Rn defined to be a vector in W such that v - ṽ is orthogonal to W.
If T = {w1, ..., wm} is any basis of W, then ṽ = ∑i=1m xi wi must satisfy (v - ṽ).wj = 0 for j = 1,..., m, that is the linear system ∑i=1m xi (wi.wj) = v.wj for j = 1,..., m.
Define the mxm symmetric matrix A = [wi.wj] and the mx1 column matrix B = [v.wj].
This system is just AX = B, and it can be shown that A is invertible, so it always has unique solution X = A-1 B which gives the projection.
When basis T is orthogonal, the matrix A is diagonal and the solution is easy giving an explicit formula ProjW(v) = ∑i=1m (v.wi)/(wi.wi) wi which is even simpler with T orthonormal.
The Best Approximation Theorem, which says that ṽ = ProjW(v) is the unique vector in W such that ||v - ṽ|| < ||v - w|| for any w in W distinct from ṽ.
The Gram-Schmidt (G-S) orthogonalization process for converting a basis T = {w1, ..., wm} of a subspace W to an orthogonal basis T' = {w'1, ..., w'm}.
The formula for each vector in T' is w'j = wj - ProjW(j-1)(wj) for j = 2, ..., m, where W(j-1) is the subspace with orthogonal basis {w'1, ..., w'j-1} and w'1 = w1 to start the process.
So from the explicit formula for such a projection, we have ProjW(j-1)(wj) = ∑i=1j-1 (wj.w'i)/(w'i.w'i) w'i
The Pythagorean Theorem in Rn which says that for any orthogonal set T = {w1, ..., wm}, we have ||w1||2 + ... + ||wm||2 = ||w1 + ... + wm||2.
The standard dot product in the complex vector space Cn which is sesquilinear, conjugate symmetric and positive definite.
If Z and W are column vectors in Cn then Z.W = ZT W- where ZT means the transpose of Z and W- means the complex conjugate of W.
The Hermitian conjugate of a complex nxn matrix A is ĀT, the transpose conjugate of A denoted by AH.
For any column vectors Z and W in Cn and any complex nxn matrix A, we have (AZ).W = Z.(AHW).
A complex nxn matrix A is called Hermitian when AH = A. It is called unitary when AH = A-1.
A is unitary iff the set of its columns is an orthonormal set in Cn.
We proved that any real symmetric matrix A = AT in Rnn has all its eigenvalues in the real numbers, and that it is diagonalizable by an orthogonal transition matrix P.
We defined the perp of a subset S in Rn to be S⊥ = {X in Rn | X.s = 0 for all s in S}.
We proved that S⊥ = <S>⊥, the perp of S equals the perp of the span of S. So to get the perp of a subspace, W, just find the perp of a basis for W.
To find the perp of a subset S = {v1,...,vm} in Rn, just solve AX = 0 where A is the mxn matrix with Rowi(A) = viT for i = 1,...,m.
We defined the sum of subspaces W = W1 + ... + Wm in any vector space V.
We showed that sum W is a subspace of V, and defined it to be a direct sum when each vector w in W has a unique expression as w = w1 + ... + wm for wi in Wi.
We discussed basic examples of sums and direct sums in R2 and R3.
We discussed the theorem which says that a sum W (as above) is direct iff the intersection of Wi with the sum of all other Wj is only the zero vector, for each i = 1,...,m.
We discussed the theorem that if Bi is a basis of Wi, then the sum W is direct iff the long list B of all the vectors in B1 ... Bm is a basis of W.
We defined a direct sum of subspaces in Rn to be an orthogonal direct sum when those subspaces are mutually orthogonal, that is, Wi⊥Wj for i≠j.
We proved the theorem that for any subspace W in Rn, that W + W⊥ = Rn.
We applied these ideas to the eigenspaces of a real symmetric nxn matrix A = AT, and showed that Rn is the orthogonal direct sum of all those eigenspaces.
We then got that any real symmetric nxn matrix A is orthogonally diagonalizable, D = PTAP, for an orthogonal transition matrix P.
Anything from any part of the course.
This page last modified on 9-28-2024.