Math 232 Course Procedures, Spring 2000

Read the following material. It describes how this course will be run. You will be expected to be aware of everything on this document and to act accordinly.

Homework Assignment Marking

We only have the resources to mark a subset of your homework assignment problems. However, you won't know ahead of time which problems will be marked. Some marks will also be given for completion.

Homework Assignment Format

Homework assignments will be posted on the Class Web Site and will, in general, be due weekly at 4:30 PM in the labeled homework boxes outside the Basic Math and Linear Algebra Workshop.

Homework assignments must conform to the following format:

All homework must have a title page stating "Math 232", the assignment number, your name (underline your family name), and the date.
Your student ID number should not appear on the title page, but must appear on the next page.
All problems must be presented in order.
Your work should be neat.

Marks will be lost for improper format or sloppiness. Problems in the wrong order will not be marked.

Late or Missing Homework Assignments

Late assignments will not be accepted, under any circumstances. Assignments which are "lost", due to being placed into the wrong homework box will receive zero. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS

However, in order to compensate for this, your two lowest homework assignment marks will be thrown-out before calculating your final mark.

Make-up Mid-Term Exams

Make-up Mid-Term Exams will not be given for any reason whatsoever. Medical notes will not be accepted.

However, in order to compensate for this, only your two best out of three mid-term exams will be used in calculating your final mark.

Course Letter Grades

Marks will be based on the marking scheme as stated in the course outline. Homework is important. There will be no 100% final. The course letter grades are relative and will be assigned according to the distribution. For more information see the "Math 232 FAQ - How are the marks curved?" which is posted on the class web site.

Final Exam

Early final examinations will not be given for any reason whatsoever. The final exam is on Tuesday, April 18th, 2000, from 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Do not expect to be able to write the Final Examination before then!

Course Goals

The assignment problems posted on the class web site are required. You are also advised to do some of the odd-numbered exercises that are not assigned, and check your answers against those printed in the text, before attempting to do the ones to be handed in. The ones assigned to be handed in are often harder to do than some of the others, and it is wise to start with easier ones first. The goal of the course is to master the introductory material of Linear Algebra , and thereby to prepare for other courses in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, or Computer Science which use this material. In this course you are expected to understand what you are doing, not just to obtain correct numerical answers. As a corollary to this, you will be expected to be able to figure out for yourself what to do if circumstances are somewhat different from those discussed in class or treated in the textbook. Of course this means you have to understand the ideas, not just memorize formulas. There is no way to accomplish this without doing a lot of homework, and I will give you that opportunity. If you do all the homework, understand what you are doing, and make proper use of the tutorials, you will be well on your way to obtaining a good understanding of the ideas covered in the course and to obtaining a good grade in it. But this is very much a do-it-yourself project. I cannot understand the material for you; you must do that yourself.

Basic Math and Linear Algebra Workshop (BMLAW)

The Basic Math and Linear Algebra Workshop is an open lab, where you may drop-in to obtain help from a TA or from the Lab Instructor (Dr. Dubiel). I will also hold one of my office hours there. Homework exercises may be discussed in the BMLAW, but far more important things can and should happen there. In the BMLAW you will have an opportunity to get a different explanation of material already covered in class, or to explore things you may have thought about since the material was first covered. The workshop should be a real learning experience, not just a way to get homework solutions explained. You will not get any more out of the BMLAW than you yourself put into it.

Maple

Maple is an all-purpose symbolic math / computer algebra / graphing / animating tool. As such, it is an essential part of this course. Although it will not be on the exams, Maple will be required on some of the assignments and will be used to illustrate concepts covered in class. Any Maple examples presented in class will be posted on the class web site for your reference. I will announce a Maple tutorial early in the semester for those who need help getting started with Maple.

SFU / Math & Stats / ~hebron / math232 / procedures.html

Revised 01 April 2000 by John Hebron.