Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Concordia University

MATH 204
Vectors and Matrices
Winter 2013

Instructor*:
Office/Tel.:
Office hours:
*Students should get the above information from their instructor during class time. The instructor is the person to contact should there be any questions about the course, not the course examiner.

Course Examiner:

Dr. F. Thaine.

Text:

Elementary Linear Algebra, Custom Version, 10th Edition, by H. Anton & C.
Rorres (John Wiley & Sons).

Office Hours:

Your professor will announce her/his office hours during which she/he will be also available to give a reasonable amount of help. Note, however, that if you missed a class it is not reasonable to expect your professor to cover the missed material for you.

Tutorials:

Vectors and Matrices require a lot of practice. There is not enough class time to do all the examples and problems needed to learn the material thoroughly.
The Department has therefore organized special tutorial classes conducted once per week to provide additional support to students outside the lecture classes’ environment. They are conducted by senior students who will help with solving the problems on the topics learned in class during the lectures that week that students may have difficulties with in this course. Some quizzes contributing up to 3 bonus marks to the grade will be given at the tutorial sessions (see below). Although attendance is not mandatory, students are strongly encouraged to participate and be active at these problem‐solving classes. Math Help Centre: In addition to tutorial sessions, a Math Help Centre staffed by graduate students is available. The schedule of its hours of operation and its location will be posted in the Department Departmental website: http://www.mathstat.concordia.ca

MATH 204 – Winter 2013
Page 2

WeBWork:

Every student will be given access to an online system called WeBWork.
Students will use this system to do online assignments.

Assignments:

Students are expected to submit assignments online using WeBWork.
Assignments contribute 10% to your final grade (see the Grading Scheme below); therefore working on the assignments is essential for success in this course. Note that there is not enough class time to do all the examples needed for a good understanding of the material, therefore students are strongly encouraged to do as many problems on their own as their time permits, in particular, the problems recommended on pages 2 and 3 of this Course Outline.

Midterm Test:

There will be one common midterm test (based on the material of weeks 1-5) which will contribute to up to 25% to your final grade (see below). It will be held on Sunday, February 24, at 2:00 p.m. Students who will not be able to write the test that day for a valid reason, e.g. religious or illness (medical note required) may write an alternate midterm test on Saturday, March 2, at 10:00
a.m. The midterm test will be 90 minutes long.
NOTE: It is the Department’s policy that tests missed for any reason, including illness, cannot be made up. If you miss both the midterm and alternate tests because of illness (to be confirmed by a valid medical note) the final exam can count for 90% of your final grade.

Final Exam:

The final examination will be three hours long. It covers material from the entire course.

Final Grade:

The final grade will be based on the higher of (a) or (b) below:
a) 10% for the WeBWork assignments,