Math 33A, Linear Algebra

Lecture 1, Winter 2015

Instructor: Will Conley
Email: wconley@ucla.edu
Office: MS 6322
Office Hours: Tentatively Thursdays 11:0012:00 and 1:303:00,
and any other time by appointment.
My Website: http://www.math.ucla.edu/~wconley/
Lectures: MWF 12:0012:50pm, MS 4000A (Note: Room may change soon...)
Course Website: https://ccle.ucla.edu/course/view/15W-MATH33A-1
Prerequisite: Completion of Math 3B or 31B or 32A with a grade of C or better
Text: Linear Algrebra with Applications, Fifth Edition, by Otto Bretscher.
We will cover most of chapters 1 through 8, excluding chapter 4.
Grading: Your final average in this class will be computed as the maximum of the following schemes:
Scheme 1:
Scheme 2:
Homework:
10%
Homework:
10%
Midterm 1:
25%
Max. of midterms 1 and 2:
35%
Midterm 2:
25%
Final exam:
55%
Final exam:
40%
Homework: Homework will be collected every Friday in class, and will be graded and promptly
returned to you in your discussion sections, usually the following week. The assignments will be
announced in class well in advance, and posted on the course website. Your score on each homework
assignment will be based on a few randomly chosen problems, as well as overall completion of the
assignment. Late homework will not be accepted, but your lowest homework score will be dropped.
Exams: During the exams, you may not use notes, calculators, cell phones, or anything other than
paper and pencil. There will be no make-ups for missed midterms. If you miss one midterm for a
legitimate, documented reason, your grade will be computed using the second scheme above. You must
take the final exam in order to pass the class. Make-ups for the final exam are permitted only under
exceptional circumstances, as outlined in the UCLA student handbook. Please bring a photo ID to
every exam. The exams are tentatively scheduled for the following dates:
Midterm 1: Friday, January 30
Midterm 2: Friday, February 20
Final exam: Tuesday, March 17, 3:006:00pm

Course Outline (Tentative)

Week

Date
Mon Jan 5
Wed Jan 7
Fri Jan 9

#
1

Sections
2.1

2
3

1.3
1.3, 2.3

Mon Jan 12
Wed Jan 14
Fri Jan 16

4
5
6

2.2
1.2
1.2
Holiday

Reduced row-echelon form (rref) of a matrix (a.k.a GaussJordan elimination). The rank of a matrix.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

7
8
9

2.4
3.1
3.1, 3.2

Finding the inverse of a matrix.

Image and kernel of a linear transformation. Subspaces of Rn.
Subspaces of Rn. The span of a set of vectors. Redundant vectors in a set.

10

3.2
Midterm

11

3.3

The dimension of a subspace of Rn. Bases of the kernel and image. The Rank-Nullity Theorem.

12
13

3.4
5.1

Mon Feb 9
Wed Feb 11
Fri Feb 13
Mon Feb 16
Wed Feb 18
Fri Feb 20

14
15
16

5.2
5.3
5.4
Holiday

Coordinates with respect to a given basis. Change of coordinates (change of basis).

Orthogonality, orthonormal bases, and orthogonal projections.
The Gram-Schmidt process. QR factorization.

17

6.1
Midterm

Mon Feb 23
Wed Feb 25
Fri Feb 27

18
19
20

6.2
6.2
7.1

Mon Mar 2
Wed Mar 4
Fri Mar 6

21
22
23

7.2, 7.3
7.2, 7.3
7.4, 7.5

Mon Mar 9
Wed Mar 11
Fri Mar 13
Tue Mar 17

24
25
26

8.1
8.2
8.3
Final Exam

10
Finals

Mon Jan 19
Wed Jan 21
Fri Jan 23
Mon Jan 26
Wed Jan 28
Fri Jan 30
Mon Feb 2
Wed Feb 4
Fri Feb 6

Topics
Vectors in Rn. Addition and scalar multiplication. Linear functions.
Linear functions and matrices. Basic operations with matrices as linear functions.
Matrix multiplication. The identity matrix. Invertible matrices and invertible linear transformations.
Examples of linear transformations. Geometric linear transformations in R2.
Solving linear systems of equations using matrices. Elementary row operations on matrices.

Redundant vectors, linear dependence, and linear independence. Bases of a subspace.

Orthogonal linear transformations and orthogonal matrices.

Least squares methods.
Presidents Day
De nition of the determinant. Computing determinants by Laplace expansion (minors).
Computing determinants by Laplace expansion. Algebraic properties of determinants.
Algebraic properties of determinants. The fast way to compute determinants: row reduction.
Diagonalizing a linear transformation (or matrix). Eigenvalues and eigenvectors.
Computing eigenvalues and eigenvectors.
Computing eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Eigenspaces and the multipliciti(es) of eigenvalues.
Intro to linear dynamical systems, including complex eigenvalues (may skip).
Symmetric matrices.
Quadratic forms. Positive-de nite, negative-de nite, and inde nite quadratic forms.
Singular value decomposition of a matrix.
3:006:00pm (Exam code 05)