Skip Navigation
Jack Baskin School of EngineeringUC Santa Cruz

AMS 010/010A - Spring 2009

Mathematical Methods I

General Class Information

Our main goal is to introduce the main concepts in linear algebra to engineering students. The course will cover complex numbers, systems of linear equations, their matrix form, the properties of matrices (including rank, inverse, determinant, eigenvalues and orthogonality). Finally, we will introduce the basic ideas of vector spaces (AMS10A students will not cover the last three areas: orthogonality with matrices, eigenvalues and vector spaces). All of these ideas will be taught in a context of applied problems and with frequent use of computational resources. In particular, students will be introduced to the use of the software MATLAB.

Lectures:

Tues/Thurs, 10:00-11:45pm, Kresge classroom 327
Instructor:

Name: Nic Brummell (brummell at soe.ucsc.edu)
Phone: (831) 459 2122
Office: BE 125
Office hours: Wed 4:00-5:00pm and by appointment
Teaching Assistants:

Name: Jacob Colvin (jcolvin at soe.ucsc.edu)
Phone: (831) 459 xxxx
Office: BE 144
Office hours: Fri 2-3pm

Name: Michael Lubinsky (mlubinsk at soe.ucsc.edu)
Phone: (831) 459 xxxx
Office: BE 144
Office hours: Wed 10-11am
Sections:

Section AMS10 01A, JBE 109, Mondays, 9:00-11:00am, Michael.
Section AMS10 01B, JBE 109, Wednesdays, 2:00-4:00pm, Michael/Jacob (alternating).
Section AMS10 01C, JBE 109, Fridays, 12:00-2:00pm, Jacob.

Resources you will need all the time:

Latest News

  • (June 4th 2009) REVIEW: MATLAB AND APPLICATIONS
    • Some people asked for the lists of applications and MATLAB concepts that you need to know that I mentioned in the review class. Here they are. This list is the least you should know, and does not guarantee that other things won't be useful.
      Applications
      • Transport schedules
      • Curve fitting
      • Chemical reactions
      • Electrical networks
      • Graph theory (nodes and connections; directed graphs, adjacency etc)
      • Economic models
      • Discrete dynamical systems
      • Transformations (for computer animation etc)
      • Markov chains
      • Differential equations
      MATLAB
      • All the material in the "Get Started" manual!
      • How to input real numbers, complex numbers, matrices, vectors etc
      • How to find roots of simple equations
      • How to write m-files, functions
      • How to plot simple graphics: points, lines, surfaces
      • Matrix manipulations: transpose, inverse, multiplication, echelon form, rank, identity matrix, decompositions (LU, QR), subspaces (null space, column space), determinants, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, characteristic polynomial, least squares solution, ...
      • Vector operations: dot product, norm, ...
  • (June 4th 2009) EXTRA OFFICE HOURS
    • Michael : Thurs 3-4pm
      Nic : Fri 11-12pm
      Jacob : Fri 2-3pm
  • (Jun 3rd 2009) FINAL!!!!
    • The final is coming up! It is NEXT TUESDAY, the 9th June. Don't panic! If you have been working solidly through the homework problems, then you will have no trouble with the final. Be prepared for 5 or 6 questions, including some Matlab work just like the mid-term. Remember, you must get 60% in the final to pass the class!
    • You will only need a pencil to be able to do this midterm. No calculators required.
    • All this week we are reviewing the main concepts of the class.
    • I will have extra office hours on Friday, 2-4pm for any last minute questions.
  • (May 29th 2009) HOMEWORK 8
    • Homework 9 list of problems has been revised to reflect the material we have covered this week.
  • (May 23rd 2009) MAKEUP MONDAY SECTION
    • Makeup section will be Thurs 3-5pm in Jacks Lounge with Michael
  • (May 21st 2009) HOMEWORK 7
    • Homework 7 list of problems has been revised to reflect the material we have covered this week.
  • (May 14th 2009) HOMEWORK 6
    • Homework 6 list of problems has been revised to reflect the material we have covered this week.
  • (May 11th 2009) AMS10A IS OVER! AMS10A STUDENTS READ THIS ...
    • If you are enrolled as an AMS10A student, classes are over as of today (May 11th). The last thing you need to know for your requirements is Determinants (Ch 5 in the book). You should complete and hand in the HW associated with everything up to and including that chapter. That is, you should hand in HW6 this Friday (May 15th), and the questions on Ch 5 in HW7 next Friday (May 22nd). You are welcome to keep attending classes if you want to learn, but you will not be tested any further on new material. You are of course welcome to attend the review sessions at the end of the quarter too (see lecture schedule).
  • (May 7th 2009) HOMEWORK 5
    • Homework 5 list of problems has been revised to reflect the material we have covered this week.
  • (May 6th 2009) MIDTERM SOLUTIONS
    • ... are here. The average (and median) score was 66%. I would consider below 50 a fail, 50-60 a C, 60-80 a B, and above 80 an A roughly. Don't come looking for extra points unless you think you are missing 5 points or more. Remember that you must get above 60% in the final to pass the class! Some people definitely need to work a little harder.
  • (Apr 24th 2009) MIDTERM!!!!
    • The midterm is coming up! It is NEXT THURSDAY, the 30th April. Don't panic. If you have been working solidly through the homework problems, then you will have no trouble with the midterm. Be prepared for 5 or 6 questions, including some Matlab work (obviously you'll have to write out some Matlab commands on paper rather than use a computer). You will only need a pencil to be able to do this midterm. Oh and your brain, I guess. :)
  • (Apr 24th 2009) HOMEWORK 4
    • Homework 4 list of problems has been revised to reflect the material we have covered this week.
  • (Apr 16th 2009) HOMEWORK 3
    • Homework 3 list of problems has been revised to reflect the material we have covered this week.
  • (Apr 16th 2009) SECTION ON FRIDAY
    • Section on Friday will start at 12:30pm not 12:00pm due to conflict
  • (Apr 8th 2009) HOMEWORK 2
    • Homework 2 list of problems has been revised to reflect the material we have covered this week.
  • (Apr 7th 2009) GAUSS.M and RREFMOVIE.M
    • These two MATLAB M-files can be downloaded here: Do a right click with the mouse, and "Save link as .." and save each file to a directory where you can get at it when you are doing your MATLAB homework.
  • (Apr 7th 2009) IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE BOOK YET ...
    • ... a PDF of the homework problems is here
      The Bookstore people promise me that more books will be in on Friday morning. I have requested that the boook be put on reserve in the Science library too.
  • (Apr 2nd 2009) SPECIAL MATLAB SECTION
    • TA Jacob will teach a brief special intro to Matlab section on Friday 3rd April at 12 noon in JBE109. Open to all interested in just seeing Matlab for the first time.
  • (Apr 2nd 2009) HOMEWORK 1
    • Homework 1 list of problems has been revised to reflect the material we have covered this week.
  • (Mar 31st 2009) CLASS LOGISTICS
    • Switching from 10A -> 10: If you are switching from AMS010A to AMS010, then you should have received a permission code from me to be able to do this now. Go ahead and enroll in AMS010 using this permission code, and drop AMS010A.
    • Wait List: Let me know if you are trying to enroll in this full class (if you haven't done so already). I will put you on a wait list. You are going to have to be somewhat patient. Once a week I will check if anyone has dropped the class and enroll people from the wait list if possible (by giving them permission numbers). This saves you watching the enrollment all the time to see if anyone drops the class. You owe me ...
  • (Mar 31st 2009) USING MATLAB
    • Using Matlab on-campus: MATLAB is available on the machines in the SOE computer labs and most SOE machines.
    • Using Matlab off-campus: You will need to connect to an SOE machine from off-campus to use the SOE-licenced MATLAB. This can in general be done using SSH. SOE suggests you use WinSCP (for Windows users) or Fugu (for Macintosh users) and connect the software to fs3.cse.ucsc.edu using your BSOE login and password. Linux users should SSH into an interactive server (for example, sundance.cse.ucsc.edu).
    • Matlab emulator - OCTAVE: This FREE software has most of the functionality o Matlab and is available from http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/
  • (Mar 31st 2009) FIRST DAY OF CLASSES
    • yee haw ... and off we go! <\ul>