This is a proof-oriented course in linear algebra. This section is an “honors” section, so should be a bit more challenging (and thus more interesting!) than a non-honors section. I will take in to account that this is a challenging honors section when determining grades.
• Time and place: Section F3H/F4H (2:00 MWF in 347 Altgeld)
• Instructor.
Charles Rezk
• Office.
242 Illini Hall
• Email.
rezk@math.uiuc.edu
• Webpage: http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~rezk/
• Office hours: MWF 3:00–4:00 in my office, or by appointment.
We will use two textbooks.
Halmos.
Finite-dimensional Vector Spaces, by Paul Halmos (ISBN-10: 0387900934,
ISBN-13: 978-0387900933), currently published by Springer. This will be the primary textbook. This book has been around for decades, so inexpensive used copies should not be hard to find.
Hefferon.
Linear Algebra, by Jim Hefferon. This is a free textbook, available from the author’s webpage: http://joshua.smcvt.edu/linearalgebra/ .
In addition, we may use
1

Treil.
Linear Algebra Done Wrong, by Sergei Treil, a free textbook with a funny name, available from the author’s webpage: http://www.math.brown.edu/~treil/papers/LADW/LADW.html
.
The class will be lecture and discussion based. I will lecture most days; some days will be set aside for discussion of the weekly homework problems in groups.
There will be:
• A reading assignment before each class.
• “Daily” homework problems ( DP ), which will be given twice a week. You must make a serious attempt to do the daily problem(s), which I will collect at the start of each class. They are only graded to see if you have made a serious try.
Late daily problems are not accepted, but you are allowed to drop three of them.
• Weekly problem sets ( PS ) will be due at the beginning of class once a week (usually Monday.)
• Twe in class midterm exams.
• A final exam, involving both a take-home and in-class component. The take-home component will be due at the beginning of the in-class exam, which will occur in the usual classroom.
Discussion with other students about homework problems is allowed and encouraged. However, all written work turned in should be your own, not copied from someone else. If you use significant ideas from someone else, or from a source other than our textbooks, you should cite the source. Take-home exams are expected to consist of your work only.
Your final grade is based on the following weighing.
• Daily problems: 5%
• Weekly problems: 35%
• Midterms: 30%
• Final: 30%.