Math 344 Fall 2025
Instructor
Dr. Lili Ju
Office: LeConte College 327
Phone: (803) 576-5797
Email: ju@math.sc.edu
Office hours: Tu,Th 9:30am-11:00am or by appointment.
URL:
http://people.math.sc.edu/ju/Homepage_files/teaching/math344_F25.html
Course Description and Meeting Times
Math 344 (Section 002), Applied Linear Algebra, Cr. 3.
Prerequisite: Qualification through placement or a grade C or better
in Math 241
Lectures: Tu,Th 11:40am-12:55pm, Close-Hipp Building 364
Textbook
TEXTBOOK: Introduction to Linear Algebra, by Gilbert Strang, 5th
Edition (2016), Wellesley-Cambridge Press.
Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete Math 344 are expected to master fundamental concepts in linear algebra,
such as vectors, subspaces, determinants, eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrices, etc. and utilize these
concepts and methodology learned from this course to solve problems in context.
Reading
Reading the textbook in advance of the lecture is strongly encouraged. Benefits of this preparation include
obtaining a familiarity with the terminology and concepts that will be encountered (so you can distinguish
major points from side issues), being able to formulate questions about the parts of the presentation that
you do not understand, and having a chance to review the skills and techniques that will be needed to apply
the new concepts.
Course Outline
Lecture Contents
| Lectures |
Content |
| Lectures 1-3 |
Introduction to Vectors (Chapter 1) |
| Lectures 4-8 |
Solving Linear Equations (Chapter 2) |
| Lectures 9-12 |
Vector Spaces and Subspaces (Chapter 3) |
| Lectures 13-17 |
Orthogonality (Chapter 4) |
| Lectures 18-21 |
Determinants (Chapter 5) |
| Lectures 22-26 |
Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors (Chapter 6) |
** The instructor reserves the
right to give a quiz at any time.
** Exam 1 (tentative date): 9/25/2025, Thursday and Exam 2 (tentative date): 11/13/2025, Thursday.
** Final exam is 12:30pm-3:00pm on December 9, 2025 (Tuesday).
Important Dates
The deadline to drop the course without a grade of "W" being
recorded is Monday, August 25, 2025.
The deadline to drop the course
without a grade of "WF" being recorded is Wednesday, November 5, 2025.
Grading Policy
Course grades will be determined from student performance on
exams and
quizzes. There will be weekly 10-15 minutes
quizzes and three
exams: two 75 minutes in-class exams and a final exam. The two
lowest quiz scores will be dropped and no make-up quizzes will be
given. The two
in-class exams, which are indicated on the syllabus above, will be given
during the time normally used for lecture. Each of these exams will test
only the material covered since the previous exam. In contrast the final
exam, which will be given during the week of final exams, will be a
cummulative exam. No make-up quizzes will be given. Reason for missing an exam must be properly documented
and any missed exam must be made up within a week.
Homework will be assigned on a daily basis and should be done before the
next class. Althought not collected, these homework assignments are an
essential part of the course for learning and understanding the course
material. They should be thought of as required for success in the course.
The grades for the course are determined as follows:
| Exam 1 |
25% |
| Exam 2 |
25%
|
| Final Exam |
30%
|
| Quizzes |
20%
|
| Total |
100%
|
A straight scale will be used
so that A's, B's C's and D's correspond to the percent ranges 100-90,
90-80,
80-70 and 70-60 respectively. Plus grading will be used. For example:
| 90-100:A |
86-89: B+ |
80-85: B |
76-79: C+ |
| 70-75: C |
66-69: D+ |
60-65: D |
0-59: F |
Attendance and Academic Honesty
Attendance at every class meeting is important and expected. Students missing
more than 10% of the class meetings (4 times) can have their grade lowered.
Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Violations of this policy will be
dealt with according to University guidelines.
Generative Artificial Intelligence Policy
In this course, every element of class assignments must be fully prepared by the student. The use of generative AI tools for any part of your work will be treated as plagiarism. If you have questions, please contact me.