Math 2120B Winter 2021

(Course outline version: January 9, 2021; may be updated later.)

Instructor Info:

Nicole Lemire, nlemire@uwo.ca, MC 103C.

Please use your UWO email address when sending an email to the instructor.

Lecture Info:

MWF 12:30pm-1:30pm, synchronous course on Zoom.

Required Textbook:

Linear Algebra, Arnold J. Insel, Lawrence E. Spence, and Steven H. Friedberg, 4th or 5th edition (Pearson).

Antirequisite:

Mathematics 2211A/B.

Prerequisite:

Mathematics 1600A/B.

Course Description:

A rigorous development of lines and planes in Rn; linear transformations and abstract vector spaces. Determinants and an introduction to diagonalization and its applications including the characteristic polynomials, eigenvalues and eigenvectors.

Course Website: 

All students are responsible to be aware of information, assignments, materials and grades posted at the OWL course site: https://www.owl.uwo.ca/portal.

What is Expected of the Student:

Students should attend all classes, make a serious effort to understand all course material and do all the assigned work. The student must assume responsibility for any missed classes. It is up to the student to seek out help when needed.  Students are expected to keep up with the the material of the course by reading and learning definitions, theorems and results, and doing additional practice problems.  They should review all learning materials in a timely fashion, follow class announcements, complete all assignments and write all examinations. Solutions of collected homework problems must be written neatly, and submitted by the deadline.  A fundamental component of the course is to prove mathematical theorems.

Evaluation of Student Performance:

Final Exam: (35%) cumulative, to be scheduled by the Registrar’s Office.

Midterm Exam: (31%) tentative date: Thursday, March 4th (to be confirmed by Exam Central)

Assignments : (14%) information about assignments is available on OWL.

Quizzes: (15%) Tentative Schedule is available on OWL page.

Participation (Level of Engagement) Grade: (5%)

 

Technical requirements for the course:

  • Laptop or computer
  • Stable internet connection
  • Working microphone
  • Working webcam
  • Device for scanning (either a scanner or an app that can be used in conjunction with your device's camera).

The remote learning sessions for this course will not be recorded. All supporting learning materials will be available on the course owl site. Attendance in remote learning sessions will be used towards the ”level of engagement” course evaluation component. Some of the class meetings will rely on course notes which students are expected to review in timely fashion.

Participants in this course are not permitted to record the sessions, except where recording is an approved accommodation, or the participant has the prior written permission of the instructor.

Zoom Proctoring:

Quizzes, Tests and examinations in this course will be conducted using Zoom. You will be required to keep your camera on for the entire session, hold up your student card for identification purposes, and share your screen with the invigilator if asked to do so at any time during the exam. The exam session will not be recorded.* 

More information about the use of Zoom for exam invigilation is available in the Online Proctoring Guidelines at the following link:

https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/onlineproctorguidelines.pdf 

Completion of this course will require you to have a reliable internet connection and a device that meets the system requirements for Zoom. Information about the system requirements are available at the following link:

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us 

* Please note that Zoom servers are located outside Canada. If you would prefer to use only your first name or a nickname to login to Zoom, please provide this information to the instructor in advance of the test or examination.

 

Missed Evaluation Components:

  • Missing any evaluation component will result in a grade of zero unless appropriate academic accommodation is sought and granted.
  • Late homework assignments will not be accepted, unless arranged in advance with a good reason.
  • If you miss a homework assignment with proper academic accommodation, your remaining homework grades will be reweighted.
  • If you miss a quiz with proper academic accommodation, the remaining quizzes will be reweighted.
  • If you miss the  midterm examination with proper academic accomodation, a makeup midterm will be written the next available week.  Note that an SRA cannot be applied to the midterm examination.
  • If you miss the final exam with proper academic accomodation, a special exam will be written at the designated date for final makeup exams in May, to be determined by the Mathematics Department.

Assessment Policies:

Scholastic Offences are taken seriously and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site:

http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf. 

 

Copying solutions for homework assignments, quizzes, midterms, or final exams from other students, online sources, textbooks, etc., or showing your work to other students constitutes a scholastic offense and will result in a grade of negative 100% for the component and in some cases expulsion from the program. All academic offenses are added to your student record.



Senate Policy on Prerequisites:

Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.

Academic Policies:

The website for Registrarial Services is http://www.registrar.uwo.ca. 

In accordance with policy, http://www.uwo.ca/its/identity/activatenonstudent.html, the centrally administered e-mail account provided to students will be considered the individual’s official university e-mail address. It is the responsibility of the account holder to ensure that e-mail received from the University at his/her official university address is attended to in a timely manner.

Students should check OWL (http://owl.uwo.ca) or the course website (if not hosted on OWL) on a regular basis for news and updates for all of the courses in which they are enrolled. This is the primary method by which information will be disseminated to all students in each class. Students are responsible for checking OWL on a regular basis.

Accommodation and Accessibility

Accommodation Policies

Students with disabilities work with Accessible Education (formerly SSD) which provides recommendations for accommodation based on medical documentation or psychological and cognitive testing. The Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities policy can be found at:

https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic Accommodation_disabilities.pdf 

Academic Consideration for Student Absence

Students will have up to two (2) opportunities during the regular academic year to use an on-line portal to self-report an absence during the semester, provided the following conditions are met: the absence is no more than 48 hours in duration, and the assessment for which consideration is being sought is worth 30% or less of the student’s final grade. Students are expected to contact their instructors within 24 hours of the end of the period of the self-reported absence, unless noted on the syllabus. Students are not able to use the self-reporting option in the following circumstances:

  • for exams scheduled by the Office of the Registrar (e.g. December and April exams)
  • absence of a duration greater than 48 hours,
  • assessments worth more than 30% of the student's final grade,
  • if a student has already used the self-reporting portal twice during the academic year

If the conditions for a Self-Reported Absence are not met, students will need to provide a Student Medical Certificate if the absence is medical, or provide appropriate documentation if there are compassionate grounds for the absence in question. Students are encouraged to contact their Faculty academic counselling office to obtain more information about the relevant documentation.

Students should also note that individual instructors are not permitted to receive documentation directly from a student, whether in support of an application for consideration on medical grounds, or for other reasons. All documentation required for absences that are not covered by the Self-Reported Absence Policy must be submitted to the Academic Counselling office of a student's Home Faculty.

For policy on Academic Consideration for Student Absences - Undergraduate Students in First Entry Programs, see:

https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf 

and for the Student Medical Certificate (SMC), see:

http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/medicalform.pdf  

 

Religious Accommodation

Students should consult the University's list of recognized religious holidays, and should give reasonable notice in writing, prior to the holiday, to the Instructor and an Academic Counsellor if their course requirements will be affected by a religious observance. Additional information is given in the Western Multicultural Calendar:

https://multiculturalcalendar.com/ecal/index.php?s=c-univwo  

You may also be eligible to write the Special Exam if you are in a “Multiple Exam Situation” (see http://www.registrar.uwo.ca/examinations/exam_schedule.html).

If a student fails to write a scheduled Special Examination, the date of the next Special Examination (if granted) normally will be the scheduled date for the final exam the next time this course is offered. The maximum course load for that term will be reduced by the credit of the course(s) for which the final examination has been deferred. See Academic Calendar for details (under Special Examinations). 

Contingency plan for an in-person class pivoting to 100% online learning

In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence during the course that necessitates the course delivery moving away from face-to-face interaction, all remaining course content will be delivered entirely online, either synchronously (i.e., at the times indicated in the timetable) or asynchronously (e.g., posted on OWL for students to view at their convenience). The grading scheme will not change. Any remaining assessments will also be conducted online as determined by the course instructor.

 

Support Services

Please visit the Science & Basic Medical Sciences Academic Counselling webpage for information on add/drop courses, academic considerations for absences, appeals, exam conflicts, and many other academic related matters: https://www.uwo.ca/sci/counselling/

Please contact the course instructor if you require lecture or printed material in an alternate format or if any other arrangements can make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS) at (519) 661-2147 if you have any questions regarding accommodations.

Western University is committed to a thriving campus as we deliver our courses in the mixed model of both virtual and face-to-face formats. We encourage you to check out the Digital Student Experience website to manage your academics and well-being: https://www.uwo.ca/se/digital/.

Learning-skills counsellors at the Student Development Centre (http://www.sdc.uwo.ca) are ready to help you improve your learning skills. They offer presentations on strategies for improving time management, multiple-choice exam preparation/writing, textbook reading, and more. Individual support is offered throughout the Fall/Winter terms in the drop-in Learning Help Centre, and year-round through individual counselling.

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western (http://www.health.uwo.ca/mental_health) for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.

Additional student-run support services are offered by the USC, http://westernusc.ca/services.