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Honors Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra h1

Math 55a is an honors advanced calculus and linear algebra course that will cover metric topology, (bi)linear algebra, and use these tools to develop rigorous treatment of differential and integral calculus in several variables. It is intended for students with significant abstract math experience. Students are encouraged to also take Math 25 to compare and choose the appropriate class. Grading will be based mostly on weekly problem sets, with a final take-home exam accounting for the remaining grade. The course aims to have students learn mathematics through doing problems themselves.

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253 views2 pages

Honors Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra h1

Math 55a is an honors advanced calculus and linear algebra course that will cover metric topology, (bi)linear algebra, and use these tools to develop rigorous treatment of differential and integral calculus in several variables. It is intended for students with significant abstract math experience. Students are encouraged to also take Math 25 to compare and choose the appropriate class. Grading will be based mostly on weekly problem sets, with a final take-home exam accounting for the remaining grade. The course aims to have students learn mathematics through doing problems themselves.

Uploaded by

marchelo_chelo
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Math 55a: Honors Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra

Handout #1 (18 September 2002): About Math 55


Topics We will begin with a study of metric topology and (bi)linear algebra. These
are fundamental tools for much of modern mathematics; in the course of the
year, we will use them mostly to develop a rigorous treatment of differential
and integral calculus in several variables, and also to sample other topics
such as differential equations and Fourier analysis.
Which math class? The syllabus for Math 25 is similar; Math 55 differs not so
much in the choice of topics as in the level of exposition, and is intended for
students with signicant experience with and enthusiasm for abstract mathe-
matics. The Mathematics Department offers these courses at separate hours
so you can shop both, which you are strongly encouraged to do if you are
at all unsure which class is better for you its the only way to make an in-
formed choice. By special dispensation from the Registrar, you may switch
between 25 and 55 without penalty for the rst three weeks of the semester.
NB: Each year several rst-year students are tempted to skip 25/55 entirely
and dive right into the upper-level undergraduate or graduate courses; we
have found that in nearly all cases this temptation is best resisted.
Textbooks Sheldon Axler: Linear Algebra Done Right (Springer, 1996); Walter
Rudin: Principles of Mathematical Analysis (McGraw-Hill, 1976). Both
should now be available for purchase at the Coop. Rudins classic text will
also serve us for much of 55b.
Ofce Hours, etc. My ofce is Room 335 of the Science Center (right outside the
math library on the 3rd oor), telephone #(49)5-4625; my e-mail address is
elkies@math. Ofce hours: Thursdays, 3:004:30 (except Colloquium
Thursdays, 3:004:00), or by appointment. The assistant for the course is
Andrei Jorza (jorza@fas). Section time and place will be determined
once the class roster has stabilized and we know what everybodys schedule
is. Most handouts, problem sets, etc. will be posted on the Math 55 home
page: www.math.harvard.edu/elkies/M55a.02.
Grading Most of your grade (about 2/3) will be based on weekly problem sets.
Doing mathematics is the only reliable way to learn it, and most of the ma-
terial in 55 cannot reasonably be done in the framework of a few-hour exam.
(There may be one or two in-class quizzes that will test your recollection
of basic concepts; such a quiz will count for at most the equivalent of one
homework assignment.) A nal take-home exam will account for most of the
remaining 1/3 of your grade, with class participation used mostly to decide
borderline cases. Math 55 is not graded on a curve; I would be most de-
lighted to nd that every single student in the class has earned an A. (When
I have taught 55 previously, most but not all students did earn A or A.)
You are encouraged to discuss the course with other students, your CAand/or
me. It is much easier to learn mathematics if you have other people who
will help you test your understanding and overcome problems. It is ne to
discuss homework problems with other students, but you should always write
your homework solutions out yourself in your own words. For the nal take-
home exam you will be on your honor to work on your own. Homework
and nal exams may be (and usually are) hand-written; for Andreis and
my sake, and also for yours when reviewing your corrected homework sets,
please write neatly. If your handwriting tends to indecipherability, consider
writing in the much more easily legible BLOCK LETTERS, which (perhaps
counterintuitively) takes about the same time as scrawling.
Note Ill have to miss at least one classes during the course of the term (to be
announced in advance). If its more than one, Ill make up the missed time
in January during Reading Period.

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