Due Wednesday, December 18
Congratulations on making it to the end of the semester! Do you feel like a different person from who you were at the beginning of the semester??? You’re so much more knowledgeable and mature!
For this assignment, pretend you could get into a time machine and visit yourself from the beginning of the semester. (This is the other side of the back-to-the-future assignment you completed earlier in the semester.) What do you know now that you wish you knew then? Write a letter to deliver to your past self explaining how this semester went for you and how you figured out what it takes to succeed in this class. Include any tips you have for your past self and anything you wish you had done differently semester this semester. How would you motivate your past self to work hard for their upcoming 16 weeks? What do you want your past self to know about where you are now?
Submit your letter as a comment on this post. Your letters may be used for future students of this class!
You may submit your comment any time you like, but if you submit it by 11:59pm on the day of the final exam you will earn one more participation point.
Hi, my past self. Here I would like to pass down some knowledge to you so that you may need what is ahead of you. Some advice I can give you is to do the homework right away because keeping it for the last moment is a bad habit and you will forget everything you have learned in class on a really late WebWork assignment. Additionally go to office hours to get your participation credits up because those are also major ways to get your grade to increase. Tippers here would like to inform you that studying last minute is a bad way to take a test because you will forget what you have been practicing and learning and will usually forget in the exam. Therefore, study during the course of the week instead of waiting for the last possible time to study for the exam. Finally, have fun while doing it. You pass the class and look forward to 7 months of no school plus summer, failing to look forward to school for 5 months yet again. Where I am right now is to ace the exam and pass this class and be proud that I have passed it and looking forward to the future that I have set for myself.
If you confront linear algebra correctly, this semester will be extremely rewarding despite being difficult. To gain confidence, practice frequently and concentrate on understanding the ideas rather than only learning formulas. In order to save time later, don’t be afraid to ask questions during class or ask for help from other people. Make it a top concern. I wish I had started reviewing once a week and working with classmates more frequently. And do all the webwork because you can learn a lot from webwork too. Remind yourself that the future you will be cheering you on at every turn and that you will feel confident and satisfied after you have mastered this topic.
Hello past Alan, I am not going to lie to you. This semester is going to be rough. However, this is your second time taking this class and you should never stop trying to motivate yourself from doing your work. Be proactive and study by yourself, I know it can be tough when no one is there to look over your shoulder. It is all on you and I know that you can do it. Make sure to manage your time appropriately and STAY ON TOP OF YOUR DEADLINES. Deadlines are very very VERYYYY sneaky and withe the craziness that happens during the semester (tests, personal stuff, homework). Always work to polish your skills that you already have and take time to master the skills you learn in class. Pro-activeness will be your NUMBER ONE FRIEND and can take you a long way and help you prevent sleepless nights before exams. I wish much luck and hope you can stay on top of your game.
P.S. Make sure to also have some fun every once in a while
Hi past self,
Linear algebra is not that hard but it does get a bit tricky at the end. This class is divided into two parts; matrices and vectors. The matrices section is pretty straight forward. You learn to do different operations on matrices like addition and multiplication. There are also other things that you do like inverses and row reduction. These topics are very straightforward. However, it gets a bit tricky in the second portion of the course; vectors. You will be introduced to many new definitions like bases , span, subset, subspace, etc. All of these terms might seem familiar but they slightly differ from each other. So, my tip would be to start creating a formula sheet for yourself with definitions of these terms and a short example related to that topic. So, when its time to take the exam, you can just go over those examples. You will also learn about something like eigenvalues and change of bases. These topics are usually taught at the very end of the semester. So, I suggest that you pick up your slack by then. Whenever these topics are mentioned, go home and practice on these topics the same day. You wont have enough time to study for the final exam if you don’t study along the way. Overall, don’t get intimidated by linear algebra. This class would actually make our lives easier since linear algebra is vital in engineering.
Good luck!
Hi Lilly,
This class is a journey because it seems easy at first, but over time there are some confusing concepts that will sneak up on you. I would advise you to always be prepared for class, because the pace is fast but you can handle it! Over the semester there are a variety of topics covered, most of them are completely new, but there are a few you’ll recognize! Drill down when it comes to topics that take longer to learn and practice, practice, practice! Go back to understanding definitions, properties and theorems after practicing equations, because it will most likely make more sense when you recognize the aspects to the questions in the homework, textbooks and in YouTube videos!!
Good luck.
Hello past self,
If you are reading this, then there are so many regrets. Before starting this class, lose the simple minded attitude because this class is not as simple as it seems. First, learn to pace yourself and look over the textbook. In this class, you need to prepare beforehand or you will be left behind. There are foreign concepts involved, so secondly, set a goal or motivation for yourself because not everything is nonchalant and simple. With the goal in mind, pace yourself and set up an organizer in your mind; the steps you have to take, and third, do not get distracted by your games and shows. You can keep them in your mind planner but make sure to prioritize your work before you have any fun because they will be your down fall.
If possible you get stuck on concepts, focus on them and watch videos and practice problems because that is the only way you get by. And most of all, have patience. Because you never backed out a fight before.