Category: Assignment Instructions (Page 3 of 5)

Comment due Sunday, March 25

Test #2 will be given in class Monday, April 1. The format will be similar to the format of Test #1.

Recall from Test #1 that Question #1 asked you a series of conceptual true/false questions where you had to justify your answer. Question #2 asked you for a series of examples of mathematical objects (mostly matrices) satisfying certain conditions.

To prepare for Test #2, for this week’s OpenLab assignment, you will comment on this post with two questions that you come up with yourself, as well as their answers.

1. Your first question should be conceptual and phrased as a statement which is either always true or always false. Your answer should indicate whether the statement is true or false together with a sentence explaining the answer.
2. Your second question should be asking for an example of a mathematical object satisfying certain conditions. Your answer should provide this example together with together with a sentence explaining the example and why it satisfies the conditions.

You can use the Test #1 questions for inspiration (the different versions of the tests had similar questions, so check out your classmates’ solutions for the other versions).

Try to focus on the material covered in class since Test #1. You can see the list of topics on the schedule.

Comment due Sunday, March 17

Background

“I’m bad at math.” This is something I’ve heard from a handful of students (in different classes) over the last few years. It’s devastating to me to hear anyone say this about themselves…let alone my own students.

Comment due Sunday March 10

MAT 2580 students’ instructions

MAT 2580 students, the instructions here are not for you! Do not comment on this post! See the post with your instructions over on the MAT 1375 site.

MAT 1375 students’ instructions

MAT 1375 students, welcome to the MAT 2580 site! The students in MAT 2580 are learning linear algebra. So far, they have learned generalizations of the type of algebra you would have seen in your high school or college algebra class.

MAT 2580 has MAT 1575 (Calculus II) as a pre- or co-requisite, which has MAT 1475 (Calculus I) as a prerequisite, which has MAT 1375 (your class) as a prerequisite!

So the MAT 2580 students are like future versions of you, who have already passed MAT 1575. Even if you are not going to take MAT 2580 yourself, you probably have questions that the MAT 2580 students could answer.

• Maybe you’d like to ask them what skills or material they think is most important from MAT 1375?
• Maybe you’d like to ask them what they wish they’d learned better from MAT 1375 or from any of their other math courses?
• Maybe you’d just like to ask them how they succeeded in MAT 1375 or in any of their other math courses or how they prepare to take a math test?
• Maybe you have a more personal question for them like what their major is, what they like about differential equations, what they liked about Calculus or Algebra, or what other math classes they have to take?

Now’s your chance to get some advice from students who are a bit ahead of where you currently are on their math journeys!

So, your instructions for this assignment are simple: in the comments below, ask the MAT 2580 students any questions you like.

Since you have not commented in this group before, your comments will not appear right away. They have to be approved by the administrator first, but the administrator is me and I’ll approve any questions (as long as they are not too inappropriate). Anyone who asks a question will earn participation credit.