Office: 310 Altgeld Hall
Phone: 333-2768 (office); 359-9348 (home)
Email: henson@math.uiuc.edu (Email gets checked frequently.  Responses to queries of general interest will be sent to the entire class.)
WWW: http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~henson/Math395C/Fall2004/(Bookmark this address; further course information will be posted here.)

Office Hours: MW 3:00-3:30; TuTh 11:00-11:30; and by appointment.  In addition, Prof. Henson will be glad to meet with students at more or less any time he is in his office. Inquiries can also be made by email and will usually get a response very quickly. To be sure of meeting with him it is advisable to make an appointment.

Required Text: M. Artin, Algebra (Prentice-Hall). We will cover Chapters 1, 2 (section 1), 3, 4, and 7 (section 1). (This book will also be the text for Math 395D, Honors Abstract Algebra, which is the fourth course in the Honors Sequence.) Math 395C is a full linear algebra course, covering the following topics: matrix operations, vector spaces, linear transformations, bilinear forms and orthogonality.

Honors Sequence: Like all courses in the Mathematics Honors Sequence, Math 395C is a rigorous mathematics course which puts emphasis on proofs and on mathematical abstraction. There will be emphasis on harder problems and on a good understanding of the reasons why things work the way they do.

To be eligible for this section, a student must have received at least a B+ in Math 395A or have recently been admitted as a new student in the Mathematics Honors Sequence by the Director of Undergraduate Programs in Mathematics.  This requires doing well in an honors section of Math 347 (Fundamental Mathematics) or the equivalent.  More information about the Honors Sequence is available online at http://www.math.uiuc.edu/UndergraduateProgram/curricula/honors_sequence.html

Homework: Daily homework will be assigned, discussed in class, and partially graded, to give feedback. Come to class prepared to discuss the homework problems assigned in the previous class.

Preparation for Each Class: Of course you should have done the homework that was assigned at the previous class. Also, it is expected that you will always have read each section of the text before the class in which it is to be discussed. At the end of each class, be sure you know what section is going to be discussed next. Effective participation in class will be impossible if you have not done the reading.

No Late Work: As a general rule, late work is not accepted and makeup exams are not possible. Excuses based on documented, solid reasons (illness, family difficulties, university athletic trips, etc) will be honored; in such cases, grades will be based on the remaining work.

Exams (dates changed 8-27-04): There will be two in-class hour exams during the semester and a three-hour final exam. The hour exams will take place during the regular class periods on October 7 (change) and November 11; the final exam is scheduled for 8-11 am on December 17 and it covers the entire course. Exams take place in the regular classroom.

The hour exams take place on Thursdays.  During the Tuesday class before each hour exam there will be a practice exam (ungraded) on the same material.

Grading: Hour exams and the final exam are the most important factors in determining the grade for the course. The main function of the homework is to provide practice and feedback. The following weights will be used in determining the final average for Math 395C: hour exams = 200 (100 each); final exam = 200. If scores are borderline or inconsistent, the final grade may take into account such factors as class participation and trends in scores.

Students should feel free to ask the instructor for information about their standing and performance at any time.