Syllabus

Lecture and section information

CS 6210, Fall 2016
Lecture time: MWF 11:15-12:05
Lecture location: Hollister Hall 306

Staff and office hours

Prof: David Bindel
425 Gates Hall
Phone: 607-255-5395
E-mail: bindel@cs.cornell.edu
OH: W 1:30-2:30, Th 10-11, or by appointment.

TA: David Eriksson
E-mail: dme65@cornell.edu
OH: F 1:00-3:00 in 657 Rhodes Hall, Room 1

Catalog description

4 credits. Stable and efficient algorithms for linear equations, least squares, and eigenvalue problems. Direct and iterative methods are considered. The MATLAB system is used extensively.

Prerequisites

A theoretical linear algebra course (Math 4310) or permission of the instructor.

Texts

References

Some linear algebra references:

Some MATLAB references:

Course work

Readings and the problem du jour

Readings from the course notes will be listed on the course page before class. You are responsible for reading before lecture.

For most lectures, there will be a “problem of the day” related to the class material. These problems are not graded, but you should try them (and try to understand them) as a way to better learn the material – and as a way to study for the exams.

Homework

There will be twelve one-week homeworks, typically assigned Friday and due the following Friday. These problems will involve a mix of proofs and computations done in MATLAB. Homework should be typed and submitted as PDF files on CMS. After they are graded, homework scores will be posted to CMS. Regrade requests must be submitted within one week of receiving the graded homework.

In order to provide timely, high-quality feedback, we may not always grade all problems in a homework or pieces to a project. Instead, we will focus our grading efforts on providing feedback on a few key points. We will provide written solutions so that you can evaluate yourself for problems where we do not grade in detail.

Exams

There will be take-home midterm and final exams.

Grading

Your final grade in CS 6210 will be computed from grades on the assignments and exams using the following weights:

  • Participation: 5%
  • Homework: 10% times 6 homeworks
  • Midterm: 15%
  • Final: 20%

Course policies

Late work policy

Unless otherwise stated, all work is due by 11:59 pm on the due date. All homework and projects should be submitted via the course management system (CMS); you are encouraged to submit early versions, since resubmissions up to the deadline are counted without penalty.

Collaboration

An assignment is an academic document, like a journal article. When you turn it in, you are claiming everything in it is your original work, unless you cite a source for it.

You are welcome to discuss homework and projects among yourselves in general terms. However, you should not look at code or writeups from other students, or allow other students to see your code or writeup, even if the general solution was worked out together. Unless we explicitly allow it on an assignment, we will not credit code or writeups that are shared between students (or teams, in the case of projects).

If you get an idea from a classmate, a book or other published source, or elsewhere, please provide an appropriate citation. This is not only critical to maintaining academic integrity, but it is also an important way for you to give credit to those who have helped you out. When in doubt, cite! Code or writeups with appropriate citations will never be considered a violation of academic integrity in this class (though you will not receive credit for code or writeups that were shared when you should have done them yourself).

Academic Integrity

We expect academic integrity from everyone. School is stressful, and you may feel pressure from your coursework or other factors, but that is no reason for dishonesty! If you feel you can’t complete the work on the own, come talk to the professor, the TA, or your advisor, and we can help you figure out what to do.

For more information, see Cornell’s Code of Academic Integrity.

Emergency procedures

In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines, and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances. Any such announcements will be posted to the course home page.