UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES - SPRING 2023
MATH 115A:1 - Linear Algebra
Instructor :  Pablo S. Ocal
Office hours :  W 1:00-2:30 pm (MS 6118)
Teaching Assistant :  Steven Truong
Office hours :  T 10:00 am-12:00 pm, R 10:00-11:00 am (MS 2961)
Description

The course on Linear Algebra will treat, among others, proof techniques, abstract vector spaces, linear transformations between them, matrices, and inner product spaces. The prerequisites required for this course are covered in Math 33A.

The course will have weekly classes on

  • Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in MS, room 6229, from 9:00 to 9:50 am.

The book we will be following is Linear Algebra (4th edition) by Stephen H. Friedberg, Arnold J. Insel, and Lawrence E. Spence. We will be covering material in Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6. The recommended reference books are Linear Algebra by Paul Balmer and How To Prove It by Daniel J. Velleman. Supplemental refereces are Linear Algebra Done Right by Sheldon J. Axler, Linear Algebra Done Wrong by Sergei R. Treil, and An Infinite Descent into Pure Mathematics by Clive Newstead. You may find all the information you will need on the Syllabus.

Class Notes

The following notes are a formal outline of the material we will be covering. These notes are not comprehensive nor are intended to be a substitute for the textbook or the lectures. If you find mistakes (typographical or other) in these notes, or have comments, please let me know.

The following are additional materials closely related to the class notes.

Tentative Schedule
Apr 3Sections 1.2,
Vector Spaces. Notes.
Apr 5Section 1.3,
Subspaces.
Apr 7Section 1.4, 1.5,
Linear Combinations and Systems of Linear Equations; Linear Dependence and Linear Independence.
Apr 10Section 1.5, 1.6,
Linear Dependence and Linear Independence; Bases and Dimensions.
Apr 12Section 1.6,
Bases and Dimensions.
Apr 14Section 1.6,
Bases and Dimensions.
Apr 17Section 2.1,
Linear Transformations, Null Spaces, and Ranges. Notes.
Apr 19Section 2.1,
Linear Transformations, Null Spaces, and Ranges. Notes.
Apr 21Section 2.1, 2.2
Linear Transformations, Null Spaces, and Ranges; The Matrix Representation of a Linear Transformation. Notes.
Apr 24Section 2.2,
The Matrix Representation of a Linear Transformation.
Apr 26Section 2.3,
Composition of Linear Transformations and Matrix Multiplication.
Apr 28Section 2.4,
Invertibility and Isomorphisms.
May 1Section 2.4, 2.5,
Invertibility and Isomorphisms; The Change of Coordinate Matrix.
May 3Section 2.5, 4.4,
The Change of Coordinate Matrix. Facts about Determinants.
May 5Section 5.1,
Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors.
May 8Sections 1.2-1.6, 2.1-2.5,
Review.
May 10Sections 1.2-1.6, 2.1-2.5,
Midterm.
May 12Section 5.1,
Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors. Notes.
May 15Section 5.2,
Diagonalizability.
May 17Section 5.2,
Diagonalizability.
May 19Section 5.2,
Diagonalizability.
May 22Section 6.1,
Inner Products and Norms.
May 24Section 6.1, 6.2,
Inner Products and Norms; The Gram-Schmidt Orthogonalization Process and Orthogonal Complements.
May 26Section 6.2,
The Gram-Schmidt Orthogonalization Process and Orthogonal Complements.
May 31Section 6.3,
The Adjoint of a Linear Operator.
Jun 2Section 6.4,
Normal and Self-Adjoint Operators. Notes.
Jun 5Section 6.4,
The Complex Spectral Theorem. Notes.
Jun 7Sections 1.2-1.6, 2.1-2.5, 4.4, 5.1-5.2, 6.1-6.4,
The Real Spectral Theorem. Notes.
Jun 9Sections 1.2-1.6, 2.1-2.5, 4.4, 5.1-5.2, 6.1-6.4,
Review.
Jun 12Sections 1.2-1.6, 2.1-2.5, 4.4, 5.1-5.2, 6.1-6.4,
Final Exam.
Homework

There will be typically weekly homework. The assignments will be posted before Mondays at 9:00 am. The assignments will be due on Gradescope the following week, on Friday at 11:59 pm. The assignments and deadlines will be posted here. You are encouraged to work in groups.

Apr 3Homework 0.
Deadline: Apr 7.
Apr 3Homework 1.
Deadline: Apr 14.
Apr 10Homework 2.
Deadline: Apr 21.
Apr 17Homework 3.
Deadline: Apr 28.
Apr 24Homework 4.
Deadline: May 5.
May 1Homework 5.
Deadline: May 12.
May 8Homework 6.
Deadline: May 19.
May 15Homework 7.
Deadline: May 26.
May 22Homework 8.
Deadline: Jun 2.
May 29Homework 9.
Deadline: Jun 9.
Jun 5Homework 10.
Deadline: Jun 11.
Discussion

There will be typically weekly discussion sessions. These are thematic worksheets around a subject, intending to provide a deep dive into a challenging topic while having readily available feedback. The starred problem(s) will be due on Gradescope on Thursday at 11:59 pm. The worksheets and deadlines will be posted here. You are encouraged to work in groups.

Apr 4Worksheet 1.
Deadline: Apr 6.
Apr 11Worksheet 2.
Deadline: Apr 13.
Apr 18Worksheet 3.
Deadline: Apr 20.
Apr 25Worksheet 4.
Deadline: Apr 27.
May 2Worksheet 5.
Deadline: May 4.
May 9Worksheet 6.
Deadline: May 11.
May 16Worksheet 7.
Deadline: May 18.
May 23Worksheet 8.
Deadline: May 25.
May 30Worksheet 9.
Deadline: Jun 1.
Jun 6Worksheet 10.
Deadline: Jun 8.
Exams

Here the exams and their solutions will be posted. You can find the official UCLA schedule for the final exams here.

May 10Midterm,
MS 6229 from 9:00 to 9:50 am.
Jun 12Final Exam,
TBD from 8:00 to 11:00 am.

The following are practice exams that you may use to prepare:

Resources

There are many resources available for a student at UCLA, I encourage you to use them and make the most out of them. Here are some materials specific to this course:

  • The Canvas forum can be found here. I encourage you to use this to post questions (anonymously if you wish), answers, and discuss the material presented in the lectures.
  • The open office hours at the Student Math Center can be found here.
  • The peer learning facilitator from the Academic Advancement Program is Dinc Ozeren.
  • The online calculator Wolfram|Alpha can be found here.

I also encourage you to form study groups with your classmates. However, please keep in mind that you will only learn how to do the exercises if you try them on your own: without trying, looking up the solutions or copying others' work is absolutely useless.