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Instructor: Greg Lewis Oce: UA4033 Phone: ext. 2608 Email: Use Blackboard Messages
Numerical Methods
Text:
Applied Numerical Methods with Matlab for Engineers and Scientists, 3rd Ed., Steven C. Chapra
Course Description:
There are two dominant themes in this course: applied programming for scientic computing and the theory and development of numerical algorithms. The rst step will consist of learning basic programming techniques with the scientic problem-solving environment Matlab. Subsequently, we will proceed to develop an understanding of the practical mathematical concerns underlying numerical computations that arise in many scientic and engineering problems. The student will develop the ability to choose the method most appropriate for a given problem, and to assess the accuracy or correctness of the numerical solution. A deeper understanding of the mathematics at the core of these problems develops a sense of when to trust or mistrust calculations produced by computer software.
Grading:
Your course mark will be calculated as follows : Final Exam Midterm Quizzes 55% 30% 15%
Oce Hours:
The scheduling of my oces hours is to be determined. I will schedule 2 hours a week at times that will be mutually benecial for as many students as possible. Please try to come to my oce hours; it is better than e-mail (i.e. messages via Blackboard) because questions can be answered much more eectively with a dialogue than with a monologue. If you cant come during my regularly scheduled oce hours, you can make an appointment with me. To make an appointment contact me, preferably by email, or otherwise by phone. I would prefer that you make an appointment, but you can also try to nd me in my oce at times outside of my oce hours. I will have an open-door/closed-door policy: if my door is open, please come in and ask a question, if my door is closed, I am either not there, or I am doing something where I cannot be disturbed. In other words, if the door is closed, please do not knock. Please note, I will not be available at all times.
Discussion Groups:
I have set up two discussion groups on the course webpage. One of the groups is entitled Course Material where you can post questions that may be answered by other students in the course. Only questions relating to course material should be posted. I will monitor this page, and I will make postings when appropriate. I have also set up another page, entitled Class Messages that I will not monitor regularly. Postings here do not necessarily have to be course material specic. These groups are not chat pages, and posting of objectionable material, of any form, will not be tolerated. Note that the postings are NOT anonymous.
E-mail checklist:
You can e-mail me if you have specic questions. E-mail questions must be very specic. General questions, like I dont understand Section 1.1, should be asked to me, or your tutorial instructor, in person. In addition, before you send an e-mail, I would ask that you go through a short checklist. If you e-mail me about everything without rst looking for easier and quicker solutions, I will be overwhelmed with masses of e-mail, and I wont be able to answer any e-mail in a reasonable amount of time. Checklist: (1) Ask a classmate. (2) Check the course discussion page. (3) Post the question on the course discussion page. (4) Direct all technical issues to the IT help desk. (5) Make sure your question is specic and clearly stated. If these dont work, or you do not feel comfortable with these options, send me an e-mail. I will try (to the best of my ability) to answer all e-mail within 48 hours. I cannot promise to answer messages faster than that. If appropriate, I reserve the right to post your e-mail (with your name removed) in the discussion group.
Academic Misconduct:
Any misconduct in association with quizzes, tests and exams will be dealt with according to University policy (this is serious).