Homework problems each will be labelled "W," "HI," or "Add". The label "W" stands for "work;" these are problems you should work and be sure you understand, but you need not write them up neatly to hand in. "HI" problems should be written up to hand in. Some or all of the "HI" problems will be graded. If only some problems are graded, there will be points awarded for showing reasonable effort to complete the ungraded problems. "Add" stands for additional: I don't expect most people will do these problems, but if you need more practice on a topic (e.g. when studying for a quiz or test) these are the problems I recommend.
The importance of the homework in this course cannot be over-emphasized. My records of previous classes indicate that students who routinely skip homework problems or assignments almost always fail the exams and thus the course as well.
Be sure to justify your answers with an appropriate mix of calculation and explanation. Your work and reasoning process are more important than the final answer (especially with final answers available for most problems in the back of the book). Give references, for instance "by entry 11 on p. 28" or "by Bessel's Inequality, p. 30" or "by the answer to problem C last week". In general aim to write a solution that someone who has not yet thought about the problem will be able to follow easily.
Homework will be due every Wednesday (except probably Friday the last week of classes). It will be available on the Homework assignments and calendar page (and usually not as a handout). Please write your name, the homework assignment number, and the due date on the upper right corner of the first page of your homework and staple the pages together. Put the problems in the order listed in the homework assignment, or else put clear instructions in the "correct order spot" where I should look for a problem that is out of order. On the due date, hand in the homework in class, or else put it in my mailbox in PDL C130 no later than 5 PM* that day. Late papers may receive reduced or no credit. If you have a good reason for turning in your homework late, talk to me about it, preferably in advance if you know in advance it will likely be late.
*Changed from 5:30 to 5 because I realized the room is locked after 5.
There will be 200 possible points in the course.
At the end of the quarter I will establish a grade scale corresponding to the 200 points detailed above. My preliminary estimate of this scale is 180 points = 90% = 4.0, 150 points = 75% = 3.0, and 120 points = 60% = 2.0. The actual grading scale will be no tougher than this preliminary estimate, so your course grade will be at least as good as the preliminary scale indicates. The grades computed using the actual scale may be adjusted slightly upward for performance trend through the quarter or extra credit (if any is offered).
Return to the
Math 480B Homepage.
Most recently updated on March 30, 2011.