Office: Carney 371, 617-552-3758Text: Numerical Analysis, eighth edition, by Richard L. Burden and J. Douglas Faires
E-mail: gross@bc.edu
Class home page: http://fmwww.bc.edu/gross/mt414We will cover as much of the text as possible, which probably will amount to Chapters 1–4, 6, 7, 9, and 10.
There will be two examinations during the semester. The first will count for 15% of your grade, and the second for 20%. There will be a final examination, which will count for 30% of your grade. Homework will account for the remainder.
The first examination is tentatively scheduled for Friday, October 6, and the second is tentatively scheduled for Monday, November 20. Please note that the both of these dates immediately precede vacations, and make sure to plan your travel so that you can take the examinations on the scheduled dates. The final examination is scheduled by the Registrar for Wednesday, December 13, at 12:30 PM. The time and date for the final examination are fixed and cannot be changed.
Homework assignments will be distributed frequently. Answer keys will be distributed when the homework is turned in, so obviously no credit can be given for late homework. (I’m happy to grade it, of course; you just won’t get any credit.) If your homework assignment is longer than one page, you must use a stapler or paper clip to keep the pages together; otherwise, you will not receive any credit.
Collaboration on homework is always a difficult question. For this course, you can discuss the questions on the homework with your classmates, but you must write up your solutions by yourself. Any violations will be considered plagiarism, and will be reported to the dean. If you are in doubt about what is and is not acceptable in this regard, please ask me. I would much prefer to offer hints on homework during office hours than have people work together, since it is more likely that I can put you on the right track. You should also refer to the University guidelines on Academic Integrity, available at
http://www.bc.edu/integrity
MT216 is a prerequisite for this course, and MT320 is a co-requisite. The idea of proof is fundamental to this course, and so is manipulation of inequalities.