Instructor

Jens Eberhardt (firstname@math.ucla.edu)
MS TBA (or in my office MS6304),TBA
MS TBA (or in my office MS6304),TBA

TAs

TBA (TBA)
TBA

Please check back here as office hours and locations may change.

The lectures take place Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11am-11:50am in MS 5137. Time and date of the discussions can be found here.

In the following table you can see the preliminary lecture schedule and find your weekly problems list and homework.

Hint: If you are using your phone, turning the screen horizontal makes the table easier to read.

Course Notes

Solving problems on your own is one of the most important parts of this course. It will teach you how to apply your new knowledge and also be the best preparation for the midterms and final exam.

I encourage you to discuss the problems in teams but write up the solutions on your own. Simply copying your homework will not prepare you for the exams at all and is also not allowed (i.e. considered academic misconduct/cheating).

Every week you will be able to find a list of problems in the lecture schedule. They will be covering the material of the lectures and similar to exam questions.

You will have to solve these problems and hand them in at the beginning of the lecture every Friday. Your homework has to be submitted in a form obeying the following rules:

• In the upper right corner of the first page put:

  First and last name
Student ID
Date, Homework number
TAs name
Number of discussion session


• In the upper right corner of every additional page, put your name.
• Staple your homework.
• Write legible. No crumpled, torn paper.
• Label each solution with the section and problem number (e.g. 7.2 #2).

Exams

There will be two midterms and a final exam. Apart from the exceptions mentioned below, only writing equipment will be allowed in exams. Exams must be written in pen.

• Midterm 1: TBA
• Midterm 2: TBA
• Final Exam: TBA

Cheatsheets: For each exam, students may bring a cheat sheet. Each student must prepare their own handwritten cheat sheet. For the midterms, the cheat sheet may consist of one side of half a standard (A4 or letter) sheet of paper (i.e. A5 or letter folded in half lengthways). For the final, the cheat sheet may consist of one side of a standard sheet of paper. Cheatsheets that do not meet these requirements will be confiscated at the beginning of the exam.

Calculators: You may use a non-programmable, non-graphing calculator in exams. Calculators not meeting this specification will be confiscated.

Study: Here I will post some practice exams which might aid your study.

The midterm scores will be adjusted to account for any difference in difficulty. Your final grade will be calculated using the maximum of the following two grading schemes. Your letter grade will then be determined by your rank in the class. Unless something very out of the ordinary occurs I expect to give approximately 20-30% A’s and 55-65% A’s and B’s combined.

Option 1:

10% (7 best homework scores) +
40% (combined midterm scores) +
50% (final exam score)
= raw final grade

Option 2:

10% (7 best homework scores) +
30% (best midterm score) +
60% (final exam score)
= raw final grade

Effectively, this will mean that unless you score worse in the final than both midterms, your lowest midterm score will be dropped. This also means missing one midterm probably will not impact your grade in any serious way.

Administrative questions should in the first instance be directed to your TA. If your TA cannot resolve your query then you should contact me.

If you need to email me, the subject line must include the string math131a. If not, then there is a good chance your email will slip through the cracks and remain unanswered.