COM S 322/ENGRD 322 - Introduction to Scientific Computing

Six-Week Session - Summer 2002 (June 24 - August 6)

Course Goal

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a basic introduction to numerical analysis and scientific computation.
Here is the course description from the university catalog.

Course Meetings

Monday-Friday, 1:00-2:15 P.M.
Hollister Hall, Room 362.

Instructor

Suzanne Shontz
657 Rhodes Hall
255-3399
Email: shontz@cs.cornell.edu
Office Hours: 11-12 TWRF, 2:30-3:30 M.

Teaching Assistant

Katharyn Boyle
657 Rhodes Hall
255-8272
Email: katharyn@cam.cornell.edu
Office Hours: 2:30-3:30 TWR.

Required Text

Introduction to Scientific Computing: A Matrix-Vector Approach based on Matlab (Second Edition)
Author: Charles Van Loan
Publisher: Prentice Hall
ISBN: 0-13-949157-0
Note: The first edition will not work for the course.

Course Material

This course will cover the majority of Chapters 1-9 in the textbook. Thus, we will cover the following topics: interpolation, quadrature, linear and nonlinear equation solving, least-squares fitting, and ordinary differential equations. Vectorization, efficiency, reliability, and stability will be stressed. Computer programming will be done using MATLAB.

Course Requirements

Lecture and section attendance is required, however attendance will not be taken.

The requirements for CS 322 are six problem sets, six quizzes, one prelim, and a final exam. The problem sets will require a combination of written exercises and programming. The exercises will involve the design and analysis of algorithms and will sometimes require mathematical analysis. The programming exercises will be done in Matlab, which will be taught as part of the course. Most problem sets will be due approximately one week after they have been assigned, with the exception of the first assignment which will be somewhat shorter. Follow the guidelines at the beginning of each assignment when submitting your problem set. Due dates for the problem sets will be announced in class. There will be a late penalty of 10% for homework handed in up to 24 hours late. No homeworks will be accepted more than 24 hours late. Exceptions may be made in excruciating circumstances with permission from the instructor.

On Friday of each week, there will be a short 15 minute quiz over the material that we have covered during the week. This will help you to learn the material as we go along and to help you prepare for exams. The lowest scoring quiz may be dropped. You may skip one quiz. If so, this is the score that will be dropped. Missed quizzes may be made-up with the permission of the instructor, but only if you were absent for a compelling reason.

There will be one prelim on July 15. It will cover material through July 10. It will be closed-book and 75 minutes long. An announcement will be made in class regarding the scheduling of a review session. A make-up prelim will be given to any student who is absent from this exam for a compelling reason and gets permission from the instructor.

The final exam will be held on Tuesday, August 6, at 10:30 A.M. Note the time. The final exam will be 2 hours long and comprehensive with an emphasis on material covered after the first prelim. An announcement will be made in class regarding the scheduling of a review session. A make-up final will be given to any student who is absent from the final for a compelling reason and gets permission from the instructor.

Both the prelim and final will cover material from lecture, section, problem sets, quizzes, and the underlying mathematics. You are not responsible for portions of the text that were not covered in lecture, section, or the homework.

Grading

This course will be offered on a letter-grade or S/U basis. Students will receive 3 hours of credit for the course. Grades will be determined according to the following table:

Item

Percentage

Problem Sets 30%
Quizzes 20%
Prelim 20%
Final Exam 30%

Class Schedule

This calendar shows a week-by-week syllabus. The dates and order of topics are subject to change by the instructor. Any significant changes will be announced in class.

Course Website

http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Courses/cs322/2002SU

Computing Facilities

MATLAB 6 is available in the CIT public labs in Upson, Carpenter, and Dickson. The student edition of MATLAB is available at the Cornell store.

Academic Integrity

Students are allowed to work in pairs on problem sets. Students working in pairs should hand in one paper with both names. Larger groups may work together to the extent of formulating ideas, but each individual or team of two must hand in his/her/their own paper, and the paper must not represent someone else's ideas entirely. No collaboration of any kind is allowed on quizzes or exams. It may be the case that students will be asked to work alone for certain portions of problem sets. If this is the case, then the above rules apply to an individual rather than a team of two. The directions will be very explicit as to whether or not you will be allowed to work with a partner for a particular exercise on a problem set.

Students are permitted to consult outside published material for the homework, although it will be fully based on lecture notes and the textbook. If a student consults any other reference, he/she must cite the reference. Failure to cite it will be considered cheating.

The penalty for cheating will be an F for the course, following a hearing with the instructor as spelled out in the academic integrity manual. In extreme circumstances the instructor will in addition bring the case before the university's academic integrity board.

Suzanne M. Shontz, Center for Applied Mathematics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, shontz@cs.cornell.edu

Handed out 6/24/02