CS412 : Introduction to Numerical Methods
Spring Semester 2012
General Information
Lecture meeting time: TR 9:30 am - 10:45 am
Lecture location : Computer Sciences Bldg, Room 1221
Instructor : Eftychios Sifakis
Office: Computer Sciences building, Room 6355
Email : sifakis *at* cs *dot* wisc *dot* edu
Office hours : TR 11:00 am - 12:00 noon (after class)
Email policy: You are welcome to email the instructor about class-related issues. Please start your subject line with "CS412:". However, please do not always count on an immediate reply: Although most questions will be answered quickly, in the worst case you will receive a reply during (or shortly after) the instructors' next scheduled office hours.
TA : Cong Han Lim
Office: Computer Sciences building, Room 3367
Email : conghan *at* cs *dot* wisc *dot* edu
Office hours : M 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm and F 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Textbook guidelines
Your lecture notes will ultimately be your preferred reference materials. Lecture notes, edited by the instructor, will also be posted on this page. However, if you feel that you absolutely must use a textbook, the following options are available to you:
Recommended textbook : J. Mathews and K. Fink, "Numerical Methods Using MATLAB", 4th Ed., Prentice Hall.
Alternative textbook : M. Heath, "Scientific
Computing: An Introductory Survey", 2nd Ed., McGraw Hill
Alternative textbook : R. L. Burden and
J. D. Faires, "Numerical Analysis", 9th Ed., Brooks Cole (more appropriate for theoretical/mathematical majors)
Additional documentation
MATLAB's Primer, 3rd Edition : [PDF]
MATLAB Basics (instructor-prepared tutorial slides) : [PDF]
Practice problems for Midterm #1 : [PDF]
Last year's Midterm #1: [PDF]
Solutions to last year's Midterm #1: [PDF]
Practice problems for Midterm #2 : [PDF], Solutions : [PDF]
Last year's Midterm #2: [PDF]
Solutions to last year's Midterm #2: [PDF]
Practice final exam : [PDF], Solutions : [PDF]
Homework assignments
Homework Set #1 : [PDF] [Due Tuesday 2/21/2011, in class]
Homework Set #2 : [PDF] [Due Thursday 3/15/2011, in class]
Homework Set #3 : [PDF] [Due Thursday 4/12/2011, in class]
Homework Set #4 : [PDF] [Due Thursday 5/3/2011, in class]
Lecture notes
Tuesday January 24th 2012 : [PDF]
Thursday January 26th 2012 : [PDF]
Tuesday January 31st 2012 : [PDF]
Thursday February 2nd 2012 : [PDF]
Tuesday February 7th 2012 : [PDF]
Thursday February 9th 2012 : [PDF]
Tuesday February 14th 2012 : [PDF]
Notes on polynomial interpolation : [PDF]
Notes on matrix/vector norms and conditioning : [PDF]
Notes on iterative methods for linear systems, and least squares methods : [PDF]
Notes on numerical integration and initial value ODE problems : [PDF]
Grading policy
Grades will be awarded based on bi-weekly homework, two 75-minute in-class midterms and a mandatory final exam.
The final grade will be the best of the following 2 schemes:
Scheme 1 : 25% x (homework grade) + 20% x (1st midterm grade) + 20% x (2nd midterm grade) + 35% x (final exam grade)
Scheme 2 : 25% x (homework grade) + 30% x (best of the 2 midterm grades) + 45% x (final exam grade)
Missing a midterm does not disqualify a student from passing the class (best of the 2 grading schemes above will still apply) but you must take the final exam in order to pass the class. Please note the following exam times on your schedules:
Midterm 1 : Tuesday March 13th, in-class (9:30 am - 10:45 am)
Midterm 2 : Tuesday May 8th, in-class (9:30 am - 10:45 am)
Homework problems will be posted every second week on this web page, and will be due in class on the Tuesday lecture two weeks later. No late homework will be accepted and it is also not acceptable to turn in your homework after the instructor has left class on the Thursday due date. In order to accommodate special unforeseen circumstances that may prevent a student from turning in homework on time, the one homework assignment with the lowest grade will not be used in determining the homework grade average.
If necessary, students may turn in their homework assignment early, either directly to the instructor in class, or by sliding it under the office door (Computer Sciences Rm. 6355) before the beginning of class on the homework due date.
Homework style and level of difficulty: Homework problems will be assigned weights in the form of percentile points, typically adding up to 110-120% (the maximum score is 100%, the remaining bonus points are a safety buffer). The difficulty of the problems will be such that any student making acceptable progress in class should be able to complete at least 70-80% worth of problems with no more than 3-5hrs of work. If you are not able to complete at least 70% of homework problems after 5hrs of work, you are strongly encouraged to seek feedback from the instructor or TA during office hours. In fact, most students should be able to solve 90%-100% of homework problems in 3 hours or less.