Syllabus: Numerical Analysis (Fall 2023)
Basic Info
Welcome to Numerical Analysis (MATH-UA.0252, MATH-UY.4424)!
This syllabus contains important information regarding course policies and procedures.
Please also consult the course page on Academic Integrity.
Course goals
- Demonstrate an general understanding of key concepts in numerical analysis such as: stability and conditioning, techniques for solving linear systems and least squares problems, matrix factorizations, and polynomial approximation and quadrature
- Gain basic proficiency with numerical computing in numpy or a similar language
- Build confidence communicating about advanced mathematical subjects using natural language
Accommodations and Accessibility
While participation in and engagement with the course is necessary, I recognize that not everyone has the same learning needs. I am happy to work with you directly, or with you in conjunction with the Center for Student Accessibility (CSA) to accommodate your individual needs. This includes accommodations for religious/cultural holidays, learning needs, sickness, etc.
Please reach out to me with any concerns.
Absenses which can be forseen must be planned for in advance.
Textbook
There is no required textbook.
In addition to the course notes, it is recommended that you read the relevant topics in:
- Numerical methods: design, analysis, and computer implementation of algorithms by Anne Greenbaum and Tim Chartier [link]
- An Introduction to Numerical Analysis by Endre Süli and David Mayers [link]
Both of these texts are available online for free with an NYU netID.
Grading
Grading is broken down as follows:
- 10% Participation
- 25% Homework
- 25% Quizzes
- 25% Midterm
- 15% Final Project
Numerical grades will be converted to letter grades using the following thresholds:
| Cutoff |
95% |
93% |
90% |
85% |
83% |
80% |
75% |
65% |
| Grade |
A |
A- |
B+ |
B |
B- |
C+ |
C |
D |
These thresholds may be adjusted based on the final grades, but they will only be moved down; i.e. any changes can only bennefit your final grade.
Participation
Active participation in the course is expected.
This will be evaluated through participation points.
If you earn 7+ points, your particpation grade will be min(#points,10)%.
If you earn 5-6.99 points you will receive 3%. Less than 5 points will receive 0%.
There are many ways in which you can participate to earn you participation points.
- (6pts, max 6pts) Actively engage in breakout groups throughout semester.
- Repeated unexcused absenses or low-effort participation will result in a zero for this category. Please talk to me if you have any questions/concerns.
- (.5pts, max 3pts) Attend office hours/recitation.
- (.5pts, max 2pts) Ask/answer a question on the discussion board or find a mistake in the course notes, and suggest a fix on the thread on Ed.
- Questions/answers must be high quality and related to the course materials. Thus, a question like “what is the difference between a definite and indefinite integral?” would get a point, but a question like “is there a quiz today?” would not.
It is your responsibility to make sure that the attendence to worksheets, office hours, and recitation is correct. Corrections to the Gradescope assignment will not be made for activities more than 2 weeks in the past.
Homework
You are highly encouraged to work with peers on the homework, but you must write up the solutions on your own. See the page on Academic Integrity for more information.
- Homework problems will be a combination of problems from the textbook as well additional problems
- Homework will be due Fridays at 5pm, unless noted otherwise
- You will always have at least 1 week between the release of a homework assignment and the due date
- You can use any programming language you like for coding problems.
While subject to change, it is planned that we will have 7 homeworks.
Submission policy (Gradescope)
Failure to properly submit homework may result in a grade reduction.
- Write the names of anyone you work with on the top of your assignment. If you worked alone, write this.
- Homework should be turned in on Gradescope.
- Do not put the solutions to multiple problems on the same page.
- Tag your responses on gradescope.
- Scans of homeworks must be high resolution and cropped to the page (i.e. no random stuff in the background). Make sure that the nothing from the back side of the page bleeds through.
- Include all code you use as copyable monospaced text in the PDF (i.e. not as a screenshot).
- Include the output of your code such as the text it prints off an any plots.
- Typesetting with a program such as LaTeX is highly encouraged.
- Late homework will not be accepted.
Quizzes
- In general, every other Thursday there will be an in-person quiz at the start of the class lasting about 10-12 minutes.
- Quizzes will contain questions similar to previous homework problems.
- The goal of quizzes is to serve as a self-check that you understand the important concepts.
- The lowest quiz grade will be dropped if you fill out intro survey, mid-quarter check-in, and exit survey.
While subject to change, it is planned that we will have 7 quizzes.
Final project
- The last few weeks of the course will be spent on final projects meant to apply the knowledge gained during the course to a real-world problem.
- Grading will be based on effort and a project proposal, report, in-class poster presentation, and reviews of your peer’s posters
- More details will be given later in the semester