MATH 524: Linear Algebra — Fall 2026 Schedule
Instructor: Dr. Dao Nguyen | Meets: Mon & Wed, 4:00–5:15 PM, Room E 427 | Text: Axler, Linear Algebra Done Right, 4th Ed.
📁 Lecture Notes Folder (Google Drive)
First day: Mon, Aug 24, 2026 · Last day: Wed, Dec 9, 2026 · Test 1: Wed, Oct 7 · Test 2: Wed, Nov 4 · Final Exam: Mon, Dec 14, 3:30–5:30 PMNo class: Mon Sep 7 (Labor Day) · Wed Nov 11 (Veterans Day) · Wed Nov 25 (Thanksgiving break)
Weekly homework is due on Sundays (except the two problem sets due right before Test 1 and Test 2, which keep their pre-test deadlines).
| Week | Monday | Wednesday | Homework / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mon, Aug 24 Course intro / overview (First Meeting) |
Wed, Aug 26 Ch 1 – Vector Spaces (1/3) |
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| 2 | Mon, Aug 31 Ch 1 – Vector Spaces (2/3) |
Wed, Sep 2 Ch 1 – Vector Spaces (3/3) |
PS1 (1A,1B,1C) – Turn in: 1A#7,8,10 · 1B#1,2 · 1C#11,12,14 — Due Sun, Sep 6 |
| 3 | Mon, Sep 7 NO CLASS — Labor Day |
Wed, Sep 9 Ch 2 – Finite-Dimensional Vector Spaces (1/3) |
— |
| 4 | Mon, Sep 14 Ch 2 – Finite-Dimensional Vector Spaces (2/3) |
Wed, Sep 16 Ch 2 – Finite-Dimensional Vector Spaces (3/3) |
PS2 (2A,2B,2C) – Turn in: 2A#7,10,11 · 2B#4,5,10 · 2C#5,8,11 — Due Sun, Sep 20 |
| 5 | Mon, Sep 21 Ch 3 – Linear Maps (1/5) |
Wed, Sep 23 Ch 3 – Linear Maps (2/5) |
— |
| 6 | Mon, Sep 28 Ch 3 – Linear Maps (3/5) |
Wed, Sep 30 Ch 3 – Linear Maps (4/5) |
PS3.1 (3A,3B,3C) – Turn in: 3A#4,13 · 3B#5,6,10 · 3C#2 — Due Sun, Oct 4 |
| 7 | Mon, Oct 5 Ch 3 – Linear Maps (5/5); Ch 4 – Polynomials |
Wed, Oct 7 TEST 1 — Ch. 1–3 |
PS3.2 (3C,3D,3E) – Turn in: 3C#5,6 · 3D#5,7,12 · 3E#1,6 — Due Tue, Oct 6 (before Test 1) |
| 8 | Mon, Oct 12 Ch 5 – Eigenvalues, Eigenvectors & Invariant Subspaces (1/3) |
Wed, Oct 14 Ch 5 – Eigenvalues, Eigenvectors & Invariant Subspaces (2/3) |
— |
| 9 | Mon, Oct 19 Ch 5 – Eigenvalues, Eigenvectors & Invariant Subspaces (3/3) |
Wed, Oct 21 Review Ch. 5 / Intro to Ch. 8 |
PS5.1 (5A,5B,5C) – Turn in: 5A#2,6,8,12 · 5B#3,6,7 · 5C#2 — Due Sun, Oct 25 |
| 10 | Mon, Oct 26 Ch 8 – Operators on Complex Vector Spaces (1/4) |
Wed, Oct 28 Ch 8 – Operators on Complex Vector Spaces (2/4) |
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| 11 | Mon, Nov 2 Ch 8 – Operators on Complex Vector Spaces (3/4); Review |
Wed, Nov 4 TEST 2 — Ch. 5, 8 |
PS 5–8 (5C,5D,8A,8B) – Turn in: 5C#3,7 · 5D#1,3,4 · 8A#2 · 8B#2 — Due Mon, Nov 2 (before Test 2) |
| 12 | Mon, Nov 9 Ch 6 – Inner Product Spaces (1/3) |
Wed, Nov 11 NO CLASS — Veterans Day |
— |
| 13 | Mon, Nov 16 Ch 6 – Inner Product Spaces (2/3) |
Wed, Nov 18 Ch 6 – Inner Product Spaces (3/3) |
PS6 (6A,6B,6C) – Turn in: 6A#1,2,5,9 · 6B#2,3 · 6C#1 — Due Sun, Nov 22 |
| 14 | Mon, Nov 23 Ch 7 – Operators on Inner Product Spaces (1/4) |
Wed, Nov 25 NO CLASS — Pre-Thanksgiving break |
— |
| 15 | Mon, Nov 30 Ch 7 – Operators on Inner Product Spaces (2/4) |
Wed, Dec 2 Ch 7 – Operators on Inner Product Spaces (3/4) |
PS7.1 (6C,7A,7D) – Turn in: 6C#5,6 · 7A#1,3,4,6 · 7D#2,3 — Due Sun, Dec 6 |
| 16 | Mon, Dec 7 Ch 7 – Operators on Inner Product Spaces (4/4) |
Wed, Dec 9 Epilogue: Applications & Computational Linear Algebra; Course review (last day of class) |
PS7.2 (7B,7C,7E) — Due Sun, Dec 13 (before Final Exam) |
Final Exam: Monday, Dec 14, 2026, 3:30–5:30 PM — Cumulative, with emphasis on Chapters 6 & 7 (Inner Product Spaces).
Grading: Weekly homework & quizzes 300 pts · Test 1: 200 pts · Test 2: 200 pts · Final: 300 pts (total 1000 pts). No makeup exams; a missed test is replaced by the final exam score (×2/3).