Old News, TAM 203, Spring 2000


To do Before Thursday January 26:
  1. Download, print, and read the Syllabus and Course information sheets below.
  2. Buy a large 3-ring binder (3 inch or 3.5 inch) and bring it to class on Thursday January 26. This will get filled and you may need a second one later. Some people say "D-ring" binders are better.
  3. Write a check for $50 to Cornell University (or put $50 in cash in an envelope with your name printed clearly on the envelope). Bring this to class on Thursday January 26.
  4. Find a computer that you are comfortable using that has Matlab on it. Run it and make sure it works for you. (Go to the engineering library to get a password if you want to use Matlab in the Upson computer room.)
  5. Only if you are curious, download the first 4 chapters of the book and the associated homework problems. These will be passed out in class on Thursday January 26, printed on 2-sides with 3-holes.
  6. Bookmark this page.
News: Section meetings at 10:10 AM have been cancelled. A new section at 12:20 has been added.

News (updated Feb 1, 2000)

After various cancellations and additions the present recitation schedule is this:

Sec#       Time      Room     TA 
2,6     9:05 - 9:55   UP207   Ganguly 
1      11:15 -12:05   HO372   Cabrera    
5      12:20 - 1:10   HO372   Burns/Ruina 
8      12:20 - 1:10   UP215   Cabrera 
4,9     1:25 - 2:15   HO362   Ganguly

The Saturday office hours have been moved to be 2-4. The Thurston 102 office hours are now:
  Sat 2-4        Sun 7-9         Mon 2-4, 6-8, 8-9:30

Plus pi tau sigma tutoring in Upson 211 mondays from 7:30-8:30.

News (2/10/2000)     
*The Matlab samples now include the trajectory problem from lecture 2/10/2000.
*The new Reading Guide page has some tips on where to spend your time in the book.
*If you want non-final email copies of the book handouts early in trade for making suggestions for improvements please email ruina@cornell.edu and say so.

News (2/14/2000)
*As announced on the course information sheet, Matlab will be on the prelims and final. You might be asked to write code, fill in blanks, or report the output of given code. If you can do all of the homework unassisted (without text, reference, notes, or samples) you should be fine.

News (2/16/2000)
* The 12:20 lecture has been moved from Thurston 205 to Thurston 201 starting Thursday Feb 17.

News (2/20/2000)
* In the Reading Guide and Text Download page there has been added:
-----an updated table of contents,
---- the answers to some text problems,
---- an index (Please make suggestions. If you look something up and its not there tell us.), and
---- 4 pages of reference tables that will be useful starting after the first prelim (and will be passed out then).

News (2/21/2000)
* In the course syllabus, now corrected, it said prelims start at 7:00. By University regulation they must start at 7:30. So all three prelims will run from 7:30-9:00+.
* The three prelims are in rooms HO B14, HO B14, and PH 101, respectively (as now shown on the syllabus).
* Sunday February 27 office hours changed to 5-7 PM because of the prelim review.
*Review for prelim 1 by Dave Cabrera in Thurston 203 Sunday Feb 27 from 7-9 PM.

News (2/23/00)
* Saturday office hours are cancelled permanently. New office hours have been added on Sunday from 2-4.

News (2/24/00)
* This week's three handouts are in Thurston 102 on the back windowsill. Sorry about the inconvenience.
* Unclaimed graded homeworks are also on the back windowsill of Thurston 102.


Prelim 1 Information (updated 2/24/2000)
* In the course syllabus, now corrected, it said prelims start at 7:00. By University regulation they must start at 7:30. So all three prelims will run from 7:30-9:00+. You will be given extra time if you need it. There will be no need to rush.
* The three prelims are in rooms HO B14, HO B14, and PH 101, respectively (as now shown on the syllabus).
* The review for prelim 1 by Dave Cabrera is in Thurston 203 on Sunday Feb 27 from 7-9 PM.
* Sunday February 27 evening office hours moved earlier to 5-7 PM because of the prelim review.
* Matlab will be on the prelims and final. If you can do the homework without references you should be fine.
* No notes, books, calculators or cheat-sheets. We will provide the tables from the first two pages of the book.
* Contact us (alr3, jab16) if you have a prelim conflict.
*Here are some practice problems from old prelims, and solutions to a few of them. You may recognize some of them. Many of the homework problems in the book are actually old prelim questions. You can use these as a clue about the exam, but we are not looking at these old prelims when writing the new one.
* Please read through Page 1 of the exam, showing the extensive exam directions, before the exam.
* Do you need a study partner? Probably many of you will be studying this weekend.Try looking for each other in the Conway study room. If you are really on top of things you will learn all the more by helping others.

News (updated 3/4/00)
* Prelim 1" solutions" are on the course homework web page.
      The last line in the "solution" of 1c is wrong.
      It should say "T=A\(m*a)" and not "T= (m*a)\A".
*We plan to have the graded prelims back to you in section on March 8.

News (updated 3/9/00)
* Prelim 1" solutions" (corrected) are on the course homework web page.
* A comment sheet about the grading is also posted there.
* Prelim 1 stats are there in a Matlab file so you can calculate or plot whatever you want.
* New reading and HW is posted on the HW pages


Prelim 2 Information (updated 3/15/2000)
* 7:30-9:00 PM+ in HO B14 on Tuesday March 28.
   (In both lectures the votes for changing the date were too close to justify making people change plans.)
* The review for prelim 2 by Pritam Ganguly is in Thurston 203 on Monday March 27 from 8-9:30 PM.
* March 26 and March 27 office hours changed to:
          Sunday 5-7 (Liang), 7-9 (Ganguly), and
          Monday 2-4 (Ruina), 4:30-6:30 (Cabrera), 6:30-8:00 (Burns)
* Matlab will be on the prelims and final. If you can do the homework without references you should be fine.
* No notes, books, calculators or cheat-sheets. We will provide the tables from the first two pages of the book as well as tables I through IV from the back.
* Contact us (alr3, jab16) if you have a prelim conflict.
*Here are some relevant practice problems from old prelims. The solutions will be posted a few days before the prelim. You can use these as a clue about the exam, but we are not looking at these old prelims when writing the new one.
* Please look at prelim 1, especially the cover page, to get a sense of the format.
* Solutions to the homework due on March 28 will be posted here by the afternoon of March 27.

News (3/15/00)
*L
ate homework: Homework which is passed in after the start of lecture is sometimes marked as late. Sometimes this marking has happenned even when the homework was passed in at the start of lecture. If you have unfairly lost a point for lateness please contact your TA.

News (3/15/00)
*Vacation reading has been in Thurston 102 since about 11:30 AM on 3/16/00
*New homework due 3/28 posted on homework page.

News (3/26/00)
*Here are the solutions to the practice prelim problems for prelim 2.

News (3/28/00)
* Solutions to Prelim 2 are in the Homework page below.

News (3/30/00)
* Homework due 4/4/00 is posted.

 

News (4/14/2000)
* The last page of problems for Chapter 9 is missing from the handouts given in class.
You can download the missing page from the Text Download page.

News (4/10/2000)
*
Grade statistics for prelim 2 now posted on the HW page.

News (4/7/2000)
*A student pointed out this fun dynamics site:       http://www.soda.co.uk/soda/constructor/index.htm
*New HW, reading, text contents, text index and solutions to *'d problems posted.