Final exam

3. Monday, December 9th

• Reading day (make-up quiz #4)
• Study Guide

4. Wednesday, December 4th

• if statements
• Integration
• Assign Homework#9
• Announcement: Both homework #8 and #9 are due next Monday. No computational projects will be assigned.
• The final is scheduled on Dec. 16th.

5. Monday, December 2nd

• A 30-minute closed-book quiz will be administered to test iterations, logic gates, logical and relational operators.
• In addition, a makeup quiz will be given for the previous http://cds130.org//2013F004/matlab_quiz_3. It is optitional for you to take the quiz or not.

14. Monday, October 28th

• A make-up quiz will be given. The previous quizzes can be found here:
• Note: please do not edit the homework pages.

16. Monday, October 21st

• Arrays in Matlab
• Matrices in Matlab
• Data for matlab. comp.map
• Assign Homework#6 Due on October 23rd (This Wednesday) before 12:00 PM.
• Your midterm exam score has been uploaded to Blackboard. The midterm grade posted on Patriot Web is only indicative of the exam score (not including homeworks and quizzes). The grades are curved based on a linear formula: $your\_acutual\_score \times 0.6 + 40$
• Midterm exam answer key is to be released.
• Announcement: The class on next Monday (Oct. 28th) is cancelled due to an academic commitment of the instructor. A makeup class, if deemed necessary, will be arranged on a later date.

17. Wednesday, October 16th

• In-class closed-book mid-term exam. (75 minutes).

18. Tuesday, October 15th

• Review homework problems. A study guide will be distributed. Study guide
• Howework solutions.
 Homework#5 answers

• Notice: The makeup quiz will be scheduled on a different date (i.e, we don't have the make-up quiz today).
• A makeup quiz will be given this afternoon: 2:00 PM. Tentative location: Room 92, Research I Hall.

20. Monday, October 7th

• Matlab
• data types,
• formatting numbers
• input and display information
• Arrays in Matlab

21. Wednesday, October 2nd

• Encoding and Computer Memory.
• Matlab
• data types,
• formatting numbers
• input and display information
• The midterm exam is scheduled on Oct. 16th (Wednesday)
• Assign Homework#5, due on October 9th before class.

22. Monday, September 30th

• Encoding and Computer Memory.
• 15-min. in-class quiz to cover binary representation of negative numbers
• Matlab
• data types,
• formatting numbers
• input and display information

23. Wednesday, September 25th

• Binary Arithmetic Binary representation of negative numbers
• Matlab: (see powerpoint slides uploaded to Blackboard)

24. Monday, September 23rd

Continue to cover:

25. Wednesday, September 18th

Continue to cover:

32. Syllabus

My syllabus is everything stated at Syllabus along with the following additions and notes.

32.1. Format

This is a three-credit course. Active learning techniques will be used during my lectures. After presenting a major concept I will pose a question which you will think about, discuss with your neighbor, and then possibly present your answers.

32.2. Evaluation

Each student will be responsible to cover the material taught in class, do the assigned homework exercises. There will be mid-term and final exams. Class attendance will also be counted into their final grades (see below).

35% problem sets (homeworks)

25% mid-term exam

30% final exam

10% attendance and in-class quizzes

Two of the exams are 2 ~ 2.5 hour quizzes given during lecture sessions, the last exam will fall during finals' week.

Final letter grades will be determined by total weighted scores from the composition o the final grades. The approximate score breakdown will be:

 90 and above A 80-89.999 B 70-79.999 C 55-69.999 D Less than 55 Failing

Note that these are the approximate score assignments: if your score falls at the border (e.g., between an A and B), your effort will decide the final grade: improvement over the course of the term; attitude in doing the problem sets; interactions with the lecturer during class etc.

32.3. Homeworks

• Weekly Homeworks. Assigned on Wedensday, due on next Wednesday before class
• Will partially work many difficult problems in class
• Most homeworks will be turned in electronically
• Late penalty = 20% if late by less than 7 days; 40% if more than 7 days late

33. FAQ

33.1. Exactly what kind of problems will I be able to solve?

To get a taste of it, here are two examples students worked on later in the last semester Tumor | Antialias.

33.2. As a neuroscience major, what can I learn from this course?

First off, allow me to quote from Archimedes "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world."

Through this course, we strive to provide a computational lever for you. With competencies in each major, I hope you eventually will be able to solve science problems such as:

• Neuronscience: Understanding the visual cortex of the brain [1].
• Biology: Solving problems of protein folding and structure [2]
• Chemistry: Designing molecules [3]
• Earth Science: Studying solid earth dynamics[4]

33.3. Am I qualified for this course?

If you are concerned with math, most likely you are qualified for this course, provided that you understand

• Trigonometry and Transcendental Functions
• Some mathematical concepts to simplify science problems

33.4. How much programming is needed?

There is no requirement on programming languages.

In this course, a high-level computing language Matlab will be taught. Matlab is a powerful mathematical tool that offers a computing environment for numerical computation, graphics and visualization.

Students may access and use MATLAB without charge either on campus or from any computer with an internet connection. There are three ways to use Matlab at Mason:

2. Matlab is installed on all computers in various computer labs on campus. Simply log on, and there is Matlab.
3. Install Matlab on your personal computer. A \$109-dollar student version of MATLAB may be purchased atPatriot Computers.

Tutorials on accessing and using Matlab will be given to students as class progresses.

33.5. What if I have a question about homeworks and am having difficulty understanding the course content?

• My office hours will be held following each class or by appointment (hsheng@gmu.edu). My office is located in Research I, Room 225. Usually I will be available after class and would like to interact with students. I will grade your homeworks, exams, and quizzes. In general, I will be available to answer your questions by email. Over the semester, several tutoring sections will be held to work on difficult problems.
• Special announcements will be made through Blackboard, such as assignments, due dates, upcoming exams, tutorials, etc.
• A group page has been set up on Facebook. If you have a Facebook page, welcome to join the group.

33.6. Do we have a textbook for this course?

None. The course "Computing for Scientists" was newly approved as a general education course at GMU. It has been co-developed by several faculty members at the CDS department. A wiki page ([5]) was created. There are four sections in Spring 2013. All course materials covered in the current section can be obtained from http://cds130.org/2013F004.

The wiki page was designed to facilitate student interaction and to fulfill the IT requirements.

33.7. Draft Schedule

(Red links are for pages that are not complete)