COLLEGE OF ARTS and SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF MATH & INFO

NUMERICAL METHODS

FALL 2019

ACADEMIC YEAR 2019-2020

COURSE SYLLABUS

Course Code: MATH213

Prerequisites: N\A

Number of Credits: 3

Room: 219, Block A

Time: TTH 9:30 am – 10:45 am

Instructor: Dr. Amara Al Sayegh

Instructor Profile: PhD in computational physics from American University of Beirut, Lebanon

Office: Part-time Faculty Offices (Level 1, Building A)

Office Hours: TTH 12:15 – 13:00

Email: amara.sayegh@pu.edu.lb / amara.sayegh@gmail.com

Required Text:

Reference Textbooks:
- Mathews, J. H., and K. D. Fink. Numerical Methods Using MATLAB®. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998.
- Numerical Mathematics and Computing, by Cheney and Kincaid, 6th edition, Brooks/Cole,
2004.
Lecture notes: Power Point Presentations of the course lectures will be available on LMS
The main tool for algorithms development is MATLAB, version 12.

Course Description:

This course offers an advanced introduction to numerical linear algebra. Topics covered include:
Elementary numerical analysis: roots of equations, systems of linear algebraic equations curve fitting,
integration, and solution of ordinary differential equations. Numerical techniques are presented in the
context of engineering applications, and example problems are solved using a variety of computer-
based tools (structure programming, spreadsheet, a computational/symbolic processing software
packages).

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the semester, students are expected to be able to do the following:

 Understand the fundamental principles of digital computing, including number representation

and arithmetic operations.
 Understand the linkage between accuracy, precision and convergence.
 Perform error analysis for arithmetic operations.
 Understand the propagation of errors through complex numerical algorithms.
 Develop algorithms for solving linear systems of equations.
 Develop efficient and stable algorithms for finding roots of non-linear equations.
 Learn different methods of polynomial and spline interpolation and curve fitting
 Understand the use of interpolation for numerical differentiation and integration.
 Develop stable solution algorithms for ordinary differential equations.

Students’ Duties:

 Keep an open mind during class sessions

 Be sure your books, copybooks and stationery are with you in class
 Switch your mobile off
 Present a diversity of challenging techniques to grasp the objectives
 Share in all activities and participate in all class discussions
 Be creative and productive
 Learn new methods of researching
 Make-up exams are done upon the Department’s approval
Grading Scale:

Letter Grade Quality points %

A 4 A ≥ 96
A- 3.82 90 ≤ A- < 96
B+ 3.66 87 ≤ B+ < 90
B 3.33 83 ≤ B < 87
B- 3 80 ≤ B- < 83
C+ 2.66 77 ≤ C+ < 80
C 2.33 73 ≤ C < 77
C- 2 70 ≤ C- < 73
D+ 1.66 67 ≤ D+ < 70
D 1.33 63 ≤ D < 67
D- 1 60 ≤ D- < 63
F 0 F < 60
Course Policy:

 60 is the minimum passing grade.

 Punctuality is also crucial. If you are late more than 10 minutes to class, you are considered
absent
 Students are required to submit all assignments on time.
 Keep a folder for portfolio assessment that includes the course syllabus, handouts, homework
assignments, comments, quizzes, drafts and texts of research and proposal etc.
 Avoid plagiarism, redundancy and basic research errors
 Write effectively and show proficiency in citation of sources
 Behave with academic integrity and maintain a positive attitude
 Students must take all scheduled tests. Make-up tests are given only at the instructor’s
discretion if the student presents a valid excuse for his/her absence from the test within
one week of that test
Grading policy:
Your work will be assessed in a variety of ways: participation in class, completion of tasks according
to deadlines, homework(s), midterm, final exam etc.
 Attendance and Participation 10 %
 Quizzes 10 %
 Matlab Assignments 20 %
 Midterm Exam 30 %
 Final Exam 30 %
The course grade is subject to normalization of grade distribution in the class. Thus, each
student’s final course grade may be equal, higher, or lower than the grade computed on the basis
of the above grade distribution.

Week Topics Assessment

FLOATING POINT ARITHMETIC Matlab Assignment 1
Oct. 1 - 17 Methods of Conversion
IEEE Floating point systems
Floating point operations , Rounding errors
Oct. 22 – Nov. 7 ROOT FINDING Matlab Assignment 2
Bisection, Newton and Secant methods

SYSTEMS OF LINEAR EQUATIONS Midterm Exam on

Nov. 12 -28 Backward Substitution November 21 (first two
Partial and Scaled Partial pivoting topics only included)
LU decomposition: Determinant and Inverse of Matlab assignment 3
A

POLYNOMIAL and SPLINE Matlab Assignment 4

INTERPOLATION
Dec. 3-17 Lagrange, Newton and Neville’s polynomials
Linear, Quadratic and Cubic Splines

NUMERICAL DIFFERENTIATION and Matlab Assignment 5

INTEGRATION
Dec. 19- Jan. 14 Forward, Backward and Central difference
formulae
Richardson Extrapolation
Midpoint and Trapezoidal Rules
Romberg formulae
ODE : RUNGE-KUTTA Methods +Revision
Jan. 9-21 Matlab Assignment 4

Note: Alterations to the above literature may occur through the semester and additional handouts or
films/slides may be utilized.
Class Rules & Discipline
Classroom Etiquette
Cellular phones must be turned off during instruction in the classrooms and laboratories. The first
failure to respect this rule results in a warning. If a student chooses to disregard the warning the
student will be dismissed from class.

Students are also required to use proper social and professional etiquette when using e-mail. Use of the
Phoenicia University network implies consent for monitoring of traffic, which is necessary for smooth
administration of the resource. Phoenicia University does not overlook the use of inappropriate
language when writing messages to instructors, staff, or students. Student initiated messages to mass
audiences that are not part of the normal instructional process are prohibited.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

CHEATING
Cheating on exams or other work submitted in fulfillment of course requirements will result in
disciplinary action. Cheating discovered during an exam will result in the exam being collected and
the student being dismissed with instructions for a meeting with the faculty member.

PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s ideas or words as your own. Paraphrasing or extensive
rewriting of another’s work is still plagiarism if credit is not given to the author and a citation of where
the information can be found is not listed. This also applies to ideas or words borrowed from the
Internet.
A student who presents a plagiarized work is subject to disciplinary action. A faculty member who
discovers that plagiarized work has been submitted in fulfillment of course requirements will
immediately inform the student and will give the student an opportunity to explain. Students guilty of
plagiarism will be severely penalized. Penalties range from a failing grade to suspension.
SABOTAGE
Students destroying, damaging, or stealing another’s work or working materials (including laboratory
experiments, computer programs, and term papers etc..) are subject to appropriate disciplinary
measures.

FALSIFICATION
Students who misrepresent material or fabricate information in an academic exercise or assignment
(e.g., false or misleading citations, falsification of experiments or computer data) will be held
accountable.

STUDENT ATTENDANCE
Students are expected to attend all classes, laboratories, or required fieldwork. Adequate measures will
be taken concerning unjustified attendance as per the University’s rules and regulations. No student
is allowed to attend a class if his/her name does not appear on the class roster. If a student is absent
for more than 25% of the class sessions, he/she will receive a ‘W (Withdraw)’ or ‘WF (Withdraw Fail)
grade for the course. Any student who will be absent for more than 25% of the course will need the
approval of both the College and the Office of the Registrar to continue the course.