Numerical Analysis I

GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION

Meeting time: Tue, Thur., 11:00am-12:15pm

Location: Southwick 313

Click here for MATLAB install instruction  or vLabs

OFFICE HOUR

Location: Southwick 350 O

Time: Tue 2:00pm-3:30pm, Wed 9:30am-11:00am 

or by appointment (minhyung_cho@uml.edu)

COURSE RATIONALE

Many real world problems arising in mathematics, science, and engineering cannot easily be solved analytically. Therefore, it is often necessary to generate approximate numerical solutions using a computer. The course covers numerical algorithms, implementations using MATLAB, and analysis on root findings, interpolations, numerical differentiation and integrations, and differential equations.

 

TEXTBOOK

Class handout (Main textbook)

Optional textbooks: 

1. Numerical Analysis, Richard Burden, J. Douglas Faires, Annette M. Burden

2. An Introduction to Numerical Analysis, Kendall Atkinson

3. Analysis of Numerical Methods, Eugen Isaacson, Herbert Keller

HOMEWORK

Homework will be assigned every Thursday and due on following Thursday at 10:59 AM. HW must be either hand-written or typed up (Latex or Word)  and show all of your work (writing a list of answers is not sufficient). Please staple HWs. You are encouraged to collaborate with classmates, but your final write-up must reflect your understanding and you must acknowledge collaborators. For the programming parts of HW, you should either write code or modify the example code by yourself and turn in by email (files must be attached) before due date. Please follow file name convention specified in each HW. Several random problems will be graded. Homework solutions will be posted if possible. No late homework will be accepted. 

EXAM

There will be two in-class/take-home midterms and a cumulative final exam.

Tentative Schedule:

Midterm 1:  10/16 (in-class + take home)
Midterm 2:  11/20 (in-class + take home)
Final: 12/18, Thursday, 8:00 am-11:00 am (in-class)

GRADING AND ATTENDANCE

Final grade will be computed according to the following scheme

Homework: 24% 
Midterm I: 24%
Midterm II: 24%
Final: 28%
Attendance is not count towards your final grade. However, I strongly suggest attending all classes. If you must miss a class due to personal emergency, please notify your instructor as early as you can and set-up a meeting to discuss about make-up.
Homework is an essential part of the class, and missing five or more HWs will result in an F.

TUTORING

The Centers for Learning and Academic Support Services (CLASS) provide tutoring services, including an online searchable tutoring schedules are available that include resources on all campuses. A tutoring request form is also available if there are no tutors listed for the class for which you need help.

Math Department tutoring center: Southwick 310,  Mon-Fri 10:00 am-5:00 pm

WITHDRAWING

Please note that the registrar has determined that Nov. 13, 2025 is the last day to withdraw with grade of “W” from a course (Fall 2025 Academic Calendar).

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University and sanctions may be imposed on any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty. Details on UML policy can be found at 
http://www.uml.edu/Catalog/Undergraduate/Policies/Academic-Integrity.aspx. Note in particular that any incident which results in some action being taken must be reported to the Provost’s Office.

Generative AI tools, such as chatbots, image generators, or code generators, to complete assignments, exams, or any other academic work are not allowed

Using any online tutoring services during exams will result in an academic dishonesty report to the Provost office with FX grade (F with a permanent record) recommendation

ATHLETIC ACADEMIC POLICY

Student-athletes must adhere to the Athletic Academic Policy.  

DISABILITY SERVICES

If you are registered with Disability Services and will require course accommodations, please notify me via the Accommodate semester request process as soon as possible so that we might make appropriate arrangements. It is important that we connect to discuss the logistics of your accommodations; please speak to me during office hours or privately after class as I respect and want to protect your privacy. If you need further information or need to register for academic accommodations, please visit the Disability Services Website

Additionally, Student Disability Services supports software for ALL students (not just those registered with their office). The university has literacy software that allows you to read on-screen text aloud, research and check written work, and create study guides. You can download the software from the IT Software webpage on the UML assistive technologies website.

STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING

 

Your personal health and well-being are important to all of us at the university. I’m available to talk about your stresses or concerns related to your coursework in my class.

Here are some resources to support your well-being:

Counseling Services provide crisis intervention, assessment, referrals, short term individual counseling and group therapy. Call to book an appointment at (978) 934-6800.  

UMatter2 is a university-wide initiative to support students and promote mental health. They can be reached at (978) 934-6671. You will find information at that website on how to access Togetherall, an online community which is a peer-to-peer platform dedicated to mental health support.  

Centers for Learning and Academic Support Services (CLASS) provides advising services including goal setting, course selection, SIS functions, changing majors/minors and course deletions. (978) 934-2936 or Advisement@uml.edu.  

The mission of the Office of Student Life & Wellbeing is to advance the holistic concept for student success by infusing health-promoting actions and collaboration into campus culture. They can be reached at 978-934-4342 or Wellbeing@uml.edu. 

DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, AND CLASSROOM COMMUNITY STANDARDS

  

UMass Lowell—and your professor—value human diversity in all its forms, whether expressed through race and ethnicity, culture, political and social views, religious and spiritual beliefs, language and geographic characteristics, gender, gender identities and sexual orientations, learning and physical abilities, age, parenting status and social or economic backgrounds. Enrich yourself by practicing respect in your interactions, and enrich one another by expressing your point of view, knowing that diversity and individual differences are respected, appreciated, and recognized as a source of strength. 

 

The Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) supports and advocates for students while leading diversity-related programming. At the same time working to create an inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ individuals via the LGBTQ+ Resource Center. Contact (978) 934-4336 or Multicultural_Affairs@uml.edu 

UNIVERSITY PRIVACY STATEMENT

UMass Lowell recognizes the importance of mutual trust between students and faculty. Neither faculty nor students may record video or audio of a course or private conversation without all parties’ consent. Massachusetts is a two-party consent state, which means it is illegal to record someone without their permission. Recordings of classroom lectures are the intellectual property of the instructor. Instructors have the right to prohibit audio and video recording of their lectures, unless the requesting student is registered with Disabilities Services and recording of class sessions is an approved accommodation. In addition, sharing of or selling recordings of classroom activity, discussions or lectures with any other person or medium without permission of the instructor is prohibited.

Tentative Course Schedule

Date Topic Homework
9/4 (Thur) Review of Calculus HW 1 (Revised) (Due 9/11 Thur), HW 1 solution
9/9 (Tue) Review of Calculus
9/11 (Thur) Round-off errors and Computer Arithmetic HW 2 (Revised) (Due 9/18 Thur) , HW 2 solution
9/16 (Tue) Round-off errors and Computer Arithmetic
9/18 (Thur) Round-off errors and Computer Arithmetic, Algorithmc and Convergence HW 3 (Revised) (Due 9/25 Thur) , HW 3 solution
9/23 (Tue) Algorithmc and Convergence
9/25 (Thur) Solutions of equations in one variable:Bisection Method HW 4 (Due 10/2 Thur), HW 4 solution
9/30 (Tue) Solutions of equations in one variable: Fixed-point Iteration
10/2 (Thur) Solutions of equations in one variable: Fixed-point Iteration HW 5 (Due 10/9 Thur), HW 5 solution
10/7 (Tue) Solutions of equations in one variable: Fixed-point Iteration and Newton-Raphson Method
10/9 (Thur) Newton-Raphson Method HW 6 (won't be collected: practice problems), HW 6 solution
10/14 (Tue) Interpolation and Polynomial Approximation: Lagrange Polynomial
10/16 (Thur) Exam 1 (Exam 1 solution) No HW
10/21 (Tue) Interpolation and Polynomial Approximation: Neville's Method
10/23 (Thur) Interpolation and Polynomial Approximation: Neville's Method HW 7 (Due 10/30 Thur), HW 7 solution
10/28 (Tue) Interpolation and Polynomial Approximation: Divided Difference
10/30 (Thur) Interpolation and Polynomial Approximation:Divided Difference and Cubic Spline Interpolation HW 8 (Due 11/6 Thur),HW 8 solution
11/4 (Tue) Interpolation and Polynomial Approximation: Cubic Spline Interpolation
11/6 (Thur) Interpolation and Polynomial Approximation: Cubic Spline Interpolation Cubic Spline Matlab script HW 9 (Due 11/18 Tue) ,HW 9 solution
11/13 (Thur) Cubic Spline, Numerical Differentiation
11/18 (Tue) Numerical Differentiation
11/20 (Thur) Exam 2 (Exam 2 solution) No HW
11/25 (Tue) Numerical Differentiation
12/2 (Tue) Snow day HW 10 (Due 12/9, Tue)
12/4 (Thur) Numerical Differentiation, Elements of Numerical Integration
12/9 (Tue) Elements of Numerical Integration
12/11 (Thur) Composite Numerical Integration HW 11 (won't be collected)
12/18 (Thur) Final, 8:00 am - 11:00 am