Assignments
There will be four assignments to be handed in during the term. These will be posted on this web page approximately two weeks before the due dates. Assignments are due at the following times on the following dates.
Update to Assignment 4: Due to technical problems with Virtual Campus, some modifications have been made to the due date and submission process for Assignment 4. Assignment 4 will be accepted until 5:00am, April 7 on Virtual Campus. It will also be accepted until noon on April 10 by email to mat1302b@gmail.com (Section B) or mat1302d@gmail.com (Section D). If you submit by email, please ensure you do the following:
- Submit your assignment to the right email address, according to your section.
- The subject of your email should be your student number.
- Your assignment should be attached to the email and follow the same guidelines as for assignments submitted on Virtual Campus (see below).
- You may only submit your assignment once by email.
If you do not follow these guidelines, your assignment will not be graded.
The 5:00am due dates are not because you are expected to stay up until 5:00am to finish the assignments. Instead, they are to reduce traffic to the servers. Students should start (and complete) the assignments well before the due dates. Doing so will ensure there is plenty of time to check answers, get help (DGDs, help centre, office hours, etc.), and sort out any technical issues. Leaving the assignments until the last day is a bad idea.
Graded assignments will be returned electronically on virtual campus.
Preparing Assignments
Assignments must be typewritten and submitted as a pdf file (not handwritten and scanned). Assignments that are handwritten or in any format other than pdf will not be graded. To prepare your assignments you will need a document processor with tools for typesetting math formulas. Some options are the following:
- OpenOffice: OpenOffice is an open source office software suite with an easy-to-use, powerful tool for writing math formulas. It is the preferred document processor for writing assignments. OpenOffice is available free of charge for Windows, Mac, and Ubuntu. You can download the installer package from OpenOffice.Org.
Here are some tips for preparing your assignment using OpenOffice:
- Prepare your assignment in Open Document format (i.e., with extension .odt) in OpenOffice Writer (not OpenOffice Math). Generating the PDF file should be the last thing you do before submission of the assignment because you cannot edit a PDF file.
- Do not import the PDF file containing the questions into your OpenOffice document. On your assignment you only need to write the solutions (i.e., you do not need to rewrite the questions).
- To add a math equation (e.g., a system of linear equations, a vector, a matrix, etc.) open the equation editor by selecting Insert -> Object -> Formula from the menu bar. You can now typeset your equation either by using the Formula Elements window (if you don't see this window, select View -> Elements from the menu bar), or by typing an appropriate command in the lower segment of the page to generate the desired equation.
- To edit a formula, right click on it and select Edit (or double-click on it).
- Click here to download a sample document containing a handful of examples that you can use as a template in the preparation of assignments. You should open this file with OpenOffice.
- For further instructions, check the software User Guides, especially the guide for Math Objects.
- Microsoft Word: This program includes an equation editor than can be used to write mathematics. Some tips for preparing your assignments in Word 2010 can be found here: Word document, PDF file.
- LaTeX: This is a powerful typesetting language used by most mathematicians, computer scientists, and physicists. For instance, the assignments, exams, and slides for this course are prepared using LaTeX. LaTeX documents are written in a text editor and then compiled to produce the final document. The most commonly used compiler is MiKTeX. It can take quite a while to learn to use LaTeX properly and it is certainly not expected that students in MAT 1302 do so. However, if anyone is feeling adventurous, they're welcome to give it a go!
- LyX: LyX is available free of charge for Windows, Mac and Linux and can be downloaded at lyx.org. LyX largely functions as a front-end to LaTeX. Learning LyX takes more time than learning OpenOffice but the LyX output usually looks more elegant.
You are responsible for starting the assignment sufficiently early to allow for any unforseen difficulties in preparation (formatting equations, converting to PDF, submitting online, etc.).
Format and Submission
Assignments must be submitted in PDF format. Newer versions of OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, and LyX can convert (or "export") files to PDF format. If your version does not offer this option, you can convert your file to PDF using freely available software such as PrimoPDF.
The filename of your assignment should be 'XXXXXX-aY.pdf' where 'XXXXXX' is your student number and 'Y' is the assignment number (1 through 4). For instance, if your student number is 123456, your third assignment should have the filename '123456-a3.pdf'.
Assignments should be submitted online using Virtual Campus. Do not submit your assignment via email. Please note that assignments will only be accepted until 5:00am on the due date. Late assignments will not be accepted.
To submit your assignment, follow these steps:
- Before submission, check your PDF file with a viewer (e.g., Adobe Reader) to make sure that the file is not corrupted.
- Go to the course page on Virtual Campus.
- Click on the Assignments tab.
- Click on Inbox tab, then click on the assignment that you want to submit.
- Scroll down to find the Add Attachments button.
- Click on this button to select and upload the assignment file.
- At the bottom of the page, click on the Submit button.
- To make sure that the submission process has been successful, click on the Submitted tab. You should be able to see the date of submission of your assignment.
You can resubmit your assignment up until the due date/time. To resubmit, follow these steps:
- Go to the course page on Virtual Campus.
- Click on the Assignments tab.
- Click on the Submitted tab.
- To the right of the assignment, there is a small icon. Click on this icon to see a scroll down menu. Select Take Submission Back to Inbox.
- Click on the Inbox tab, then click on the assignment that you want to resubmit.
- Scroll down to find the Add Attachments button.
- On the right side of the old file name you can see a small icon. If you hover your mouse pointer on it, the word Remove appears. Click on this icon to remove the old file.
- Click on the Add Attachments button to select and upload the new assignment file.
- At the bottom of the page, click on the Submit button.
Examples
As an example of how your assignments should be formatted, some assignments from a previous year are posted below along with their solutions. Your completed assignment should look something like the solutions below (except that you do not need to repeat the question on your assignment).
Collaboration and Cheating
You should solve the homework problems yourself and all written work should be your own. Copying from another student is cheating and will not be tolerated -- it also doesn't help you in the long run.
It is easier to detect copying than you might think. Sophisticated computer programs can easily tell when one file has been copied from another and graders can also easily spot copying (and, unfortunately, sometimes do). Students found cheating will be reported to the university. Punishment can range from receiving a zero on the assignment, to failing the course, to being expelled from the university. Allowing another student to copy your work is just as serious as copying. So if you copy from another student, you are putting their university career on the line too.
There is lots of help available to you (office hours, DGDs, and the math help centre) if you have difficulty with the homework and so there is no reason to cheat. Working through the homework yourself will greatly increase your understanding of the subject matter and will improve your performance on the midterms and final exam.