They allowed a calculator in a Linear Algebra exam??johanw wrote: ↑Sun May 30, 2021 3:23 amI have. I studied applied physics and I still have nightmares about my linear algabra 3 exam which I had to do 7 times to pass... Question 1 was always "Given the complex matrix A = ..., calculate the eigenvalues and eigenvectors". I always made some mistake that caused the answer to be horrible so I got stuck in the later questions that used it, while the answer was usually quite simple.
A 15C would have helped me a lot. They were available brand new then but (a) I didn't know they could do matrix math then and (b) I could probably not have afforded one anyway. My money was put in a Casio FX-8000G which I could not use on most exams. But exam rules were not very formal, if the calculator looked "simple" enough you were allowed to use it.
Yes, I recall a Quantum Mechanics mechanics exam which was done all in Linear Algebra. The exams before went horribly bad because of difficult integrals, so the prof thought to stir things up. Didn't help, because most students didn't remember how to calculate eigenvalues (which was taught in 1st semester, and the QM exam was 5th semester). But there was no calculator allowed. Theoretical physics and Mathematics departments never allowed calculators.