MATH 22AL
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)



LAB 2

Q: Why isn't my grade available? Is the website not working?
Q: The lab assignment asks some questions in addition to giving Matlab instructions. Do I need to answer these questions? How?
Q: The lab asked me to type something incorrect in order to see the error message that Matlab would return. Should I leave that error in
my lab when editing, or remove it?
Q: Did you receive my submitted assignment?
Q: Can I resubmit my lab?
 
LAB 3:

Q: Why can't I see anything when I try to plot in Matlab?
Q: How do I create an m file?
Q: Why can't I check my grades online?
Q: Which questions do I need to answer by writing comments?



LAB 2:
 
Q: Why isn't my grade available? Is the website not working?

A: Your grade wasn't showing up because TA has not submitted your grade to the professor yet.

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Q: The lab assignment asks some questions in addition to giving Matlab instructions. Do I need to answer these questions? How?

A: Yes, please provide a written response in your submitted .text file. (Don't send separately.) Please use the percent sign to indicate
a line which is a comment rather than code, like this:

>> u = 5.8 / 0.0
% I received an error message because I divided by zero.

The comments can be entered as you encounter questions in the lab, or they can be entered later when you use pico to edit the lab before
submitting. If I told you not to answer something on Lab 1, that's my fault, I was confused myself. Just do it going forward. A brief
answer is fine.

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Q: The lab asked me to type something incorrect in order to see the error message that Matlab would return. Should I leave that error in
my lab when editing, or remove it?

A: You can leave errors that you intentionally generated. Please remove all others.

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Q: Did you receive my submitted assignment?

A: Yes, if you got a message on the command line stating "Sent to lsilver@ucdavis.edu," and you typed the filename containing your
assignment correctly, I did receive it.

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Q: Can I resubmit my lab?

A: Submissions are allowed only once. Please try to make sure that your lab is complete before submitting it. If you submit it a second time, it does not some how overwrite
your previous submission. What happens is that I receive two files with your name. This can get difficult with so many
students submitting assignments. However, if you do need to resubmit a lab for some very unusual reason, please send me a quick email to get permission to do so.


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Q: Why can't I see anything when I try to plot in Matlab?
A: Are you working from home? It says this at the top of page 2 of the lab: 
Note: to see plots, you have to use one of the terminals in the Mathematics department computer lab. Connecting from home via ssh will
not allow you to see plots.
You can probably do much of the lab at home without having to see the plots. Then you can come in and finish up in the computer lab.
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Q: How do I create an m file? 
A: On the command line, type
pico rowchange.m
(replace rowchange.m with the name of any file you want to create.) When you type pico and the name of a file that doesn't exist, pico
creates a new file with that name. Then you can write the file, save, and exit. Now Matlab will be able to call the function called
rowchange.
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Q: Why can't I check my grades online?
A: It seems that no one is able to check their grades right now. It's not just you.
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Q: Which questions do I need to answer by writing comments?
 
A: For Lab 3, please answer every question in green in the lab instructions.