MATH 231 (Linear Algebra) Topics Covered
  • Definitions of matrices and vectors.
  • Operations on matrices such as addition, multiplication, scalar multiplication, transpose, powers (exponents) of matrices, and related facts.
  • Operations on vectors such as addition, scalar multiplication, and dot (inner) product.
  • Special matrices (such as skew-symmetric, symmetric, orthogonal, diagonal, lower/upper triangular, identity matrix, zero matrix). Matrices such as idempotent, nilpotent, involutory, and Householder, were introduced in the homework. Matrices such as unitary, Hermitian, skew-Hermitian, will be defined later.
  • Determinants of special matrices such as diagonal, orthogonal, lower/upper-triangular, skew-symmetric of odd order, identity, and inverses of special matrices such as 2x2 and diagonal.
  • Minor, cofactor, adjoint, determinant, inverse, and related facts.
  • Finding the inverse by using the adjoint.
  • Solving linear systems whose matrix of coefficients is nonsingular by using the inverse and disadvantages of using this method.
  • Consistent and inconsistent systems of linear equations, homogeneous systems of linear equations, equivalent systems of linear equations, geometric interp. of a solution of a linear systems of equations, systems with infinitely many solutions, solving a system of linear equations by substitution and by elimination, solving singular/non-singular diagonal systems, solving singular/non-singular lower (resp. upper) triangular systems by forward (resp. backward) substitution, writing a systems of linear equations in the form Ax=b, where A is the coefficient matrix, x is the vector of unkowns, and b is the vector of constant terms.
  • Gramer's rule for solving linear systems.
  • Gaussian elimination, row echelon form, solving linear systems by Gaussian elimination, finding the determinant by using Gaussian elimination.
  • Gauss-Jordan elimination, reduced row echelon form, elementary matrices, row-equivalent matrices, solving linear systems by Gauss-Jordan elimination, finding the inverse by using Gauss-Jordan elimination, finding the determinant by using Gauss-Jordan elimination.
  • Vector spaces; subspaces; Rn, Pn, C[a,b], F[a,b], Mmn.
  • Span, nullspace, and linear idependence & dependence.
  • Basis and dimension, extending a linearly independent set in a vector space V to form a basis for V, finding a basis in a set S for span S.
  • Linear independence of functions and the Wronskian.
  • Basis for and dimension (nullity) of nullspace of a matrix A (solution space of A x = 0).
  • Row space and row rank, column space and column rank, rank, relationship between rank and nullity, relationships between these two concepts, solutions of homogenenous and non-homogeneous systems, invertible matrices, and row-equivalent.
  • p-norm of vectors (including one-norm, two-norm, and infinity-norm); orthogonal and orthonormal vectors; orthogonal and orthonormal sets; unit vectors; relationship between orthogonal or orthonormal sets and linearly independent sets, orthonormal bases for Rn, orthogonal matrices (revisited), Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization process.
  • Functions (domain, target, range, image, preimage, one-to-one (injective), onto (surjective), bijection (one-to-one correspondence).
  • Linear Transformations (Chapter 10): one-to-one, onto, target, range, domain, kernel, nullity of a linear transformation, range, rank of a linear transformation, composition, matrix of a linear transformation, matrix of a linear transformation, transition matrix and change of basis.
  • Review of complex numbers.
  • Matrix conjugate, Hermitian conjugate, Hermitian, skew-Hermitian, normal, and unitary matrices.
  • Eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrices, eigenpairs, eigen value problems, eigenspace, geometric multiplicity, algebraic multiplicity, defective and nondefective matrices, diagonalization, similar matrices and their eigen structure, theorems related to the eigen structure.
  • Complex eigenvalues and eigenvetors.
  • The spectral radius and matrix norms.

    Then: Block matrices.

    If time permits: Applications of the topics we learned in other fields; other topics.