• “Technology Bytes”, an extensive online appendix that shows Maple, Mathematica, and MATLAB instructions key for working out examples and exercises from the text in a computer algebra system.
• Explorations provide deeper discovery-based guides on key concepts, designed for individual or group work.
• Ample applied problems from a wide variety of disciplines, including mathematics, physics, engineering, biology, chemistry, computer science, economics, geography, psychology, and sociology.
• Context-sensitive margin notes for extra help and cross-references.
• Vignettes showcase modern applications of linear algebra.
• Biographical sketches highlight many of the mathematicians who contributed to the development of linear algebra.
• Writing Projects offer students opportunities to research and write about linear algebra. Projects are designed for individual or group work.
• Chapter 8: Codes is an online chapter combining all material on codes previously interspersed throughout the text.
• More than 100 new or revised exercises.

1. VECTORS.

Introduction: The Racetrack Game. The Geometry and Algebra of Vectors. Length and Angle: The Dot Product. Exploration: Vectors and Geometry. Lines and Planes. Exploration: The Cross Product. Writing Project: Origins of the Dot Product and the Cross Product. Applications.

2. SYSTEMS OF LINEAR EQUATIONS.

Introduction: Triviality. Introduction to Systems of Linear Equations. Direct Methods for Solving Linear Systems. Writing Project: A History of Gaussian Elimination. Explorations: Lies My Computer Told Me; Partial Pivoting; Counting Operations: An Introduction to the Analysis of Algorithms. Spanning Sets and Linear Independence. Applications. Vignette: The Global Positioning System. Iterative Methods for Solving Linear Systems.

3. MATRICES.

Introduction: Matrices in Action. Matrix Operations. Matrix Algebra. The Inverse of a Matrix. The LU Factorization. Subspaces, Basis, Dimension, and Rank. Introduction to Linear Transformations. Vignette: Robotics. Applications.

4. EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS.

Introduction: A Dynamical System on Graphs. Introduction to Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors. Determinants. Writing Project: Which Came First-the Matrix or the Determinant? Vignette: Lewis Carroll’s Condensation Method. Exploration: Geometric Applications of Determinants. Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors of n x n Matrices. Writing Project: The History of Eigenvalues. Similarity and Diagonalization. Iterative Methods for Computing Eigenvalues. Applications and the Perron-Frobenius Theorem.

Vignette: Ranking Sports Teams and Searching the Internet.

5. ORTHOGONALITY.

Introduction: Shadows on a Wall. Orthogonality in Rn. Orthogonal Complements and Orthogonal Projections. The Gram-Schmidt Process and the QR Factorization. Explorations: The Modified QR Factorization; Approximating Eigenvalues with the QR Algorithm. Orthogonal Diagonalization of Symmetric Matrices. Applications.

6. VECTOR SPACES.

Introduction: Fibonacci in (Vector) Space. Vector Spaces and Subspaces. Linear Independence, Basis, and Dimension. Writing Project: The Rise of Vector Spaces. Exploration: Magic Squares. Change of Basis. Linear Transformations. The Kernel and Range of a Linear Transformation. The Matrix of a Linear Transformation. Exploration: Tilings, Lattices and the Crystallographic Restriction. Applications.

7. DISTANCE AND APPROXIMATION.

Introduction: Taxicab Geometry. Inner Product Spaces. Explorations: Vectors and Matrices with Complex Entries; Geometric Inequalities and Optimization Problems. Norms and Distance Functions. Least Squares Approximation. The Singular Value Decomposition. Vignette: Digital Image Compression. Applications.

8. CODES. (Online)

Code Vectors. Vignette: The Codabar System. Error-Correcting Codes. Dual Codes. Linear Codes. The Minimum Distance of a Code.

Appendix A: Mathematical Notation and Methods of Proof.

Appendix B: Mathematical Induction.

Appendix C: Complex Numbers.

Appendix D: Polynomials.

David Poole

David Poole is Professor of Mathematics at Trent University, where he has been a faculty member since 1984. Dr. Poole has won numerous teaching awards: Trent University’s Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching (the university’s top teaching award), three merit awards for teaching excellence, a 2002 Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations Teaching Award (the top university teaching award in the province), a 2003 3M Teaching Fellowship (the top university teaching award in Canada, sponsored by 3M Canada Ltd.), a 2007 Leadership in Faculty Teaching Award from the province of Ontario, and the Canadian Mathematical Society’s 2009 Excellence in Teaching Award. From 2002-2007, Dr. Poole was Trent University’s Associate Dean (Teaching & Learning). His research interests include discrete mathematics, ring theory, and mathematics education. He received his B.Sc. from Acadia University in 1976 before earning his M.Sc. (1977) and Ph.D. (1984) from McMaster University. When he is not doing mathematics, David Poole enjoys hiking and cooking, and he is an avid film buff.