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Linear Algebra

This document summarizes a book called "A Practical Approach to Teaching Linear Algebra" which aims to teach linear algebra concepts through a more visual and application-based approach compared to the standard method. It uses over 100 illustrations and encourages students to sketch themselves. Computer graphics is used as the primary application to motivate topics and show how concepts are applied in areas like gaming. The book covers core linear algebra topics with intuitive explanations and illustrations to help students better understand and retain the material.

Uploaded by

Eddy R. Vélez
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© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
152 views

Linear Algebra

This document summarizes a book called "A Practical Approach to Teaching Linear Algebra" which aims to teach linear algebra concepts through a more visual and application-based approach compared to the standard method. It uses over 100 illustrations and encourages students to sketch themselves. Computer graphics is used as the primary application to motivate topics and show how concepts are applied in areas like gaming. The book covers core linear algebra topics with intuitive explanations and illustrations to help students better understand and retain the material.

Uploaded by

Eddy R. Vélez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A Practical Approach to Teaching

L i n e ar A l g e b ra
BY GERALD FARIN
AND DIANNE HANSFORD
Both of us teach Computer Graphics and Geometric
Modeling at the senior year college level. The most
important prerequisite: Linear Algebra. A big problem:
students have a dim recollection of Linear Algebra at
best. Dot products and matrices are concepts that

hy is this? We believe it is because the standard


way of teaching Linear Algebra is not suited for
retaining the material. Example: the action of a
matrix is easily explained in algebraic terms. But, to motivate
it, a simple 2D image like the one in Figure 1 would do a better job. For most students, illustrations and geometry make
for better retention than equations and formalisms. Thus was
born the concept for a more geometric and applications oriented approach, leading to the book Practical Linear Algebra
A Geometry Toolbox, PLA for short.

need to be re-taught as we go.

42

w w w . t i e s m a g a z i n e . o r g

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A Practical Approach to Teaching

L i n e ar A l g e b ra
proactive, visual approach gives students a means to verify correctness of
algebraic solutions, as well as gain confidence in their own work.
In addition to the sketches, more
than 100 figures illustrate more advanced
concepts; sometimes, they are just fun applications of the concepts. Hopefully the figures inspire
students to create their own geometric creations.
Figure 3 is such an example.

Figure 1

Left: a 2D object. Right: the result of


applying the given matrix to the object.
Computer graphics is of interest to most teens and twentysomethings, whether it is in the form of gaming or special
effects in movies and commercials. Additionally, the basic
concepts are accessible via an introductory level of Linear
Algebra; Calculus isnt necessary. For these reasons, we
chose computer graphics as the primary application to motivate the material in PLA. Giving students an inside look at
how games and special effects work is sure to captivate their
interest. An accessible and interesting motivator gives students an opportunity to discuss key ideas in terms that interest
them. For instance, they might discuss the flips and turns
made by their avatar in a game, but now they have the vocabulary to speak in terms of matrices. From our experience,
materials presented intuitively and graphically are more easily
comprehended and will be far better retained.
PLA takes a very visual approach. More than 100 handdrawn sketches fill the margins. An example is shown in
Figure 2. And students are encouraged to make sketches of
their own. Sketching is a method of self-teaching, and it further develops ones communication skills. Additionally, this

Figure 2

Left: a 2D object. Right: the result of


applying the given matrix to the object.

fall 05

Figure 3

A sample figure from PLA


which is used to illustrate 3D
affine maps in action.

PLA is more than just a Linear Algebra book it is a


Geometry Toolbox. It gives students the tools necessary for
further studies in engineering and technology. Topics that
marry nicely with Linear Algebra but give broader geometric
knowledge include parametric and implicit representations of
lines and planes, intersections of lines and planes, working
with triangles and polygons, conic sections, and parametric
curves.
While being practical and visual, PLA also does not miss
out on the bread-and-butter topics. Subspaces, function
spaces, eigenvectors, linear systems they are all covered,
and wherever possible, with illustrations and some intuition.
Linear Algebra is at the core of nearly all engineering and
technology domains. It is vital that we produce students that
can master Linear Algebra, but to do this we must first grab
their attention. Computer graphics touches our lives every
day in the form of gaming, special effects in movies and
commercials, user interfaces (windowing systems), and sci-

w w w . t i e s m a g a z i n e . o r g

43

A Practical Approach to Teaching

L i n e ar A l g e b ra
entific visualization (weather on the news). It has become
truly ubiquitous. And as our world becomes more visual, its
influence will continue to grow. PLA has employed computer
graphics as the motivator, and we believe this will lead to
better retention of the mathematics necessary to be successful in engineering and technology. If more programs adopt
teaching methodologies as we are promoting in PLA, we
believe that in the future computer graphics instructors wont
have to devote one-sixth of a class to rudimentary Linear
Algebra material.
PLA is also practical for teachers: upon request we supply
solutions to all Problems in the text, sample exams (with
solutions), and we provide more examples. Additionally, all
the sketches and figures are available on the books website.

grams, students can become familiar with a simple programming language and create neat images of their own. This
gives them a fun and exciting method to explore Linear
Algebra concepts disguised in computer graphics. Figure 4
illustrates how simple PostScript is to use.

LINEAR ALGEBRA IN HIGH SCHOOL


PROGRAMS
Linear Algebra in the style of PLA offers an introduction to
2D and 3D geometry that will give students the foundations
that are so very helpful for freshman science and engineering
courses. Unfortunately, the science and mathematics curriculum in Universities is out of sync. Students are presented with
applications, for example mechanics in physics, without the
necessary geometry toolkit. They are forced to learn geometry
and physics concurrently, and this can be overwhelming.
From our experience, PLAs approach to learning, which
combines algebraic theory with geometry, particularly in the
form of figures and sketches, will prove to be a valuable tool
in a number of University courses.
We hope that this heavily illustrated text captures the
imagination of students, and excites them enough to pursue
science and technology at University. Also, by connecting the
theory of Linear Algebra with its application in computer
graphics, we hope students see the relevance of the material
early in their education.
Gerald Farin and Dianne Hansford teach Computer Science
and Engineering at Arizona State University Tempe, AZ
85287-8806 dianne.hansford}@asu.edu and [email protected]
Their book, Practical Linear Algebra A Geometry Toolbox,
is available through A K Peters http://akpeters.com. It is 384
pages, and was published in 2005.

Figure 4

Right: a sample PostScript program. Left: the display of the program.


The lower-left corner of the page is the origin.

SIDE/INSET BOX MATERIAL


PLA makes an effort to bring a visual approach to each
topic; even to eigenvalues and eigenvectors! Figure 5 is
a sample illustration from the chapter on Eigenthings,
demonstrating that real eigenvectors play a more and
more prominent role as a matrix is applied repeatedly.

PROJECT IDEAS
This visual approach of PLA can be expanded by getting the
students involved with an easy-to-use drawing language
called PostScript. All the figures were generated with
Postscript, and they are available on the books website. A
tutorial is provided in the Appendix, and using PostScript is
free. This is a great way to begin with Linear Algebra via
basic computer graphics concepts. By exploring the examples
provided in PLA, and by modifying given PostScript pro44

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Figure 5

Repeatedly applying the matrix A results in the eigenvectors and eigenvalues to


become more prominent. The eigenvectors are [1,1]T and [-1,1]T and the corresponding eigenvalues are 1.3 and 0.7, respectively.

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