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Linear Algebra

An outline of essential topics in linear algebra.

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crrobinson14
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19 views

Linear Algebra

An outline of essential topics in linear algebra.

Uploaded by

crrobinson14
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Linear Algebra 101 Course Outline

1. Introduction to Linear Algebra

● What is Linear Algebra?: Study of vectors, vector spaces, linear transformations, and
systems of linear equations.
● Applications: Physics, engineering, computer science (e.g., machine learning,
computer graphics), economics, and statistics.

2. Systems of Linear Equations

● Linear Equations: Definition and representation.


● Solution Methods:
○ Graphical Method: Interpreting solutions visually (intersection of lines/planes).
○ Substitution and Elimination: Algebraic methods for solving systems.
○ Gaussian Elimination: A systematic approach to solving systems of linear
equations using row reduction.
○ Row Echelon Form (REF) and Reduced Row Echelon Form (RREF): Matrix
forms used to simplify systems of equations.
● Types of Solutions:
○ Unique Solutions.
○ No Solutions (Inconsistent systems).
○ Infinite Solutions (Dependent systems).

3. Matrices

● Definition: Rectangular arrays of numbers representing systems of linear equations or


linear transformations.
● Matrix Operations:
○ Addition and Subtraction: Entrywise operations.
○ Scalar Multiplication: Multiplying a matrix by a scalar.
○ Matrix Multiplication: The product of two matrices, including the conditions for
when matrix multiplication is defined.
● Types of Matrices:
○ Square Matrices, Identity Matrix, Zero Matrix, Diagonal Matrix, Symmetric
Matrix.
● Transpose of a Matrix: Flipping rows into columns and vice versa.

4. Determinants and Inverses


● Determinants: A scalar value associated with square matrices that helps determine the
invertibility of a matrix.
○ Properties of Determinants.
○ Calculation of Determinants: For 2x2 and 3x3 matrices, cofactor expansion for
larger matrices.
● Inverse of a Matrix:
○ Definition: A matrix that, when multiplied by the original matrix, yields the identity
matrix.
○ Finding the Inverse: Using Gaussian elimination, row reduction, or the adjugate
method.
○ Conditions for Invertibility: A matrix is invertible if and only if its determinant is
non-zero.
● Singular and Non-Singular Matrices: A matrix with a zero determinant is singular (non-
invertible), while one with a non-zero determinant is non-singular (invertible).

5. Vectors and Vector Spaces

● Definition of Vectors: Quantities having both magnitude and direction.


○ Vector Notation: Column and row vectors.
● Vector Operations:
○ Addition, Scalar Multiplication, Dot Product, and Cross Product.
● Vector Spaces: A set of vectors that can be scaled and added together to stay within
the space.
○ Subspaces: Subsets of vector spaces that are also vector spaces.
● Linear Combinations: Expressing vectors as combinations of other vectors.
● Span of Vectors: The set of all linear combinations of a set of vectors.
● Linear Independence: A set of vectors is linearly independent if no vector can be
expressed as a linear combination of the others.

6. Basis and Dimension

● Basis of a Vector Space: A set of linearly independent vectors that span the entire
space.
● Finding a Basis: Using Gaussian elimination and pivot columns.
● Dimension of a Vector Space: The number of vectors in any basis for the space.
○ Example: The dimension of ℝ² is 2, and the dimension of ℝ³ is 3.

7. Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors

● Definition:
○ Eigenvalues: Scalars λ such that when a matrix is multiplied by its eigenvector,
the result is the same as scaling the eigenvector by λ.
○ Eigenvectors: Non-zero vectors that change only in magnitude, not direction,
when multiplied by a matrix.
● Finding Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors:
○ Solve the characteristic equation det(A−λI)=0\text{det}(A - \lambda I)
= 0det(A−λI)=0 for eigenvalues.
○ Use the eigenvalue to solve (A−λI)v=0(A - \lambda I)v = 0(A−λI)v=0
for the eigenvector.
● Diagonalization: A matrix is diagonalizable if it has a full set of linearly
independent eigenvectors, allowing it to be written as A=PDP−1A = PDP^{-
1}A=PDP−1, where DDD is a diagonal matrix.

8. Orthogonality and Orthogonal Matrices

● Dot Product: A measure of orthogonality between two vectors; if the dot product is zero,
the vectors are orthogonal.
● Orthogonal Projections: Projecting a vector onto a subspace.
● Orthonormal Bases: A basis where all vectors are orthogonal and of unit length.
● Gram-Schmidt Process: A method for converting a set of vectors into an orthonormal
basis.
● Orthogonal Matrices: A matrix is orthogonal if its inverse is equal to its
transpose, i.e., A−1=ATA^{-1} = A^TA−1=AT.

9. Inner Product Spaces

● Inner Product: Generalization of the dot product to higher-dimensional vector spaces.


● Properties of Inner Products: Conjugate symmetry, linearity, and positive definiteness.
● Norm of a Vector: The length or magnitude of a vector, given by the square root of the
inner product of the vector with itself.
● Distance and Angles: The inner product can be used to define distances and angles
between vectors.

10. Linear Transformations

● Definition: A mapping between vector spaces that preserves vector addition and scalar
multiplication.
● Matrix Representation of Linear Transformations: Every linear transformation can be
represented by a matrix.
● Kernel and Range:
○ Kernel (Null Space): The set of vectors that are mapped to the zero vector by
the transformation.
○ Range (Image): The set of all vectors that can be obtained by applying the
transformation to some vector.
● Rank-Nullity Theorem: For a linear transformation T:V→WT: V \to WT:V→W, the
rank (dimension of the range) plus the nullity (dimension of the kernel)
equals the dimension of the domain.
11. Applications of Linear Algebra

● Computer Graphics: Transformations such as rotation, scaling, and translation.


● Data Science: Principal component analysis (PCA) for dimensionality reduction.
● Differential Equations: Solving systems of linear differential equations using
eigenvalues and eigenvectors.
● Economics: Input-output models and optimization.
● Machine Learning: Linear models, optimization techniques, and neural networks.

12. Review and Advanced Topics

● Singular Value Decomposition (SVD): A factorization method for matrices, used in


data science and machine learning.
● Positive Definite Matrices: Matrices that arise in optimization and quadratic forms.
● Applications of Diagonalization: Analyzing complex systems, including Markov chains
and differential equations.

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