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Linear Algebra For Dummies
Your hands-on guide to real-world applications of linear algebra
Does linear algebra leave you feeling lost? No worries --this easy-to-follow guide explains the how and the why of solving linear algebra problems in plain English. From matrices to vector spaces to linear transformations, you'll understand the key concepts and see how they relate to everything from genetics to nutrition to spotted owl extinction.
Line up the basics -- discover several different approaches to organizing numbers and equations, and solve systems of equations algebraically or with matrices
Relate vectors and linear transformations -- link vectors and matrices with linear combinations and seek solutions of homogeneous systems
Evaluate determinants -- see how to perform the determinant function on different sizes of matrices and take advantage of Cramer's rule
Hone your skills with vector spaces -- determine the properties of vector spaces and their subspaces and see linear transformation in action
Tackle eigenvalues and eigenvectors -- define and solve for eigenvalues and eigenvectors and understand how they interact with specific matrices
Open the book and find:
Theoretical and practical ways of solving linear algebra problems
Definitions of terms throughout and in the glossary
New ways of looking at operations
How linear algebra ties together vectors, matrices, determinants, and linear transformations
Ten common mathematical representations of Greek letters
Real-world applications of matrices and determinants
Does linear algebra leave you feeling lost? No worries --this easy-to-follow guide explains the how and the why of solving linear algebra problems in plain English. From matrices to vector spaces to linear transformations, you'll understand the key concepts and see how they relate to everything from genetics to nutrition to spotted owl extinction.
Line up the basics -- discover several different approaches to organizing numbers and equations, and solve systems of equations algebraically or with matrices
Relate vectors and linear transformations -- link vectors and matrices with linear combinations and seek solutions of homogeneous systems
Evaluate determinants -- see how to perform the determinant function on different sizes of matrices and take advantage of Cramer's rule
Hone your skills with vector spaces -- determine the properties of vector spaces and their subspaces and see linear transformation in action
Tackle eigenvalues and eigenvectors -- define and solve for eigenvalues and eigenvectors and understand how they interact with specific matrices
Open the book and find:
Theoretical and practical ways of solving linear algebra problems
Definitions of terms throughout and in the glossary
New ways of looking at operations
How linear algebra ties together vectors, matrices, determinants, and linear transformations
Ten common mathematical representations of Greek letters
Real-world applications of matrices and determinants
- GenresMathematicsNonfiction
384 pages, Paperback
First published November 7, 2006
22 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 19, 2024
Helpful as a supplementary text. The treatment of the material is intuitive and friendly. However, in addition to myriad computational errors (forgivable), there are also consistent definitional errors (not so forgivable). For example, matrices without inverses were termed non-singular (wrong) throughout first half of the book, and then as singular (right) in the second half. These errors were plentiful enough to be conspicuous.
Personally, I used the book as a review and I found it to be useful for that purpose.
Personally, I used the book as a review and I found it to be useful for that purpose.
September 11, 2019
Nicht schlecht, aber nicht empfehlenswert für Studenten/Studentinnen der Mathematik etc.
Das Niveau ist zu tief für die Universität (d.h. wichtige Themen werden gar nicht behandelt, dafür andere, eher unwichtige, zu stark).
Das Niveau ist zu tief für die Universität (d.h. wichtige Themen werden gar nicht behandelt, dafür andere, eher unwichtige, zu stark).
May 24, 2017
This book has been a great resource as I have been teaching myself Linear Algebra. I recommend it to anyone trying to learn how to work with matrices and vectors
October 15, 2021
✔ funny that i like last chapter maybe cuz that not in theme of LA:)
April 24, 2020
If you wanna review what you've learned, I recommend it.
July 25, 2020
I took a linear algebra class a few years ago, but I wanted to review the material (I didn't understand a lot when I took the class, and I'd forgotten some stuff since then). This book was absolutely fantastic!
As the name implies, the author assumes that you don't know anything and that you need everything spelled out. In my mind, especially for abstract math, too much explanation is always better than too little. I really appreciated that the author not only showed every step, but also verbally explained everything that they did, line by line. The author also made sure to include lots of repetition and redundancy in both demonstration processes and explaining concepts, which really helped to reinforce the material and tie later chapters back to prior learning.
In addition, I really liked that the book includes so many structural and visual cues to guide the reader. There is an extensive organizational hierarchy (Section, Chapter, sub-chapter, sub-sub-chapter), and each component has a title and introduction that clearly explain what you're supposed to get out of it. New vocabulary is italicized, there's a glossary and an index, and there are symbols to indicate really important things to remember. Each chapter can be more-or-less self-contained because it recapitulates the bare minimum of what you need to know, but the book also refers back to previous and later chapters if you want to go more in-depth. This provides a lot of liberty to the reader to wander around the book if they are drawn to some sections more than others.
Something to note - this book is meant as a clear explanation and introduction, which means that is it somewhat lacking in theory and also has no practice problems or chances for self-assessment. If you want to practice, you're only option is to try the worked problems before you read the answer, and there are generally at most 2 or 3 problems per concept. I have a more advanced theoretical text and also a problem book to satisfy those needs. However, even though this book doesn't go as in-depth, it still provides a strong introduction for people who are new to the subject. I would recommend this book to anyone who is new or wants to review the basic concepts - I now feel like I have a much better understanding, and that now I'm ready to tackle the technical stuff.
As the name implies, the author assumes that you don't know anything and that you need everything spelled out. In my mind, especially for abstract math, too much explanation is always better than too little. I really appreciated that the author not only showed every step, but also verbally explained everything that they did, line by line. The author also made sure to include lots of repetition and redundancy in both demonstration processes and explaining concepts, which really helped to reinforce the material and tie later chapters back to prior learning.
In addition, I really liked that the book includes so many structural and visual cues to guide the reader. There is an extensive organizational hierarchy (Section, Chapter, sub-chapter, sub-sub-chapter), and each component has a title and introduction that clearly explain what you're supposed to get out of it. New vocabulary is italicized, there's a glossary and an index, and there are symbols to indicate really important things to remember. Each chapter can be more-or-less self-contained because it recapitulates the bare minimum of what you need to know, but the book also refers back to previous and later chapters if you want to go more in-depth. This provides a lot of liberty to the reader to wander around the book if they are drawn to some sections more than others.
Something to note - this book is meant as a clear explanation and introduction, which means that is it somewhat lacking in theory and also has no practice problems or chances for self-assessment. If you want to practice, you're only option is to try the worked problems before you read the answer, and there are generally at most 2 or 3 problems per concept. I have a more advanced theoretical text and also a problem book to satisfy those needs. However, even though this book doesn't go as in-depth, it still provides a strong introduction for people who are new to the subject. I would recommend this book to anyone who is new or wants to review the basic concepts - I now feel like I have a much better understanding, and that now I'm ready to tackle the technical stuff.
August 21, 2025
Great review of linear algebra. While interesting and elucidating, I now recall in painful detail why I hated it in college.
I got this book to help me understand the some of the terminology used in quantum physics — particularly the use of bras and kets but sadly this notation was not covered in this book. I suppose I shall have to look elsewhere for a primer on its mysterious notation.
I got this book to help me understand the some of the terminology used in quantum physics — particularly the use of bras and kets but sadly this notation was not covered in this book. I suppose I shall have to look elsewhere for a primer on its mysterious notation.
July 24, 2015
REALLY helpful, I got a good grade. Thankful for this one.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews