MATH 3300 Introductory Linear Algebra

This course covers matrix theory and linear algebra, emphasizing topics useful in other disciplines such as physics, economics and social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering.

This course offers a rigorous treatment of linear algebra, including vector spaces, systems of linear equations, bases, linear independence, matrices, determinants, eigenvalues, inner products, quadratic forms, and canonical forms of matrices. Compared with 18.06 Linear Algebra, more emphasis is placed on theory and proofs.

This is a communication intensive supplement to Linear Algebra (18.06). The main emphasis is on the methods of creating rigorous and elegant proofs and presenting them clearly in writing. The course starts with the standard linear algebra syllabus and eventually develops the techniques to approach a more advanced topic: abstract root systems in a Euclidean space.

This course is about the mathematics that is most widely used in the mechanical engineering core subjects: An introduction to linear algebra and ordinary differential equations (ODEs), including general numerical approaches to solving systems of equations.

This course forms an introduction to a selection of mathematical topics that are not covered in traditional mechanical engineering curricula, such as differential geometry, integral geometry, discrete computational geometry, graph theory, optimization techniques, calculus of variations and linear algebra. The topics covered in any particular year depend on the interest of the students and instructor. Emphasis is on basic ideas and on applications in mechanical engineering. This year, the subject focuses on selected topics from linear algebra and the calculus of variations. It is aimed mainly (but not exclusively) at students aiming to study mechanics (solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, energy methods etc.), and the course introduces some of the mathematical tools used in these subjects. Applications are related primarily (but not exclusively) to the microstructures of crystalline solids.