Linear Algebra, (Paperback)

A basic understanding of linear algebra is integral to success in practicing science, engineering, and finance, as well as achieving fluency in the language of mathematics. Linear algebra has countless applications, yet most standard textbooks in the discipline make it difficult for students to learn linear algebra in a single semester. Linear Algebra is a streamlined, single-semester textbook developed for students in the first two years of college studies.

The book makes use of an informal narrative structure, blended with concrete applications, to introduce students to linear systems of equations, vectors and abstract vector spaces, matrices, and determinants. The text also covers eigenvalues and eigenvectors, inner product spaces, and complex numbers.

Developed to build an intuitive understanding of the subject matter in a relatively short presentation, while also helping students recognize why linear algebra is important and how to master it, Linear Algebra is appropriate for any course involving linear algebra instruction, including those in engineering and the sciences.

Patrick Zulkowski holds both a Ph.D in mathematics from Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, where he is currently serving as a post-doctoral researcher in refined optimization techniques for finite-time non-equilibrium transitions of mesoscopic and quantum systems. Dr. Zulkowski is also a faculty member at Berkeley City College. His courses include algebra for statistics, precalculus, calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations. He has written on numerous topics for the journal Physics Review.