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579 Math20f Study Guide

The document provides a study guide for the final exam in a Linear Algebra course, focusing on determinants, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and orthogonality. It lists the key topics for each section, including systems of linear equations, vector spaces, matrices, determinants, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and orthogonality. Students should expect questions requiring the connection of various concepts and are advised to especially focus on the later topics of determinants, eigenvalues/eigenvectors, and orthogonality.

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74 views2 pages

579 Math20f Study Guide

The document provides a study guide for the final exam in a Linear Algebra course, focusing on determinants, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and orthogonality. It lists the key topics for each section, including systems of linear equations, vector spaces, matrices, determinants, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and orthogonality. Students should expect questions requiring the connection of various concepts and are advised to especially focus on the later topics of determinants, eigenvalues/eigenvectors, and orthogonality.

Uploaded by

api-19542258
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Study Guide - Math 20F, Linear Algebra

Below the most essential topics in my view for the final and more importantly for your future
classes and carrier are listed. For the final especially focus on the later topics;

• determinants

• eigenvalues-eigenvectors

• orthogonality

There will be a couple of questions from the earlier topics, but the majority of the questions
will be related to these later topics. Expect questions that require the ability to make
connection between various concepts. For instance we learned various characterizations of
singular matrices. Do you remember the characterizations of a singular matrix in terms
of the linear dependence of its columns, whether its columns span the whole space, rank,
determinant?

SYSTEMS OF LINEAR EQUATIONS

• echelon form, reduced echelon from

• how to perform row-reduction

• when is the solution unique?

• when is the system consistent?

• finding non-trivial solutions for homogeneous systems

• linear independence - definition and how to verify it by solving a homogeneous system

• span - definition and geometric interpretation

VECTOR SPACES

• definition - you should be able to determine whether a given set is a vector space

• basis of a vector space - the fact that any two bases consist of equal number of vectors

• dimension of a vector space

• transformations from a vector space to another vector space - when is a transformation


linear? Finding the kernel and range of a linear transformation.

• Be familiar with common vector spaces such as vector spaces of polynomials and ma-
trices.
MATRICES

• how to perform matrix-vector, matrix-matrix products

• inverse of a matrix - when does it exist? how to find the inverse

• how to find an LU-factorization

• definitions of the null-space, column space and row-space of a matrix. how to find
bases for these subspaces

• connection between the row-space and null-space

• rank and the connection between the row-space and column-space - how to determine
whether a matrix is invertible based on its rank

• matrix factorizations; you should roughly know where to use the factorizations such as
the eigenvalue decomposition, LU -factorization, QR-factorization and singular value
decomposition.

DETERMINANTS

• finding determinants using row-reduction and cofactor expansion

• properties of the determinant, especially the product rule det(AB) = det(A) det(B).

• how to determine whether a matrix is invertible using determinants

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

• definitions of eigenvalues, eigenvectors, eigenspaces

• characteristic polynomial and how to use it to determine the eigenvalues

• how to find eigenvectors and eigenspaces if you are given eigenvalues

• eigenvalue decomposition - when does an eigenvalue decomposition exist? (that is


when is a matrix diagonalizable)

• finding matrix powers using eigenvalue decomposition

ORTHOGONALITY

• definitions of orthogonal and orthonormal sets and bases

• what is an orthogonal matrix?

• what is an orthogonal projection? - the fact that orthogonal projection decomposes a


vector into two perpendicular components

• finding an orthogonal basis for a subspace spanned by a given set of vectors (Gram-
Schmidt process) - both geometric intuition and algebraic calculations.

• least squares problem - its connections with orthogonal projections, normal equation
and when is the solution to least squares unique?

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