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Linear Algebra

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Contents:
Title and Synopsis
Basics
Try It!
Elementary School
Middle and High School
Calculus
Combinatorics
Linear Algebra
Differential Equations
Other Advanced Topics
It's Not (Only) About Math!
More Examples (and Data!)
Less Is More
So Is It Perfect Yet?
What About Google?
Possible Implications
A Threat?
Resources

[Note: This article appears best using the Firefox browser.]

Try "rref {{1,1,1,10},{.05,.10,.25,1.10 },{1,0,-2,0}}." If you simply provide your students with a link like this, they will have a template for entering a matrix, and soon will be using Wolfram|Alpha to compute determinants, inverses, eigenvalues, singular value decompositions, etc.

If you simply input a matrix, Wolfram|Alpha will identify interesting properties (e.g. orthogonal, toeplitz) about it.

But try "A collection of 10 coins consisting of nickels, dimes, and quarters has a value of $1.10, with twice as many nickels as quarters. How many of each coin are there?" Although Wolfram|Alpha handles row reduction, the student will still need to determine what matrix to enter and to interpret what information the row-reduced matrix provides.

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[Note: Contents of frame come from wolframalpha.com and are not maintained by Loci]