MATH0005 Revision guide
The course splits roughly into four topics.
1. Matrices and systems of linear equations
• Matrix multiplication results: rowwise and columnwise multiplication, Ax
is a linear combination of the columns of A, Aei = ith column of A.
• Systems of linear equations, solution via RREF
• Fundamental solutions, conditions for 0, 1, infinitely many solutions. Free
and pivot variables.
• Matrix invertibility and computation of inverses using RREF
Standard problems
• Solve a linear system, determine when a system with a parameter has 0, 1,
infinitely many solutions
• Find the fundamental solutions of Ax = 0
• Determine if A is invertible, compute A−1
How to practise
• Week 3 quiz questions (there are practise versions of all quizzes at the
bottom of the Moodle page)
• Coursework 1 unassessed problems: 2, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18
• Coursework 2 problems 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14
• Past exam paper questions (listed on Moodle)
2. Subspaces and dimension
• Subspaces of Rn , Cn
• Linear independence, spanning, bases
• Special cases: bases of N (A) (fundamental solutions), C(A) (RREF
method), C(AT ) (same as C(A))
• Linear maps and matrices
Helpful tricks:
• Extension lemma
• Rank-nullity
• Formula for dim(U + V )
• Column rank = row rank
• Theorem on dimensions of subspaces (if U ⩽ V then dim U ⩽ dim V with
equality iff U = V )
• Theorem on equivalent conditions for invertibility
1
Standard problems
• Is this sequence linearly independent/spanning/a basis?
• Find a basis for N (A), C(A), C(AT )
• Verify if this set is a subspace, if so then find a basis, compute its dimension
How to practise
• Week 5 quiz
• Week 7 quiz question 1
• Coursework 2 problems 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23
• Coursework 3 problems 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 27
• Coursework 4 problem 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
• Coursework 5 problem 1
• Past exam paper questions (listed on Moodle)
3. Geometry, orthogonality
• Dot products (real and complex), angles, lengths, Cauchy–Schwarz
• Projections, Gram–Schmidt orthogonalization procedure
• Orthogonal and orthonormal bases
• Coordinate vectors
• Change of basis theorem (on P −1 AQ)
• Orthogonal matrices
Standard problems
• Compute dot products, angles, lengths
• Find coordinate vector with respect to a basis
• Apply Gram–Schmidt
Helpful tricks
• Special case of the coordinate vector with respect to an orthonormal basis
• Rule for Au · v
How to practise
• Week 7 quiz question 2
• Week 9 quiz question 2
• Week 10 quiz (unassessed)
• Coursework 3 problems 25, 26
• Coursework 4 problem 31
• Coursework 5 problems 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13
4. Eigenvectors and diagonalization
• Determinants, determinant rules, characteristic polynomials
2
• Eigenvectors, eigenvalues, eigenspaces
• Diagonalizability definition. An n × n matrix A is diagonalizable over F
iff there is a basis of Fn consisting of eigenvectors of A iff the sum of the
dimensions of the eigenspaces is n
• P −1 AP = D is diagonal if and only if the columns of P are eigenvectors
of A and the diagonal entries of D are the corresponding eigenvalues
Helpful tricks
• Determinants (and characteristic polynomials) of upper and lower triangu-
lar matrices
• n distinct eigenvalues implies diagonalizable
• Matrix with only one eigenvalue is diagonalizable iff it is a scalar multiple
of In
Standard problems
• Compute det A or cA (t), find the eigenvalues of A
• Find a basis of Eλ (A)
• Determine if A is diagonalizable, if so find P such that P −1 AP is diagonal
How to practise
• Week 7 quiz
• Week 9 quiz
• Coursework 4 problems 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23,
24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
• Coursework 5 problem 14