Includes index.

"The response of students and teachers to the first four editions of Linear Algebra and Its Applications has been most gratifying. This Fifth Edition provides substantial support both for teaching and for using technology in the course. As before, the text provides a modern elementary introduction to linear algebra and a broad selection of interesting applications. The material is accessible to students with the maturity that should come from successful completion of two semesters of college-level mathematics, usually calculus. The main goal of the text is to help students master the basic concepts and skills they will use later in their careers. The topics here follow the recommendations of the Linear Algebra Curriculum Study Group, which were based on a careful investigation of the real needs of the students and a consensus among professionals in many disciplines that use linear algebra. We hope this course will be one of the most useful and interesting mathematics classes taken by undergraduates. WHAT'S NEW IN THIS EDITION The main goals of this revision were to update the exercises, take advantage of improvements in technology, and provide more support for conceptual learning. 1. Support for the Fifth Edition is offered through MyMathLab. MyMathLab, from Pearson, is the world's leading online resource in mathematics, integrating interactive homework, assessment, and media in a flexible, easy-to-use format. Students submit homework online for instantaneous feedback, support, and assessment. This system works particularly well for computation-based skills. Many additional resources are also provided through the MyMathLab web site. 2. The Fifth Edition of the text is available in an interactive electronic format. Using the CDF player, a free Mathematica player available from Wolfram, students can interact with figures and experiment with matrices by looking at numerous examples with just the click of a button. The geometry of linear algebra comes alive through these interactive figures. Students are encouraged to develop conjectures through experimentation and then verify that their observations are correct by examining the relevant theorems and their proofs. The resources in the interactive version of the text give students the opportunity to play with mathematical objects and ideas much as we do with our own research. Files for Wolfram CDF Player are also available for classroom presentations. 3. The Fifth Edition includes additional support for concept- and proof-based learning. Conceptual Practice Problems and their solutions have been added so that most sections now have a proof- or concept-based example for students to review. Additional guidance has also been added to some of the proofs of theorems in the body of the textbook. viii Preface ix 4. More than 25 percent of the exercises are new or updated, especially the computational exercises. The exercise sets remain one of the most important features of this book, and these new exercises follow the same high standard of the exercise sets from the past four editions. They are crafted in a way that reflects the substance of each of the sections they follow, developing the students' confidence while challenging them to practice and generalize the new ideas they have encountered"--