Page 12 - Linear Algebra Done Right

Preface to the Instructor
xii
Even in a book as short as this one, you cannot expect to cover every-
thing. Going through the first eight chapters is an ambitious goal for a
one-semester course. If you must reach Chapter 10, then I suggest cov-
ering Chapters 1, 2, and 4 quickly (students may have seen this material
in earlier courses) and skipping Chapter 9 (in which case you should
discuss trace and determinants only on complex vector spaces).
A goal more important than teaching any particular set of theorems
is to develop in students the ability to understand and manipulate the
objects of linear algebra. Mathematics can be learned only by doing;
fortunately, linear algebra has many good homework problems. When
teaching this course, I usually assign two or three of the exercises each
class, due the next class. Going over the homework might take up a
third or even half of a typical class.
A solutions manual for all the exercises is available (without charge)
only to instructors who are using this book as a textbook. To obtain
the solutions manual, instructors should send an e-mail request to me
(or contact Springer if I am no longer around).
Please check my web site for a list of errata (which I hope will be
empty or almost empty) and other information about this book.
I would greatly appreciate hearing about any errors in this book,
even minor ones. I welcome your suggestions for improvements, even
tiny ones. Please feel free to contact me.
Have fun!

Sheldon Axler
Mathematics Department
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA 94132, USA

e-mail: axler@math.sfsu.edu
www home page: http://math.sfsu.edu/axler