21-242 Matrix Theory

11 units, Carnegie Mellon University

A component of the honors program, 21-242 is a more demanding version of 21-241 (Matrix Algebra and Linear Transformations), of greater scope, with increased emphasis placed on rigorous proofs. Topics to be covered: complex numbers, real and complex vectors and matrices, rowspace and columnspace of a matrix, rank and nullity, solving linear systems by row reduction of a matrix, inverse matrices and determinants, change of basis, linear transformations, inner product of vectors, orthonormal bases and the Gram-Schmidt process, eigenvectors and eigenvalues, diagonalization of a matrix, symmetric and orthogonal matrices, hermitian and unitary matrices, quadratic forms. (Three 50 minute lectures, two 50 minute recitations)

Prerequisites: none listed

Offered: Fall 2026, Fall 2025

Courseweave needs JavaScript to show sections, workloads and planning tools.