Math 221 - Introduction to Linear Algebra

Spring 2026 - Matthias K. Gobbert

Detailed Schedule - Last Updated 10/03/2025

The chapter and section numbers refer to David C. Lay, Steven R. Lay, Judi J. McDonald, Linear Algebra and Its Applications, 6th edition, Pearson, 2021.
This course is taught in a flipped classroom format. This means that you need to study the material and work the homework before class! Recorded lectures and the textbook are provided for contents delivery and we will use Pearson's MyLab for the online homeworks and quizzes. This homework system includes an interactive eText, a Study Plan, hints ("Help me solve this" and "View an example" with every problem), and (essentially) unlimited number of attempts.
In each class meeting, we will then address questions on the material inspired by the textbook, lectures, and homework, and then work actively in teams. The detailed schedule specifies the exact section for each meeting.
The two-digits numbers in homeworks HW x.y and individual quizzes IQ x.y indicate the section number, that is, Chapter x, Section x.y of both. The abbreviation BQ refers to an individual quiz in Blackboard. The abbreviation GQ refers to a group quiz in class. HW 0 is a required homework to be submitted in Blackboard.

Class	Date	Main Topic	Notes
1	Tu 01/27	GQ0a intro., Overview, and Mechanics of the Course	BQ0a, BQ0b, Pre-ass., HW0 gen.
2	Th 01/29	1.1 Systems of Linear Equations	HW 1.1, IQ 1.1
3	Tu 02/03	1.2 Row Reduction and Echelon Form	HW 1.2, IQ 1.2
4	Th 02/05	1.3 Vector Equations	HW 1.3, IQ 1.3
5	Tu 02/10	1.4 The Matrix Equation A x = b	HW 1.4, IQ 1.4
6	Th 02/12	1.5 Solution Sets of Linear Systems, IQ 1.0	HW 1.5, IQ 1.5
7	Tu 02/17	1.7 Linear Independence	HW 1.7, IQ 1.7
8	Th 02/19	1.8 Introduction to Linear Transformations	HW 1.8, IQ 1.8
9	Tu 02/24	1.9 The Matrix of a Linear Transformation	HW 1.9, IQ 1.9
10	Th 02/26	2.1 Matrix Operations, IQ 2.0	HW 2.1, IQ 2.1
11	Tu 03/03	2.2 The Inverse of a Matrix	HW 2.2, IQ 2.2
12	Th 03/05	2.3 Characterizations of Invertible Matrices	HW 2.3, IQ 2.3
13	Tu 03/10	Test 1 (Chapters 1 and 2)
14	Th 03/12	4.1 Vector Spaces and Subspaces	HW 4.1, IQ 4.1
	Tu 03/17	Spring Break
	Th 03/19	Spring Break
15	Tu 03/24	4.2 Null Space, Column Space, and Linear Transformations	HW 4.2, IQ 4.2
16	Th 03/26	4.3 Linear Independent Sets, Bases, IQ 4.0	HW 4.3, IQ 4.3
17	Tu 03/31	4.4 Coordinate Systems	HW 4.4, IQ 4.4
18	Th 04/02	4.5 The Dimension of a Vector Space	HW 4.5, IQ 4.5
19	Tu 04/07	3.1 Introduction to Determinants	HW 3.1, IQ 3.1
20	Th 04/09	3.2 Properties of Determinants	HW 3.2, IQ 3.2
21	Tu 04/14	5.1 Eigenvectors and Eigenvalues, IQ 5.0	HW 5.1, IQ 5.1
22	Th 04/16	5.2 The Characteristic Equation	HW 5.2, IQ 5.2
23	Tu 04/21	5.3 Diagonalization	HW 5.3, IQ 5.3
24	Th 04/23	Test 2 (Chapters 3, 4, and 5)
25	Tu 04/28	6.1 Inner Product, Length, and Orthogonality	HW 6.1, IQ 6.1
26	Th 04/30	6.2 Orthogonal Sets	HW 6.2, IQ 6.2
27	Tu 05/05	6.3 Orthogonal Projections	HW 6.3, IQ 6.3
28	Th 05/07	6.4 The Gram-Schmidt Process	HW 6.4, IQ 6.4
29	Tu 05/12	7.1 Diagonalization of Symmetric Matrices	HW 7.1, IQ 7.1, Post-assess.
	Tu 05/19	01:00-03:00 Final Exam (Chapters 1 through 6)	Note the day and time!