Certain essential concepts in linear algebra cannot be fully explained in a first course. This is due to a lack of algebraic background for most beginning students. On the other hand, these concepts are taken for granted in most of the mathematical courses at graduate school level. This book will provide a gentle guidance for motivated students to fill the gap. It is not easy to find other books fulfilling this purpose. This book is a suitable textbook for a higher undergraduate course, as well as for a graduate student's self-study. The introduction of set theory and modules would be of particular interest to students who aspire to becoming algebraists.Basically, there are two parts in this book. One is to complete the discussion of bases and dimension in linear algebra. In a first course, only the finite dimensional vector spaces are treated, and in most textbooks, it will assume the scalar field is the real number field. In this book, the general case of arbitrary dimension and arbitrary scalar fields is examined. To do so, an introduction to cardinality and Zorn's lemma in set theory is presented in detail. The second part is to complete the proof of canonical forms for linear endomorphisms and matrices. For this, a generalization of vector spaces, and the most fundamental results regarding modules are introduced to readers. This will provide the natural entrance into a full understanding of matrices. Tensor product of modules are also briefly discussed.

Certain essential concepts in linear algebra cannot be fully explained in a first course. This is due to a lack of algebraic background for most beginning students. On the other hand, these concepts are taken for granted in most of the mathematical courses at graduate school level. This book will provide a gentle guidance for motivated students to fill the gap. It is not easy to find other books fulfilling this purpose. This book is a suitable textbook for a higher undergraduate course, as well as for a graduate student's self-study. The introduction of set theory and modules would be of particular interest to students who aspire to becoming algebraists.Basically, there are two parts in this book. One is to complete the discussion of bases and dimension in linear algebra. In a first course, only the finite dimensional vector spaces are treated, and in most textbooks, it will assume the scalar field is the real number field. In this book, the general case of arbitrary dimension and arbitrary scalar fields is examined. To do so, an introduction to cardinality and Zorn's lemma in set theory is presented in detail. The second part is to complete the proof of canonical forms for linear endomorphisms and matrices. For this, a generalization of vector spaces, and the most fundamental results regarding modules are introduced to readers. This will provide the natural entrance into a full understanding of matrices. Tensor product of modules are also briefly discussed.

This textbook provides an introduction to abstract algebra for advanced undergraduate students. Based on the authors' notes at the Department of Mathematics, National Chung Cheng University, it contains material sufficient for three semesters of study. It begins with a description of the algebraic structures of the ring of integers and the field of rational numbers. Abstract groups are then introduced. Technical results such as Lagrange's theorem and Sylow's theorems follow as applications of group theory. The theory of rings and ideals forms the second part of this textbook, with the ring of integers, the polynomial rings and matrix rings as basic examples. Emphasis will be on factorization in a factorial domain. The final part of the book focuses on field extensions and Galois theory to illustrate the correspondence between Galois groups and splitting fields of separable polynomials.Three whole new chapters are added to this second edition. Group action is introduced to give a more in-depth discussion on Sylow's theorems. We also provide a formula in solving combinatorial problems as an application. We devote two chapters to module theory, which is a natural generalization of the theory of the vector spaces. Readers will see the similarity and subtle differences between the two. In particular, determinant is formally defined and its properties rigorously proved.The textbook is more accessible and less ambitious than most existing books covering the same subject. Readers will also find the pedagogical material very useful in enhancing the teaching and learning of abstract algebra.

A First Course in Linear Algebra is written by two experts from algebra who have more than 20 years of experience in algebra, linear algebra and number theory. It prepares students with no background in Linear Algebra. Students, after mastering the materials in this textbook, can already understand any Linear Algebra used in more advanced books and research papers in Mathematics or in other scientific disciplines.This book provides a solid foundation for the theory dealing with finite dimensional vector spaces. It explains in details the relation between linear transformations and matrices. One may thus use different viewpoints to manipulate a matrix instead of a one-sided approach. Although most of the examples are for real and complex matrices, a vector space over a general field is briefly discussed. Several optional sections are devoted to applications to demonstrate the power of Linear Algebra.

A First Course in Linear Algebra is written by two experts from algebra who have more than 20 years of experience in algebra, linear algebra and number theory. It prepares students with no background in Linear Algebra. Students, after mastering the materials in this textbook, can already understand any Linear Algebra used in more advanced books and research papers in Mathematics or in other scientific disciplines.This book provides a solid foundation for the theory dealing with finite dimensional vector spaces. It explains in details the relation between linear transformations and matrices. One may thus use different viewpoints to manipulate a matrix instead of a one-sided approach. Although most of the examples are for real and complex matrices, a vector space over a general field is briefly discussed. Several optional sections are devoted to applications to demonstrate the power of Linear Algebra.

New Edition: A Course on Abstract Algebra (2nd Edition)This textbook provides an introduction to abstract algebra for advanced undergraduate students. Based on the authors' lecture notes at the Department of Mathematics, National Chung Cheng University of Taiwan, it begins with a description of the algebraic structures of the ring and field of rational numbers. Abstract groups are then introduced. Technical results such as Lagrange's Theorem and Sylow's Theorems follow as applications of group theory. Ring theory forms the second part of abstract algebra, with the ring of polynomials and the matrix ring as basic examples. The general theory of ideals as well as maximal ideals in the rings of polynomials over the rational numbers are also discussed. The final part of the book focuses on field theory, field extensions and then Galois theory to illustrate the correspondence between the Galois groups and field extensions.This textbook is more accessible and less ambitious than most existing books covering the same subject. Readers will also find the pedagogical material very useful in enhancing the teaching and learning of abstract algebra.