Book excerpt: NOTE: This edition features the same content as the traditional text in a convenient, three-hole-punched, loose-leaf version. Books a la Carte also offer a great value--this format costs significantly less than a new textbook. Before purchasing, check with your instructor or review your course syllabus to ensure that you select the correct ISBN. Several versions of Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products exist for each title, including customized versions for individual schools, and registrations are not transferable. In addition, you may need a CourseID, provided by your instructor, to register for and use Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx For courses in linear algebra.This package includes MyMathLab(R). With traditional linear algebra texts, the course is relatively easy for students during the early stages as material is presented in a familiar, concrete setting. However, when abstract concepts are introduced, students often hit a wall. Instructors seem to agree that certain concepts (such as linear independence, spanning, subspace, vector space, and linear transformations) are not easily understood and require time to assimilate. These concepts are fundamental to the study of linear algebra, so students' understanding of them is vital to mastering the subject. This text makes these concepts more accessible by introducing them early in a familiar, concrete "Rn" setting, developing them gradually, and returning to them throughout the text so that when they are discussed in the abstract, students are readily able to understand. Personalize learning with MyMathLabMyMathLab is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment program designed to work with this text to engage students and improve results. MyMathLab includes assignable algorithmic exercises, the complete eBook, interactive figures, tools to personalize learning, and more.