Sharing a problem from Gil Strang’s new linear algebra book with kids

I was fortunate to get Gil Strang’s new linear algebra book last week – it really is terrific:

1/3 Initial thoughts on Gil Strang’s new linear algebra book.

Short story -> the book is absolutely terrific and I think anyone with a linear algebra background will enjoy it immensely. pic.twitter.com/pq4Q0OLzXj

— Mike Lawler (@mikeandallie) January 31, 2019

Though it is hardly a book for kids, one problem from the first section jumped out as ones kids could actually work through, so I shared it with the boys today.

Here’s my younger son (in 7th grade) talking through the problem – he struggles a bit, but eventually finds the right idea to get to the end of the problem:

Next my older son (in 9th grade) talked through the problem. He was able to work through the problem without too much difficulty, so I asked him to explain his solution in more detail at the end:

I’m really excited to go through this book on my own over the next few months – hopefully will find a few more problems here and there to pull out and share with kids.