Thread: OpenGL Matrices

Really Bob? Maybe the linear algebra I took my freshmen year in highschool is different from yours?

We learned up to an introduction of matrices, no further though..

In intermediate algebra we learned alot about graphing, and the rest was factoring, hmm, the quadratic formula... etc..

In algebra two we learn all about matrices, adding, subtracting, inverting, determinants, cramers rule, reduced echelon form, identity matrices, and other various rules..

Maybe linear algebra in college is a review of all of these concepts?

Maybe the linear algebra I took my freshmen year in highschool is different from yours?

Probably substantially easier and watered-down, due to the fact that you simply do not have enough of a background in math in highschool to continue to the more advanced aspects of it. As I said, linear algebra in many of the curriculum of the schools I've looked at comes only after an in-depth study of calculus. At the University of Maine, which I attended for three semesters, it comes after Calculus 3, and builds upon these concepts (i.e. you didn't mention any study of vector spaces in your high scool classes).

Note that Calculus 3 @ UMaine was multi variable calculus, partial derivatives in three dimensions, vector/polar calculus, stuff of that nature and the start of the study of differential equations.

EDIT:
And, as I stated, I covered none of this in high school, and it's a pretty bad assumption that the study of eigen values and matrices is standard for all students with a high school diploma.

If you want a more concise comparison to see if your high school class really is similar to what I had, go to this link, on page 3 it lists the topics that are covered. I'm guessing you're already familiar with roughly half of them, but no more.

http://germain.umemat.maine.edu/faculty/hiebeler/class/syllabi/mat262fall04.pdf#search='umaine%20linear%20algebra '

Eh, I think I've gotten the first 4 bullets here in high school..