What Is Linear Algebra? | Khan Academy Blog

What is linear algebra?

What is linear algebra? Well, if you’re like most people, you might think it’s just another boring math subject you thankfully avoided in school. But trust us, it’s a little more interesting than that!

Linear algebra is essentially the study of mathematical structures that can be defined in terms of linear equations. So, in a nutshell, it’s all about lines. Think of it as the cooler, more sophisticated cousin of geometry.

What do you do in linear algebra?

But what do you actually do in linear algebra? Well, you might work with things like vectors, matrices, and tensors, and use different operations to manipulate them. For example, you could multiply two matrices together, or find the inverse of a matrix.

Why is linear algebra important?

Now, you might be wondering: why would anyone want to study this stuff? Linear algebra is actually pretty important in a lot of fields. For example, it’s used in computer graphics to help render 3D images, and in data science to build machine learning models.

So next time someone asks you what linear algebra is, you can give them the lowdown. Or, if you want to sound really smart, just tell them it’s the study of vector spaces and linear mappings between them. That should do the trick.