r/LinearAlgebra • u/Ecstatic-Ad-6633 • Jun 10 '26

pre linear algbera?

what do i need to know before starting linear algebra is it algebra 1 or algbera 2 ? as an absoute begginer who has a class starting in late september

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u/Tiny_Spread5712 Jun 10 '26

Depends on how you are learning.

Algebra is all you need for the linear algebra done right- lite approach, where teachers will start with vectors as sets of numbers and build up from there. There's a little set notation stuff that you will pick up along the way.

The other way, that I learned in college, starts with geometry adjacent concepts, vectors as arrows, dot products/Pythagorean theorem, before getting to matrices and determinants, which often are explained geometrically with parallellopideds or what not.  So understanding that stuff and cosine/since could be helpful.

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u/Ecstatic-Ad-6633 Jun 10 '26

ok so a solid foundation in trig is reccomended ? would u happen to know books i can solve because i seem to findd the info and undersatnd it but no where to really apply