Matrix transform

Algebra II, Engagement, Humor, Precalculus 1 Minute

matrix_transform

Source: http://www.xkcd.com/184/

P.S. In case you don’t get the joke… and are wondering why the answer isn’t [a_2, -a_1]^T…  the matrix is an example of a rotation matrix. This concept appears quite frequently in linear algebra (not to mention video games and computer graphics). In the secondary mathematics curriculum, this device is often used to determine how to graph conic sections of the form

Ax^2 + Bxy + Cy^2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0,

where B \ne 0. I’ll refer to the MathWorld and Wikipedia pages for more information.

Unknown's avatar

Published by John Quintanilla

I'm a Professor of Mathematics and a University Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of North Texas. For eight years, I was co-director of Teach North Texas, UNT's program for preparing secondary teachers of mathematics and science.

Published

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.