Gems of Exposition in Elementary Linear Algebra

The Gems Collection. Do you have a favorite topic of elementary linear algebra that you teach in an especially nice way to your students? Or, an unusual proof or problem that is particularly good for communicating a fundamental idea? The Linear Algebra Curriculum Study Group would be pleased to have your contribu? tion to a National Science Foundation sponsored project to collect and broadly disseminate such "gems of exposition in elementary linear algebra." We share several sample "gems" in the next section. The purpose of the gems collection is to provide classroom teachers of linear algebra with a variety of potentially useful items. Eventually these items may find their way into textbooks. Of course, the ultimate goal is to help the approximately 140,000 students who take linear algebra annually to learn and retain fundamental ideas.