Math 210-01: Linear Algebra: Reading Homework 3.1

1. Determinants : who was Cauchy? who was his first instructor? for what is he known?
   
   1. the Determinant : for what type of matrices is it possible to find a determinant? why might we be interested in one?
      
      1. 2x2 determinants : what is the determinant of a 2x2 matrix?
         
   2. Minors and Cofactors : what is a minor of a matrix? how is it related to a cofactor? how can we visualize the sign of the cofactor?
      
      1. nxn determinants : how can we calculate the determinant of an nxn matrix?
         
      2. expansion by cofactors : how can we use different rows or columns to calculate a determinant? why might we want to?
         
      3. triangular matrices : what is the determinant of a triangular matrix?