Education Commons^™

Undergraduate Mathematics Students’ Connections Between Their Group Homomorphism And Linear Transformation Concept Images, Jeffrey Slye

Theses and Dissertations--Mathematics

It is well documented that undergraduate students struggle with the more formal and abstract concepts of vector space theory in a first course on linear algebra. Some of these students continue on to classes in abstract algebra, where they learn about algebraic structures such as groups. It is clear to the seasoned mathematician that vector spaces are in fact groups, and so linear transformations are group homomorphisms with extra restrictions. This study explores the question of whether or not students see this connection as well. In addition, I probe the ways in which students’ stated understandings are the same or …