Scribd
Upload
482 views6 pages

Matrices

The document provides examples of using matrices to solve word problems involving data organized in tables. It shows how to set up matrix multiplication to find totals from inventory data, calculate scores from points and difficulty multipliers, and determine nutritional content from mixtures of ingredients. Key steps include lining up columns and rows to match up values between matrices and only considering the diagonal results in some cases.

Uploaded by

Rheyniel Flores
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
482 views6 pages

Matrices

The document provides examples of using matrices to solve word problems involving data organized in tables. It shows how to set up matrix multiplication to find totals from inventory data, calculate scores from points and difficulty multipliers, and determine nutritional content from mixtures of ingredients. Key steps include lining up columns and rows to match up values between matrices and only considering the diagonal results in some cases.

Uploaded by

Rheyniel Flores
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

Advanced Algebra Matrices

.1.Lets say we want to find the final grades for 3 girls, and we know what their averages are for tests, projects, homework, and quizzes. We also know that tests are 40% of the grade, projects 15%, homework 25%, and quizzes 20%. Heres the data we have:

Lets organize the following data into two matrices, and perform matrix multiplication to find the final grades for Alexandra, Megan, and Brittney. To do this, you have to multiply in the following way:

2.The following matrix consists of a shoe stores inventory of flip flops, clogs, and Mary Janes in sizes small, medium, and large:

The store wants to know how much their inventory is worth for all the shoes. How should we set up the matrix multiplication to determine this the best way? Solution: The trick for these types of problems is to line up what matches (flip flops, clogs, and Mary Janes), and that will be in the middle when we multiply. This way our dimension will line up. Another way to look at it is we need to line up what goes across the first matrix with what goes down the second matrix, and well end up with what goes down the first matrix for these types of problems. So our matrix multiplication will look like this, even though our tables look a little different (I did this on a calculator):

So well have $1050 worth of small shoes, $2315 worth of medium shoes, and $1255 worth of large shoes for a total of $4620.

3.The first table below show the points awarded by judges at a state fair for a crafts contest for Brielle, Brynn, and Briana. The second table shows the multiplier used for the degree of difficulty for each of the pieces the girls created. Find the total score for each of the girls in this contest.

Solution: This ones a little trickier since it looks like we have two 3 x 2 matrices (tables), but we only want to end up with three answers: the total score for each of the girls. If we were to do the matrix multiplication using the two tables above, we would get:

Hmm.this is interesting; we end up with a matrix with the girlss names as both rows and columns. It turns out that we have extraneous information in this matrix; we only need the information where the girls names line up. So we only look at the diagonal of the matrix to get our answers: Brielle had 86.8 points, Brynn 79.2 points, and Briana 110 points.

4.A nut distributor wants to know the nutritional content of various mixtures of almonds, cashews, and pecans. Her supplier has provided the following nutrition information:

Her first mixture, a protein blend, consists of 6 cups of almonds, 3 cups of cashews, and 1 cup of pecans. Her second mixture, a low fat mix, consists of 3 cups of almonds, 6 cups of cashews, and 1 cup of pecans. Her third mixture, a low carb mix consists of 3 cups of almonds, 1 cup of cashews, and 6 cups of pecans. Determine the amount of protein, carbs, and fats in a 1 cup serving of each of the mixtures. Solution: Sometimes we can just put the information we have into matrices to sort of see what we are going to do from there. It makes sense to put the first group of data into a matrix with Almonds, Cashews, and Pecans as columns, and then put the second group of data into a matrix with information about Almonds, Cashews, and Pecans as rows. This way the columns of the first matrix lines up with the rows of the second matrix, and we can perform matrix multiplication. This way we get rid of the number of cups of Almonds, Cashews, and Pecans, which we dont need. So here is the information we have in table/matrix form:

Then we can multiply the matrices (we can use a graphing calculator) since we want to end up with the amount of Protein, Carbs, and Fat in each of the mixtures. The product of the matrices consists of rows of Protein, Carbs, and Fat, and columns of the Protein, Low Fat, and Low Carb mixtures:

But we have to be careful, since these amounts are for 10 cups (add down to see well get 10 cups for each mixture in the second matrix above). Also, notice how the cups unit canceled out when we did the matrix multiplication (grams/cup time cups = grams). So to get the answers, we have to divide each answer by 10 to get grams per cup. So the numbers in bold are our answers:

Source:
http://www.shelovesmath.com/algebra/advanced-algebra/matrices-and-solvingsystems-with-matrices/

You might also like