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MATLAB Week 2 Notes Scalar Variables, and Vectors: X 2 Abc 5 2+x W 2 Pi

The document discusses scalar variables and vectors in MATLAB. Scalar variables are single numerical values assigned to variable names, while vectors allow storing and manipulating multiple values. The document provides examples of defining scalar variables and row/column vectors, and using vectors for element-by-element operations and calculations without explicit loops.

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Ashwin M
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50 views

MATLAB Week 2 Notes Scalar Variables, and Vectors: X 2 Abc 5 2+x W 2 Pi

The document discusses scalar variables and vectors in MATLAB. Scalar variables are single numerical values assigned to variable names, while vectors allow storing and manipulating multiple values. The document provides examples of defining scalar variables and row/column vectors, and using vectors for element-by-element operations and calculations without explicit loops.

Uploaded by

Ashwin M
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MATLAB Week 2 Notes


Scalar Variables, and Vectors
Notes: MATLAB commands and output are shown in a bold red font

Overview

● Scalar variables are just one-dimensional vectors


● Vectors are one of the most important data structures in MATLAB
● Can be used to quickly and easily write certain commands that are tedious in other languages

Scalar Variables (Gilat 1.6)


A scalar variable is a numerical value or a computational expression. Variables are useful in many
circumstances. 1.) They simplify complex expressions. 2.) Allow generic code to be written. 3.)
Provide a nice way to assign meaning to a complex expression (i.e. built-in comments). The syntax for
defining a scalar is variable name = a numerical value, or a computable expression (Note: variable
names are case sensitive). Here are some examples:
x=2
abc = 5*2+x
w = 2*pi

Vectors (Gilat 2.1)


Row vector (you can use spaces or commas as delimiters)
Space delimiter (go to next column)
>> year = [1984 1985 1986 1987 1988]

year =

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988

Comma delimiter (go to next column)


>> year = [1984,1985,1986,1987,1988]

year =

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988

Column vector (use a semicolon to signify the end of a row)


Semicolon delimiter (go to next row)
>> pop = [126; 127; 130; 145]

pop =

126
127
130
145
Automatically generating vectors (Gilat 2.1)
A useful feature in MATLAB is the ability to generate vectors via a shorthand syntax.
>> mydata=[1:10]

mydata =

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

>> mydata=[1:2:10]

mydata =

13579

>> mydata=[2:2:10]

mydata =

2 4 6 8 10

Element-by-element operations (Gilat 3.4 – 3.6)


In traditional programming languages to evaluate a function/expression for a number of different
inputs, we would probably use a loop. Since MATLAB was built with vector calculations in mind, we
don't need to explicitly program a loop. This is where you're thinking: “Get to the point Paul and stop
drowning me with Computer Science jargon”. So, let's look at an example.
A ball is thrown from the roof of a building, and it's height is given by the following equation.
y(t) = 1000 + 70*t -16.1*t2
What is the height at t = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10?
This is easy to code in MATLAB. First, we need to define a time vector.
>> t=[0:10]

t=

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Now we just type in the equation for the height of the ball.
>> y=1000+70*t-16.1*t.^2

y=

Columns 1 through 8:
1000.000 1053.900 1075.600 1065.100 1022.400 947.500 840.400 701.100
Columns 9 through 11:
529.600 325.900 90.000

If you look closely at the previous command, you will see that there is a dot (.) before the carat (^).
This tells MATLAB to perform an element-by-element calculation. In other words, calculate the
height of the ball for every time in the vector t. In general, if you want to perform element-by-element
calculations with vectors, you need to put a dot (.) before any multiplication, division, or power (^)
operators that involve vectors.
Now a few sample problems from your textbook (#'s 3.2, 3.5, and 3.7):
>> % 3.2
>> x=[-2.5:0.5:3]

x=

Columns 1 through 11
-2.5000 -2.0000 -1.5000 -1.0000 -0.5000 0 0.5000 1.0000 1.5000 2.0000 2.5000
Column 12
3.0000

>> y=(x.^2+1).^3.*x.^3

y=
1.0e+004 *
Columns 1 through 11
-0.5954 -0.1000 -0.0116 -0.0008 -0.0000 0 0.0000 0.0008 0.0116 0.1000 0.5954
Column 12
2.7000

>> % 3.5
>> h=0.9;
>> k=12.5;
>> x=[1 2 3 4];
>> y=[0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6];
>> z=[2.5 3 3.5 4];
>> T=(x.*y.*z)/(h+k)^(k/5)+k*exp(z./x+y)./(z.^h)

T=

164.2004 46.3924 26.1889 17.7944


>> % 3.7
>> % a.)
>> n=[1:1:100];
>> sum(1./(n.^2))

ans =

1.6350

>> pi^2/6

ans =

1.6449

>> % b.)
>> n=[1:1:1000];
>> sum(1./(n.^2))

ans =
1.6439

>> pi^2/6

ans =

1.6449

>> % c.)
>> n=[1:1:10000];
>> sum(1./(n.^2))

ans =

1.6448

>> pi^2/6

ans =

1.6449

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