2 Matrices

2.1 Operations with Matrices

Objectives
§ Determine whether two matrices are equal.

§ Add and subtract matrices and multiply a

matrix by a scalar.

§ Multiply two matrices.

§ Use matrices to solve a system of linear

equations.

§ Partition a matrix and write a linear

combination of column vectors.
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Equality of Matrices

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Equality of Matrices (1 of 2)
Definition of Equality of Matrices
Two matrices A = [a ij] and B = [b ij] are equal when they
have the same size (m × n) and a ij = b ij for 1 ≤ i ≤ m and
1 ≤ j ≤ n.

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Example 1 – Equality of Matrices
Consider the four matrices

Matrices A and B are not equal because they are of

different sizes. Similarly, B and C are not equal.

Matrices A and D are equal if and only if x = 3.

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Equality of Matrices (2 of 2)
A matrix that has only one column, is a column matrix or
column vector.

Similarly, a matrix that has only one row is a row matrix or

row vector.

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Matrix Addition, Subtraction,
and Scalar Multiplication

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Matrix Addition, Subtraction, and Scalar Multiplication (1 of 2)

To add two matrices (of the same size), add their

corresponding entries.

Definition of Matrix Addition

If A = [a ij] and B = [b ij] are matrices of size m × n, then
their sum is the m × n matrix A + B = [a ij + b ij].

The sum of two matrices of different sizes is undefined.

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Example 2 – Addition of Matrices

is undefined.

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Matrix Addition, Subtraction, and Scalar Multiplication (2 of 2)

Definition of Scalar Multiplication

If A = [a ij] is an m × n matrix and c is a scalar, then the
scalar multiple of A by c is the m × n matrix cA = [ca ij].

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Example 3 – Scalar Multiplication and Matrix Subtraction

For the matrices A and B, find (a) 3A, (b) −B, and (c) 3A − B.

Solution:

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Example 3 – Solution

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Matrix Multiplication

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Matrix Multiplication (1 of 1)
Definition of Matrix Multiplication
If A = [a ij] is an m × n matrix and B = [b ij] is an n × p
matrix, then the product
AB is an m × p matrix
AB = [c ij]
where

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Example 4 – Finding the product of two Matrices

Find the product AB, where

Solution:
First, note that the product AB is defined because A has
size 3 × 2 and B has size 2 × 2. Moreover, the product AB
has size 3 × 2, and will take the form

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Example 4 – Solution (1 of 3)
To find c11, multiply corresponding entries in the first row of
A and the first column of B. That is,

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Example 4 – Solution (2 of 3)
Similarly, to find c12, multiply corresponding entries in the
first row of A and the second column of B to obtain

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Example 4 – Solution (3 of 3)
Continuing this pattern produces the results shown below.

The product is

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Systems of Linear Equations

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Systems of Linear Equations (1 of 1)
One practical application of matrix multiplication is
representing a system of linear equations. Note how the
system

can be written as the matrix equation Ax = b, where A is the

coefficient matrix of the system, and x and b are column
matrices.

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Example 6 – Solving a System of Linear Equations

Solve the matrix equation Ax = 0, where

Solution:
As a system of linear equations, Ax = 0 is

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Example 6 – Solution (1 of 3)
Using Gauss-Jordan elimination on the augmented matrix of
this system, you obtain

So, the system has infinitely many solutions. Here a

convenient choice of a parameter is x3 = 7t, and you can
write the solution set as
x1 = t, x2 = 4t, x3 = 7t, t is any real number.

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Example 6 – Solution (2 of 3)
In matrix terminology, you have found that the matrix
equation

has infinitely many solutions represented by

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Example 6 – Solution (3 of 3)
That is, any scalar multiple of the column matrix on the right
is a solution.

Here are some sample solutions:

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Partitioned Matrices

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Partitioned Matrices (1 of 2)
The system Ax = b can be represented in a more
convenient way by partitioning the matrices A and x in the
manner shown below. If

are the coefficient matrix, the column matrix of unknowns,

and the right-hand side, respectively, of the m × n linear
system Ax = b.

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Partitioned Matrices (2 of 2)
Then

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Linear Combinations of Column
Vectors

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Linear Combinations of Column Vectors (1 of 2)

The matrix product Ax is a linear combination of the column

vectors a1, a2, ..., an that form the coefficient matrix A.

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Linear Combinations of Column Vectors (2 of 2)

Furthermore, the system

Ax = b

is consistent if and only if b can be expressed as such a

linear combination, where the coefficients of the linear
combination are a solution of the system.

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Example 7 – Solving a System of linear Equations (1 of 2)

The linear system

can be rewritten as a matrix equation Ax = b, as shown

below.

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Example 7 – Solving a System of linear Equations (2 of 2)

Using Gaussian elimination, you can show that this system

has infinitely many solutions, one of which is x1 = 1, x2 = 1,
x3 = −1.

That is, b can be expressed as a linear combination of the

columns of A. This representation of one column vector in
terms of others is a fundamental theme of linear algebra.

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