Matrix Definition:

A rectangular arrangement of mn numbers arranged along m rows and n

columns is called a matrix of order mXn. These numbers are called Entries or
elements of the matrix and are enclosed within brackets.
The elements are denoted by small letters 𝑎𝑖𝑗 , 𝑏𝑖𝑗 and 𝑐𝑖𝑗 etc. Where the
suffix 𝑖, 𝑗 indicates the position being in theith row and jth column.
A matrix is generally denoted by capital letters 𝐴, 𝐵, 𝐶 etc.
1 2 𝑥2 𝑒𝑥
Example: 1. ( ) 2. [ ]
3 4 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑥 𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑥
Order of a Matrix:
If a matrix 𝐴 has ‘𝑚’ rows and ‘𝑛’ columns then order of 𝐴is 𝑚𝑋𝑛.
1 2 −3 1
Example: 1. [4 5 7] 2. [−7]
0 −2 6 3𝑋3 9 3𝑋1
Square matrix:
In a matrix, if the number of rows is equal to the number of columns, then
the matrix is called square matrix. Otherwise, it is said to be rectangular matrix.
1 −7
Example: 1. 𝐴 = (1.5 √2 ) 2. 𝐵 = [2 5]
3 −4 2𝑋2 4 −9 3𝑋2
Principal diagonal elements:
In a square matrix all those elements 𝑎𝑖𝑗 for i=j i.e.,
𝑎11 , 𝑎22 , 𝑎33 , . . . , 𝑎𝑛𝑛 are called principal diagonal elements of a square matrix.
1 2 3
Example: A=[4 5 6]; here 1,5,9 are diagonal elements.
7 8 9
Trace:
The sum of the principal diagonal elements of a square matrix ‘ 𝐴’ is
called the trace of 𝐴. it is denoted by Tr(A).
1 2 3
Example: A=[4 5 6]. 𝑇𝑟(𝐴) = 1 + 5 + 9 = 15.
7 8 9
Equality of matrices:
Two matrices A and B are said to be equal if and only if they have same
order and corresponding elements are equal, denoted by 𝐴 = 𝐵.
𝑎 𝑏 1 2
Example: If 𝐴 = ( ) and 𝐵 = ( ) then A=B ⇔  𝑎 = 1,  𝑏 = 2,  𝑐 =
𝑐 𝑑 3 4
3 and 𝑑 = 4

Transpose of a matrix:
The matrix obtained by interchanging the rows and columns of a matrix 𝐴
is called transpose of 𝐴 denoted by 𝐴𝑇 or 𝐴′ .
If 𝐴 is a matrix of order 𝑚𝑋𝑛then 𝐴𝑇 is a matrix of order 𝑛𝑋𝑚.
2 1
2 3 −1
Example: If 𝐴 = [ 3 2 ] then 𝐴𝑇 = [ ]
1 2 −2
−1 −2
Properties of Transpose:

a. (𝐴𝑇 )𝑇 = 𝐴

b. (𝐴𝐵)𝑇 = 𝐵 𝑇 𝐴𝑇 (Reversal law)

c. (𝐴 + 𝐵)𝑇 = 𝐴𝑇 + 𝐵 𝑇 (Distributive law)

Symmetric Matrix:
A square matrix ‘𝐴’ is said to be symmetric matrix if 𝐴 = 𝐴𝑇 .
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
1 −2
Example: 1. 𝐴 = [ ] 2. [𝑏 𝑑 𝑒]
−2 1
𝑐 𝑒 𝑓
Skew-Symmetric Matrix:
A square matrix ‘𝐴’ is said to be skew-symmetric matrix if 𝐴 = −𝐴𝑇 or
𝐴𝑇 = −𝐴.
0 −𝑏 𝑐
0 −2
Example: 1. 𝐴 = [ ] 2. [ 𝑏 0 −𝑒]
−2 0
−𝑐 𝑒 0
Null matrix (or) zero matrix:
A matrix in which each element is zero is called null matrix or zero
matrix and is denoted by 𝑂.
0 0 0
Example: The matrix𝑂 = [ ]is a null matrix of order 2X3.
0 0 0

Special matrices:

Upper triangular matrix:

A square matrix having non-zero elements only on above the principal
diagonal, where the elements below the principal diagonal are zero is called an
upper triangular matrix.
𝟏 𝟐 𝟑
Example: [𝟎 𝟒 𝟓]
𝟎 𝟎 𝟔

Lower triangular matrix:

A square matrix having non-zero elements only on below the principal
diagonal, where the elements above the principal diagonal are zero is called a
lower triangular matrix.
𝟏 𝟎 𝟎
Example: [𝟐 𝟑 𝟎]
𝟒 𝟓 𝟔

Diagonal matrix:
A square matrix in which the elements except the diagonal elements are
zero is called a diagonal matrix.
𝑎 0 0
2 0
Example: 1. [ ] 2. [0 𝑏 0]
0 7 2𝑋2
0 0 𝑐 3𝑋3
Scalar matrix:
A diagonal matrix in which all the diagonal elements are equal is called a
scalar matrix.
−2 0 0
3 0
Example: 1. [ ] 2. [ 0 −2 0]
0 3
0 0 −2
Unit matrix:
A diagonal matrix in which each diagonal entry is unity is called unit
matrix or identity matrix.
The unit matrix of order 𝑛 is denoted by 𝐼𝑛 .
1 0
Example: 𝐼2 = [ ]
0 1

Singular matrix:
A square matrix ‘𝐴’ is said to be singular matrix if |𝐴| = 0.
3 6
Example: | |=0
5 10

Non-Singular matrix:
A square matrix ‘𝐴’ is said to be non-singular matrix if |𝐴| ≠ 0.
3 6
Example: | | = 15 ≠ 0
5 15

Idempotent matrix:
A square matrix 𝐴 is such that 𝐴2 = 𝐴 then 𝐴 is called idempotent matrix.
2 −2 −4
Example:𝐴 = [−1 3 4]
1 −2 −3
Involutory matrix:
If a square matrix 𝐴 is such that 𝐴2 = 𝐼 then 𝐴 is called an involutory
matrix.
0 1
Example: 𝑨 = [ ]
1 0
Nilpotent matrix:
For any square matrix 𝐴 if there exists a least positive integer m such that
𝐴𝑚 = 0then 𝐴 is called a nilpotent matrix. Here m is called index or degree of
the matrix 𝐴.
0 1 0 0
Example: If 𝐴 = [ ] then 𝐴2 = [ ]
0 0 0 0

Orthogonal matrix:
A square matrix ‘𝐴’ is said to be orthogonal matrix if𝐴𝐴𝑇 = 𝐼
1 0 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃
Example: 1. [ ] 2. [ ]
0 −1 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃
Operations:
1. Addition of two matrices:
Let 𝐴 = (𝑎𝑖𝑗 ), 𝐵 = (𝑏𝑖𝑗 )be the two matrices of same order then the sum
of A and B is denoted by A+B and is obtained by adding the
corresponding elements.
 2 3 4 1 2 3 3 5 7
Example: If A    and B  5 1 2 then A  B  10 5 5 
5 6 7     

2. Subtraction of two matrices:

Let 𝐴 = (𝑎𝑖𝑗 ), 𝐵 = (𝑏𝑖𝑗 )be the two matrices of same order then the
subtraction of 𝐴 and 𝐵 is denoted by 𝐴 − 𝐵 and is obtained by subtracting
the corresponding elements.
1 2 0 1 1 1
Example: If 𝐴 = [3 4]  and 𝐵 = [−1 2 ]  then 𝐴 − 𝐵 = [4 2]
5 6 3 −4 2 10
3. Scalar multiplication:
Let 𝐴 = (𝑎𝑖𝑗 ) be any 𝑚𝑋𝑛 matrix and ‘k’ be the any scalar then the
matrix of type 𝑚𝑋𝑛 obtained by multiplying every element of the matrix
‘𝐴’ by ‘k’ and is called the scalar multiplication of ‘𝐴’ with ‘k’, denoted
by kA.
 2 3 4 6 9 12
Example: If𝑘 = 3 and 𝐴 = [ ]  and 3𝐴 = [ ] 
5 6 7 15 18 21
4. Multiplication of two matrices:
Let 𝐴 = (𝑎𝑖𝑗 ) and 𝐵 = (𝑏𝑗𝑘 ) be two matrices such that the
𝑚𝑋𝑛 𝑛𝑋𝑝

number of columns in 𝐴 is equal to the number of rows in 𝐵, then the

matrix 𝐶 = (𝑐𝑖𝑘 )𝑚𝑋𝑝 is called the multiplications of matrices 𝐴 and 𝐵.
4 3 11 38
2 5
Example: Let 𝐴 = [7 2]  and 𝐵 = [ ]  then 𝐴𝐵 = [16 47]
1 6
9 0 18 45
Properties of matrix multiplication:

a. If 𝐴𝐵 is defined then 𝐵𝐴 need not be defined.

b. If both 𝐴𝐵 and 𝐵𝐴 are defined, they need not be equal i.e𝐴𝐵 ≠ 𝐵𝐴.
c. If 𝐴𝐵 = 𝐵𝐴 then 𝐴 and 𝐵 are said to commute.

Vectors:
A vector is a matrix that has only one row is called Row vector, if it has
only one column then it is called a column vector.
𝑎
Example: 1. [2 0.5]1𝑋2 2. [𝑏 ]
𝑐 3𝑋1
Linear Combination: Let X 1 , X 2 ,..., X p be any p vectors each consisting of same

number of components then the linear combination of p vectors is of the form

1 X 1   2 X 2  ...   p X p where 1 ,  2 ,...,  p are any scalars.

Linearly independent vectors: Given a set of p vectors namely 𝑋1 , 𝑋2 , . . . , 𝑋𝑝

each consisting of same number of components, we say that these vectors are
linearly independent if 𝛼1𝑋1 + 𝛼2𝑋2 +. . . +𝛼𝑝 𝑋𝑝 = 0 ⇒ 𝛼1 = 0, 𝛼2 = 0, . . .,
𝛼𝑝 = 0
Linearly dependent vectors: Given a set of p vectors namely
𝑋1 , 𝑋2 , . . . , 𝑋𝑝 each consisting of same number of components, we say that these
vectors are linearly dependent if there existp scalars 𝛼1 , 𝛼2 , . . . , 𝛼𝑝 not all zero
such that 𝛼1𝑋1 + 𝛼2𝑋2 +. . . +𝛼𝑝 𝑋𝑝 = 0
Elementary transformations of a Matrix:

The following are the elementary row operations on a matrix.

1. The interchange of any two rows (columns).

i.e., interchanging 𝑖𝑡ℎ and 𝑗 𝑡ℎ row is denoted by 𝑅𝑖 𝑅𝑗 .

2. The Multiplication of any row (column) with a non zero scalar kdenoted
by 𝑅𝑖 𝑘𝑅𝑖 .

3. The addition of a constant multiple of the elements of any row (column)

to the corresponding elements of any other row (column).

i.e., Addition to any row say,𝑖𝑡ℎ row, with k times the corresponding
elements of 𝑗 𝑡ℎ row denoted by 𝑅𝑖 𝑅𝑖 + 𝑘𝑅𝑗 .

Similarly the elementary column operations are given by 𝐶𝑖 𝐶𝑗 ,

,𝐶𝑖 𝑘𝐶𝑖 , 𝐶𝑖 𝐶𝑖 + 𝑘𝐶𝑗 .

Equivalent Matrices:

Two matrices 𝐴 and 𝐵 are said to be equivalent if any one of the matrix
say 𝐵 can be obtained by applying elementary operations on 𝐴. It is denoted by
𝐴𝐵.

Rank of a matrix: A matrix is said to be of rank r if

(i). It has at least one non-zero minor of order r and
(ii). Every minor of order higher than r vanishes. i.e., the rank of a matrix is the
largest order of any non-vanishing minor of the matrix. It is denoted by   A .

Note: 1. Rank of A and its transpose is the same. i.e.   A     AT 

2. Rank of a null matrix is zero.

3. Rank of a non-singular square matrix of order r is r.
4. If a matrix has a non-zero minor of order r, then its rank is greater than or
equal to r.
5. All minors of a matrix of order (r+1) are zero, then its rank is less than or
equal to r.

Problems:
𝟏 𝟐 𝟑
1. Determine the rank of the matrix [𝟏 𝟒 𝟐]
𝟐 𝟔 𝟓
𝟏 𝟐 𝟑
Solution: Let 𝑨 = [𝟏 𝟒 𝟐]
𝟐 𝟔 𝟓
𝟏 𝟐 𝟑
⇒ |𝑨| = |𝟏 𝟒 𝟐| = 𝟎
𝟐 𝟔 𝟓
Consider the minors of order 2.
1 2 13 2 3 1 4 4 2 1 2 2 3 1 3
| |,||,| |,| |,| |,| |,| |,| |
1 4 12 4 2 2 6 6 5 2 5 6 5 2 5
1 2
 Rank of A=2 (here  | | = 2 ≠ 0)
1 4
𝟎 𝟏 −𝟑 −𝟏
𝟏 𝟎 𝟏 𝟏
2. Find the rank of the matrix [ ]
𝟑 𝟏 𝟎 𝟐
𝟏 𝟏 −𝟐 𝟎
0 1 −3 −1
1 0 1 1
Solution: Let 𝐴=[ ]
3 1 0 2
1 1 −2 0
0 1 −3 −1
1 0 1 1
⇒ |𝐴| = | |
3 1 0 2
1 1 −2 0
1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1
= (−1) |3 0 2| − 3 |3 1 2| + 1 |3 1 0 |=0
1 −2 0 1 1 0 1 1 −2
⇒ 𝜌(𝐴) ≠ 4
Also, every minor of order 3X3 is 0.⇒ 𝜌(𝐴) ≠ 3
Now consider minor of order 2.
0 1
⇒| | = 1 ⇒ 𝜌(𝐴) = 2
1 0
Echelon form: A matrix ‘𝐴’ of order 𝑚𝑋𝑛is said to be in echelon form if
(i) Every row of 𝐴 which has all its entries zero occurs below the rows
which has a non-zero entry.
(ii) The first non-zero entry in each non-zero row is equal to 1.
(iii) The number of zero’s before the first non-zero element in a row is less
than the number of such zero’s in the next row.
𝟏 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑
𝟎 𝟏 −𝟏 𝟏
Example: [ ]
𝟎 𝟎 𝟏 −𝟏
𝟎 𝟎 𝟎 𝟎
Note: Rank of a matrix which is in echelon form is equal to the number of
non-zero rows of the matrix.
Problems:
1. Find the rank of the matrix A by reducing it into echelon form 𝐴 =
1 4 5
[2 6 8]
3 7 22
𝑅2 −2𝑅1 ; 𝑅3 −3𝑅1 1 4 5
Solution: → [0 −2 −2]
0 −5 7
𝑅2 /2 1 4 5
→ [0 1 1]
0 −5 7
𝑅3 +5𝑅2 1 4 5
→ [0 1 1 ]
0 0 12
Now 𝐴 is in Echelon form and number of non-zero rows=3
 Rank of 𝐴 = 3.

2. Find the rank of the matrix A by reducing it into echelon form 𝐴 =

1 2 3
[1 4 2]
2 6 5
𝑅2 −𝑅1 ; 𝑅3 −2𝑅1 1 2 3
Solution: → [0 2 −1]
0 2 −1
 𝑅3 −𝑅2 1 2 3
→ [0 2 −1]
0 0 0
Now A is in Echelon form and number of non-zero rows=2
 Rank of 𝐴 = 2.

3. Find the rank of the matrix A by reducing it into echelon form 𝐴 =

1 2 3
[2 3 4]
0 2 2
𝑅2 −2𝑅1 1 2 3
Solution: → [0 −1 −2]
0 2 2
𝑅3 +2𝑅2 1 2 3
→ [0 −1 2 ]
0 0 −2
Now A is in Echelon form and number of non-zero rows=3
 Rank of 𝐴 = 3.
8 1 3 6
4. Find the rank of the matrix 𝐴 = [ 0 3 2 2]
−8 −1 −3 4
𝑅3 +𝑅1 8 1 3 6
Solution: → [0 3 2 2 ]
0 0 0 10
Now A is in Echelon form and number of non-zero rows=2
 Rank of 𝐴 = 2.
1 2 −1 4
2 4 3 4
5. Find the rank of the matrix 𝐴 = [ ]
1 2 3 4
−1 −2 6 −7
𝑅2 −2𝑅1 ; 1 2 −1 4
𝑅3 −𝑅1 ;𝑅1 +𝑅4
0 0 5 −4
Solution: → [ ]
0 0 4 0
0 0 5 −3
 1 2 −1 4
5𝑅3 −4𝑅2 ; 𝑅4 −𝑅2 0 0 5 −4
→ [ ]
0 0 0 16
0 0 0 1
1 2 −1 4
16𝑅4 −𝑅3 0 0 5 −4
→ [ ]
0 0 0 16
0 0 0 0

Now A is in Echelon form and number of non-zero rows=3

 Rank of 𝐴 = 3.

6. Find the rank of the following matrices

0 1 −3 −1
0 0 1 1
(i) [ ]
3 1 0 2
1 1 −2 0
1 2 3 0
2 4 3 2
(ii) [ ]
3 2 1 3
6 8 7 5
2 3 4 5
3 4 5 6
(iii) [ ]
4 5 6 7
9 10 11 12
1 3 4 3
(iv) [3 9 12 3]
1 3 4 1
1 2 1
2 3 3
(v) [ ]
3 5 4
2 1 5