Chapter 1
Matrices
1.1 Definition of a Matrix
Definition 1.1.1 (Matrix) A rectangular array of numbers is called a matrix.
We shall mostly be concerned with matrices having real numbers as entries.
The horizontal arrays of a matrix are called its rows and the vertical arrays are called its columns.
A matrix having m rows and n columns is said to have the order m × n.
A matrix A of order m × n can be represented in the following form:
a11 a12 ··· a1n
a21 a22 ··· a2n
A=
.. .. .. ,
..
. . . .
am1 am2 ··· amn
where aij is the entry at the intersection of the ith row and j th column.
In a more concise manner, we also denote the matrix A by [aij ] by suppressing its order.
a11 a12 ··· a1n
a21 a22 ··· a2n
Remark 1.1.2 Some books also use
.. .. .. to represent a matrix.
..
. . . .
am1 am2 ··· amn
" #
1 3 7
Let A = . Then a11 = 1, a12 = 3, a13 = 7, a21 = 4, a22 = 5, and a23 = 6.
4 5 6
A matrix having only one column is called a column vector; and a matrix with only one row is
called a row vector.
Whenever a vector is used, it should be understood from the context whether it is
a row vector or a column vector.
Definition 1.1.3 (Equality of two Matrices) Two matrices A = [aij ] and B = [bij ] having the same order
m × n are equal if aij = bij for each i = 1, 2, . . . , m and j = 1, 2, . . . , n.
In other words, two matrices are said to be equal if they have the same order and their corresponding
entries are equal.
10 CHAPTER 1. MATRICES
Example" 1.1.4 The# linear system of equations 2x + 3y = 5 and 3x + 2y = 5 can be identified with the
2 3 : 5
matrix .
3 2 : 5
1.1.1 Special Matrices
Definition 1.1.5 1. A matrix in which each entry is zero is called a zero-matrix, denoted by 0. For
example,
" # " #
0 0 0 0 0
02×2 = and 02×3 = .
0 0 0 0 0
2. A matrix having the number of rows equal to the number of columns is called a square matrix. Thus,
its order is m × m (for some m) and is represented by m only.
3. In a square matrix, A = [aij ], of order n, the entries a11 , a22 , . . . , ann are called the diagonal entries
and form the principal diagonal of A.
4. A square matrix A = [aij ] is said to be a diagonal matrix if aij = 0 for i 6= j. In other words,
" the #
4 0
non-zero entries appear only on the principal diagonal. For example, the zero matrix 0n and
0 1
are a few diagonal matrices.
A diagonal matrix D of order n with the diagonal entries d1 , d2 , . . . , dn is denoted by D = diag(d1 , . . . , dn ).
If di = d for all i = 1, 2, . . . , n then the diagonal matrix D is called a scalar matrix.
(
1 if i = j
5. A square matrix A = [aij ] with aij =
0 if i 6= j
is called the identity matrix, denoted by In .
" # 1 0 0
1 0
For example, I2 = , and I3 = 0 1 0 .
0 1
0 0 1
The subscript n is suppressed in case the order is clear from the context or if no confusion arises.
6. A square matrix A = [aij ] is said to be an upper triangular matrix if aij = 0 for i > j.
A square matrix A = [aij ] is said to be an lower triangular matrix if aij = 0 for i < j.
A square matrix A is said to be triangular if it is an upper or a lower triangular matrix.
2 1 4
For example 0 3 −1 is an upper triangular matrix. An upper triangular matrix will be represented
0 0 −2
a11 a12 · · · a1n
0 a22 · · · a2n
by .
.. .. .
..
.. . . .
0 0 · · · ann
1.2 Operations on Matrices
Definition 1.2.1 (Transpose of a Matrix) The transpose of an m × n matrix A = [aij ] is defined as the
n × m matrix B = [bij ], with bij = aji for 1 ≤ i ≤ m and 1 ≤ j ≤ n. The transpose of A is denoted by At .
