What is a Matrix?

A matrix is a rectangular arrays of numbers, symbols, or expressions,

arranged in rows and columns.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Describe the parts of a matrix and what they represent

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Key Points

A matrix (whose plural is matrices) is a rectangular

array of numbers, symbols, or expressions, arranged in
rows and columns.

A matrix with m rows and n columns is called an m × n

matrix or m-by-n matrix, where m and n are called the
matrix dimensions.

Matrices can be used to compactly write and work with

multiple linear equations, that is, a system of linear
equations. Matrices and matrix multiplication reveal
their essential features when related to linear
transformations, also known as linear maps.

Key Terms

element: An individual item in a matrix

 row vector: A matrix with a single row

column vector: A matrix with a single column

square matrix: A matrix which has the same number of

rows and columns

matrix: A rectangular array of numbers, symbols, or

expressions, arranged in rows and columns

History of the Matrix

The matrix has a long history of application in solving linear equations.

They were known as arrays until the 1800‘s. The term “matrix” (Latin for
“womb”, derived from mater—mother) was coined by James Joseph
Sylvester in 1850, who understood a matrix as an object giving rise to a
number of determinants today called minors, that is to say, determinants
of smaller matrices that are derived from the original one by removing
columns and rows. An English mathematician named Cullis was the first
to use modern bracket notation for matrices in 1913 and he
simultaneously demonstrated the first significant use of the notation
A = ai,j to represent a matrix where a i,j refers to the element found in
the ith row and the jth column. Matrices can be used to compactly write
and work with multiple linear equations, referred to as a system of linear
equations, simultaneously. Matrices and matrix multiplication reveal their
essential features when related to linear transformations, also known as
linear maps.

What is a Matrix

In mathematics, a matrix (plural matrices) is a rectangular array of

numbers, symbols, or expressions, arranged in rows and columns.
Matrices are commonly written in box brackets. The horizontal and
vertical lines of entries in a matrix are called rows and columns,
respectively. The size of a matrix is defined by the number of rows and
columns that it contains. A matrix with m rows and n columns is called an
m × n matrix or m-by-n matrix, while m and n are called its
dimensions.The dimensions of the following matrix are 2 × 3 up(read
“two by three”), because there are two rows and three columns.
 1 9 −13
A = [ ]
20 5 −6

Matrix Dimensions: Each element of a matrix is often denoted by a

variable with two subscripts. For instance, a 2,1
represents the
element at the second row and first column of a matrix A.

The individual items (numbers, symbols or expressions) in a matrix are

called its elements or entries.
Provided that they are the same size (have the same number of rows
and the same number of columns), two matrices can be added or
subtracted element by element. The rule for matrix multiplication,
however, is that two matrices can be multiplied only when the number of
columns in the first equals the number of rows in the second. Any matrix
can be multiplied element-wise by a scalar from its associated field.

Matrices which have a single row are called row vectors, and those
which have a single column are called column vectors. A matrix which
has the same number of rows and columns is called a square matrix. In
some contexts, such as computer algebra programs, it is useful to
consider a matrix with no rows or no columns, called an empty matrix.

Addition and Subtraction; Scalar Multiplication

Matrix addition, subtraction, and scalar multiplication are types of
operations that can be applied to modify matrices.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Practice adding and subtracting matrices, as well as

multiplying matrices by scalar numbers

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Key Points

When performing addition, add each element in the first

matrix to the corresponding element in the second
matrix.

When performing subtraction, subtract each element in

the second matrix from the corresponding element in
the first matrix.

Addition and subtraction require that the matrices be

the same dimensions. The resultant matrix is also of the
same dimension.

Scalar multiplication of a real Euclidean vector by a

positive real number multiplies the magnitude of the
vector without changing its direction.

Key Terms

scalar: A quantity that has magnitude but not direction.

There are a number of operations that can be applied to modify

matrices, such as matrix addition, subtraction, and scalar multiplication.
These form the basic techniques to work with matrices.
These techniques can be used in calculating sums, differences and
products of information such as sodas that come in three different
flavors: apple, orange, and strawberry and two different packaging:
bottle and can. Two tables summarizing the total sales between last
month and this month are written to illustrate the amounts. Matrix
addition, subtraction and scalar multiplication can be used to find such
things as: the sales of last month and the sales of this month, the
average sales for each flavor and packaging of soda in the 2-month
period.

Adding and Subtracting Matrices

We use matrices to list data or to represent systems. Because the entries

are numbers, we can perform operations on matrices. We add or
subtract matrices by adding or subtracting corresponding entries.

In order to do this, the entries must correspond. Therefore, addition and

subtraction of matrices is only possible when the matrices have the
same dimensions. Matrix addition is commutative and is also
associative, so the following is true:

A + B = B + A

(A + B) + C = A + (B + C)

Adding matrices is very simple. Just add each element in the first matrix
to the corresponding element in the second matrix.

1 2 3 10 20 30 11 22 33
( ) + ( ) = ( )
4 5 6 40 50 60 44 55 66

Note that element in the first matrix, 1, adds to element x 11 in the

second matrix, 10, to produce element x 11 in the resultant matrix, 11.
Also note that both matrices being added are 2 × 3, and the resulting
matrix is also 2 × 3. You cannot add two matrices that have different
dimensions.
As you might guess, subtracting works much the same way except that
you subtract instead of adding.

10 −20 30 1 −2 3 9 −18 27
( ) − ( ) = ( )
40 50 60 4 −5 6 36 55 54

Once again, note that the resulting matrix has the same dimensions as
the originals, and that you cannot subtract two matrices that have
different dimensions. Be careful when subtracting with signed numbers.

Scalar Multiplication

In an intuitive geometrical context, scalar multiplication of a real

Euclidean vector by a positive real number multiplies the magnitude of
the vector without changing its direction. What does it mean to multiply a
number by 3? It means you add the number to itself 3 times. Multiplying
a matrix by 3 means the same thing; you add the matrix to itself 3 times,
or simply multiply each element by that constant.

1 2 3 3 6 9
3 ⋅ ( ) = ( )
4 5 6 12 15 18

The resulting matrix has the same dimensions as the original. Scalar
multiplication has the following properties:

Left and right distributivity: (c + d)M = M(c + d) = Mc + Md

Associativity: (cd)M = c(dM)

Identity: 1M = M

Null: 0M = 0

Additive inverse: (−1)M = −M

Matrix Multiplication

When multiplying matrices, the elements of the rows in the first matrix
are multiplied with corresponding columns in the second matrix.
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Practice multiplying matrices and identify matrices that can be

multiplied together

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Key Points

If A is an n × m matrix and B is an m × p matrix, the

result AB of their multiplication is an n × p matrix
defined only if the number of columns m in A is equal
to the number of rows m in B.

The product of a square matrix multiplied by a column

matrix arises naturally in linear algebra for solving linear
equations and representing linear transformations.

Key Terms

matrix: A rectangular arrangement of numbers or terms

having various uses such as transforming coordinates in
geometry, solving systems of linear equations in linear
algebra and representing graphs in graph theory.

If A is an n × m matrix and B is an m × p matrix, the result AB of their

multiplication is an n × p matrix defined only if the number of columns m
in A is equal to the number of rows m in B. Check to make sure that
this is true before multiplying the matrices, since there is “no solution”
otherwise.

General Definition and Process: Matrix Multiplication

Scalar multiplication is simply multiplying a value through all the

elements of a matrix, whereas matrix multiplication is multiplying every
element of each row of the first matrix times every element of each
column in the second matrix. Scalar multiplication is much more simple
than matrix multiplication; however, a pattern does exist.

When multiplying matrices, the elements of the rows in the first matrix
are multiplied with corresponding columns in the second matrix. Each
entry of the resultant matrix is computed one at a time.

For two matrices the final position of the product is shown below:

a11 a12 ⋅ x12 ⋅

⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤

⎢ ⋅ ⋅ ⎥ ⋅ b12 b13 ⎢⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⎥
⎢ ⎥[ ] = ⎢ ⎥
⎢a a32 ⎥ ⋅ b22 b23 ⎢⋅ ⋅ x33 ⎥
31

⎣ ⎦ ⎣ ⎦
⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅

B
b1,1 b1,2 b1,3
b2,1 b2,2 b2,3

a1,1 a1,2

a2,1 a2,2
A a3,1 a3,2

a4,1 a4,2

Matrix Multiplication: This figure illustrates diagrammatically the

product of two matrices A and B, showing how each intersection
in the product matrix corresponds to a row of A and a column of
B.

The values at the intersections marked with circles are:

x12 = (a11 , a12 ) ⋅ (b12 , b22 ) = (a11 b12 ) + (a12 b22 )

x33 = (a31 , a32 ) ⋅ (b13 , b23 ) = (a31 b13 ) + (a32 b23 )

Matrix Multiplication: Process

Example 1: Find the product AB

1 2 5 6
A = ( ) B = ( )
3 4 7 8

First ask: Do the number of columns in A equal the number of rows in B

? The number of columns in A is 2, and the number of rows in B is also
2 , therefore a product exists.

Start with producing the product for the first row, first column element.
Take the first row of Matrix A and multiply by the first column of Matrix
B : The first element of A times the first column element of B, plus the
second element of A times the second column element of B.

(1 ⋅ 5) + (2 ⋅ 7) () + ()
AB = ( )
() + () () + ()

Continue the pattern with the first row of A by the second column of B,
and then repeat with the second row of A.

AB has entries defined by the equation:

(1 ⋅ 5) + (2 ⋅ 7) (1 ⋅ 6) + (2 ⋅ 8)
AB = ( )
(3 ⋅ 5) + (4 ⋅ 7) (3 ⋅ 6) + (4 ⋅ 8)

(5 + 14) (6 + 16)
AB = ( )
(15 + 28) (18 + 32)

(19) (22)
AB = ( )
(43) (50)
The Identity Matrix

The identity matrix [I ] is defined so that [A][I ] = [I ][A] = [A], i.e. it is

the matrix version of multiplying a number by one.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Discuss the properties of the identity matrix

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Key Points

For any square matrix, its identity matrix is a diagonal

stretch of 1s going from the upper-left-hand corner to
the lower-right, with all other elements being 0.

Non-square matrices do not have an identity. That is, for

a non-square matrix [A], there is no matrix such that
[A][I ] = [I ][A] = [A] .

Proving that the identity matrix functions as desired

requires the use of matrix multiplication.

Key Terms

matrix: A rectangular arrangement of numbers or terms

having various uses such as transforming coordinates in
geometry, solving systems of linear equations in linear
algebra and representing graphs in graph theory.

identity matrix: A diagonal matrix all of the diagonal

elements of which are equal to 1, the rest being equal
to 0.
The number 1 has a special property: when multiplying any number by 1,
the result is the same number, i.e. 5 ⋅ 1 = 5. This idea can be expressed
with the following property as an algebraic generalization: 1x = x. The
matrix that has this property is referred to as the identity matrix.

Definition of the Identity Matrix

The identity matrix, designated as [I ], is defined by the property:

[A][I ] = [I ][A] = [A] .

Note that the definition of [I][I] stipulates that the multiplication must
commute, that is, it must yield the same answer no matter in which order
multiplication is done.

This stipulation is important because, for most matrices, multiplication

does not commute.

What matrix has this property? A first guess might be a matrix full of 1s,
but that does not work:

1 2 1 1 3 3
( )( ) = ( )
3 4 1 1 7 7

1 1
So ( ) is not an identity matrix.
1 1

The matrix that does work is a diagonal stretch of 1s, with all other
elements being 0.

1 3 1 0 1 3
( )( ) = ( )
2 4 0 1 2 4

1 0
So ( ) is the identity matrix for 2 × 2 matrices.
0 1

For a 3 × 3 matrix, the identity matrix is a 3 × 3 matrix with diagonal 1s

and the rest equal to 0:

2 π −3 2 π −3
⎛ ⎞⎛1 0 0
⎞ ⎛ ⎞
1 1
⎜5 −2
2
⎟⎜0 1 0⎟ = ⎜5 −2
2
⎟

⎝ ⎠⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
9 8 8.3 0 0 1 9 8 8.3

1 0 0
⎛ ⎞
So ⎜ 0 1 0⎟ is the identity matrix for 3 × 3 matrices.
⎝ ⎠
0 0 1

It is important to confirm those multiplications, and also confirm that they

work in reverse order (as the definition requires).

There is no identity for a non-square matrix because of the requirement

of matrices being commutative. For a non-square matrix [A] one might
be able to find a matrix [I ] such that [A][I ] = [A], however, if the order
is reversed then an illegal multiplication will be left. The reason for this is
because, for two matrices to be multiplied together, the first matrix must
have the same number of columns as the second has rows.