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Matrices
Describing Matrices (Rows and Columns)
In this lesson, we will learn
what is a matrix?
rows and columns of a matrix
dimensions (or order) of a matrix
elements of a matrix
The word matrix was first introduced by English Mathematician Jame Sylverter (1814-1897).
Another Mathematician Arther Caylay (1821-1895) also developed the theory of matrices
independently and used it for solving the linear equations. Now a days, matrices (plural of
matrix) are used in high speed computers and other branches of natural & social sciences to
solve their problems. We see around us that the students in schools are gathered in assembly in
rows (horizontal lines) and columns (vertical lines) , chairs in the class-rooms are arranged in
rows and columns etc. This type of arrangement is called matrix arrangement or simply matrix.
Hence, when objects are arranged into rows and columns, then such arrangement is called a
Matrix.
A matrix consists of a set of numbers arranged in rows and columns enclosed in brackets.

The dimensions or order of a matrix gives the number of rows followed by the number of
columns in a matrix. The order of a matrix with 3 rows and 2 columns is 3 2 or 3 by 2.
We usually denote a matrix by a capital letter.

C is a matrix of order 2 4 (read as 2 by 4)

Elements In An Array
Each number in the array is called an entry or an element of the matrix. When we need to read
out the elements of an array, we read it out row by row.

Each element is defined by its position in the matrix.

In a matrix A, an element in row i and column j is represented by aij
Example:

a11 (read as a one one )= 2 (first row, first column)

a12 (read as a one two') = 4 (first row, second column)
a13 = 5, a21 = 7, a22 = 8, a23 = 9

Equality Of Matrices
Two matrices are equal if they have the same dimension or order and the corresponding
elements are identical.
Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

Matrices P and Q are equal.

Matrices A and B are not equal because their dimensions or order

is different.
We can use the equality of matrices to solve for variables.
Example:
Given that the following matrices are equal, find the values of x, y and z .

Solution:
Equate the corresponding elements and solve for the variables.
x+3=6
x=3
y = 1
z 3 = 4
z=7

Types Of Matrices
In this lesson, we will learn the different types of matrices: row matrix, column matrix, zero
matrix, square matrix, diagonal matrix and unit matrix etc. A matrix may be classified by types.
It is possible for a matrix to belong to more than one type.

A Row Matrix:
A row matrix is a matrix with only one row.

A column matrix:
A column matrix is a matrix with only one column.

A zero matrix:
A zero matrix or a null matrix is a matrix that has all its elements zero.

Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

A square matrix:
A square matrix is a matrix with an equal number of rows and columns.

A diagonal matrix:
A diagonal matrix is a square matrix that has all its elements zero except for those in the
diagonal from top left to bottom right; which is known as the leading diagonal of the matrix.

A unit matrix:
A unit matrix is a diagonal matrix whose elements in the diagonal are all ones.

Rectangular Matrix:
A matrix is said to be rectangular if number of rows is not equal to number of columns.

e.g.
Scalar Matrix:
A diagonal matrix is said to be scalar if all of its diagonal elements are same.

Identity or Unit Matrix:

A diagonal matrix is said to be identity if all of its diagonal elements equal to one, denoted by

Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

Triangular Matrix:

A square matrix is said to be triangular if all of its elements below principal diagonal are zero
(Lower Triangular Matrix) or all of its elements above principal diagonal are zero (Upper
Triangular Matrix).

Null or Zero Matrix:

A matrix is said to be null or zero matrix if all of its elements, equal to zero. It is denoted by

Transpose of a Matrix:
Suppose

be a given matrix, then the matrix obtained by interchanging its rows into columns is

called Transpose of

, it is denoted by

Matrix Addition and Subtraction

In this lesson, we will learn how to add and subtract matrices. We also have a Matrix Calculator
that will allow you to add, subtract or multiply 2x2 matrices. Use it to check your answers.

Matrix Addition
We can only add matrices of the same order.

Example:
Matrix addition is very simple; we just add the corresponding elements.

It is not possible to add matrices that do not have the same order, as shown in the following
example:

Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

How to add two matrices together. If they both have the same dimensions (same number of
rows and columns) then you just add up the numbers that are in the same spot.

Matrix Subtraction
Similarly, we can only subtract matrices of the same order.

Example:
We subtract the corresponding elements.

It is not possible to subtract matrices that do not have the same order as in the following
example:

Scalar Matrix Multiplication

We can multiply a matrix with a number (also called a scalar). For scalar multiplication, we
multiply each element of the matrix by the number or scalar.

Example:

Example:

Example :
Find the values of x and y.
Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

Solution:
2x 6 = 5
2x = 11
x = 5.5
4y=3
y=1
Matrix Multiplication
In this lesson, we will learn how to perform matrix multiplication.
We will illustrate matrix multiplication or matrix product by the following example.
Example:

Find C = A B
Solution:
Step 1 : Multiply the elements in the first row of A with the corresponding elements in
the first column of B. Add the products to get the element C 11

Step 2 : Multiply the elements in the first row of A with the corresponding elements in
the second column of B. Add the products to get the element C 12

Step 3 : Multiply the elements in the second row of A with the corresponding elements
in the first column of B. Add the products to get the element C 21

Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

Step 4 : Multiply the elements in the second row of A with the corresponding elements
in the second column of B. Add the products to get the element C 22

Matrices that can or cannot be Multiplied

Not all matrices can be multiplied together.

We cannot multiply A and B because there are 3 elements in the row to be multiplied
with 2 elements in the column
This means that we can only multiply two matrices if the number of elements in the
column of the first matrix is equal to the number of elements in the row of the second
matrix.
An easy method to determine whether two matrices can be multiplied together would
be to check the order of the matrices.

Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

We can also know the order of the product.

Checking the orders of the matrices will also help you to make sure that you multiplied
the elements in the correct way.
Take note that matrix multiplication is not commutative that is
ABBA

Determinants: 22 Determinants

Determinant of 3x3 Matrix

Method 1

Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

Method 2
The computations for 33 determinants are messier than for 22's. Various methods can be used, but the
simplest is probably the following:

Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

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Inverse of a Matrix
using Minors, Cofactors and Adjugate
You can calculate the Inverse of a Matrix by:

Step
Step
Step
Step

1:
2:
3:
4:

calculating the Matrix of Minors,

then turn that into the Matrix of Cofactors,
then the Adjugate, and
multiply that by 1/Determinant.

But it is best explained by working through an example!

Example: find the Inverse of A:

It needs 4 steps. It is all simple arithmetic but there is a lot of it, so try not to make a mistake!

Step 1: Matrix of Minors

The first step is to create a "Matrix of Minors". This step has the most calculations:
For each element of the matrix:
ignore the values on the current row and column
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Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

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calculate the determinant of the remaining values

Put those determinants into a matrix (the "Matrix of Minors")

The Calculations
Here are the first two, and last two, calculations of the "Matrix of Minors" (notice how I ignore the
values in the current row and columns, and calculate the determinant using the remaining values):

And here is the calculation for the whole matrix:

Step 2: Matrix of Cofactors

This is easy! Just apply a "checkerboard" of minuses to the "Matrix of Minors". In other words, you
need to change the sign of alternate cells, like this:

Step 3: Adjugate (also called Adjoint)

Now "Transpose" all elements of the previous matrix... in other words swap their positions over the
diagonal (the diagonal stays the same):

Step 4: Multiply by 1/Determinant

Now find the determinant of the original matrix. This isn't too hard, because we already calculated
the determinants of the smaller parts when we did "Matrix of Minors".

So: multiply the top row elements by their matching "minor" determinants:
Determinant = 32 - 02 + 22 = 10
And now multiply the Adjugate by 1/Determinant:
Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

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Crammer Rule 3x3 Matrix

Cramer's Rule for 3 x 3's works, pretty much, the same way it does for 2 x 2's -- it's the same pattern.
Let's solve this one:

First, find the determinant of the coefficient matrix: (I'm just going to crunch the determinants without
showing the work -- you should check them!)

Replace that column with the "= guys" and start crunching!

Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

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Replace that column with the "= guys" and crunch!

Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

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Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

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Inverse Example No 2
Step 1 Find det(M), the determinant of the Matrix M. The determinant will usually
show up in the denominator of the inverse. If the determinant is zero, the matrix won't have
an inverse.

lMl = -24 + 40 15
lMl = 1
Step 2 Find MT, the transpose of the matrix. Transposing means reflecting the matrix
about the main diagonal, or equivalently, swapping the (i,j)th element and the (j,i)th.

Step 3 Find the determinant of each of the 2x2 minor matrices. Find the determinant
of each of the 2x2 minor matrices.

Step 4 Represent these as a matrix of cofactors as shown, and multiply each term by
the sign indicated. The result of these steps is the adjugate matrix (sometimes also called the
adjoint), notated Adj(M).

Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

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Step 5 Find the inverse by dividing the adjugate found in the previous step by the
determinate from the first step.

Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

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Three Variable Crammer Rule

Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

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Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt

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Prepared & Selected By Iftikhar Ali Msc Economics (AIOU), Certification in Chinese History &
Political Economy Howard University, Behavioral Economics (Toronto University), Globalization
(Howard University), American Capitalism (Cornell University), Student of CMA (Certified
Management Accountant) Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy Pakistan. Teaching at
Punjab College of excellence in Commerce Kamra Cantt