4016 MATHEMATICS

TOPIC 1: NUMBERS AND ALGEBRA

SUB-TOPIC 1.11
MATRICES

CONTENT OUTLINE
1. Display of information in the form of a matrix of any order
2. Interpreting the data in a given matrix
3. Product of a scalar quantity and a matrix
4. Problems involving the calculation of the sum and product (where appropriate) of two
matrices

Exclude:
1. Matrix representation of geometrical transformations
2. Solving simultaneous linear equations using the inverse matrix method
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SUB-TOPIC 1.11: MATRICES

A Introduction
Expenses in May Sugar ($) Flour ($) Butter ($)
Bakery 1 400 200 600
Bakery 2 300 500 700

The table above summarises the expenses of two bakeries in the month of May on typical
bakery raw materials. The data in the table represent the following:

Bakery 1 spent $400 on sugar, $200 on flour and $600 on butter.

Bakery 2 spent $300 on sugar, $500 on flour and $700 on butter.

We see that a table is an easy and convenient way to organise data. Suppose we extract the
data from the table and arrange them in rows and columns within brackets as shown below:

400 200 600

( 300 500 700 )

This rectangular array of numbers is called a matrix (plural: matrices). The numbers in a
matrix are called the entries or elements of the matrix. An element is identified by its row and
column positions in a matrix. For example, the element in the first row and second column is
200.

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3

Row 1 400 200 600

Row 2 ( 300 500 700 )

If a matrix has m rows and n columns, we say that the order or dimension of the matrix is m
x n. For instance, the order of the above matrix is 2 x 3 (read as two by three).

We usually denote the names of matrices with capital letters. For example:

6 11
1 3 9
A= , B= 5 8 , C= 18 , D = 16 12 17 13 , E = 15
2 4 7 0
14

The above matrices A, B, C, D and E have an order of 2 x 2, 3 x 2, 3 x 1, 1 x 4 and 1 x 1

respectively.

A matrix having the same number of rows and columns is called a square matrix. For
example, A is a square matrix of the order 2 x 2, or simply of order 2.

A matrix that has only one column is called a column matrix. For example, C is a column
matrix of the order 3 x 1.

A matrix that has only one row is called a row matrix. For example, D is a row matrix of order
1 x 4.
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SUB-TOPIC 1.11: MATRICES

Two matrices F and G are equal (i.e. F = G), if they have the same order and the
corresponding elements are equal.

Consider the matrices:

2 5 2 5 2 5 3 2 5
A= ,B = ,C = ,D =
6 8 6 9 6 8 4 2x3 23

A ≠ B since their elements in the second row and second column are not equal (8 ≠ 9)

A ≠ C since the order of A (2 x 2) and the order of C (2 x 3) are not equal.

A = D since they have the same order and their corresponding elements are equal.

WORKED EXAMPLES
A travel agent offers 3 types of overseas tour packages to 4 cities. The number of
customers in each tour in a certain month is shown in the following table:
Hong Kong Jakarta Kuala Lumpur Bangkok
Economic 58 70 136 62
Standard 64 92 87 75
Deluxe 23 30 40 21
(a) Represent the data by a matrix T.
58 70 136 62
T = 64 92 87 75
23 30 40 21
(b) State the order of T.
T has an order of 3 x 4 (as it has 3 rows and 4 columns)
(c) Calculate the sum of the elements in the first column of T. What does this sum
represent?
Sum of elements in 1st column = 58 + 64 + 23
= 145 (Ans)
This represents the total number of customers joining the tour package to Hong Kong in that
month.
(d) Calculate the sum of elements in the second row of T. What does this sum
represent?
Sum of elements in 2nd row = 64 + 92 + 87 + 75
= 318
This represents the total number of customers opting for the Standard tour package in that
month.
Question from Discovering Mathematics 4 (2008), Chow Wai Keung, Pg 62 Example 1

4 x 4 5
If 2y 13 = 7 13 , find the values of x, y and z.
-1 8 -1 z - 1
If two matrices are equal, then the corresponding elements are equal. Hence,
x = 5 (Ans)
2y = 7
y = 3.5 (Ans)
8 = z-1
z = 9 (Ans)
Question from Discovering Mathematics 4 (2008), Chow Wai Keung, Pg 62 Example 2

B The Zero Matrix and The Identity Matrix

 4016 MATHEMATICS TOPIC 1: NUMBERS AND ALGEBRA

SUB-TOPIC 1.11: MATRICES

A zero matrix (also called a null matrix) is one in which all elements are zero. It is usually
denoted by the letter O. For example:
0 0 0 0 0
and
0 0 0 0 0

are zero matrices of the order 2 x 2 and 2 x 3 respectively.

The square matrices,

1 0 1 0 0
I2 = and I3 = 0 1 0
0 1
0 0 1

which have ‘1’s in the main diagonal (i.e. from the top left to the bottom right) and zeroes
everywhere else are called identity matrices. In general, I or In is used to denote the identity
matrix of order n x n.

We will look into them later.

C Addition of Matrices
If A and B are two matrices of the same order, the sum of A + B is the matrix obtained by
adding the corresponding elements of A and B.

For example: if C = A + B, where:

1 3 5 8
A= and B =
2 4 6 7

Then the matrix C would be equal to:

1+5 3+8 6 11
C= =
2+6 4+7 8 11

When adding a zero matrix to any matrix A, the result will still be A. Let’s check.

1 3 0 0 1+0 3+0 1 3
A+O= + = = =A
2 4 0 0 2+0 4+0 2 4

The associate law of addition states that A + B = B + A. Let’s check.

1 3 5 8 1+5 3+8 6 11
A+B= + = =
2 4 6 7 2+6 4+7 8 11
5 8 1 3 5+1 8+3 6 11
B+A= + = =
6 7 2 4 6+2 7+4 8 11

Yes, they are equal.

The commutative law of addition states that (A + B) + C = A + (B + C). Let’s check.

1 3 5 8 6 11 6 11 6 11 12 22
(A + B) + C = ( + )+ = + =
2 4 6 7 8 11 8 11 8 11 16 22
1 3 5 8 6 11 1 3 11 19 12 22
A + (B + C) = +( + )= + =
2 4 6 7 8 11 2 4 14 18 16 22

Yes they are equal.

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SUB-TOPIC 1.11: MATRICES

Hence, we can see that the associative and commutative laws of addition apply to matrices
as well. In summary,

If A, B, C and O are matrices of the same order, then:

1. A + O = A
2. A + B = B + A
3. (A + B) + C = A + (B + C)

D Subtraction of Matrices
If A and B are two matrices of the same order, the difference of A – B is the matrix obtained
by subtracting the corresponding elements of in B from A.

For example, if D = B – A, where:

1 3 5 8
A= and B =
2 4 6 7

Then the matrix D would be equal to:

5-1 8-3 4 5
D= =
6-2 7-4 4 3

E Multiplication of a Matrix by a Scalar

If k is scalar, then the scalar multiplication of a matrix A by k, denoted by kA, is obtained by
multiplying every element in A by k.

For example, if E = 5A + 4B, where:

1 3 5 8
A= and B =
2 4 6 7

Then the matrix E would be equal to:

1 3 5 8 5 15 20 32 5 + 20 15 + 32 25 47
E=5 + 4 = + = =
2 4 6 7 10 20 24 28 10 + 24 20 + 28 34 48

F Multiplication of Matrices
Let us consider a simple problem involving the masses of three books in two bookstores and
the prices of these books. The data are displayed in the two matrices below:

English Biology Physics

Store 1 8 9 7
A=
Store 2 ( 3 6 4 )
Price Mass

English 15 0.6

B= Biology

Physics ( 18

20
1.2

0.9 )
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SUB-TOPIC 1.11: MATRICES

Suppose the matrix A represents the number of English, Biology and Physics books
available in stores 1 and 2; the matrix B represents the price (in dollars) and the mass (in kg)
of each copy of those books.

We see that:
Total price of books in store 1
8 9 7 15 0.6
= 8 x 15 + 9 x 18 + 7 x 20 18 1.2
= $422 3 6 4
20 0.9
Total price of books in store 2
8 9 7 15 0.6
= 3 x 15 + 6 x 18 + 4 x 20 18 1.2
= $233 3 6 4
20 0.9
Total mass of books in store 1
8 9 7 15 0.6
= 8 x 0.6 + 9 x 1.2 + 7 x 0.9 18 1.2
= 12.6 kg 3 6 4
20 0.9
Total mass of books in store 2
8 9 7 15 0.6
= 3 x 0.6 + 6 x 1.2 + 4 x 0.9 18 1.2
= 12.6 kg 3 6 4
20 0.9

The results can thus be summarised by:

Total Price Total Mass

Store 1 422 21.9

C=
Store 2 ( 233 12.6 )
We say that C is the product matrix AB, and we write C = AB.

In general, the multiplication of two matrices is defined as follows: If A is a matrix of order m

x n and B is a matrix of order n x p, then the product AB is a matrix of order m x p, whose
element at the ith row and the jth column is the sum of the products of the corresponding
elements in the ith row of A and the jth column of B. That means:

A x B = C
m x n n x p m x p
equal

Note that the matrix product AB is defined only when the number of columns of A is equal to
the number of rows of B. In order words, the product CD cannot exist if matrix C has 3
columns, but matrix D has 4 rows.

When multiplying a zero matrix to any matrix A, the result is the zero matrix. Let’s check.
1 3 0 0 1(0) + 3(0) 1(0) + 3(0) 0 0
AO = = = =O
2 4 0 0 2(0) + 4(0) 2(0) + 4(0) 0 0
Yes it is correct.

When multiply an identity matrix to any matrix A, the result is still A. Let’s check.
 4016 MATHEMATICS TOPIC 1: NUMBERS AND ALGEBRA

SUB-TOPIC 1.11: MATRICES

1 3 1 0 1(1) + 3(0) 1(0) + 3(1) 1 3

AI = = = =A
2 4 0 1 2(1) + 4(0) 2(0) + 4(1) 2 4
Yes it is correct.

Multiplication of matrices is not commutative (i.e. AB ≠ BA). Let’s check.

1 3 5 8 1(5) + 3(6) 1(8) + 3(7) 5 + 18 8 + 21 23 29
AB = = = =
2 4 6 7 2 5 + 4(6) 2(8) + 4(7) 10 + 24 16 + 28 34 44
5 8 1 3 5(1) + 8(2) 5(3) + 8(4) 5 + 16 15 + 32 21 47
BA = = = =
6 7 2 4 6(1) + 7(2) 6(3) + 7(4) 6 + 14 18 + 28 20 46
Yes it is correct.

Multiplication of matrices is associative (i.e. (AB)C = A(BC))

(AB)C A(BC)
AB BC
1 3 5 8 5 8 6 11
= =
2 4 6 7 6 7 8 11
1(5) + 3(6) 1(8) + 3(7) 5(6) + 8(8) 5(11) + 8(11)
= =
2 5 + 4(6) 2(8) + 4(7) 6(6) + 7(8) 6(11) + 7(11)
5 + 18 8 + 21 30 + 64 55 + 88
= =
10 + 24 16 + 28 36 + 56 66 + 77
23 29 94 143
= =
34 44 92 143
(AB)C A(BC)
23 29 6 11 1 3 94 143
= =
34 44 8 11 2 4 92 143
23(6) + 29(8) 23(11) + 29(11) 1(94) + 3(92) 1(143) + 3(143)
= =
34 6 + 44(8) 34 11 + 44(11) 2 94 + 4(92) 2 143 + 4(143)
138 + 232 253 + 319 94 + 276 143 + 429
= =
204 + 352 374 + 484 188 + 368 286 + 572
370 572 370 572
= =
556 858 556 858

Yes, it is correct.

In summary, suppose A, B and C are matrices such that the following products are defined.
Then
1. AO = OA = O
2. AIn = InA = A (only if the order of A is n x n)
3. In general, AB ≠ BA
4. (AB)C = A(BC)