1

Elementary Matrix Algebra

Recommended Texts and webs:

- Shanti Narayan and P K Mital, A text book of Matrices, ISBN 81-219-2596-7, S Chand & company Ltd.
New Delhi
- Frank Ayres J R, Theory and problems of Matrices, ISBN 0-07-99035-2, Schaum's outline series
- www.anslab.iastate.edu/Class/AnS652X/Appendices.pdf
- www.mathresource.iitb.ac.in/linear%20algebra/chapter2.6.html
- www.numbertheory.org/book

Matrices (Singular: Matrix)

Matrices are rectangular arrays of numbers which are enclosed within brackets.

Ex:
|
|
.
|

\
|
0 1
9 2
,
|
|
.
|

\
|
2 2 15
4 8 3
, ( ) 7 1 2

The numbers within a matrix are called the Elements of the matrix.

Horizontal lines of numbers in a matrix are called rows and vertical lines are called columns.


Row matrix and Column matrix

A matrix consists of one row is called a row matrix and a matrix consists of one column is
called a column matrix.

Ex:
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

4
1
0
2
; A column matrix


( ) 1 3 6 ; A row matrix.



Order of a matrix

The order of a matrix is given by,

Number of rows x Number of columns

and indicated as shown in the following examples.


2
3 2
2 2 15
4 8 3
x
|
|
.
|

\
|

,
1 4
4
1
0
2
x
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

,
2 2
0 1
9 2
x
|
|
.
|

\
|




General form of an mxn matrix.



A=
mxn
mn m m
n
n
a a a
a a a
a a a
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
. .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. .
. .
2 1
2 22 21
1 12 11


ij
a represents the element at the position of intersection of ith row and jth column.

Square matrix.

In a matrix, if the number of rows equals to the number of columns, then that matrix is called
a square matrix.


General form of a square matrix is,

A=
nxn
nn n n
n
n
a a a
a a a
a a a
|
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
. .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. .
. .
2 1
2 22 21
1 12 11



Addition/ Subtraction of matrices.

In order to add/ or subtract matrices, they should be in the same order. The addition/ or
subtraction is done by adding/ or subtracting corresponding elements.


Ex: (i)
3 2
2 2 15
4 8 3
x
|
|
.
|

\
|

+
3 2
1 2 4
7 3 0
x
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
3 3
) 1 ( 2 2 2 4 15
7 4 3 8 0 3
x
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ + +
+ + +



3
=
3 2
1 0 19
11 11 3
x
|
|
.
|

\
|



(ii)
3 3
3 5 7
6 4 1
3 2 0
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
-
3 3
0 2 1
3 2 0
2 3 4
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
3 3
0 3 2 5 ) 1 ( 7
3 6 ) 2 ( 4 0 1
2 3 3 2 4 0
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|







=
3 3
3 3 8
3 6 1
5 1 4
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|



Main Diagonal Elements.

In a square matrix, the elements from upper left hand corner to lower right hand corner are
called main diagonal elements.


Ex:
nxn
nn n n
n
n
a a a
a a a
a a a
|
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
. .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. .
. .
2 1
2 22 21
1 12 11
; where
nn
a a a a ,........, , ,
33 22 11
are the main diagonal elements.


Zero matrix ( or null matrix)

In a matrix, if all the elements are zero, then that matrix is called zero matrix or null matrix

Ex:
2 2
0 0
0 0
x
|
|
.
|

\
|
,
4 2
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
x
|
|
.
|

\
|


Identity matrix

In a square matrix, if all the elements of main diagonal are 1 and all the other elements are
zero, then that matrix is called an identity matrix and denoted by
n
I ; where n is the order of
the corresponding square matrix.

4
Ex:
2 2
2
1 0
0 1
x
I
|
|
.
|

\
|
= ,
4 4
4
1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1
x
I
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
=



Triangular Matrices

A square matrix all of whose elements below the main diagonal are zero is called an upper
triangular matrix

Example

3 3
5 0 0
3 1 0
2 4 1
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
is an upper triangular matrix

A square matrix all of whose elements above the main diagonal are zero is called a lower
triangular matrix

Example

3 3
9 1 8
0 3 7
0 0 2
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
is a lower triangular matrix


Scalar multiplication of a matrix.

When a matrix is multiplied by a scalar, all the elements of the matrix are multiplied by that
scalar.

Ex: 5
3 2
2 2 15
4 8 3
x
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
3 2
10 10 75
20 40 15
x
|
|
.
|

\
|

-2
3 3
3 3 8
3 6 1
5 1 4
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
3 3
6 6 16
6 12 2
10 2 8
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|



Matrix multiplication

Matrix multiplication is done under two conditions.

(i) Number of columns of the left matrix should be equal to the number of rows of
the right matrix.
(ii) The resultant matrix should be in order of,
5

No. of rows of the left matrix x No. of columns of the right matrix






Matrix multiplication is illustrated by the following example.


Let A=
3 3
3 5 1
2 0 4
1 4 3
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

and B=
2 3
4 2
0 3
1 1
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|



AB is conformable for multiplication as it satisfies condition (i) above. The resultant matrix
is in order of 3x2.






Step 1: Separate the left matrix into rows and the right matrix into column as follows;



3 3
3 5 1
2 0 4
1 4 3
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

x
2 3
4 2
0 3
1 1
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|


Step 2: Write down the format of resultant matrix.


2 3
2 3 1 3
2 2 1 2
2 1 1 1
x
c r c r
c r c r
c r c r
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
;

where
1 1
c r is the value obtained by multiplying row 1 of the left matrix and column 1 of the
right matrix. ,..... ,
1 2 2 1
c r c r are obtained by following the same manner.


Step 3: Obtain
1 1
c r , ,..... ,
1 2 2 1
c r c r as follows.


1 1
c r =(3x1)+(4x3)+(1x2) = 17
2 1
c r =(3x(-1))+(4x0)+(1x4) = 1
1 2
c r =(4x1)+(0x3)+(2x2) = 8
2 2
c r =(4x(-1))+(0x0)+(2x4) = 4
6
1 3
c r =(1x1)+(5x3)+(-3x2)=10
2 3
c r =(1x(-1))+(5x0)+((-3)x4)= -13

Therefore the product AB=
2 3
13 10
4 8
1 17
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

Exercise (1): Verify the following matrix multiplication.



3 4
3 5 1
1 2 4
2 1 0
3 1 2
x
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

x
3 3
3 5 1
4 3 1
2 1 0
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
3 4
31 31 2
3 3 3
10 13 1
17 20 2
x
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

Exercise (2):

Let A=
3 3
3 5 1
4 3 1
2 1 0
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

, B=
3 2
2 2 15
4 8 3
x
|
|
.
|

\
|

,C=
1 3
1
6
1
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

and D=( )
2 1
3 2
x

Which of the following matrix multiplications are possible? Calculate the possible ones.

(i) AB (ii) BA (iii) BC (iv) CD (v)BD (vi) DB


Transpose of a matrix.

Transpose of a matrix A is obtained by interchanging its rows and columns and denoted by
A
T
.


Ex: (i) A=
3 3
0 2 2
3 4 3
2 1 3
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
A
T
=
3 3
0 3 2
2 4 1
2 3 3
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

(ii) B=
3 2
2 2 15
4 8 3
x
|
|
.
|

\
|

B
T
=
3 2
2 4
2 8
15 3
x
|
|
|
.
|

\
|





Adjoint of a square matrix.

7
Adjoint of a 2x2 matrix is obtained by interchanging its main diagonal elements and
multiplying the other two elements by -1.


A=
2 2
0 1
9 2
x
|
|
.
|

\
|
adj A=
2 2
2 1
9 0
x
|
|
.
|

\
|

B=
2 2
3 4
6 2
x
|
|
.
|

\
|

adj B =
2 2
2 4
6 3
x
|
|
.
|

\
|

Determinant of a 2x2 matrix

Let A=
2 2x
b d
c a
|
|
.
|

\
|
. Then the determinant of A = ab-cd, and denoted by A or detA.

Ex: A=
2 2
3 4
6 2
x
|
|
.
|

\
|

A = det A=2x(-3)-4x6
= -30

B=
2 2
2 1
9 0
x
|
|
.
|

\
|

det B=0x2-9x(-1)
=9


Determinant of a 3x3 matrix

Consider the following 3x3 matrix.


3 3x
i h g
f e d
c b a
A
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
=

Then
i h
f e
c
i g
f d
b
i h
f e
a A + =


Example: Find the determinant of the following matrix


3 3
3 5 1
6 5 2
4 4 1
x
B
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
=

8
Solution

5
) 5 10 ( 4 ) 6 6 ( 4 ) 30 15 ( 1
5 1
5 2
4
3 1
6 2
4
3 5
6 5
1
=
+ =
+ = B

Adjoint of a 3x3 matrix


Consider the following matrix


3 3x
i h g
f e d
c b a
A
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
= (1)
The matrix formed by the co-factors of the elements in A is as follows


|
|
|
.
|

\
|
3 2 1
3 2 1
3 2 1
C C C
B B B
A A A
(2)


Where,

e d
b a
C
f d
c a
C
f e
c b
C
h g
b a
B
i g
c a
B
i h
c b
B
h g
e d
A
i g
f d
A
i h
f e
A
= = = =
= = = = =
3 2 1 3
2 1 3 2 1


And
3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1
, , , , , , , , C C C B B B A A A are called the co-factors of matrix A

Transpose of the above matrix (2) is called the adjoint of the matrix A



3 3
3 3 3
2 2 2
1 1 1
x
C B A
C B A
C B A
adjA
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
=



Example: Find the adjoint of the following matrix

9

3 3
3 5 1
6 5 2
4 4 1
x
B
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
=



Co-factors of the above matrix are as follows

3
5 2
4 1
2
6 2
4 1
4
6 5
4 4
1
5 1
4 1
1
3 1
4 1
8
3 5
4 4
5
5 1
5 2
0
3 1
6 2
15
3 5
6 5
3
2 1 3 2
1 3 2 1
= =
= = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = =
C
C C B B
B A A A




3 3
3 1 5
2 1 0
4 8 15
x
adjB
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

=

Inverse of a matrix

Let A be a matrix. If there exists another matrix B such that AB=I, then the matrix B is
called the inverse if A, and denoted by .
1
A



Inverse of a 2x2 matrix.

Let A be a 2x2 matrix. Then,


A
A adj
A
det
1
=

Ex: A=
2 2
3 1
4 2
x
|
|
.
|

\
|
adj A =
2 2
2 1
4 3
x
|
|
.
|

\
|

and det A=3x2-(-4)x(-1)=2

Then =
|
|
.
|

\
|

2
2 1
4 3
2 2 1 x
A
2 2
1
2
1
2
2
3
x
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

10


(Division by 2 is equal to multiplication by )


Also note that
2 2
1
3 1
4 2
x
AA
|
|
.
|

\
|
=

x
2 2
1
2
1
2
2
3
x
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
2 2
1 0
0 1
x
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
2
I
Exercise: Verify that that the inverse of the matrix
2 2
0 1
9 2
x
|
|
.
|

\
|
is
2 2
9
2
9
1
1 0
x
|
|
.
|

\
|

.


Inverse of a 3x3 matrix.

Example: Find the inverse of the following matrix


3 3
3 5 1
6 5 2
4 4 1
x
B
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
=

We have already found the adjoint and determinant of the above matrix


3 3
3 1 5
2 1 0
4 8 15
) (
5
x
B adj
B
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
=



3 3
3 3 1
5 / 3 5 / 1 1
5 / 2 5 / 1 0
5 / 4 5 / 8 3
5
3 1 5
2 1 0
4 8 15
) det(
) (
x
x
B
B adj
B
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

= =




Elementary Row Operations

11
There are three types of row operations that we are going to learn under this unit and row
operations play a vital role especially in solving linear systems and in finding inverses of
matrices. Following are the elementary row operations.

1. Interchange two rows.
j i
R R
2. Multiply a row with a nonzero number.
j i
cR R
3. Add a row to another one multiplied by a number
j i i
cR R R +

Two matrices are said to be row equivalent if and only if one may be obtained from the
other one by performing elementary row operations.

Example: Verify that the following two matrices are raw equivalent.

|
|
.
|

\
|
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
1 3 0
1 0 3
1 1 2
0 1 1
B and A

We can start with A and obtain B by doing elementary row operations or we can start with B
and obtain A.
Lets start form A.

- First we keep the first row unchanged and add the first to the second row, then we
get,

|
|
.
|

\
|
1 0 3
0 1 1

- Then we can interchange two rows.

|
|
.
|

\
|
0 1 1
1 0 3

- Multiply second row by 3 and subtract from first row.

|
|
.
|

\
|
1 3 0
1 0 3

which is the matrix B. Therefore A and B are row equivalent
These steps cab be illustrated as follows;
12

|
|
.
|

\
|

|
|
.
|

\
|

|
|
.
|

\
|

|
|
.
|

\
|
+
1 3 0
1 0 3
0 1 1
1 0 3
1 0 3
0 1 1
1 1 2
0 1 1
2 1 2 2 1 1 2 2
3R R R R R R R R




Row Echelon form
A matrix is in row echelon form if
- All nonzero rows (rows with at least one nonzero element) are above any rows of all
zeroes, and
- The leading coefficient (the first non-zero number from the left, also called the pivot)
of a nonzero row is always strictly to the right of the leading coefficient of the row
above to it.

Example:

The matrix
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
3 1 0 0
2 0 1 0
1 1 9 1
is in row echelon form as it satisfies the above two conditions
Reduced Row Echelon form
A matrix is in reduced row echelon form (also called row canonical form) if it satisfies the
following condition in addition to the condition stated for Row echelon form.
- Every leading coefficient is 1 and is the only nonzero entry in its column.
Example:
The matrix
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
0 1 0 0 0
0 0 1 0 0
0 0 0 1 0
0 0 0 0 1
is in reduced row echelon form as it satisfies the above
conditions

13
Note that the following matrix is not either in row echelon form or reduced row echelon form
as the leading coefficient of row 3 is not strictly to the right of the leading coefficient of row
2, and the main diagonal is not made up of only ones:
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
0 0 2 0
2 7 3 0
4 3 2 1


We can find the row echelon form or reduced row echelon form of a given matrix by
applying suitable row operations on the given matrix.

Exercises:
- Verify that the row echelon form of the matrix
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
5 4 3
1 5 2 -
4 3 0
2 1 - 1
is
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
0 0 0
1 0 0
3
4
1 0
2 1 1

- Verify that the reduced row echelon form of the matrix
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

0 1 2
5 3 2
6 5 2
5 4 1
is
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
0 0 0
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1