Contents

Introduction
Matrix Multiplication
Partitioned Matrices
Powers of a Matrix
Transpose of a Matrix
Theorems and Proofs
Application of Matrix Multiplication
Questions
Links
The Matrix

What is a matrix?
A matrix is a rectangular array of numeric or algebraic quantities subject to
mathematical operations, or a grid of numbers.

Row 2 4 7
1 -3 6

Column

The size of this matrix is m n, where m represents the number of rows

and n represents the number of columns. For example, the matrix shown
above is a 23 matrix.
Matrix Multiplication

Scalar Multiplication

Consider the following

If s is a scalar and A is a matrix

1 5
s = 2, and A = 4 3
2 1

1 5 2(1) 2(5) 2 10
sA = 2 * 4 3 = 2(4) 2(3) = 8 6
2 1 2(2) 2(1) 4 2

Rule: if s is a scalar and A is a matrix, then the scalar multiple sA is the matrix
whose columns are s times the corresponding entries in A. In other words,
you take the scalar and multiply it with every number in the matrix.

Theorem: If r and s are scalars, then (r + s)A = rA + sA and r(sA) = (rs)A.

Matrix Multiplication

Before you multiply a matrix by another matrix, you need to check the compatibility
of the two matrices. The number of columns (n) in A must equal the number
of rows (m) in B in order to carry out the matrix multiplication.

Example 1

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

mn mn
22 23

You can see that the number of columns of A matches the number of rows of B.
(Later on, you will see that the size of matrix AB will be m of A n of B).

Example 2

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

22 33

Obviously, n of A m of B and thus they are not compatible for multiplication.

 Example 3

Find the product AB from the following matrices

A= 1 0 -2
5 3 -1

B= 6 3
4 -3
-7 2

A is a 23 matrix and B is a 32 matrix, and they are compatible.

To get the final product, we will be sequentially multiplying each row in one
matrix by the corresponding column in another matrix. In this example, we take
the first row of A and first column of B, multiply the first entries together, second
entries together, and third entries together, and then add the three products.

1 0 -2 * 6 = 1(6) + 0(4) + (-2)(-7) = 20

4
-7
 Example 3 cont.

This sum is one of the entries in the product matrix AB; in fact, being the product of
row 1 of A and column 1 of B, it is the (1,1)-entry in AB.

Column 1

Row 1 20 #
# #

Then we continue in like manner; we multiply row 1 of A by column 2 of B.

1 0 -2 * 3 = 1(3) + 0(-3) + (-2)(2) = -1

-3
2

And its position in matrix AB is

Column 2

20 -1 Row 1
# #

 Example 3 cont.

Multiplying row 2 of A by column 1 of B gives

5 3 1 * 6 = 5(6)+3(4)+(1)(-7) = 35
4
-7

And its position in matrix AB is at row 2 and column 1.

You can do the last multiplication of row 2 of A by column 2 of B by yourself.

So the final answer is

AB = 1 0 -2 * 6 3 = 20 -1

5 3 1 4 -3 35 8
-7 2

Handy trick: As we mentioned before, the size of matrix AB is 22 (A is a 23

matrix and B is a 32 matrix).

AB BA (Can you see why?)

Partitioned Matrices

Matrices can be written as partitioned matrices.

Example

3 0 -1 -2 9 5
A = -6 -4 0 3 1 7
2 -5 4 8 0 1

Can also be written as a 23 partitioned matrix

A = A11 A12 A13

A21 A22 A23

A11 = 3 0 -1 A12 = -2 9 A13 = 5

-6 -4 0 3 1 7

A21 = 2 -5 4 A22 = 8 0 A23 = 1

Multiplication of Partitioned Matrices

Example

4 -6
5 1 -4 2 -2 1 -2
A= 3 2 1 4 0 B= 3 7
0 -3 7 1 1 2 5
-1 3

A = A11 A12 B= B1
A21 A22 B2

AB = A11 A12 * B1 = A11B1+ A12B2 = 15 -56

A21 A22 B2 A21B1+ A22B2 25 5
19 63
Powers of a Matrix

If A is a nn matrix and if K is a positive integer, then K can be raised to the

power of A, as in AK and means that you can have K copies of A.

Example A3 = A*A*A

If we have A being nonzero, and X is in the set of real numbers, then A KX is

like multiplying X by A repeatedly K times. However, if K = 0, then A 0X should
be X itself as A would be interpreted as the identity matrix. In this way, matrix
powers end up being very useful in both theoretical and applied means.

Transpose of a Matrix

If we have a given matrix, A that is if the size mxn, then the transpose of it
would be an nxm matrix and is denoted by A T. In other words, you take an
initial row in the original matrix and make it a column in the transposed
matrix, and vice versa with the rows. Lets look at an example,

A= 5 2 , and if we follow the rules then A T 5

= 1 0
1 3 2 3 4
0 4
Theorems and Proofs
All right people, I know this is the part where it gets really technical, but in the true
sense of achievement and comprehension of the concepts here, we believe this too
is necessary.

Theorem 1

Let A, B and C be matrices of the same size, and let p and q be scalars.

a. A+B = B+A
b. (A+B) + C = A + (B + C)
c. A+0=A
d. p(A + B) = pA + pB
e. (p+q)A = pA + qA
f. p(q A) = (pq) A

The proof of all these equalities lies in showing that each of the matrices of the left
hand side are equal in size to the matrix on the right hand side, and also by
showing that entries in corresponding columns are equal. We already assumed that
the matrices are of equal size at the start, so that is taken care of. As for the other
condition, that seems to be satisfied with if we follow the analogous properties of
vectors. For those of you who are not aware of these, heres an example.
 If the jth column of A, B, and C are aj, bj, and cj, respectively, then the
jth columns of (A+B)+C and A+(B+C) are (aj + bj) + cj and aj + (bj + cj)
respectively. Since the two vector sums are equal for each j, property
(b) is verified. Moreover, because of the associative property of addition,
we can say that A+B+C = (A+B)+C or A+ (B+C), and the same can be
applied to the sum of four or more matrices.

Theorem 2

If A is an p x q matrix, and of B and C have sizes for which the indicated

sums and products are defined, then using some basic laws of arithmetic
and some others we can also verify the following statements:

a. A (BC) = (AB) C (associative law of multiplication)

b. A (B + C) = AB + AC (left distributive law)
c. (B+C)A = BA+ CA (right distributive law)

d. r(AB) = (rA) B = A(rB) for any scalar r

e. ImA = A = AIn (identity for matrix multiplication)
 Proof

Statements a to d are self explanatory and the basic laws of arithmetic stated
1 matrix
are what verify them as well. As for statement e, the identity 0 is just
0 1
and that multiplied by any matrix is the matrix itself.

Example

2 2 1 0 2 2
= (You should be able to see why that is correct)
2 2 0 1 2 2

Theorem

3

Let A and B denote matrices whose sizes are compatible enough for the
following sums and products.

a. (AT )T = A
b. ( A+B)T = AT + BT
c. For any scalar p, (p A)T = p AT
d. ( AB )T = BT AT
 Proof

Proofs of A to C are straight forward and thus omitted. For d, lets look at
this example.

Let

5 2 11 5 9 9
1 1 1 1 5 1 0
A= 1 3 ,B= 3 5 2 7
, then (AB) =2 3 4 and (AB) T =
10 14 7 20
0 4 12 20 8 28

1 3 11 10 12 11 10 12
Whereas, BT =1 5 and AT =5 14 20 . Moreover, BT A15
T = 14 20 .
1 2 9 7 8 9 7 8
1 7 9 20 28 9 20 28

Thus, as both the answers to the left hand side and the right hand side of
the equation are the same, then the statement is proved.
Theorem 4 Column - row expansion of AB

If A is an mxn matrix and B is an nxp, then,

row1(B)
row2(B)
AB = [col1 (A) col2 (A) coln(A)] . = col1(A) row1(B) + + coln
(A)rown(B) .
.
rowN(B)

Proof

For each row index i and column index j, the (i, j)- entry in col k (A) rowk (B) is
the product of aik from colk(A) and bkj from rowk (B). Hence the (i,j)-entry in
the sum shown in (1) is

ai1 b1j + ai2 b2j + + ain bnj

(k=1) (k=2) (k=n)

This sum is also the (i, j)-entry in AB, by the row-column rule.
 Row - Column rule for Computing AB:

If the product AB is defined, then the entry in row i and column j of AB is the
sum of the products of corresponding entries from row i of A and column j of
B. If (AB)ij denotes the (i, j)-entry in AB, and if A is an m x n matrix, then

(AB)ij = ai1 b1j + ai2 b2j + + ainbnj

Warnings:

Finally, there are a few things that we would like you to keep in mind.

1. In general, AB does not equal BA.

2. The cancellation laws do not hold for matrix multiplication. That is, if
AB = AC. The it is not true in general that B = C.
3. If a product AB is the zero matrix, you cannot conclude in general that
either
A = 0 or B = 0.
Application of Matrix Multiplication

Now, We are sure you must all be aware that matrix multiplication is not just
a random concept that we learn in mathematics. It has many useful
applications in everyday life and also in other branches of math. So now, we
will spend some time looking over and trying to understand what exactly it is
and where it is that matrix multiplication is applicable.

The Matrix Application Ax = b

As stated before, one of the most useful applications of matrix multiplication

in math is in the matrix equation.

The fundamental idea behind this equation is that in Linear Algebra we can
view a linear combination of vectors as the product of a matrix and vector (a
quantity specified by a magnitude and a direction). And it is in this
fundamental concept that lies the existence of matrix multiplication. This is
because a vector can be written in matrix notation and then multiplied to the
other matrix to obtain one side of the equation and then carry out the
appropriate operations and functions from there on end.
 A formal definition stating this relationship is given below.

Definition

If A is a m x n matrix, with columns a(1),,a(n), and if x is in the collection

of all the lists of real numbers, then the product of Ax, is the linear
combination of the columns of A using the corresponding entries in x as
weights; that is,

x1
Ax = [ a1 a2 a(n)] * x2 = x1a1 + x2a2 + +
x(n)a(n)
x(n)

Note that Ax is defined only if the number of columns of A equals the

number of entries in x.
 Example

For a given set of vectors, v1,v2,and v3 in the real set of number R, and the
weights 3, -5, and 7, write up a linear combination by combining a matrix and a
vector.

Step 1 Write out the vector in matrix notation,

v1, v2, v3 = [ v1 v2 v3]

Step 2 Write out the weights as a column matrix as well,

3
3, -5 and 7 in a column matrix would equal -5
7
Step 3 Write them out side by side and multiply,

3
[v1 v2 v3] -5 = 3v1 5v2 +7v3
7

We can only multiply two matrices together when the columns of the first
matrix equal the rows of the second.
 Matrix Multiplication in Economics

We gave you an example of how matrix multiplication could be used in math

itself, but how about in real life, what benefit can it provide to us? Well, one
of the major benefits is seen when scalar multiples and linear combinations
can arise when a quantity such as 'cost; is broken down into several
categories. The basic principle for the example concerns the cost of
producing several units of an item when the cost per unit is known.

{Number of units} * {Cost per unit} = {Total cost}

Example

A company manufactures two products. For $ 1.00 worth of product A, the

company spends $ .40 on labor, $.20 on labor, and $.10 on overhead. For
$1.00 worth of product B, the company spends $.30 on materials, $.25 on
labor, and $.35 on overhead. Suppose the company wishes to manufacture
x1 dollars worth of product A and B. Give a vector that describes the various
costs the company will have to endure?
 Step 1

.40 .30
A = .20 and B = .25
.10 .35

Step 2

The cost of manufacturing x1 dollars worth of A are given by x1*A and the
costs of manufacturing x2 dollars worth of B are given by x2.B. Hence the
total costs for both products are simply given by their products once again,

.40 .30
[ x1 ] .20 + [ x2 ] .25 = x1*A + x2*B.
.10 .35
Questions
Here are some matrix multiplication problems you can practice with. And of course,
you can check your answers in the end.

Test 1 Test 2
1. -2 -1 0 4 -2 5.1 2 -3 -4 1 -3
4 4 1 -4 -4 1 -4 1 1 -1 0
4 -4 4 -4 1 4 -4 -3

2. -1 0 -4 4 6. -1 3 4 0 -3
2 -2 4 -1 4 -2 3 -4 1
2 -3 2 -3 -1
3. 0 3 4 1 -3
1 4 3 4 -1 7. -1 2 4 4 3
-2 -4 -3 -3 4 2 -3
-1 -1 1 1 -1
4. 0 -4 -4 -1
1 1 1 1 8. -1 2 3 4
-1 2 2 -4
-2 0

As promised, here are all the answers.

1. -4 8 -3 5. -11 5 -16
-4 -23 12 17 -5 12
16 12 16 13 -1 12

2. 4 -4 6. -24 2
-16 10 -1 17
6 -11

3. 4 -19 7. 4 -13
11 -19 -14 -4
-5 -1
4. -4 -4
-3 0 8. 1 -12
1 -12
-6 -8
Links

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/MatrixMultiplication.html

http://www.mai.liu.se/~halun/matrix/matrix.html

http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~algorith/files/matrix-multiplication.shtml

http://www.purplemath.com/modules/mtrxmult.htm

http://www-math.mit.edu/18.013A/HTML/chapter03/section04.html