An mn matrix A is a rectangular array of mn real numbers ar-

ranged in m rows and n columns.

A =

a
11
a
12
a
1n
a
21
a
22
a
2n
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
a
m1
a
m2
a
mn

Remark: The matrix A can simply be represented A

m,n
= [a
ij
].
If m = n then A is said to be square matrix of order n, denoted
by A
n
, with a
ii
, i = 1, . . . , n forming the diagonal of A.
A diagonal matrix A is a square matrix [a
ij
] with a
ij
= 0, for
every i = j.
A =

2 0
0 3

B =

0 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 2

A scalar matrix A is a diagonal matrix [a

ii
] with a
ii
= c, a con-
stant.
The identity matrix I
n
is a scalar matrix with a
ii
= 1.
Two matrices A = [a
ij
] and B = [b
ij
] are said to equal, denoted
A = B, if and only if a
ij
= b
ij
for every i = 1, . . . , m and for every
j = 1, . . . , n.
(Needless to say, matrices A and B should be at least of the same
size.)
A =

1 2
0 3

B =

1 a + b
c b

Matrices A and B are equal if a = 5, b = 3, and c = 0.

1
Matrix Operations:
1. Matrix Addition: If A = [a
ij
] and B = [b
ij
] are m n
matrices, then the sum of A and B, denoted by A + B, is an
mn matrix [c
ij
] where c
ij
= a
ij
+ b
ij
.
2. Scalar Multiplication: If A = [a
ij
] is an m n matrix, and
r is a real number, then the scalar multiple of A by r, denoted by
rA, is an mn matrix [c
ij
] where c
ij
= ra
ij
.
3. Matrix Multiplication: If A = [a
ij
] is an m p matrix, and
B = [a
ij
] is a p n matrix, then the product of A and B, denoted
by AB, is an mn matrix [c
ij
] where
c
ij
= a
i1
b
1j
+ a
i2
b
2j
+ + a
ip
b
pj
.
Example:
A =

1 2 1
0 3 2

B =

3 2
1 5
2 0

Remarks:
a. For AB to be dened, A and B should be compatible matrices
(or matrices of appropriate sizes).
b. If A and B are matrices of appropriate sizes, AB is dened
but BA may not be dened. BA will be dened only if m = n.
c. If m = n, then AB is mn, while BA is p p. Thus AB
and BA are of dierent sizes.
d. Even if AB and BA are of the same size, in general, the two
are not equal.
Example:
A =

1 2
3 2

B =

2 1
3 4

2
4. Transpose of a Matrix: If A = [a
ij
] is an mn matrix, then
the transpose of A, denoted by A
T
= [a
T
ij
], is the n m matrix
such that a
T
ij
= a
ji
.
A matrix A is said to be symmetric if A
T
= A. That is, A is a
square matrix with a
ij
= a
ji
.
A matrix A is said to be skew-symmetric if A
T
= A.
Example:
A =

1 2 3
2 1 4

B =

3 1 3
4 1 5
2 1 3

C =

3 2
2 4

D =

2 4 5
0 1 4
3 2 1

E =

4 5
2 3

If possible, compute the following:

1. C + E
2. AB and BA
3. 2D 3B
4. CB + 2D
5. A
T
and (A
T
)
T
6. (AB)
T
and B
T
A
T
7. B
T
C + A
3
Properties of Matrix Operations:
Theorem 1: For mn matrices A, B and C, we have
1. A + B = B + A
2. (A + B) + C = A + (B + C)
3. There is an m n zero matrix 0 ( i.e. a
i
j = 0, i, j ) such
that A + 0 = 0 + A = A.
4. There is an mn matrix D such that A+D = 0 and D+A = 0
D = A.
Theorem 2: If A, B, and C are matrices of appropriate sizes,
then
1. A(BC) = (AB)C
2. A(B + C) = AB + AC
3. (A + B)C = AC + BC
Theorem 3: For real numbers r, s, and matrices A and B of
appropriate sizes, we have
1. r(sA) = rsA
2. (r + s)A = rA + sA
3. r(A + B) = rA + rB
4. A(rB) = r(AB) = (rA)B
Theorem 4: If r is a scalar, and A and B are matrices of appro-
priate sizes, then
1. (A
T
)
T
= A
2. (A + B)
T
= A
T
+ B
T
3. (AB)
T
= B
T
A
T
4. (rA)
T
= rA
T
4
Lower and Upper Triangular Matrices
A square matrix A
n
= [a
ij
] of order n is a lower triangular matrix
if a
ij
= 0 for i < j, i = 1, . . . , n, j = 1, . . . , n.
A square matrix A
n
= [a
ij
] of order n is an upper triangular matrix
if a
ij
= 0 for i > j, i = 1, . . . , n, j = 1, . . . , n.
The p
th
-power of a square matrix A, denoted by A
p
, is the square
matrix
A
p
= A A A

p factors
.
Remarks:
1. The p
th
-power of a lower triangular matrix is also a lower tri-
angular matrix.
2. The p
th
-power of an upper triangular matrix is also an upper
triangular matrix.
3. The p
th
-power of a diagonal matrix is a diagonal matrix such
that if
D =

d
11
0 0 0
0 d
22
0 0
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
0 0 0 d
nn

then
D
p
=

d
p
11
0 0 0
0 d
p
22
0 0
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
0 0 0 d
p
nn

.
5
If A
k+1
= A where k is the least positive integer, then A is
periodic of period k. In particular, if A
2
= A, then A is idempotent.
If A
p
= 0 where p is the least positive integer, then A is nilpotent
of index p.
Inverse of a Matrix
A square matrix A is said to be invertible if there exists a square
matrix B such that AB = I and BA = I. In this case we denote
B = A
1
.
Properties: For invertible matrices A and B of the same order,
1. (A
1
)
1
= A
2. (AB)
1
= B
1
A
1
6