INTRODUCTION TO MATLAB

By
Dr. Ahmad Salamah

Contents

Overview on Matlab
Basic Matrix Operations
2D Plotting Commands
Important Symbolic Toolbox Commands
Revision Problems

Introductory Sessions on MATLAB

In this lab you will learn how to use MATLAB to create and operate on numeric and symbolic
variables but mainly on matrices. The commands needed to do this are short and easy to remember
MATLAB Environment
The main item in the MATLAB environment is the MATLAB Command Window . In this window,
the user is prompt to enter his commands. Commands are executed interactively, one by one. Another
important item is the MATLAB Editor, where the user can write a group of commands to be later
executed in batch mode. Other items include the Workspace Window, which lists a record of current
variables in use.
It is noteworthy that MATLAB is case sensitive, that is two variables I and i correspond to different
variables. Variable names must begin with a letter.
Facilities provided by MATLAB are grouped into Toolboxes, which offer advanced functions in a
specific field. For example, the MATLAB symbolic toolbox extends the computational power of
MATLAB to the manipulation of symbols.
Useful Commands
The following set of commands are simple useful commands:
(1) The help command: It is written as
>> help
(2) The clear console command: It is written as
>> clc
(3) The clear memory command: It is written as
>> clear
Useful Hint
The keyboard arrows may be used to move between previously written commands.
Numeric Variables
To define numeric variables just type the name of the variable and assign it its numeric value.
>> a = 9;
This command sets the value of the variable a to 9. However, no output is generated on the screen, this
is because of the semicolon at the end of the command.
>> a= 9
a =
9
Basic Operators
+ Addition
- Subtraction
* Multiplication

/ Division
^ Exponentiation
A Transpose of the matrix A
Precedence of Operators
To evaluate numeric expressions, MATLAB executes the mathematical operations in the order
indicated below:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Parentheses
Exponentiation
Multiplication and Divisions
Addition and Subtraction

MATLAB proceeds execution in a left to right order.

Example(1)
>> (2*5)^2+9
ans =
109
Predefined Constants
Among the predefined constants in MATLAB are the values of written as pi and the value of
1 written as i or j .
Built-in Functions

In what follows a list of some of the most commonly used arithmetic MATLAB built-in functions is
presented.
sin(x), cos(x), tan(x) : return the sine, cosine and tangent of the angle x given in radians.
asin(x), acos(x), atan(x) : represent the inverse trigonometric functions. The result is in radians.
exp(x) : returns the value of e x
log(x) : returns the value of ln x
Matrix Variables

MATLAB is especially efficient in matrices manipulation. Matrix variables are defined as follows:
A space or a comma separates the columns (the elements within a row)
A semicolon separates rows.
Example(2)

1 4 0
For example, the matrix A = 8 2 1 is defined by using the following command:
5 7 1
>> A = [ 1 4 0; -8 2 1; 5 7 1];

Indexing Elements of a Matrix

To index the elements of a matrix, circular brackets are used instead of the square brackets, the row
no. followed by the column no.:
>> a = A(2,1)
a=
-8

The above command retrieves the element in matrix A located in the second row and the first
column.
Plotting Data Points

MATLAB has powerful visualization and graphical tools. One useful tool is the plot(x,y) function.
This function takes as input two vectors x and y of the same length representing the x- and ycoordinates of a given set of data points, respectively. The data points are connected using straight
lines. To obtain smooth curves, a large data set is required.
Example(3)

Define the vectors representing the given data points, the use the function plot(x,y).
>> x = [ 1 2 3 4];
>> y= [1 4 9 16];
>> plot(x,y)
20

15

10

0
1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

Among the plotting options supported by the plot(x,y) function is specifying a marker (*, +,) and a
line style (solid, dotted,..). The marker as its name suggests marks data points. If a marker is specified
and no line style is set, then this is used to plot the data points with no connections.
>> plot(x,y,*)

20

15

10

0
1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

Symbolic Variables

The symbolic toolbox enables MATLAB to manipulate symbols as well as numeric variables. To
define a set of symbolic variables the following command is used.
>> syms x y;

Hence, symbolic expressions may be defined in terms of these symbolic variables. Substitution of
symbolic variables, differentiation, evaluation of limits, evaluation of definite and indefinite integrals
and many other symbolic tools are supported in MATLAB. Consider the following example.
>> syms x;
>> y = x^3 + 1;
>> subs(y,x,3)
ans =
28

In the above example, the command subs(y,x,3) is used. The first argument is the expression. The
second argument is the variable to be substituted and the third argument is the value to be substituted
in the expression in place of the symbol.

Homework (1)
This session is a collection of exercises on the previous session.
1. Use MATLAB, to evaluate the following expressions.
2^3+4, sin(pi), 5/10^2+3, (2*3)^2*(6+7)
0 1 2
1 3 1
2. Define the matrices A =
and B =

, hence find the result of

5 1 4
0 2 5
AB t + BAt + I 2 after writing it in the corresponding MATLAB syntax.
3. Use MATLAB to plot the following set of data points in a scattered manner: (1,2), (2,4), (3,6),
(4,8).
4. Plot the set of points in the previous problem, but this time connected. Comment on the result.
5. Define the symbolic variable x and use a suitable command to evaluate the symbolically
defined expression e x sin x at x =

Basic Matrix Operations

The underlying data structure in MATLAB is a multi-dimensional array (e.g., scalar, vector, or
matrix). A column vector is an m-by-1 matrix, a row vector is a 1-by-n matrix and a scalar is a 1-by-1
matrix The mathematical operations defined on matrices are the subject of linear algebra.
(1) Entering Matrices

You can enter matrices into MATLAB in several different ways.

Enter an explicit list of elements.

Load matrices from external data files.
Generate matrices using built-in functions.
Create matrices with your own functions in M-files.

The following rules showed be followed when entering a matrix:

Separate the elements of a row with blanks or commas.

Use a semicolon, ; , or press Enter key to indicate the end of each row.
Surround the entire list of elements with square brackets, [ ].

Examples

To enter a matrix by explicitly listing its elements, simply type:

>> A = [1

3; 4

6]

MATLAB displays the matrix you just entered,

A =
1 2 3
4 5 6

To load matrices from external data files, type:

>> load <filename>

In the load command, you just specify the name of the data file to be loaded. Before using the load
command, use the save command to first create the data file.
MATLAB built-in functions could be used to generate some special matrices. The following list
includes useful ones.

zeros(m,n): generates an m n matrix with all its elements equal to zero.

>> A=zeros(2,2)
A =
0
0
0
0
ones(m,n): generates an m n matrix with all its elements equal to one.
>> B=ones(3,2)

B =
1
1
1

1
1
1

The Identity Matrix: Generally accepted mathematical notation uses the capital letter I to
denote identity matrices, matrices of various sizes with ones on the main diagonal and zeros
elsewhere. These matrices have the property that AI = A and IA = A whenever the dimensions
are compatible. In MATLAB the function is eye(m,n), which returns an m-by-n rectangular
identity matrix and eye(n) returns an n-by-n square identity matrix.

>> C=eye(3)
C =
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
Matlab has many types of matrices which are built into the system. An m-by-n matrix with
random entries is produced by typing rand(m,n)
>> r=rand(2,3)
r =
0.47
0.85
0.42
0.53

0.20
0.67

For more information on the rand(m,n) function, type:

>> help rand
(2) Addition and Subtraction

Addition and subtraction of matrices is defined just as it is for arrays, element-by-element. Addition
and subtraction require both matrices to have the same dimension, or one of them be a scalar. If the
dimensions are incompatible, an error results.
>> A=eye(2);
>> C=ones(3,2);
>> X = A + C
Error using ==> +
Matrix dimensions must agree.
>> v = [ 1 2 3; 0 9 8];
>> s = [ 0 9 2; 1 -9 7];
>> w = v + s
w =
1 11 5
1 0 15
Scalar Addition
>> p = A + 2
p =
3 2
2 3
notice that adding a scalar number to a matrix, adds this number to each of the elements of the matrix.

(3) Matrix Multiplication

Multiplication of matrices is defined in a way that allows compact representation of systems of

simultaneous linear equations. The matrix product C = AB is defined when the column dimension of A
is equal to the row dimension of B, or when one of them is a scalar. If A is m-by-p and B is p-by-n,
their product C is m-by-n. MATLAB uses a single asterisk to denote matrix multiplication. A matrix
can be multiplied on the right by a column vector and on the left by a row vector. Rectangular matrix
multiplications must satisfy the dimension compatibility conditions. It is noteworthy that matrix
multiplication is not a commutative operation.
>> A = [ 1 5; 9 0];
>> C = [1 2 3; 7 0 -1];
>> X = A*C
X =
36 2 -2
9 18 27
>> Y = C*A
Error using ==> *
Inner matrix dimensions must agree.
Anything can be multiplied by a scalar.
>> s = 7;
>> w = s*A
w=
7
35
45
0
(4) Transpose Operation

For real matrices, the transpose operation interchanges aij and aji. MATLAB uses the apostrophe (or
single quote) to denote transpose
>> B = [ 8 1 6; 1 5 9; 6 7 2];
>> X = B'
X =
8 1 6
1 5 7
6 9 2

Transposition turns a row vector into a column vector.

>> v = [ 2 0 -1];
x = v'
x =
2
0
-1
If x and y are both real column vectors, the product x*y is not defined, but the two products x*y
and y*x are the same scalar.
(6) Determinants and Matrix Inversion

If A is square and nonsingular, the equations AX = I and XA = I have the same solution, X. This
1
solution is called the inverse of A, which is denoted by A , and is computed by the function

inv(A). It is noteworthy that a matrix is non-singular if its determinant is non-zero. The function
det(A) computes the determinant of a square matrix A.
>> A = [1 1 1 ; 1 2 3; 1 3 6];
>> d = det(A)
d =
1
>> X = inv(A)
X =
3 3 1
3 5 2
1 2 1
(7) Matrix Powers

If A is a square matrix and p is a positive integer, then A^p multiplies A by itself p times.
>> A = [ 1 1 1 ; 1 2 3; 1 3 6];
>> X = A^2
X =
3 6 10
6 14 25
10 25 46

If A is square and nonsingular, then A^(p) multiplies inv(A) by itself p times.

>> Y = A^(3)
Y =
145 -207 81
-207 298 -117

(8) Solving a System of Linear Equations

First write the system of linear equations in matrix format: Ax=b where A is the coefficients matrix,
x is the vector of unknowns and b is the vector of free terms. When A is a square invertible, write
>>

x = inv(A) * b

A quite faster command to solve a system of linear equations is:

>> x = A\B
(9) The Colon Operator

The colon, :, is one of MATLABs most important operators. It occurs in several different forms. For
example, the expression 1:10 is a row vector containing the integers from 1 to 10
>> x = 1 : 10
x =
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
To obtain non unit spacing, specify an increment. For example, the expression 100:7:50 yields the
sequence (100, 93, 86, 79, 72, 65, 58, 51) and the expression 0:pi/4:pi yields the sequence (0, 0.7854,
1.5708, 2.3562, 3.1416).

(10) Subscripts and Indexing

The element in row i and column j of A is denoted by A(i,j). For example, A(2,4) is the number
in the second row and fourth column.
>> A = [ 1:2:7; 2:-1:-1]
A=
1 3 5 7
2 1 0 -1
>> b = A(2,4)
b=
-1

It is also possible to refer to the elements of a matrix with a single subscript, A(k). This is the usual
way of referencing row and column vectors. But it can also apply to a fully two-dimensional matrix, in
which case the array is regarded as one long column vector formed from the columns of the original
matrix. So, for our matrix A, A(5) is another way of referring to the value stored in A(1,3). If you try
to use the value of an element outside of the matrix, it results in an error.
>> t = A(4,5)
Index exceeds matrix dimensions.

Subscript expressions involving colons refer to portions of a matrix. A(1:k,j) is the first k elements
of the jth column of A. The colon by itself refers to all the elements in a row or column of a matrix
and the keyword
end refers to the last row or column.
>> A(:,end)
ans =
7
-1

Further examples to demonstrate how to access elements of a vector:

>>x(3) % 3rd element of the array
>>y(2:4) % 2nd till the 4th elements of the array
>>x(4:end) % starting from the 4th element of the array till the end
>>y(3:-1:1) % 3rd,2nd,1st element of the array
>>x(1:2:6) % 1st,3rd,5th element of the array
>>y([4 1 5 ])% 4th ,1st,5th element of the array in that order

Further examples to demonstrate how to access matrix elements:

>>A(1,[2 4])
ans =
3

(11) Deleting/ Altering Rows and Columns

You can delete rows and columns from a matrix using just a pair of square brackets. Start with

>> X = A;

Then, to delete the second column of X, use

>> X(:,2) = []

This changes X to
X =
1 5 7
2 0 -1

To change the second row in X, type:

>> X(2,:) = [ 2 5 7];

(12) Concatenation

Concatenation is the process of joining small matrices to make bigger ones. In fact, you made your
first matrix by concatenating its individual elements. The pair of square brackets, [], is the
concatenation operator. For example, consider the following operations.
>> r = [ 0 8 3 ; 9 7 4; 0 -1 -2];
>> b = [ 1 2 3];
>> s = [ r, b]
s =
0 8 3
1
9 7 4
2
0 -1 -2 3
>> q = [r ; b]
q =
0 8 3
9 7 4
0 -1 -2
1 2 3
>> A=zeros(2,2);
>> B=ones(3,2);
>> C=[ [A;B], [B+5;A-7] ]
C =
0
0
6
6
0
0
6
6
1
1
6
6
1
1
-7
-7
1
1
-7
-7
(13) Element-by-Element Operations

Operators preceded by a dot (e.g. .^), refer to the fact that the operation is to be carried out elementby-element. For example,
>> A = [ 1:2:7; 2:-3:-7]
>> X = A.^2

X =
1 9 25 49
4 1 16 49
>> Y = 1./A
Y =
1
0.1111 0.04
0.0204
0.25
1
0.0625 0.0204
(14) Some Useful Built-in Array Functions

The following elementary arithmetic functions by default operate on individual matrix elements:
Trigonometric functions. (e.g. sin(x), cos(x),..)
The Exponential function (exp(x))
The Logarithmic function (log(x),)
The square root function (sqrt(x))
and many others.
>> A = [ pi 0; pi/4 pi/3];
>> C = cos(A)
C =
-1
1
0.7071 0.5
>> B = [ 9 16 25, 1 4 9];

>> c = sqrt(B)
c =
3 4 5
1 2 3

The following set of functions operate on individual columns of a matrix:

sum(M): returns the sum of individual columns in the matrix M in a row vector. If M is a
vector, it returns the sum of its elements.
max(M): It returns the maximum element of the individual columns in the matrix M in a row
vector. If M is a vector, it returns the maximum of its elements

>> S = sum(B)
S=
10
20 34

The length(X) function returns the number of elements in the vector X, whereas the function size(M)
returns the number of rows and columns of the input matrix M, respectively.
>> [ m n] = size(B)
m =
2
n =
3

Homework (2)
This session is an exercise on the previous two sessions.

1 2
6 9
9 3
1 1
1) Given the following matrices: A=
, B=
, C=
, D=

, evaluate the
6 8
1 3
5 2
1 1
following expressions after writing them in MATLAB syntax:

a) 5A+B-3C
b) A B 1 + C 1
c) At+5D
d) |A| |B| / |C|
e) Compare |A||B| and |AB|
2) Try entering the following matrices: the matrices
a) [eye(2);zeros(2)]
b) [eye(2);zeros(3)]
c) [eye(2),ones(2,3)]
Did any of the last three examples produce error messages? What is the problem?
3) Given A=[1 6 8 19 7;5 7 4 11 0;13 6 9 8 10;5 9 7 4 12;6 5 15 6 3 ]. Find its inverse and
calculate its determinant.
2
1
4) Enter the matrix A=
, find the inverse of A? what did you notice? find the determinant of
1 2
the matrix A? what is this matrix called?
5) Solve the systems of equations:
a) x1 + x2 = 2, x1 - x2 = 0
b) 2 x1 - x2 - x3 = 1, x1 + x2 + 2x3 = -4, 3 x1 - 3x2 -4x3 = 6
c) 3 x1- 2x2+ x3 = 1, x2 - 2x3 = 2, x1 + 0.5 x2 - 1.5 x3 = 2
6) Use MATLAB to evaluate the following functions at x=0, / 2, in one step:
a) cos(x)
b) x cos(x)
c) ex sinx
7) Enter a matrix A whose first row is 1 2 3 4 5 and the second row is the same numbers in a reverse
order using the : operator
8) Given x=[1 2 3] and y=[9 10 11]t , evaluate the sum of the corresponding elements of the x and y
vectors.

 6 0 1
9) Given the matrix M =
, write suitable MATLAB commands to construct the following
2 3 5
submatrices:

a) The first and last columns in the matrix M.

b) The last row of M.
c) Same as M, but replace the second column in M by the vector v = [ 1 -1]t
d) The first two elements in the first row in M.
e) Append the vector r = [ 4 5 0] to the matrix M as a last row.
10) Find the sum of all the elements in the matrix M in the previous problem using suitable MATLAB
commands. Find also the number of its elements.
11) Find the average of the following data values: x=7, y=10, z=15 using the sum command.

2D Plotting
MATLAB has extensive facilities for displaying vectors and matrices as graphs, as well as
annotating and printing these graphs. This session describes a few of the most important graphics
functions and provides examples of some typical applications. These functions will be used to aid you
visualize previously studied elementary functions in calculus as well as conic sections.
Creating a Plot

Two important graphics functions supported in MATLAB are the fplot and plot functions.
The fplot function is used to plot a single variable function in a specified range, as the following
example illustrates.
>>fplot(sin(x),[-pi,pi])

The result of executing this command is that the following figure appears in a separate figure
window.
1

0.5

-0.5

-1
-2

As illustrated in the previous example, the first argument is the function we need to plot defined in
MATLAB syntax. The second argument is the range of the independent variable. The range for the
dependent variable may also be specified.
fplot has other optional arguments. The most important one is the plotting options argument. This
argument is a 1-, 2-, or 3-character string (delineated by single quotation marks) constructed from a
color, a linestyle, and a marker.
Color strings are 'c', 'm', 'y', 'r', 'g', 'b', 'w', and 'k'. These correspond to cyan, magenta, yellow,
red, green, blue, white, and black.
Linestyle strings are '' for solid, ' ' for dashed, ':' for dotted, '.' For dash-dot, and 'none' for
no line.
The most common marker types include '+', 'o', '*', and 'x'.
The plot function has different forms, depending on the input arguments:
1. If y is a vector, plot(y) produces a piecewise linear graph of the elements of y versus the index
of the elements of y.
2.If you specify two vectors as arguments, plot(x,y) produces a graph of y versus x, that is, the
vector x includes the x-coordinates and the vector y includes the corresponding y-coordinates for the
points on the curve we plot.
In general, the plot function uses a straight line to join the points in the input vectors. Of course, to
draw a straight line it is sufficient to specify two points on it.

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5

-2.0
1.0

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.6

1.7

1.8

1.9

2.0

To obtain smooth curves a large number of points is needed. For example, to plot the value of the
sine function from zero to 0 to , type:
>>t=0:pi/100:2*pi; % a vector containing 200 points
>>y=sin(t);
>>plot(t,y)
1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

-0.2

-0.4

-0.6

-0.8

-1.0
0

The plot function accepts a third optional argument which is a string specifying the color, line
style and marker to be used in the plot, just as that for the fplot function. For example, consider the
following the statements:
>> t=0:0.5:2*pi;
>> y=cos(t)
>> plot(t,y,':*')

The final statement plots the cosine function using a dotted line and places asterisk sign markers at
each data point, as the following figure illustrates.

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

-0.2

-0.4

-0.6

-0.8

-1.0
0

Notice that reducing the number of points in the vector t , by increasing the step size, produces less
smooth curves.
If you specify a marker type but not a line style, MATLAB draws only the marker. Consider the
following example.
>> x = [ 1 2 3 4];
>> y= [1 4 9 16];
>> plot(x,y,*)
20

15

10

0
1.0

But the statement

>> plot(x,y,*:)
produces the following curve

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

20

15

10

0
1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

Notice that the points in the vectors x, y belong to a parabola. Increasing the resolution of the above
2
plotting command, we obtain the standard curve of the parabola y = x , whose vertex is the origin.
>> x= -2:0.1:2;
>> y= x.^2;
>> plot(x,y,*:)
4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0
-2.0

-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Controlling Axes

The axis function has a number of options for customizing the scaling, orientation, and aspect ratio
of plots. Ordinarily, MATLAB finds the maxima and minima of the data and chooses an appropriate
plot box and axes labeling. The axis function overrides the default by setting custom axis limits,
axis([xmin xmax ymin ymax]). The axis function also accepts a number of keywords for
axes control. For example,
axis square: makes the entire x-axes and y-axes the same length
axis equal: makes the individual tick mark increments on the x- and y-axes the same
length
axis auto: returns the axis scaling to its default, automatic mode.
axis on: turns on axis labeling and tick marks.
axis off: turns off axis labeling and tick marks.
The statement grid on turns the grid lines on and grid off turns grid lines off.

Consider the following example of plotting a semicircle whose centre is the origin and radius equal
to 2.
>>theta=0:0.1:2*pi;
>> x= 2 * cos(theta);
>> y= 2 * sin(theta);
>>plot(x,y)

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5

-2.0
-2.0

-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

Here the circle appears somehow like an ellipse. Adding the command
>> axis square
2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5

-2.0
-2

-1

It is clear that this option provides a better view for circular shapes.

Consider the following sequence of commands

>>x=-2:0.1:2;
>>y=-x.^2;
>>plot(x,y)
>>grid on

2.0

the following curve is obtained

0.0

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5

-2.0

-2.5

-3.0

-3.5

-4.0
-2.0

-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Again, the above curve is a parabola but this time it is inverted, oriented downwards.
Axis Labels and Titles

The xlabel, ylabel, and zlabel functions add x-, y-, and z-axis labels. The title function adds a title at
the top of the figure and the text function inserts text anywhere in the figure. A subset of Tex notation
produces Greek letters, mathematical symbols, and alternate fonts. The following example uses \leq
for , \pi for , and \it for italic font.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>

t = pi:pi/100:pi;
y = sin(t);
plot(t,y)
axis([pi pi 1 1])
xlabel('\pi \leq {\itt} \leq \pi')
ylabel('sin(t)')
title('Graph of the sine function')
text(1,1/3,'\it{Note the odd symmetry.}')

It is noteworthy that editing the curve and axes properties may be done from within the figure
window.
Adding Plots to an Existing Graph

The hold command allows you to add plots to an existing graph. When you type hold on MATLAB
does not remove the existing graph; it adds the new data to the current graph, rescaling if necessary.
>>
>>
>>
>>

fplot(exp(-x),[ 0 3]);
hold on
fplot(exp(x),[-3 0]);
axis([-3 3 0 1]);

The hold on command causes the positive exponential function plot to be combined with the negative
exponential function plot in one figure.
1.0

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
-3

-2

-1

It is worth mentioning that you should toggle the hold on flag when you finish up with the figure.
A useful command when dealing with multiple plots in one figure is the legend command. Legend
adds a box containing labels for the curves in the figure.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>

x=[0:0.2:2*pi];
y=sin(x);
plot(x,y,b*-)
hold on
z=cos(x);
plot(x,z,ro:)
grid on
legend('sin(x)','cos(x)')

Another way to create multiple plots in one figure. The command plot(x,y1,x,y2), plots x
versus y1 and x versus y2 on one set of axes. Notice, you must enter x twice, once for each plot. For
example, the following statements plot two related functions of x, each curve in a separate
distinguishing line style:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>

x=-1:0.1:1;
y=sinh(x);
y1=cosh(x);
plot(x,y,':',x,y1,'-')
axis square
2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5
-2.0

-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Subplots

The subplot function allows you to display multiple plots in the same window or print them on the
same piece of paper. Typing subplot(m,n,p)breaks the figure window into an m-by-n matrix of
small subplots and selects the pth subplot for the current plot. The plots are numbered along first the
top row of the figure window, then the second row, and so on. Consider the following example.
>>x=-3:0.1:3;
>>y=exp(x);
>>y1=exp(-x);
>>y2=cosh(x);
>>subplot(1,2,1)
>>plot(x,y,:)

>>hold on
>>plot(x,y1,-)
>>subplot(1,2,2)
>>plot(x,y2)
25

11

10

20

15

10

1
-3

-2

-1

-3

-2

-1

Figure Windows

The plot function automatically opens a new figure window if there are no figure windows already
on the screen. If a figure window exists, plot uses that window by default. To open a new figure
window and make it the current figure, type figure. To make an existing figure window the current
figure, type figure(n) where n is the number in the figure title bar. The results of subsequent graphics
commands are displayed in this window.
Other Useful Graphics Commands

You may find the following set of commands useful:

Function
plot3
loglog
semilogx
semilogy
plotyy
gtext
clf
ginput

Used to
Create a graph for a 3D data representing a space curve
Create a graph with logarithmic scales for both axes
Create a graph with logarithmic scale for the x axis only
Create a graph with logarithmic scale for the y axis only
Create a graph with y-tick labels on the left and right side
Position text using the mouse
Clears the figure
Gather data by clicking on points in the plot

Homework (3)
1-Plot the square whose sides are x= -1, x= 1, y= -1 and y =1.
2-Plot the circle whose centre is the point (-1,1) and radius equal to 1. Use suitable axes options.
3- Plot the parabola defined by the equation x2 - 6x - 4y + 1= 0 in the interval [-4,8]. Identify its
vertex. Mark it on the figure. Add a grid for better visualization.
4-Plot the following data set as scattered points
x
0
2
3
5
y
3
1
1
2
On the same figure, plot the line 2.846 1.038 x in the interval [0,5]. Add labels to both axes as
well as a title to the figure.
5-Plot the ellipse whose centre is the origin, major axis length is 4 and minor axis length is 2.
6-Plot both sin2x and sinx in the interval [0,2 ] in one figure. Use distinguishing colors and line
styles. Add a legend. (Try using a single plot command).
7-Plot sin 1 x and cos 1 x in the interval [1,1] as two adjacent subplots.
8-Plot the graph of the function f ( x) = e x sin x in the interval [ , ] . Try using both the fplot and
plot commands.

Symbolic Math Toolbox

The symbolic math toolbox supplements MATLAB numeric and graphical facilities with several other
types of mathematical computation, some of which are summarized in following table.
Facility
Calculus
Linear Algebra
Simplification
Solution of Equations

Covers
Differentiation, integration, limits, summation and Taylor
series
Inverses, determinants, eigen values
Methods of simplifying algebraic expressions
Symbolic and numerical solutions to algebraic and
differential equations

Symbolic Objects

The Symbolic Math Toolbox defines a new MATLAB data type called a symbolic object. The
Symbolic Math Toolbox uses symbolic objects to represent symbolic variables, expressions, and
matrices. The following example illustrates the difference between a standard MATLAB data type,
such as double, and the corresponding symbolic object. The MATLAB command sqrt(2)returns a
floating-point decimal number: 1.4142. On the other hand, if you convert 2 to a symbolic object using
the sym command, and then take its square root by entering a = sqrt(sym(2))the result is a
=2^(1/2). MATLAB gives the result 2^(1/2), which means 21/2, using symbolic notation for
the square root operation, without actually calculating a numerical value. You can always obtain the
numerical value of a symbolic object with the double command: double(a) which returns the
numeric value 1.4142
When you create a fraction involving symbolic objects, MATLAB records the numerator and
denominator. For example:
>> sym(2)/sym(5)
ans =
2/5
MATLAB performs arithmetic on symbolic objects differently than it does on standard data types. If
you add two fractions that are of data type double, MATLAB gives the answer as a decimal fraction.
For example:
>> 2/5 + 1/3
ans =
0.7333
If you add the same fractions as symbolic objects, MATLAB finds their common denominator and
combines them by the usual procedure for adding rational numbers:
>> sym(2)/sym(5) + sym(1)/sym(3)
ans =
11/15
Creating Symbolic Variables and Expressions

The sym command lets you construct symbolic variables and expressions. For example, the
commands
>> x = sym('x');
>> a = sym('alpha');
create a symbolic variable x that prints as x and a symbolic variable a that prints as alpha. To create
multiple symbolic variables, for example the symbolic variables (a,b,c,x), use the syms
command.
>>syms a b c x;

To create a symbolic expression, consider the following sequence of commands as an example.

>> syms x y z;
>> r = sqrt(x^2 + y^2 + z^2);
>> t = atan(y/x);
>> f = sin(x*y)/(x*y);
which generates the symbolic expressions r, t, and f. You can use diff, int, subs, and other
Symbolic Math Toolbox functions to manipulate such expressions.
The following example illustrates how to define a rational function. To create the function, enter the
following commands:
>> syms x
>> num = 3*x^2 + 6*x -1;
>> denom = x^2 + x - 3;
>> f = num/denom
This returns
f =
(3*x^2+6*x-1)/(x^2+x-3)
To create a symbolic expression that is a constant, you must use the sym command. For example, to
create the expression whose value is 5, enter
f = sym('5'). Note that the command f = 5
does not define f as a symbolic expression.
If you set a variable equal to a symbolic expression, and then apply the syms command to the
variable, MATLAB removes the previously defined expression from the variable. For example,
>> syms a b
>> f = a + b
returns
f =
a + b
If you then enter
>> syms f
>> f
MATLAB returns
f =
f
Now suppose you want to study the quadratic function ax2+bx+c= 0. One approach is to enter
the command
f = sym('a*x^2 + b*x + c')
which assigns the symbolic expression ax2+bx+c= 0 to the variable f. However, in this case, the
Symbolic Math Toolbox does not create variables corresponding to the terms of the expression
a,b,c,x. To perform symbolic math operations (e.g., integration, differentiation, substitution, etc.)
on f, you need to create the variables explicitly. A better alternative is to enter the command
>>syms a b c x
Then enter
f = sym('a*x^2 + b*x + c')
Simplifying Symbolic Expressions

The simplify function is a powerful, general purpose tool that applies a number of algebraic
identities involving sums, integral powers, square roots and other fractional powers, as well as a
number of functional identities involving trigonometric functions, exponential and logarithmic
functions .Here are some examples.
>> syms x;
>> f=x*(x*(x-6)+11)-6;
>> simplify(f)
ans=

x^3-6*x^2+11*x-6
>> f=(1-x^2)/(1-x);
>> simplify(f)
ans=
x+1
>> syms x y;
>> f=exp(x)*exp(y);
>> simplify(f)
ans=
exp(x+y)

There are several functions that simplify symbolic expressions other than the simplify function.
Here are three different symbolic expressions.
>> syms x
>> f = x^3-6*x^2+11*x-6
>> g = (x-1)*(x-2)*(x-3)
>> h = -6+(11+(-6+x)*x)*x
These expressions are three different representations of the same mathematical function, a cubic
polynomial in x. The Symbolic Math toolbox provides several functions, other than simplify, that
apply various algebraic and trigonometric identities to transform one representation of a function into
another, possibly simpler, representation. These functions include collect, expand, and factor.
If f is a polynomial with rational coefficients, the statement factor(f) expresses f as a product
of polynomials of lower degree with rational coefficients. If f cannot be factored over the rational
numbers, the result is f itself. Here are several examples.
>> factor(f)
ans=
(x-1)*(x-2)*(x-3)
>> factor(x^3-6*x^2+11*x-5)
ans=
x^3-6*x^2+11*x-5
>> factor(x^6+1)
ans=
(x^2+1)*(x^4-x^2+1)
Substitution of Symbolic Variables by Numeric Values

You can substitute a numerical value for a symbolic variable using the subs command. For
example, to substitute the value x = 2 in the symbolic expression,
>> f = 2*x^2 - 3*x + 1
enter the command
>> subs(f,2)
This returns f(2):
ans =
3
When your expression contains more than one variable, you can specify the variable for which you
want to make the substitution. For example, to substitute the value x = 3 in the symbolic expression,
>> syms x y;
>> f = x^2*y + 5*x*sqrt(y);
enter the command
subs(f, x, 3)
This returns
ans =
9*y+15*y^(1/2)

On the other hand, to substitute y = 3, enter

>> subs(f, y, 3)
ans =
3*x^2+5*x*3^(1/2)
If you do not specify a variable to substitute for, MATLAB chooses a default variable according to
the following rule. For one-letter variables, MATLAB chooses the letter closest to x in the alphabet. If
there are two letters equally close to x, MATLAB chooses the one that comes later in the alphabet. In
the preceding function, subs(f,3) returns the same answer as subs(f,x,3).
Basic Calculus Built-in Symbolic Math Toolbox Functions

The Symbolic Math Toolbox provides functions to do the basic operations of

calculus. In what follows some of these functions are described.
(1) Differentiation

To illustrate how to take derivatives using the Symbolic Math Toolbox, first create a symbolic
expression:
>> syms x
>> f = sin(5*x)
The command
>> diff(f)
differentiates f with respect to x:
ans =
5*cos(5*x)
As another example, let
>> g = exp(x)*cos(x)
and differentiate g:
>> diff(g)
ans =
exp(x)*cos(x)-exp(x)*sin(x)
To take the second derivative of g, enter
>> diff(g,2)
ans =
-2*exp(x)*sin(x)
You can get the same result by taking the derivative twice:
>> diff(diff(g))
ans =
-2*exp(x)*sin(x)
In this example, MATLAB automatically simplifies the answer. However, in some cases, MATLAB
might not simply an answer, in which case you can use the simplify command. Note that to take
the derivative of a constant, you must first define the constant as a symbolic expression. For example,
entering
>> c = sym('5');
>> diff(c)
returns
ans =
0
If you just enter
>> diff(5)

MATLAB returns
ans =
[]
because 5 is not a symbolic expression.
(2) Integration

If f is a symbolic expression, then int(f)attempts to find another symbolic expression, F, so that

diff(F) = f. That is, int(f) returns the indefinite integral or antiderivative of f (provided one
exists in closed form). Similar to differentiation, int(f,v)uses the symbolic object v as the variable
of integration, rather than the variable determined by findsym. Definite integration is also possible.
The commands int(f,a,b)and int(f,v,a,b)are used to find a symbolic expression for
b

f ( x) dx

and

f (v) dv , respectively. See how int works by looking at this table.

a

Mathematical Operation
x n+1
n
=
x
dx

n +1

MATLAB Command
int(x^n) or int(x^n,x)

/2

sin 2 x dx = 1

int(sin(2*x),0,pi/2)

g = cos(at + b)

g (t ) dt = sin(at + b) / a
2

g=cos(a*t+b)
int(g) or int(g,t)

x dx = ln 2

int(1/x,1,2)

int(log(x)*sqrt(x),0,1)

1
1

x ln x dx = 4 / 9

Partial Fractions Decomposition

A nice trick to find the partial fraction decomposition of a rational function is to use
diff(int(f(x)). The following example illustrates the idea.
>> syms s;
>> num = 3*s-1;
>> den = (s+1)*(s+2);
>> diff(int(num/den))
ans=
-4/(s+1)+7/(s+2)
Solving Algebraic Equations

The solve(eqn1,eqn2,...) command solves a system of equations in symbolic variables x1,

x2, ... . If s is a symbolic expression, solve(s) attempts to find values of the symbolic variable in
s (as determined by findsym) for which s is zero. For example,
>> syms a b c x
>> s = a*x^2 + b*x + c;
>> solve(s)
uses the familiar quadratic formula to produce

ans =
[1/2/a*(-b+(b^2-4*a*c)^(1/2))]
[1/2/a*(-b-(b^2-4*a*c)^(1/2))]
This is a symbolic vector whose elements are the two solutions. If you want to solve for a specific
variable, you must specify that variable as an additional argument. For example, if you want to solve s
for b, use the command
>> b = solve(s,b)
which returns
b =
-(a*x^2+c)/x
Note that these examples assume equations of the form f(x)=0. If you need to solve equations of
the form f(x)=q(x), you must use quoted strings. In particular, the command
>> s = solve('cos(2*x)+sin(x)=1')
returns a vector with four solutions.
s =
[ 0]
[ pi]
[ 1/6*pi]
[ 5/6*pi]

Homework (4)
1- Differentiate the following function three times: f ( x) = x ln x and evaluate it at x = 1 .
2- Differentiate the following function once: f ( x) = tan 1 x and evaluate it at x = 1 . Put the result in
rational format.
3-Evaluate the following integrals using MATLAB:

dx
,
9 x

/2

dx
9 x

and

cos x
dx
1 + cos x

4- Solve the following equations using MATLAB:

(i) x 2 x 2 = 0 (ii) cos 2 x + sin x = 1
5- Find the partial fractions decomposition for :
6- Factorize the following polynomials:
(i) x 4 2 x 3 + 2 x 2 2 x + 1 (ii) x 3 + 1

x
x 4x + 3
2

Revision problems
Homework (5)
1 2
1- For the matrix
, find:
5 4
a- its transpose
b- its determinant
c- add 2 to all its elements
d- replace its second row by [0 -1]
e- multiply it by its transpose

21
1

0
0

Using built-in functions generate the following matrices:

1 1 1
0 0 0 0 2 0 0
1 0 0 , 0 0 2 0

0 1 0 0 0 0 2
0 0 1

3- Solve the following system of linear equations:

x y + z = 3,
x + 3y + z = 1,

x 3z = 2.

4- Given the vectors: x = [1 2 3 0] and y = [2 5 6 1] , find

xi , xi 2 , xi yi .

5- Use suitable MATLAB commands to generate the following figures

y = x2

-1

y= - x2

-2

-3

-4
0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

Figure 1

1.4

1.6

1.8

2.0

Figure 2

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

-0.5
-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

0.5

Figure 3
6- Factorize the following polynomial: x 4 1
7- Evaluate the first derivative for f ( x) = x sin x + 3 at x = / 2
3x 1
8- Find the partial fraction decomposition of
( x + 1)( x + 2)

1.0

1.5