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Matrices Identity Matrices and Symmetric Matrices

In the square matrix given above, the main diagonal is highlighted. The string of
The marks obtained by Wimal, Farook and Radha in a term elements from the top leftmost corner to the bottom rightmost corner is the main
test, for the subjects Mathematics and Science are shown in the diagonal.
table below.
Note: The main diagonal is defined only for square matrices. Most often, the main diagonal is known simply as the
diagonal.

The numbers in the table given above can be represented in a matrix as follows. This is a special square matrix. The main diagonal of A consists of only the number 1. Apart
Here the columns indicate the subjects while the rows indicate the students. This from the diagonal. elements, all the other elements are 0. This type of matrix is known as an
information can also be represented in a matrix as follows. identity matrix. The matrix A is the identity matrix of order 3 × 3.

This is the identity matrix of order 2 × 2.

Here the columns indicate the students while the rows indicate the subjects.
The numbers in a matrix are called the elements of the matrix. The elements of a

matrix, apart from being numbers may also be When naming identity matrices, the letter I is used. The identity
algebraic symbols or expressions matrix with n rows and n columns is written as I n × n .
which stand for numbers. Accordingly,

Consider the elements around the main diagonal of X. The elements around the main diagonal
which are equal to each other are placed symmetrically about the main diagonal. Such
matrices are called symmetric matrices.

The elements around the main diagonals of Y and Z which are equal are
Matrices are named using capital letters placed symmetrically about the main diagonal. Therefore these are
of the English alphabet. In instances symmetric matrices too.
when Note: Symmetric matrices are defined only for square matrices.
elements are expressed in terms of
algebraic symbols, simple letters of the
English alphabet are used. 1.Sarath bought 2 oranges and 3 mangoes, Kamal bought 4 oranges and 1 mango and Raju bought 1 orange and 5
mangoes from a certain fruit stall.
Order of a matrix (i) Express the amount of fruits bought by Sarath as a row matrix.
(ii) Express the amount of fruits bought by Kamal as a row matrix.
The number of rows in A is 2 and the number of columns is 3. Using the number of (iii) Express the amount of fruits bought by Raju as a row matrix.
rows and number of columns, we write the order of the matrix as 2 × 3. A is known (iv) Construct a matrix with quantities of fruits Sarath, Kamal and Raju bought respectively as its rows.
as a “two by three” matrix.

This can be written as

Eg.

Row Matrices, Column Matrices and Square Matrices

Matrices with only one row are known as row matrices, matrices with only one column are known as column
matrices and matrices which have an equal number of rows and columns are known as square matrices. Since the
number of columns. and the number of rows of a square matrix are equal, the order of a square matrix with two rows
and two columns is known as a square matrix of order 2 and a matrix with three rows and three columns is known as a
square matrix of order 3
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Addition and Subtraction of Matrices
Consider the two matrices A and B Both these matrices have the same
order, 3 × 2. The addition of A and B is defined as the matrix which is
obtained when the corresponding elements of A and B are added
together.
By corresponding elements we mean the elements which
are in the same position of the matrix. For example, the
element in the first row and second column of the matrix
A is 1. The corresponding element in matrix B is 6; that is
the number in the first row and second column of B.
Equality of two matrices
For A and B to be equal matrices a = 2, b = 3, c = 10 and d = 9.
That is, for two matrices to be equal, their orders should be equal
and the corresponding elements of the two matrices should be
equal.
Multiplication of Matrices
From the above definitions you may have realized that addition and subtraction of matrices as well as multiplication of
a matrix by a number are carried out as for numbers. However, multiplication of two matrices is done in a different
way. This is shown below.
Initially let us look at how to multiply a row matrix and a column matrix. If A is a row matrix of order 1 × m and B is a
column matrix of order m × 1, then the matrix AB is defined and is of order 1 × 1 . To describe how matrix
multiplication is done in this case, let us consider an example.
Eg.
AB = (5 × 3 + 2 × 1) = (17)
We learnt earlier that any matrix can be multiplied by a number. We also learnt that addition and subtraction of
matrices however can be done only if the matrices are of the same order. Multiplication of matrices too can be done in
some cases only. Above we saw how to multiply a row matrix and a column matrix. We can multiply matrices which
are of different orders too. In general, AB is defined if the order of A is m × n and the order of B is n × p; that is, if the
number of columns of A is equal to the number of rows of B. In this case we get a matrix of order m × p, which is the
number of rows of A into the number of columns of B. Let us now consider how such products of matrices are found.
A and B matrices are given as
AB =
The way the above matrix AB was obtained can be explained as below.
The element in the first row and first column of AB is obtained by multiplying
the first row of A (row matrix) by the first column of B (column matrix).
The element in the first row and second column of AB is obtained by multiplying the first row of A (row matrix) by the
second column of B (column matrix).
The element in the second row and first column of AB is obtained by multiplying the second row of A (row matrix) by
the first column of B (column matrix).
The element in the second row and second column of AB is obtained by multiplying the second row of A (row matrix)
by the second column of B (column matrix).
Any two matrices for which the product is defined (that is, the number of columns of A is equal to the number of rows
of B), can be multiplied as above.
Therefore QP is not equal to PQ
Find (i)
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