Matrix operations in MATLAB

Matrix addition and subtraction

A matrix is to be added and subtracted
from another matrix if the matrices
have the same size (same number of
columns and rows). The same rules
apply to vectors.
Example
1 0 4  7 3 2 
 
Given a  3 1 3 and b  2 3 5
4 0 3 8 2 6
Determine x=a+b and y=a-b
On the command window we write:
>> a=[1 , 0 , 4 ; 3 , 1 , 3 ; 4 , 0 , 3] ;
>> b=[7 , 3 , 2 ; 2 , 3 , 3 ; 8 , 2 , 6] ;
>> x=a+b ;
>> y=a-b ;
>> % type matrix a
>> a
a=
1 0 4
3 1 3
4 0 3
>> % type matrix b
>> b
b=
7 3 2
2 3 5
8 2 6
>> % type matrix x=a+b
>> x
x=
8 3 6
5 4 8
12 2 9
>> % type matrix y=a-b
>> y
y=
6 3 2
1 2 2
4 2 3

Matrix multiplication

When the number of columns in one matrix

and the number of rows of another matrix are
identical, they can be multiplied.
Example
1 4
  1 0 4
Given a  3 3 and b   
3 1 3
4 3 
Determine x=a b and y=b a

On the command window:

>> a=[1 , 4 ; 3 , 3 ; 4 , 3] ;
>> b=[1 , 0 , 4 ; 3 , 1 , 3] ;
>> x=a*b ;
>> y=b*a ;
>> a
a=
1 4
3 3
4 3

>> b
b= 1 0 4
3 1 3
>> x=a*b
x= 13 4 16
12 3 21
13 3 25
 >> y
y=
17 16
18 24

Transpose of a matrix
A matrix a may be transposed at in MATLAB
by placing a prime after the matrix.
e=a’
(Matrix e becomes the transpose of a
that is e=at )
Example
>> a=[1 , 4 ; 3 , 3 ; 4 , 3] ;
>> a
a=
1 4
3 3
4 3
>> e=a’ ;
>> e
e=
1 3 4
4 3 3
An identity matrix m x m is generated by:
>> % say for 3 x 3 matrix
>> s=eye(3)
s=
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1
A null matrix m x m is generated by:
>> % say for 3 x 3 matrix
>> s=zeros(3)
s=
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
A null matrix m x n is generated by:
>> % say for 3 x 2 matrix
>> s=zeros(3 , 2)
s=
0 0
0 0
0 0
An m x n matrix consisting of unity only is:
>> % say for 3 x 2 matrix
>> s=ones(3 , 2)
s=
1 1
1 1
1 1
Inverse matrix
When two square matrices a and b satisfy
a b=I or b a=I where I is the identity matrix,
then a is the inverse of b , and b is the
inverse of a , that is a a-1 =I and a-1a =I

Example

1 2
a  Find the inverse matrix a-1
3 4
>> a=[1, 2 ; 3 , 4] ;
>> b=inv(a) ;
>> a
a=
1 2
3 4

>> b
b=
2 1
1.5  0.5
>> I=a*b
I=
1 0
0 1
>> I=b*a
I= Note
1 0
0 1
The inv command will compute the inverse of
any square matrix except when it is singular.
A singular matrix is such that at least one row
(or column) can be expressed by subtracting
or adding other rows (or columns).
Consider for example, the following matrix:
>> a=[2 , 2 , 2 ; 1 , 1 , 1 ; 1 , 1 ,1] ;
>> a
a=
2 2 2
1 1 1
1 1 1
>> b=inv(a) Matrix is
singular to
warning
working
b= inf inf inf precision
inf inf inf
inf inf inf
 Application to solution of linear
algebraic equations
Consider a set of n linear algebraic equations
with n unknowns, which is the most usual
case where a unique solution exists and
under-determined and over-determined
systems are avoided.

The equations may be written as:

a11 x1+a12 x2+a13 x3+………………+a1n xn = b1
a21 x1+a22 x2+a23 x3+………………+a2n xn = b2
……………………...……………………….….
………………………………………………….
an1 x1+an2 x2+an3 x3+………………+ann xn = bn

The equations above may be expressed in

matrix form as:

ax=b
  a 11 a 12 .. ... a 1n 
a a 22 
... ... a 2 n 
where a  21
 ... ... ... ... ... 
 
a n1 a n2 ... ... a nn 

 x1   b1 
x  b 
x  2
b  2
 ...   ... 
   
x n  b n 
The solution to the equations may be written as,
x=a-1 b xt=bt (at)-1
To find the solution by MATLAB we write,
x=inv(a) * b
More efficient computationally
or x = a\b
than the former command
z=b’ * inv(a’) where z=x’

or z=b’ / a’
Example
Find the solution of the equations:
x1+2x2=1
3x1+4x2=2

Solution
On the command window we write,
>> a=[1 ,2 ; 3 , 4] ; b=[1 , 2] ’ ;
>> a
>> a=
1 2
3 4
>> b
b=
1
2
>> x=inv(a)*b
x=
0
0.5
>> x=a\b
x=
0
0.5
>> z=b’ * inv(a’)
z=
0 0.5
>> z=b’ / a’
Which is the same answer in a
z=
row vector form.The answer may
0 0.5
be converted to a column vector
form as shown below
>> x=z’
x=
0
0.5
The solution will be x1=0 and x2=0.5
determinants
The determinant of a square matrix may be
expressed concisely by det(a)
or |a| which is equivalent to:
|a|= a11 a12 …………. a1n
a21 a22 …………. a2n
… … …………. …
an1 an2 …………. ann
Where |a| is the determinant of the n x n
Matrix a
To compute the determinant in MATLAB
we use det(a) where a is a square matrix
Example
The determinant of a square matrix may be
expressed concisely by det(a) 1 2 3
Compute the determinant |a|= 4 5 6
Solution 7 8 2
>> a=[1 , 2 , 3 ; 4 , 5 , 6 ; 7 , 8 , 2]
a=
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 2
>> d=det(a)
d=
21
MATLAB commands for polynomials
A polynomial y of order n and coefficients
cis may be expressed as:
y=c1 xn+c2 xn-1+c3 xn-2+……….+cn x+cn+1
The polynomial y=0 has n roots , some of
which may be multiple or complex.
In MATLAB, a polynomial of order n is
represented by a row vector containing the
coefficients of powers in descending order.
p=[ c1 c2 c3 …………… cn cn+1 ]
The roots of a polynomial are found by the
roots command and are given in a column
form. r = roots(p)
Example
Find the roots of the polynomial:
y=2x3+x2+4x+5=0
Solution
>> p=[2 1 4 5] ;
>> p
p=
2 1 4 5
>> r=roots(p)
r=
0.2500+1.5612 i
0.2500 -1.5612 I
-1.0000
The product of two polynomials p1 and p2 may
be found by the command conv(p1,p2).
The derivative of a polynomial p may be
obtained by the command polyder(p).
Example
Find the roots of the polynomial p resulting
from the product of the two polynomials
p1=x4-26x2+25 and p2=x3+2x2-9x-18
>> p1=[1 0 -26 0 25]
p1=
1 0 -26 0 25
>> p2=[1 2 -9 -18]
p1=
1 2 -9 -18
>> p=conv(p1,p2)
p=
1 2 -35 -70 259 518 -225 -450
The resulting polynomial is:
p=x7+2x6-35x5-70x4+259x3+518x2-225x-450
>> roots(p)
ans=
-5.0000
5.0000
-3.0000
3.0000
-2.0000
-1.0000
1.0000
Example
Consider the polynomial y=3x4-7x3+2x2+x+1
a) Obtain the first derivative yd of the
polynomial
b) Obtain the value of y and yd when x=1
>> y=[3 -7 2 1 1]
y=
3 -7 2 1 1
>> yd=polyder(y)
yd=
12 -21 4 1
>> yi=polyval(y,1)
yi=
0
>> ydi=polyval(yd,1)
ydi=
-4