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Definitions
Analyzing economic models often involve working with large sets of linear
equations. Matrix algebra provides a set of tools for dealing with such objects.
A matrix is a rectangular collection of numbers
a11 a12
a
a22
A 21
am1 am 2
a1n
a2 n
.
amn
The number of rows m need not be equal to the number of columns n. A matrix with
m rows and n columns is said to have order (m,n) or dimension (m,n), or we simply
call it a (m n) matrix. The number that appears in the (i, j)th position is called the (i,
j)th element or the (i, j)th entry of the matrix. If m n , the matrix is a square
matrix. If m 1 and n 1 , it is called a row vector. If m 1 and n 1 , we have a
column vector. If m n 1 , then we have a scalar. The elements of a vector are
often called the components of the vector.
b1
b
2.
c
c
c
c
Example
A row vector
1 2
n , a column vector b
bm
By simply stating that b is a vector we will usually mean that b is a column vector,
but you need to be aware whether a row or column vector is being referred to.
Matrices are often written in unitalicized bold uppercase letters, vectors in
unitalicized bold lowercase letters.
It is often convenient to write a matrix as
A (a ij )mn ,
A ij .
There is variation in notation from author to author, so be careful in your reading.
Two matrices of the same dimension m n are said to be equal if all of their
corresponding elements are equal, i.e.,
4-1
Define
AB
1 4 6 9
1 6 4 9
7 13
3 2 1 2 3 1 2 2 4 4
6 5 1 10
6 1 5 10
7 15
Matrices being added together obviously must have the same dimensions. It should
also be obvious that
AB BA
(A B) C A (B C)
This means that as far as addition is concerned, we can manipulate matrices in the
same way we manipulate ordinary numbers (as long as they have the same
dimensions)
Scalar Multiplication
A ( aij )mn
i.e., the product of a scalar and a matrix is defined to be the multiplication of each
element of the matrix by the scalar.
Example
a11 a12
ba11 ba12
Example
1 4
6 9
1 6 4 9
5 5
3 2 1 2 3 1 2 2 2 0
6 5
1 10
6 1 5 10
5 5
4-2
Transpose
An important operator is the transpose. When we transpose a matrix,
we write its rows as its column, and its columns as its rows. For example, denoting
the transpose of A by A we have
1 4
3 2
6 5
1 3 6
4 2 5
Put more succinctly, [ A ] ij [ A] ji . Note that transposes are often denoted using
A instead of A .
One application of the transpose operator is in defining symmetric matrices. A
symmetric matrix is defined as one where A A .
Exercises
1.
7 13
Let A 4 4 . What is the dimension of A ? What is [ A]12 ? What is [ A]31 ?
7 15
2.
3.
4.
5.
3
u 2v 1 3
1 1
0 4 9 0 u v , what is u and v ?
If 9
3
3 4
4 7
7
4-3
6. Let v1 , v2 , v3 , v4 represent cities, and suppose there are one-way flights from
v1 to v2 and v3 , from v2 to v3 and v4 , and two-way flights between v1 and v4 .
Write out a matrix A such that [ A]ij 1 if there is a flight from vi to v j , and zero
otherwise.
7.
8.
1 8 3
What is the dimension of the matrix 9 1 9 ?
0 0 0
0 0
0 0 0
Let A
and B 0 0 . Is A B ?
0
0
0
0 0
Matrices with all zero entries are called zero matrices, and written 0m,n , or 0 n
if square, or simply 0 if the dimensions can be easily obtained from context.
9.
1 u 3 9
4 13
If 3 2 1 1 4 3 , what is u , v , and w ?
2 5 1 v
w 7
3 4
3 4
6 4
1
2
5
4
b
3
4
3
3
5
b
3
1
0
(b)
0
2
5
0
0
1
2
(d)
3
1
5
4
b
3
4
3
3
5
b
3
1
1
(e)
1
1
1
1
3
4
3
0
5
b
3
1
0
(c)
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4-4
12.
13.
True or False?
(a)
(b)
A scalar is symmetric.
(c)
(d)
(e)
If (A ) A , then A is symmetric.
(a)
4 3 0
4 2 3
A 2B
5 1 1
simultaenously.
(b)
If A B C and 3A 2B 0 simultaneously, find A and B in
terms of C .
4-5