IGCSE Mathematics Matrices

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EXTENDED SKILLS

Introduction to matrices
A matrix is a rectangular array of numbers which are arranged in rows and
columns. Matrices are written in brackets.
Example 1
Jasmine kept a record of the weather each month. She recorded each day as
sunny, cloudy, wet or mixed. Each day was one of these four.
March had 5 sunny days, 10 cloudy days and 7 wet days.
April had 12 mixed days, 8 sunny days and 6 wet days.
May had 13 mixed days and equal numbers of sunny, cloudy and wet days.
a

Put this information in a table.

Form a matrix from the table above.

Solution :

From Example 1, we can see that

The headings for row and columns are omitted.

It has 3 rows and 4 columns. We say it is a 3 4 matrix (read that as
three by four). This is called the order of the matrix.
The numbers in a matrix are called the elements of the matrix.

Special matrices

A row matrix is a matrix which has only one row. Example :

A column matrix is a matrix which has only one column. Example :

A square matrix is a matrix which has equal numbers of rows and columns.
Example :

Two equal matrices have the same order and their corresponding elements
are also equal. Example :

Identify a specific element in a matrix

1

The row number and the column number of an element of a matrix are used to
specify the position of the element.
The element which lies on the ith row and the jth column of a matrix A is denoted
by aij.
Example 2

(82

A is the matrix
a

5 16
1 13

. State the element in

row 1 and column 2

row 2 and column 3

Solution :

Addition and subtraction on Matrices

Two matrices can be added or subtracted if both matrices have the same order.
Example 3
By relating to Example 1, here is a similar matrix which Jasmine recorded for the
same three months last year:

10

7 3 1
12 6 0 12
7 8 2 14

Add these two matrices together to get the totals for the two years:
Solution :

5 10 7 9
8 4 6 12
6 6 6 13

) (
+

10 7 3 1
12 6 0 12
7 8 2 14

Multiplication of a matrix by a number

2

The product of a matrix and a number is the matrix formed by multiplying each of
the elements of the matrix by the number. Multiplying a matrix by a number is
known as scalar multiplication.
Example 4
If Jasmine wants to estimate the figures for a ten year period she might calculate:

10

5 10 7 9
8 4 6 12
6 6 6 13

Practice 1
Ext

In one group in the 2010 Football World Cup these teams all played 3 matches.
Paraguay won 1 match, drew 2 and gained 5 points.
Slovakia won 1, drew 1 and lost 1 and gained 4 points.
New Zealand drew all 3 matches and gained 3 points.
Italy drew 2 matches, lost 1 and gained 2 points.
Show this information in a 4 4 matrix.

Ext

Write down the order of these matrices:

Ext

(12

( )

(2750

3 0 0
2 0 0

2.5
3.8
3.4

884 921 752

0 445 65

How many elements does a 5 x 5 square matrix have?

Ext

4
A=

(29

4 8
6 3

Find:
a A+B
d 4A

Ext

(100

4 2
5 1

AB
e

c BA
0.5B

5
P=

(1030 2040)

Q=

(2420

12 10 4
4 16 0

R=

(2010 1010)

S=

(3610

18 0 6
6 4 0

Find, if possible:
a 2P R
d 0.1R

Ext

B=

(1125 2018)

2X =

b
e

0.5(Q + S)
3(P S)

(59 168 )

)
c

Q + 2R

Find matrix X.

Multiplying matrices
4

Two matrices can be multiplied when the number of columns for the first matrix is
the same as the number of rows for the second matrix. For the case when the
two matrices can be multiplied, the product has the same number of rows as the
first matrix and the same number of columns as the second matrix.
This can be illustrated as follows :

Example 5
Find the product for each of the following, if possible.

()

1 (3 4 )
2

(12 30 )( 21

1 4
2 0

3 4 1
5 1 6 ( 1 0 1 )
2 3 1

Solution :

Practice 2
Ext

The number of adult, student and child tickets sold for a football match are shown in this
matrix: N = (240, 85, 24)

The cost, in dollars, of adult, student and child tickets are shown in this matrix: C =

()
20
16
10

Ext

What does NC show?

Complete these multiplications:

Ext

Calculate NC

(51 23) (12 42)

(02 21 ) ( 41

F=

(30

H=

( )

9
24

4 2 1
3 0 5

2
6

=
9 11

5 6
2 1

G=

(34 12)

4 2
2 3
1
1

Find:
a GF
d HF

b
e

HG
G2

FH

Ext

X is a 3 5 matrix and Y is a 5 4 matrix.

a What is the order of XY?
b How many elements does XY have?
c Is it possible to calculate X2?

Ext

M = (2, 1, 3) and
N=
a
b

Ext

()
3
0
4

Find MN
Find NM

6
A=

( )
1 0 0
2 1 0
3 2 1

B=

( )
2 1
3 2
4 3

Find, if possible:
a AB b
BA

2 2 matrices
If AI = IA = A , then I as an identity matrix or unit matrix.
Example 6
Multiply matrix

(10 23)

with each of the following matrix. Determine

whether the matrix is an identity matrix.

7

(10 01)

(01 10)

From Example 6, an identity matrix has the following characteristics.

It is a square matrix.
All elements in the leading diagonal are 1. All other elements are 0.
There is only one identity matrix for each order.

Zero matrix is a matrix with all the elements in it are zeros.

(00 00)

is a zero matrix.

Practice 3
In this exercise Z =

Ext

P=
a

Ext

M=
a
e

(23 51)

(00 00)

( 42 03)
M+Z
MI

(14 31 )

and Q =

PQ

and I =

(10 01)
. Find:

QP

P2

M+I

(M + I)2

Q2

. Find
d

MZ

Ext

K=

(12 22 )

. Find:

a K2
b K + 2I
c (K+2I)2
What do you notice about the answers to parts c and d?

Ext

Can you find a 2 2 matrix M with the property that:

M2 = Z but M Z ?

Ext

F=
a
b

Ext

A2 =

K2+4K +4I

(01 11)
Find F2, F3 and F4.
Can you predict what F5 and F6 will be? Work them out and check whether you are
correct.

(02 20 )

Show that A4 = kI for a particular value of k, which you should find.

Inverse matrices
If AB= BA = I , then A is the inverse matrix of B and B is the inverse
matrix of A.
The inverse matrix of A is denoted by A-1. We write AA-1 = A-1A = I
Inverse matrices can only exist for square matrices.
Example 7
Determine whether A is the inverse matrix of B in each of the following.
a

A=

(27 14)

A=

(34 21)

To find the inverse of

(ac bd )

B=

(74 12 )

B=

(41 23 )

Step 1: Calculate ad bc. This is called the determinant of the matrix.

Step 2: Swap the positions of a and d change the signs of b and c.
Step 3: multiply the new matrix by

1
determinant

Example 8
By using example 7b, how do we modify B to get the inverse function for
A?

10

Example 9
Find the inverse of M =

(13 42)

Practice 4
Ext

Ext

Find the determinant of each of these matrices:

a

(35 24)

M=

( 24 1x )

R=

Ext

Find the inverse of each of these matrices:

( 41 72)

3
(2
2 1 )

( 48 126 )

. Find |R| and |R2|

Ext

(22 34)

. Find the value of x if the determinant of M is:

b

(20 13)

(64 23 )

(21 8
3 )

(13 35)

11

Ext

A=

(21 43)

B=

(21 53)

E=

(13 52 )

F=

(13 62 )

C=

(21 63)

D=

(13 42 )

From this list find:

a A matrix with a determinant of 2
b B1
c E1
d all the singular matrices

Ext

If

(21 53)

X=

(10 01)

find matrix X

12