LESSON 1: Introduction and Overview of Matrices

“Mathematics is the art of explanation” – Paul Lockhart

O.M. “Welcome to the exciting world of mathematics! In this lesson, we are going to study a
very powerful structure and to begin, consider the three pictures below
An airplane seating arrangement

A Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet

English Premier League Table (Top 5)

So what do these three pictures have in common? You guessed it, they are all examples of
matrices!
1.1 NATURE OF A MATRIX

Here are some examples of typical matrices used in mathematics:

3 5 −1
−1 0 1
(i) (2, 5) (ii) ( ) (iii) ( ) (iv) ( 2 4 6)
4 2 4
1 0 7
These along with the three pictures given previously are all matrices. So then what exactly is a
matrix? Well we can tell by observation, the following:
 It has rows and columns.
 Seems to have a general ‘rectangular’ shape. (Do you agree?)
 Can contain data (for airplane seats, that data is the seat number)

Q1: Based on the discussion thus far, write, in your own words, a definition for a matrix

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1.2. ORDER OF A MATRIX

If a matrix has m rows and n columns, the order of that matrix is given as m × n (by
convention, the number of rows is given first). The idea follows from how we normally calculate
the area of a rectangle. Study the illustration below:
Let M be a 3 × 2 matrix such that M =

2 columns

4 6
3 rows (3 5)
−2 7

1.3 TYPES OF MATRICES

(i) Square Matrix: Any m × m matrix is called a square matrix.

𝑒 𝑓 𝑔
𝑎 𝑏
( ) or ( ℎ 𝑖 𝑗 )
𝑐 𝑑
𝑘 𝑙 𝑚
Q2: Can you guess why its called ‘square’?

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(ii) Identity Matrix: A square matrix with a very specific arrangement of 1s and 0s occupying
its leading diagonals. It is usually denoted by I.

1 0 0 1
I= ( ) is the identity matrix but not ( )
0 1 1 0
(iii) Diagonal Matrix: A square matrix containing 0s except for its leading diagonal.

4 0 0
2 0
( ) and (0 1 0)
0 −3
0 0 6
Note: the leading diagonal is the diagonal from top left to bottom right

Q3: Is the identity matrix also a diagonal matrix? _________

(iv) Zero Matrix: Any matrix containing strictly 0s

0
0 0 0
(0 0 0) , ( ) and ( ) are all zero matrices.
0 0 0
0

(v) Column Matrix: A matrix with exactly one column. Its order therefore is generally m × 1.

−1
1
−3 0
(2) , ( ) and ( ) are column matrices.
5 1
3
8

(vi) Row Matrix: A matrix with exactly one row.

Q4: What do you think its general order would be? Write it here. ________________

Q5: Give an example of a row matrix here:

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