By: Maureen Cop

A matrix is a rectangular array of numbers arranged by rows and columns. The numbers inside a matrix are called elements. The numbers arranged vertical are called columns, and the numbers arranged horizontal are called rows.

Adding MatricesSubtracting MatricesScalar Multiplication

Adding matrices is very similar to adding real numbers.

Subtracting matrices is very similar to subtracting real numbers.

The real number that is being multiplied by a matrix is called a scalar. In this example, the scalar is 2. In scalar multiplication, every number in the matrix is multiplied by the scalar.

A company manufactures small and large steel DVD racks with wooden bases. Each size of rack is available in three types of wood: walnut, pine, and cherry. Sales of the racks for last month and this month are shown below: Large Rack Sales: Small Rack Sales:

Here is one way we can organize the manufacturing data from last month into a matrix: Walnut Pine Cherry Large Racks Small Racks The columns represent the three types of wood and the the rows represent the large and small racks.

Matrices in Wikipedia Matrix Addition in Wikipedia Matrix Addition in Wikipedia Cool Math Matrix Practice Websites Used for Images:Websites For Fun and Practice:

I hope you liked this lesson on the basic matrix operations and how real life data can be organized into matrices!