Matrix Arithmetic

Lewis Blake and David Smith,
Duke University

with the assistance of
Betty Mayfield, Hood College

Purposes: To experiment with matrix addition, subtraction, and (mostly) multiplication; to see that many familiar arithmetic properties of real numbers carry over to matrices, but some do not.

Prerequisites:

• The Helper Application Tutorial for your computer algebra system
• A basic understanding of linear combinations of vectors
• The ability to compute the product of two matrices
• Familiarity with the definition of the transpose of a matrix