Thursday, May 20

Matrices

The knowledge of matrices is necessary in various branches of mathematics.

Matrices are one of the most powerful tools in mathematics.
This mathematical tool simplifies our work to a great extent when compared with other straight forward methods. The evolution of concept of matrices is the result of an attempt to obtain compact and simple methods of solving system of linear equations. Matrices are not only used as a representation of the coefficients in system of linear equations, but utility of matrices
far exceeds that use. Matrix notation and operations are used in electronic spreadsheet
programs for personal computer, which in turn is used in different areas of business
and science like budgeting, sales projection, cost estimation, analyzing the results of an
experiment etc. Also, many physical operations such as magnification, rotation and
reflection through a plane can be represented mathematically by matrices. Matrices
are also used in cryptography. This mathematical tool is not only used in certain branches
of sciences, but also in genetics, economics, sociology, modern psychology and industrial
management.

Example 1:
Consider the following information regarding the number of men and women
workers in three factories I, II and III
Men workers Women workers
I 30 25
II 25 31
III 27 26
Represent the above information in the form of a 3 × 2 matrix. What does the entry
in the third row and second column represent?

MATHEMATICS
Solution The information is represented in the form of a 3 × 2 matrix as follows:



30 25
A=25 31
21 26


The entry in the third row and second column represents the number of women
workers in factory III.

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