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Matrices and Systems
Let's say you're in algebra and you're given a system of equations. You could certainly use substitution or graphing to solve it, but there is an even cooler way (in my opinon) to attack these problems.
You can use Matrices!
The Problem
Let's start out with a simple equation
First we notice that there are two things given, the coefficients of and and the solutions to the equations
Furthermore, we realize that we are looking for the solutions to x and y
Let's think about how we put the matrices together. Well, if we think about it, the given coeffiecients, multiplied by some unique values of x and y will give us the solutions.
We now might have an idea of how to form our matrices!
The format, as many of you have probably guessed, is
[The coefficient matrix] [The variable matrix]= [The solution matrix]
Convention has it so we call the coefficient matrix "A", the variable matrix "X", and the solution matrix "B"
Or, in terms of our equation
Matrix A:
Matrix X:
Matrix B:
When we put them in the format initially given by the equation we get the following matrix equation:
Okay, so we've gotten this far but we need to find x and y, as this is the ultimate goal of this exercise.
As in any other situation, we are going to want to isolate the variable(s)!
Isolation
Our goal is to make one be the coefficient of Matrix X. This would mean we should multiply both sides by its inverse.
Let's think about how we find the inverse matrix. I'll tell you now it isn't as easy as finding the inverse of a single number. In a 2x2 matrix, however, there is an easy way to go about this.
Instead we have to use the determinant and a special operation within the matrix itself. Let's explore this.
2x2 Matrix Inversion
Matrix A:
Matrix A :
The portion given as is referred to as the determinant.
Now, given our values, we can plug in and find A
This simplifies to
Thus we realize that A is
Solving
Now that we've found the inverse matrix of A we can solve for Matrix X, also, notice that our expression has now taken the form
So with this in find, we can solve:
Now all we need to do is multiply Matrix A by Matrix B. You can review this by reading our lessons on multiplying a matrix by another matrix.
In the end we find that the solution is
Thus x=2 and y=1
As the systems and matrices get larger, this method can begin to get tedious when done by hand. However, in systems with three equations a 3x3 matrix set up can really expidite the problem solving!
Interesting Side Note
When you multiply AA you will find that the matrix that results will be the following:
Interestingly enough, this will be the result any time you multiply any version of A and A together. You can learn more with the invertible matrix theorem.
This matrix is called The identity matrix and much like the identity in basic arithmetic, it is used to get the original input as the output (This of it as multiplying by one)










