# Precalculus : Multiplication of Matrices

## Example Questions

1 2 4 Next →

### Example Question #65 : Matrices And Vectors

Which of the following matrices can be multiplied?

Explanation:

The size of every matrix can be written in the form rows x cols. The following matrix is of the size 2 x 1 because it has 2 rows and 1 column.

For two matrices to be able to be multiplied, their sizes must line up that the number of columns in the first matrix is equal to the number of rows of the first matrix. For example:

So these two matrices can be multiplied. However, if the case were such that:

Here, the # of columns in the first matrix does not line up with the # of rows in the second matrix, so the two matrices cannot be multiplied.

### Example Question #66 : Matrices And Vectors

Matrices  and  are shown above. Find the matrix product .

Explanation:

First, note that the order of the matrix multiplication is important . Multiplication of two matrices is possible only if the number of columns of the first matrix  is equal to the number of rows of the second matrix . Both  and  are  matrices (2 rows and 2 columns, respectively). Thus,  is possible  since the number of columns of  (2) equals to the number of rows of  (2). Furthermore, the size of  is equal to the number of rows of  and the number of columns of

To avoid confusion, I will use the notation , and  to denote the constituents of matrices , and , respectively. For example,  refers to the constituent in  that is in row 1 and column 2. The general version of the three matrices are shown below:

Using the rules of multiplying two matrices, the definition of  is shown below:

Thus,

### Example Question #67 : Matrices And Vectors

Calculate AB when

and .

Explanation:

In order to perform matrix multiplication, the number of columns in the first matrix has to be the same as the number of rows in the second column.

From here, we multiply each term in the first matrix's row by the first column in the second matrix. Continue in this fashion to get the product matrix.

### Example Question #31 : Multiplication Of Matrices

Evaluate:

Explanation:

Write the rule for multiplying a two by two matrix.  The result will be a two by two matrix.

Follow this rule for the given problem.

### Example Question #69 : Matrices And Vectors

Multiply the matrices:

Explanation:

In order to multiply these matrices we will need to consider the rows and columns for each matrix.

Both matrices have a dimension of .

The rule for multiplying matrices is where the number of columns of the first matrix must match the number of rows of the second matrix.

If the dimensions of the first matrix are , and the dimensions of the second matrix are , then we will get a dimension of  matrix as a result.  If the value of  are not matched, we cannot evaluate the product of the matrices.

### Example Question #70 : Matrices And Vectors

Find the product of A and B.

Explanation:

Since you are multiplying a  to a , the answer is going to be a .

To solve, simply multiply each corresponding element and add together.