asked 69.8k views
4 votes
Find the sizes of the product AB and BA, whenever those product exist.

A is 3 X 3, and B is 3 X 3.

asked
User Fuzzy
by
8.2k points

1 Answer

1 vote

Answer: Both AB and BA are 3x3 matrices.

Step-by-step explanation

For a moment I'll go over a similar example before diving into the problem at hand.

Let's consider matrix A and B to be of sizes 2 x 5 and 5 x 7 respectively.

Imagine you had two magnets. On each magnet's left and right end we'll write the dimensions of each matrix. See the diagram below.

Magnet A will have 2 and 5 on the left and right sides.

Magnet B will have 5 and 7.

These magnets are a bit special in that they only stick to other magnets of the same number. This means that the "5"s will glue together to form a longer rectangle.

This visual helps us see that matrix product AB is defined, while BA is not defined.

AB is defined because of the matching inner '5's

BA is not defined because the 7 and 2 don't match up.

The outer values then determine the overall size of the matrix product (if such a product is defined). In the case of AB, the outer values are 2 and 7. Therefore, matrix AB is size 2x7 for this example.

------------------

Now to the actual problem at hand.

Luckily we don't have to worry about values not matching up because everything is a '3'. Both AB and BA are defined. Their sizes are 3x3 each.

Find the sizes of the product AB and BA, whenever those product exist. A is 3 X 3, and-example-1
answered
User Tinki
by
8.0k points

No related questions found

Welcome to Qamnty — a place to ask, share, and grow together. Join our community and get real answers from real people.