Question

Difficulty: MediumMatrices and Matrix Operations

The matrices MM and NN are defined as follows:

M=[4213],N=[2501]M = \begin{bmatrix} 4 & -2 \\ 1 & 3 \end{bmatrix}, \quad N = \begin{bmatrix} 2 & 5 \\ 0 & -1 \end{bmatrix}

If the product matrix PP is defined by the equation P=MNP = MN, what is the value of the element in the first row and second column of PP?

Answer: 22

Answer

The value of the element in the first row and second column of PP is 22.
To find the element in the first row and second column of the product matrix P=MNP = MN, we calculate the dot product of the first row of matrix MM ([4,2][4, -2]) and the second column of matrix NN ([51]\begin{bmatrix} 5 \\ -1 \end{bmatrix}): 4(5)+(2)(1)=20+2=224(5) + (-2)(-1) = 20 + 2 = 22.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine the row of the left matrix and the column of the right matrix needed for the target element.
To find the element in row 1, column 2 of P=MNP = MN, use the first row of MM, which is [4,2][4, -2], and the second column of NN, which is [51]\begin{bmatrix} 5 \\ -1 \end{bmatrix}.
The entry in row ii and column jj of a product matrix is the dot product of row ii of the first matrix and column jj of the second matrix.
2
Compute the dot product of the selected row and column.
(4×5)+(2×1)=20+2(4 \times 5) + (-2 \times -1) = 20 + 2
Multiply corresponding elements and sum the products.
3
Simplify to get the final numeric answer.
22
Adding 20 and 2 yields 22.

Key Concept

Matrix multiplication involves multiplying the rows of the first matrix by the columns of the second matrix.
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