From solving simple systems of linear equations to performing the most complex finite element analysis, matrices are a critical tool in mathematics. A matrix is a collection of numbers arranged in rows and columns used to solve equations. Matrices can be added, multiplied, inverted and otherwise manipulated to solve a wide variety of problems. Gaussian elimination is the most basic method for solving matrix equations, but before you can do any of this, you must be able to build a matrix.
Things You'll Need
Set of equations
Paper and pencil
Matrix-solving software like MatLab (optional)
Show More
Instructions
1
Write your linear equations on separate lines.
2
Copy all of the x-coefficients into the first column of your matrix.
3
Copy all of the y-coefficients into the second column of your matrix.
4
Copy all of the z-coefficients into the third column of your matrix.
5
Use the right-hand side of the equations to build the single column solution matrix.