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13.6: Array Operations Review

  • Page ID
    135924
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    Before we go deeper into matrix operations, it is important to review array operations. Array operations are performed element by element. This means MATLAB lines up the corresponding elements and applies the operation to each pair.

    Operation

    MATLAB Form

    Meaning

    Addition

    a + b

    Element-by-element addition

    Subtraction

    a - b

    Element-by-element subtraction

    Multiplication

    a .* b

    Element-by-element multiplication

    Division

    a ./ b

    Element-by-element division

    Exponentiation

    a .^ b

    Element-by-element exponentiation

     

    Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)

    Array addition, multiplication, and exponentiation

    a = [3 5 10];
    
    b = [-2 7 4];
    
    
    
    sumVec = a + b
    
    productVec = a .* b
    
    powerVec = a .^ 2
    Solution

    sumVec = [1   12   14]

    productVec = [-6   35   40]

    powerVec = [9    25   100]

     

     

    The dot before the operator tells MATLAB: do this element by element. This is very different from matrix multiplication, which we will discuss later.

     

    Caution

    It's a common mistake to forget the dot in element-by-element operations. For example, a*b means matrix multiplication, but a.*b means multiply matching elements. When you are working with data arrays, you often need the dot version.


    13.6: Array Operations Review is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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