Mathematica Basics - Vectors & Matrices
Introduction
In the previous notebook we learned how to manipulate听Mathematica's list construct. Now let's see how it handles the building blocks of Linear Algebra鈥攙ectors and matrices. Essentially听Mathematica听treats these constructs as lists also. i.e. a听vector听in Mathematica is just a听list, and a听matrix听is just a听list of lists.
The intent of this notebook is not to cover all of the concepts of Linear Algebra. Rather, we'll be looking at some of the most basic ways of manipulating vectors and matrices鈥攖ricks that we'll need even outside the realms of Linear Algebra.
Evaluating Commands
Remember, as we said in the introduction to the first notebook, in order to tell听Mathematica听that you want it to actually evaluate what you have typed, hit the ENTER key over on the extreme right side of your keyboard on the numeric keypad. Again, don't confuse this with the RETURN key, which merely starts a new line of text.
You can now switch to an actual听Mathematica听practice notebook by clicking on the icon on the left. It may take a while to start up! Don't forget to come back here when you're done! (You can also return here just to reread the instructions.) See you in a few minutes.
Welcome back! You may be wondering how well you did. Click on the icon on the left to see the answers you should have gotten. (Only the answers are given, so if you don't match our results you need to figure out what you did wrong.)
You're now done with this lab. Next you may go to the听Table of Contents for the听Mathematica听Basics Labs, or go to the听Table of Contents for all of the Differential Equations Labs, or simply quit.