Problem 70 - College Algebra

Question

Describe how to subtract matrices.

Step-by-Step Solution

Answer

To subtract two matrices, they must have the same dimensions. Then, perform the subtraction cell by cell, resulting in a new matrix with each cell being the difference between the corresponding cells in the original matrices.

Step 1: Securing matching dimensions

First of all, you want to make sure that the two matrices to be subtracted from each other have the same dimensions, i.e., the same number of rows and columns. If they don't, the subtraction cannot be performed.

Step 2: Performing the subtraction

When matrices have the same size, subtraction can be done element by element. This meaning, for each cell in the first matrix, subtract the corresponding cell in the second matrix. This corresponds to (element of the first matrix) - (corresponding element of the second matrix).

Step 3: Result Matrix

After performing the subtraction for all cells, the result will be a new matrix of the same size. Each cell of this resulting matrix is the result of the subtraction between the corresponding cells in the first and second matrices.