Vectors and Scalar

A scalar is just a fancy word for a number; it is used to distinguish numbers from vectors or matrices.

Arithmetic with matrices and scalars

You can use the arithmetic operators +, -, * and / on a matrix and a scalar. The operation is applied to each element of the matrix.

>>> r=[4, 5, 6]
r =

4.00 5.00 6.00

>>> r1=r*6
r1 =

24.00 30.00 36.00

>>> r2=(r1-20)/2
r2 =

2.00 5.00 8.00

>>> c=[0.5; 3.5]
c =

0.50
3.50

>>> c1=c+0.5
c1 =

1.00
4.00

Functions of matrices

You can apply functions on matrices, the function is then applied to each element of the matrix.

>>> c=[4;16]
c =

4.00
16.00

>>> sqrt(c)
ans =

2.00
4.00