Multiply a matrix by a scalar

key notes:

To multiply a matrix by a scalar, multiply each element of the matrix by the scalar.

What you will learn in this lesson

We can multiply matrices by real numbers. This article explores how this works.

Scalars and scalar multiplication

When we work with matrices, we refer to real numbers as scalars.

The term scalar multiplication refers to the product of a real number and a matrix. In scalar multiplication, each entry in the matrix is multiplied by the given scalar.

Learn with an example

Let’s practice: