Patterns in Matrices: P^n and S^n Calculations

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating powers of two matrices, P and S, and identifying any patterns that emerge from these calculations. Participants share their results for various values of n and explore methods for finding a general form for the matrix powers.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant shares their initial calculations for P and S for n=1 to n=5 and expresses difficulty in finding a general form.
  • Another participant requests specific examples of calculations and encourages sharing of results.
  • Several participants present their calculated powers of P and S, noting the structure of the resulting matrices.
  • A participant observes a pattern where the first term in each matrix differs from the second term by 2^n.
  • There is a suggestion to use summation techniques to derive a general form for the matrix elements.
  • Some participants discuss the principle of multiplying matrices multiple times and relate it to finding a summation form for the elements.
  • One participant expresses uncertainty about how to connect their summation knowledge to the original problem.
  • A later reply indicates that one participant has developed a general form involving scalar multiplication and powers of k.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on a definitive general form for the matrix powers, and multiple approaches and observations are presented without resolution.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying levels of familiarity with mathematical concepts such as proof by induction and summation, which may influence their ability to derive general forms. There are also indications of incomplete understanding of the relationships between the matrix elements.

jballer23
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K guys here's the problem

P= (3 1
1 3)

S=(4 2
2 4)

Calculate P^n and S^n for other values of n and describe any patterns you see.
I tried this one for about an hour and got a little bit. I just want to see what you can get out of it. Maybe I missed something. Please Help! thanks
 
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What values of n did you calculate it for? Can you show us a few examples and post anything if you anything, or not if you don't.
 
i calculated it out for 1,2,3,4,and 5 its really hard to post on my computer. do you have any ideas for finding a general form? because that is the basis of the problem
 
i'll see what i can do about the examples
 
P^3= (36 28
28 36)
P^4= (136 120
120 136)
P^5= (528 496
469 528)
 
jballer23 said:
i calculated it out for 1,2,3,4,and 5 its really hard to post on my computer. do you have any ideas for finding a general form? because that is the basis of the problem

(3 1)2
(1 3)
=
(10 6)
(6 10)


(3 1)3
(1 3)
=
(36 28)
(28 36)


(3 1)4
(1 3)
=
(136 120)
(120 136)


Do you not spot a pattern?

Are you familliar with proof by induction?
 
S^2= (20 16
20 16
S^3= (112 104
112 104)
S^4= (656 640
640 656)
S^5= (3904 3872
3872 3904)
 
no I'm not sorry I'm trying to learn this. its an assignment my teacher gave us and told us to run with. i saw one pattern but i don't really know how to explain it. i noticed that the first term in each matrix differed from the second term by 2^n. that's all i got by looking at it
 
jballer23 said:
no I'm not sorry I'm trying to learn this. its an assignment my teacher gave us and told us to run with. i saw one pattern but i don't really know how to explain it. i noticed that the first term in each matrix differed from the second term by 2^n. that's all i got by looking at it

That's quite cool, do you know how to summate terms like this:

[tex]\sum_{x=1}^n x[/tex]
?

(Not this particular example, but that sort of style of summation)
 
  • #10
yes i do
 
  • #11
yes she has taught us that but i don't know what that has to do with it?
 
  • #12
jballer23 said:
yes i do

Think about trying to multiply the matrix "n times then". Perhaps start with an easy example then like:

(1 1)n
(1 1)
=
Code:
(1 1) (1 1) (1 1) ... (1 1)
(1 1) (1 1) (1 1)     (1 1)

(Try actually writting what's happening in each element, you should get a bit of a long sum, that you can calculate).
 
  • #13
ok i did that but I'm still not getting how to work that with my original problem
 
  • #14
jballer23 said:
ok i did that but I'm still not getting how to work that with my original problem

Well it's the same princaple, if you get a summation form in each of the element, you've worked out what it is, more over you may be able to put it in a closed form if you understand how to do the summations.
 
  • #15
ok thank you, i'll try that today I'm pretty sure i'll be able to work it out now. That helped a lot.
 
  • #16
hey i couldn't find any patterns that way. did you find anything?
 
  • #17
jballer23 said:
hey i couldn't find any patterns that way. did you find anything?

Yeah, I worked them both out pretty quickly, just trying to help you along rather than give the answer. I don't know how else to help you without just saying the answer :/
 
  • #18
ok well i turned in the paper today hopefully it is right. the general form i came up with was like a scalar or 2^(n-1) (k^n+1 k^n-1)
(k^n-1 k^n+1)
 

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