Linear Algebra General

Rank of a Matrix

The rank of a matrix is the number of linearly independent row or columns in the matrix.

To calculate the rank:

  • Reduce the matrix to to row-echelon form
  • Count the number of non-zero rows in the row-echelon matrix

OR

If the matrix is a square matrix (i.e. n x n) then the rank is n if and only if the determinant of the matrix is not equal to zero.