What are scalars and vectors in linear algebra?
In linear algebra, a scalar is a single number that can scale or stretch a matrix or a vector. For example, the numbers 2, -3, 1.2 are all scalars.
A vector, on the other hand, is a list of numbers. And the number of numbers in a vector is called the dimensionality of the vector. So, an n-dimensional vector is a list of n numbers. For example, v1 is a 3 dimensional vector.
Please note that the ordering of numbers in a vector is important. So, v1 and v2 are not the same vector.
A vector can be represented with a 1xn or a nx1 matrix. When a vector is represented with n numbers in a single row, the vector is called a row vector. For example, v3 is a row vector.
On the other hand, when a vector is represented with a single column containing n numbers, we call the vector a column vector. For example, v4 is a column vector.
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