Introduction

From an applications viewpoint, eigenvalue problems are probably the most important problems that arise in connection with matrix analysis. In this Section we discuss the basic concepts. We shall see that eigenvalues and eigenvectors are associated with square matrices of order $n\times n$ . If $n$ is small (2 or 3), determining eigenvalues is a fairly straightforward process (requiring the solutiuon of a low order polynomial equation). Obtaining eigenvectors is a little strange initially and it will help if you read this preliminary Section first.

Prerequisites

• have a knowledge of determinants and matrices
• have a knowledge of linear first order differential equations

Learning Outcomes

• obtain eigenvalues and eigenvectors of $2\times 2$ and $3\times 3$ matrices
• state basic properties of eigenvalues and eigenvectors