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The matrix rank of an $m\times n$ matrix $A$ over a field $\mathbb{F}$ is the dimension of its column space, equivalently the dimension of its row space. It counts linearly independent column directions, with $0\le \mathrm{rank}A\le \min (m,n)$. Counting nonzero matrix entries gives a different quantity: an all-ones matrix can have arbitrarily many nonzero matrix entries and still have matrix rank one.^[ref]

Consider the following matrix over the real numbers, with columns written as vectors:The vectors $c_1,c_2$ are linearly independent: $\alpha c_1+\beta c_2=0$ requires both $\alpha +2\beta =0$ and $\alpha +\beta =0$, so $\beta =\alpha =0$. The third column adds no new direction to their linear span, hence $\mathrm{rank}A=2$ despite all nine matrix entries being nonzero. The second row likewise repeats twice the first row.

The column space is a plane through the origin:Every output has second coordinate twice its first coordinate. Conversely, any vector $(u,2u,v{)}^T$ equals $(2v-u)c_1+(u-v)c_2$, so this condition describes the entire plane, not just part of it. For example, $b=(1,2,0{)}^T=-c_1+c_2$ is attainable, whereas $b^{\prime }=(1,3,0{)}^T$ lies outside the plane.

Elementary row operations expose the same count algebraically. Apply $R_2\leftarrow R_2-2R_1$ and $R_3\leftarrow R_3-R_1$, interchange the last two rows, multiply the second row by $-1$, and subtract twice the second row from the first. The resulting reduced row echelon form isThere are two pivot columns, so the matrix rank is two. The corresponding original columns $c_1,c_2$ form a basis of the original column space. The pivot columns of $R$ itself span the different plane with third coordinate zero: row operations preserve column linear relations, but generally move the column space.^[ref]

Solving the homogeneous linear system $Rx=0$ gives $x_1+x_3=0$ and $x_2+x_3=0$. Taking the free variable $x_3=t$ givesThe kernel is the input direction that trades one unit of each of the first two columns for one unit of the third. This trade leaves the output unchanged. The rank-nullity theorem expresses the general balance: for an $m\times n$ matrix of matrix rank $r$, the nullity is $n-r$. The column space describes reachable outputs; the kernel describes invisible changes to inputs.^[ref]

For the attainable output $b$, one solution is $x_0=(-1,1,0{)}^T$. Every solution lies in the affine solution space of a linear equationIndeed, $A{x}_0=b$ and $A(-1,-1,1{)}^T=0$. Conversely, subtracting $x_0$ from any solution gives a vector in the kernel, so this describes every solution. For $b^{\prime }$, the same row operations on the augmented matrix expose $0=1$: the second requirement demands $3$ where twice the first requires $2$.

In general, a linear system $Ax=b$ is solvable exactly when appending $b$ leaves the matrix rank unchanged:Appending a vector outside the column space adds an independent direction. When a solution $x_0$ exists, every solution is $x_0+\ker A$, because $A(x-x_0)=0$. Thus one count predicts both how many output directions are reachable and, through the rank-nullity theorem, how many independent input directions remain free.^[ref]

A pivot column of a matrix is a column whose position contains a leading nonzero matrix entry in its row echelon form. The corresponding columns of the original matrix form a basis of its column space. The column positions survive row operations, although the column vectors themselves generally change.^[ref]

A row echelon form is in reduced row echelon form when every pivot element is one and is the only nonzero entry in its column.^[ref] This extra reduction displays each pivot unknown directly in terms of the free variables in a linear system. The zero matrix also satisfies the definition: it has no pivot elements.

Every matrix has exactly one reduced row echelon form under elementary row operations, with its size and column order held fixed.^[ref] Ordinary row echelon form is not unique: multiplying a nonzero row by two over the rational numbers keeps the staircase but changes the matrix. The reduced conditions remove that freedom.

For a fixed number of columns, each row space has a unique reduced matrix after zero rows are removed; at a fixed full size, the number of appended zero rows is also determined. Thus reduced row echelon form represents a vector subspace independently of the starting basis. This is the uniqueness used by Gaussian binomial coefficients to count vector subspaces over a finite field.

The fixed column order matters. Elementary column operations can change the row space, the kernel and the resulting reduced row echelon form. For instance, swapping the columns of $(12)$ over the rational numbers gives $(21)$, whose reduced row echelon form is $(11/2)$ instead of $(12)$. When solving a linear system, a column interchange also requires tracking the corresponding interchange of unknowns.

A matrix over a field $\mathbb{F}$ is in row echelon form when all zero rows follow the nonzero rows, each nonzero row's first nonzero entry lies strictly to the right of the preceding row's first nonzero entry, and all entries below each such leading entry vanish. These leading entries are its pivot elements. They need not be one, and entries above them need not vanish.^[ref]

The staircase turns a linear system into a sequence of simpler equations. For example,is in row echelon form, with pivot columns 1 and 2. Its second equation determines $x_2$ once $x_3$ is chosen; its first then determines $x_1$ by back substitution. It is not in reduced row echelon form, because the second pivot column contains a nonzero entry above its pivot element. Neither being square nor having a nonzero entry in every row is required.

Elementary row operations bring every matrix to row echelon form: choose a nonzero entry in the leftmost available nonzero column, interchange rows, clear entries below it, and repeat on the remaining rows and later columns. Skip columns with no remaining nonzero entry. Clearing above each pivot element and scaling it to one completes reduced row echelon form.^[ref]

The nonzero rows of an row echelon form are linearly independent: in a vanishing linear combination, inspecting the first pivot column forces the first coefficient to be zero, then the next forces the second, and so on. They give a basis of the original row space. The number of pivot elements is both the row rank and the column rank. To recover a basis of the original column space, select the corresponding original pivot columns; the reduced column vectors generally belong to a different column space.

Here the arithmetic is exact in the specified field. For floating-point arithmetic, deciding whether a computed entry counts as zero requires a numerical criterion; see Tiny-pivot roundoff in Gaussian elimination and condition number. An exact row echelon form classification alone does not settle numerical stability.

Two matrices of the same size over the same field are row-equivalent matrices if a sequence of elementary row operations transforms one into the other.^[ref] Every operation is reversible, so they have the same row space and the same column linear relations. Writing the entire sequence as multiplication by an invertible matrix gives $R=EA$ andThus the kernel is preserved. For a nonzero right-hand side, perform every operation on the whole augmented matrix $[A\mid b]$: changing the coefficients while keeping $b$ fixed generally changes the solutions. The column space instead transforms to $E\mathrm{col}A$, which need not equal $\mathrm{col}A$.