For groups with sizes nr, means xˉr, and overall mean xˉ, define W=∑r,i(xri−xˉr)(xri−xˉr)T and B=∑rnr(xˉr−xˉ)(xˉr−xˉ)T. Expanding xri−xˉ=(xri−xˉr)+(xˉr−xˉ) gives total scatter T=W+B because each within-group residual sum vanishes. Both matrices are positive semidefinite, and rankB≤min(p,g−1). They separate within-groupnoise from between-groupmean separation.