Matrix must be square error and Error in PartA. how do I solve it?

clc; % Clear command window

clear; % Clear workspace

syms w; % Define w as a symbolic variable

% Define masses, damping coefficients, and stiffness coefficients

m1 = 1.8; m2 = 6.3; m3 = 5.4; m4 = 22.5; m5 = 54;

c2 = 10000; c3 = 500; c4 = 1500; c5 = 1100;

k2 = 1*10^8; k3 = 50*10^3; k4 = 75*10^3; k5 = 10*10^3;

B = [k2+c2, -k2-c2+(m2*w^2), 0, 0, 0;

-k2-c2, k2+c2+k3+c3, -k3-c3, 0, 0];

detB = det(B);

Error using sym/det (line 24)

Matrix must be square.

Error in PartA (line 23)

detB = det(B);

Answer 1

[Avni Agrawal]

Hi @Trong Nhan Tran,

I understand that you are trying to find the determinant of matrix B. But, The determinant is a scalar value that can be computed from the elements of a square matrix and encodes certain properties of the matrix. For a non-square matrix, since the number of rows and columns is different, the concept of a determinant does not apply.

Please take a look at this documentation for better understanding: https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/det.html

I hope this helps.