Multiplying both sides of a linear equation

linear algebravectors

I am working through the book "Linear Algebra and Its Applications" By Gilbert Strang and I have come across an equation on page 176 which I cannot get my head around.

This is dealing with orthonormal matrices $Q$ and the equation $Qx = b$

write b as a combination $b = x_1q_1 + x_2q_2 + … + x_nq_n$

To compute $x_1$ there is a neat trick Multiply both sides of the equation by $q_1^T$. On the left-hand side is $q_1^Tb$. On the right-hand side all terms disappear (because $q_1^Tq_j = 0$ except for the first term. We are left with

$$
q_1^Tb = x_1q_1^Tq_1
$$

and since $q_1^Tq_1 = 1$

$$
x_1 = q_1^Tb
$$

My question is about the order of the terms on the right side of the equation. Since order matters, wouldn't it have to be written $q_1^Tx_1q_1$ since the multiplication on the left side was inserted from the left?

Best Answer

$x_1$ is just a scalar, so $q_1^Tx_1q_1=x_1q_1^Tq_1$.

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