Change of Coordinates Matrix Calculator

Given two bases $\mathcal{V} = \{v_1, \ldots, v_n\}$ and $\mathcal{U} = \{u_1, \ldots, u_n\}$ for $\mathbb{R}^n$, this calculator computes the change of coordinates matrix $\mathbf{S}$ that converts coordinates from basis $\mathcal{V}$ to basis $\mathcal{U}$.

Want to see how change of basis works geometrically? Try the Coordinate Transform Visualizer for an interactive animated demonstration.

The matrix $\mathbf{V}$ has columns $v_1, \ldots, v_n$ (initial basis vectors) and $\mathbf{U}$ has columns $u_1, \ldots, u_n$ (final basis vectors).

Change of Coordinates Matrix:

$ \mathbf{S} = \mathbf{U}^{-1} \mathbf{V} $

If $[\mathbf{x}]_{\mathcal{V}}$ represents coordinates in basis $\mathcal{V}$, then:

$ [\mathbf{x}]_{\mathcal{U}} = \mathbf{S} \, [\mathbf{x}]_{\mathcal{V}} $

Key Ideas:

  • $\mathbf{S}$ transforms coordinate vectors from basis $\mathcal{V}$ to basis $\mathcal{U}$
  • The inverse $\mathbf{S}^{-1} = \mathbf{V}^{-1}\mathbf{U}$ goes from $\mathcal{U}$ back to $\mathcal{V}$
  • If $\mathcal{U}$ is the standard basis, then $\mathbf{S} = \mathbf{V}$ converts to standard coordinates
Matrix size $n$:

Enter the dimension n and click Generate Matrices to create the basis input grids.

Display Values as:
1 — Set Up
Loads a pre-filled pair of bases — ready to compute the transition matrix.
2 — Compute
Computes the transition matrix between the two bases and converts coordinates.
Resets all dimensions, matrix entries, and results.
© 2025 Shelvean Kapita: kapita@tamu.edu
All code released under the MIT License.
Last modified: September 28, 2025