Create Array of Zeros in MATLAB

In MATLAB, the variables are typically stored in the form of a matrix or array. Sometimes, we require a matrix or array of zeros to perform a specific operation. Therefore, MATLAB allows us to create a matrix or array of zeros. For this task, we can use MATLAB's built-in functions or manual methods.

In this article, we will learn different methods to create a matrix or array of zero with the help of example programs in MATLAB programming.

Array of Zeros using `zeros()` Function in MATLAB

MATLAB provides a built-in function named `zeros()` to create a matrix or array of zeros with a specific number of rows and columns.

Creating an array of zeros with specified number of rows and columns

We can use the `zeros()` function to create an array of n × m order by using the following syntax.

Syntax

A = zeros(n, m);

Here, `A` is a variable defined to store the array of zeros, `n` is a number representing number of rows in the array, and `m` is the number representing number of columns in the array.

Example

% MATLAB program to demonstrate the creation of an n x m array of zeros using `zeros()` function
% Creating a 3 x 4 array of zeros
A = zeros (3, 4);
% Display the array of zeros
disp('The array of zeros: ');
disp(A);

Output

The array of zeros: 
     0     0     0     0
     0     0     0     0
     0     0     0     0

Creating an array of zeros of with same number of rows and columns

The following syntax of the `zeros()` function is used to create an n × n array of zeros.

Syntax

A = zeros(n);

Where, `n` is the order of the array.

Example

% MATLAB program to demonstrate the creation of an n x n array of zeros
% Creating a 3 x 3 array of zeros
A = zeros (3);
% Display the array of zeros
disp('The array of zeros: ');
disp(A);

Output

The array of zeros: 
     0     0     0
     0     0     0
     0     0     0

Creating a scalar zero

We can create a scalar zero just by calling the `zeros` function without arguments. The following MATLAB program demonstrates the implementation of creating a scalar zero.

Example

% MATLAB program to demonstrate the creation of a scalar zero
% Creating a scalar zero
A = zeros;
% Display the scalar zero
disp('The scalar zero is: ');
disp(A);

Output

The scalar zero is: 
     0

Creating a 3-d array of zeros

We can also use the `zeros()` function with three arguments to create a 3-d array of zeros. For this, the zeros() function will take the following syntax.

Syntax

A = zeros (a, b, c);

This function will create an a x b x c array of zeros.

Example

% MATLAB program to demonstrate the creation of a 3-d array of zeros
% Creating a 3 x 4 x 5 array of zeros
A = zeros (3, 4, 5);
% Display the array of zeros
disp('The array of zeros: ');
disp(A);

Output

The array of zeros: 

(:,:,1) =

     0     0     0     0
     0     0     0     0
     0     0     0     0

(:,:,2) =

     0     0     0     0
     0     0     0     0
     0     0     0     0

(:,:,3) =

     0     0     0     0
     0     0     0     0
     0     0     0     0

(:,:,4) =

     0     0     0     0
     0     0     0     0
     0     0     0     0

(:,:,5) =

     0     0     0     0
     0     0     0     0
     0     0     0     0

Create Array of Zeros Manually in MATLAB

We can specify the codes in MATLAB programming to create different kinds of arrays of zeros. The following sections illustrates the creation of arrays of zeros manually.

Create an array of zeros of size 1 x n or an array of n zeros

We can create a row vector of size 1 x n or an array of n zeros in the MATLAB programming.

The following MATLAB program demonstrate the creation of an array of 6 (n = 6) zeros.

Example

% MATLAB program to demonstrate the creation of an array of n zeros
% Creating an array of 6 (n = 6) zeros
A = [0 0 0 0 0 0];
% Display the array of zeros
disp('The array of zeros is: ');
disp(A);

Output

The array of zeros is: 
     0     0     0     0     0     0

Create an array of zeros of size n x 1 or a column vector of zeros

We can create a column vector of size n x 1 or an array of zeros of size n x 1 in the MATLAB programming.

The following MATLAB program demonstrate the creation of an array of zeros of size 6 x 1.

Example

% MATLAB program to demonstrate the creation of an n x 1 array of zeros
% Creating an array of zeros of size 6 x 1
A = [0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0];
% Display the array of zeros
disp('The array of zeros is: ');
disp(A);

Output

The array of zeros is: 
     0
     0
     0
     0
     0
     0

Create an array of zeros of size n x m

We can create an array of zeros of size n x m in the MATLAB programming. Where, `n` is the number of rows and `m` is the number of columns in the array.

The following MATLAB program demonstrate the creation of an array of zeros of size n x m.

Example

% MATLAB program to demonstrate the creation of an n x m array of zeros
% Creating an array of zeros of size 3 x 5
A = [0 0 0 0 0; 0 0 0 0 0; 0 0 0 0 0];
% Display the array of zeros
disp('The array of zeros is: ');
disp(A);

Output

The array of zeros is: 
0     0     0     0     0
0     0     0     0     0
0     0     0     0     0

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can create array of zeros in MATALB either manually or by using built-in function "zeros()". The above MATLAB programs demonstrate both methods of creating array of zeros.