2.

MATRICES

2.1 Introduction
A matrix is a rectangular array of real numbers. The matrix is denoted by a capital letter.
The numbers in the array are called the entries or elements.
Any matrix A may be expressed as

 a11 a12 ⋯ a1n 

a a22 a23 .... an 
 21 
A= 
 
 ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ 
 am1 am 2 .... amn 

where the brackets are used to emphasise that the entire array is to be regarded as a
single entity.

The order or size of the matrix A above is m × n . That is, ' m ' the number of rows
and ' n ' the number of columns.

The element aij we call the first subscript the i th row and the second subscript the

j th column. For example a23 is the second row and third column.

When compactness of notation is desired, the preceding matrix can be written as

A =  aij  or A =  aij 
m×n

The first notation is being used when it is important in discussion to know the size,
and the second being used when the size need not be emphasised.

The entry in row ' i ' and column ' j ' of matrix A is also commonly denoted by the
symbol ( A)ij = aij .

1
Example 2.1.1
Consider the matrix
 −2 7 3 
B= 
 1 0 −1

(a) What is the entry/element b22 ?

(b) Identify the rows and columns of B
(c) What is the order of B?
(d) What is ( B )13 and ( B )24 ?

Solution 2.1.1

2
2.2 Type of Matrices
(i). A row matrix is one whose order is of the form 1× n . It has only one row. For
example, G = (1 2 3) is of the order 1× 3 .

(ii). A column matrix is one whose order is of the form m× 1 . It has only one column.
5
Example, A =   is of the order 2 × 1 .
 2

(iii). Two matrices are said to be equal if they have the same size and their
corresponding entries are equal. That is, if A =  aij  and B = bij  have the same
size, then A = B if and only if aij = bij for all i and j .

 2 1  2 1
Example A =   , B =  5 3 . If x = 5 , then A = B
 x 3  

(iv). The matrix R is a null matrix (or zero matrix) if aij = 0 ∀ i, j . That is, a

0 0
zero matrix has zero entries only. Example, R =   is a 2 × 2 zero matrix.
0 0

(v). A square matrix is one whose order is of the form n × n . It has the same number
of rows and columns.

 3 5 7
0 1
Examples: A =   B =  6 4 1 C = [ 4] are square matrices.
 
8 1  −2 3 4 

3
(vi). If the only nonzero elements of a square matrix lie on the main diagonal, M is
 7 0 0
3 0
said to be a diagonal matrix. Examples M =   and N  = 0 2 0
 
0 1   0 0 0
Thus, any diagonal matrix of order n can be denoted as
 d11 0 ⋯ 0 
 0 d 
D=  22 
 ⋮ ⋱ ⋮ 
 
 0 ⋯ d nn 

(vii). If d11 = d 22 = … = d nn = 1 , then D, is called the identity matrix or unit matrix

denoted by I. Thus
1 0 ⋯ 0 
0 1 
I= 
⋮ ⋱ ⋮
 = δ ij { }
 
0 1

where δij is the Kronecker delta symbol defined as

1 if i = j
δ ij = 
0 if i ≠ j

It sometimes convenient to include a subscript n to indicate the order of I.

1 0 0
For example, I 3 =  0 1 0  is a 3 × 3 identity matrix.
 
 0 0 1 

4
 1 0 0 
Normally we tend to leave off the subscript of I and just write I = 0 1 0
0 0 1 

(viii). A square matrix A =  aij  is upper triangular if aij = 0 for all j < i and lower
triangular if aij = 0 for all j > i

 a11 a12 ⋯ a1n 

 0 a 
U=  22  upper triangular matrix
 ⋮ ⋮ ⋱ ⋮ 
 
 0 ⋯ ann 

 a11 0 ⋯ 0 
a 
 21 a22 
L= lower triangular matrix
 ⋮ ⋱ ⋮ 
 
 an1 ⋯ ann 

If a matrix is upper triangular or lower triangular it is said to be triangular.

5
2.3 Matrix Operation

2.3.1 Addition and Subtraction

Definition: If A and B are matrices of the same size (order), then the sum A + B is
the matrix obtained by adding the entries of B to the corresponding entries of A , and
the difference A − B is the matrix obtained by subtracting the entries of B to the
corresponding entries of A . Matrices of different sizes cannot be added or subtracted.
In mathematical jargon, If A and B are of the same order, they are said to be conformable for
addition or subtraction; if they are not of the same order, then is not defined.

In matrix notation, if A =  aij  and B = bij  have the same order,

then
( A + B )ij = ( A)ij + ( B )ij = aij + bij
and
( A − B )ij = ( A)ij − ( B )ij = aij − bij

Example 2.3.1
 2 1 0 3  −4 3 5 1 
1 1 
Consider the matrices: A =  −1 0 2 4  B =  2 2 0 −1 C = 
   
 2 2 
 4 −2 7 0   3 2 −4 5 

Find the following: (a) A + B (b) A − B (c) B − C

(d) A + C (e) B + C (f) A − C

6
2.3.2 Scalar Multiplication
Definition: If A is any matrix and k is any scalar, then the product kA is the matrix
obtained by multiplying each entry of the matrix A by k . The matrix kA is said to be
a scalar multiple of A .

In matrix notation:, if A =  aij  , then ( kA )ij = k ( A)ij = kaij

Furthermore, we denote − A ≡ ( −1) A

Example 2.3.2
2 3 4 0 2 7 9 −6 3 
If A =   , B=  , C= 
1 3 1   −1 3 −5  3 0 12 

we have:
4 6 8 0 −2 −7  1 3 −2 1 
2A =  , −B =   C= 
 2 6 2 1 −3 5  3 1 0 4 

Note
If A1, A2 ,....., An are matrices of the same order and k1, k2 ,....., kn are scalars, then an
expression of the form
k1 A1 + k2 A2 + ..... + kn An
is called a linear combination of A1, A2 ,....., An with coefficients k1, k2 ,....., kn .

Consider the matrices in example 2.3.2 and suppose now we have,

1
2A − B + C =
3

1
This is the linear combination of A , B and C with scalar coefficients 2 , −1 and
3

7
Axiom 1: Properties of Matrix Addition and Scalar Multiplication
If A , B and C are m × n matrices, 0 is an m × n matrix, and α , β are any scalars,
then

(a) A + B = B + A commutative law for addition

(b) ( A + B ) + C = A + ( B + C ) associative law for addition
(c) A + 0 = A
(d) A + ( − A) = 0
(e) α ( β A) = (αβ ) A associativity
(f) (α + β ) A = α A + β A distributivity
(g) 1A = A
(h) 0 A = 0
(i) α 0 = 0

Proofs

8
2.3.3 Matrix Multiplication
The dot (or scalar) product of a 1× n matrix with and n×1 matrix is defined by

 b1 
b 
( a1 a2 ⋯ an )  2  = a1b1 + a2b2 + ⋯ + anbn
 ⋮ 
 
 bn 
n
We can express the product using sigma notation as ∑ aibi
i =1

If A =  aij  is any m × n matrix and B = bij  is any n × p matrix; so that the number
of columns of A is equal to the number of rows of B. Then the product AB whose
( i, j ) th entry is the dot product of the ith row in A with the j th column in B can be
defined as

n
AB = ∑ aik bkj (1 ≤ i ≤ m , 1 ≤ j ≤ p)
k =1

n
If we denote AB = C = cij , then( ) cij = ∑ aik bkj
k =1

If the numbers of columns of A is equal to the number of rows of B, then A and B are
said to conformable for multiplication; if not, the product AB is not defined.
To determine if the product of two matrices are defined, then, if the inside numbers
are the same, then the product is defined and the outside numbers gives the order of
the product.

A times B = AB
m× n n× p m× p
inside

outside
9
 Example 2.3.3

2 0 −5
1  5 1
3 2 
Suppose that A= and B =  −2 3
4 1 −1  
   1 0
0 2 7

Then A is 4 × 3 and B is 3 × 2 . Since the number of columns of A is the same as the

number of rows of B, then the product AB is defined and will be a 4 × 2 matrix.

2 0 −5  5 2
1   5 1 
 3 2    1 10 
× −2 3  =
4 1 −1  17 7 
   1 0   
0 2 7 3 6
B = 3× 2
A = 4×3 AB = C = 4× 2

To compute c32 and c11 for example:

3
c32 = ∑ a3k bk 2 = ( 4 )(1) + (1)( 3) + ( −1)( 0 ) = 7
k =1

3
c11 = ∑ a1k bk1 = ( 2 )( 5 ) + ( 0 )( −2 ) + ( −5 )(1) = 5
k =1

Remark
(i). Notice that we move across the rows of the first matrix and down the columns of
the second.

(ii). Observe that c32 is the dot product of the third row of A, which is considered as
a 3-tuple vector, with the second column of B.

10
(iii). In matrix notation:
 a11 a12 ⋯ a1n 
 ⋯ a2n   b11 b12 ⋯ b1 j ⋯ b1 p 
 a21 a22  
 ⋮ ⋮ ⋯ ⋮  b21 b22 ⋯ b2 j ⋯ b2 p 
AB =  
 ai1 ai 2 ⋯ aim   ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ 
 
 ⋮ ⋮ ⋮   bn1 bn 2 ⋯ bnj ⋯ bnp 
  
 am1 am 2 ⋯ amn 

So ( AB )ij = ai1b1 j + ai 2b2 j + ai 3b3 j + ..... + ainbnj

Example 2.3.4
3 2   4 0
Given that A =   and B =   Find AB
1 4   −2 3

Example 2.3.5
 −2 −1
 −3 4 2   −3 4
Suppose that A =   B= 4 0 C= 
 
 −1 1 3   −7 3   1 3

Find: (a) AB (b) BA (c) C 2 = C × C

11
Remark

a) In general, matrix multiplication is not commutative, that is, AB ≠ BA except in

exceptional cases.

Suppose that A is m × n and B is n × p so that AB is defined.

However, BA = ( n × p )( m × n ) is not defined, let alone equal to AB.

Assume that p = m :
BA = ( n × m )( m × n ) = n × n
whereas
AB = ( m × n )( n × m ) = m × m

For AB and BA to be of the same order and hence possibly equal, then m = n
. Thus a necessary condition for AB = BA , that is, to commute under
multiplication is that A and B both be n × n .

b) The product AB is sometimes said as B is pre-multiplied by A, and A is post-

multiplied by B so as to leave no doubt as to which factor is first and which is
second.
In other words AB -: A premultiplies B and B postmultiplies A

c) If A is any square matrix of the same order as I, then IA = AI = A

d) If A is a square and ' p ' is any positive integer, we define

AA... A ≡ A p
p factors

12
 The familiar laws of exponents

( )
q
A p Aq = A p + q Ap = A pq

follows for any positive integers p and q

If A is any n × n matrix, and when p = 0 : A0 ≡ I

e) If B is any m × n matrix, then 0 A = 0 and A0 = 0

Theorem 1.1: Exceptional Properties of Matrix Multiplication

(a) AB ≠ BA in general
(b) If A ≠ 0 , AB = AC does not imply that B = C cancellation law does not hold
(c) AB = 0 does not imply that A = 0 and/or B = 0
(d) A2 = I does not imply that A = I or A = − I

Axiom 1.2: Properties of Matrix Multiplication

If α , β are scalars, and the matrices A, B,C are suitably conformable, then
(a) (α A) B = A (α B ) = α ( AB ) associativity
(b) A ( BC ) = ( AB ) C associative law for multiplication
(c) ( B + C ) A = BA + CA right distributive law
(d) A ( B + C ) = AB + AC left distributive law
(e) A (α B + β C ) = α AB + β AC linearity

Proofs

13
Example 2.3.6

(i) By giving a couple of examples, show that in general AB ≠ BA

(ii) By giving an example, show that AB = AC does not always imply that B = C
even if A ≠ 0

(iii) Let A and B be square matrices of the same size. Determine whether the
following equalities are true or false in general:-
(a) ( A − B )( A + B ) = A2 − B 2
(b) ( A + B )2 = A2 + 2 AB + B 2

14
2.4 Trace of a Matrix
If A is a square matrix, then the trace of A, denoted by tr ( A) , is defined to be the
sum of the entries on the main diagonal of A . The trace is undefined if A is not a
square matrix.

 −1 2 7 0 
 a11 a12 a13   3 5 −8 4 
Consider the matrices: A =  a21 a22 a23  , B= 
  1 2 7 −3
 a31 a32 a33   
 4 −2 1 0 
Then
tr ( A) = a11 + a22 + a33 and tr ( B ) = −1 + 5 + 7 + 0 = 11

2.5 Transpose Matrix

Given any m × n matrix A =  aij  , we define the transpose of A, denoted as AT and
read as “A –transpose”, is defined as

 a11 a21 ⋯ am1 

a a22 ⋯ am 2 
A ≡  a ji  =  12
T  
 ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ 
 
 a1n a2n ⋯ amn 

That is, we interchange the rows and columns of A, so that, the first column of AT is
the first row of A, and the second column of AT is the second row, and so forth.

15
Example 2.5.1
 2 0 1 2
If A = −1 3 5 , B =  6  and C = [1 −8 9]
 
   
 4 6 7   7 

Find the transpose for the relevant matrices.

Theorem 1.2: Properties of Transpose

(a) Suppose A and B are both n × m matrices then

( AT )
T
(i). =A

(ii). ( A + B )T = AT + BT

(iii). (α A)T = α AT where α ∈ ℝ

(b) Suppose A is m × n and B is n × p then ( AB ) = BT AT

T

(c) I T = I
(d) ( ABC ) = C T BT AT
T

Proof (a) (ii)

Let A =  aij  and B = bij 
then
( i, j ) th entry ( A + B )T = ( j , i ) th entry in ( A + B )
= a ji + b ji

= ( i, j ) th entry in AT + ( i, j ) th entry in BT

= ( i, j ) th entry in AT + BT

Hence, ( A + B ) and AT + BT have the same entries, thus are equal.

T

16
Proof (b)
Let A =  aij  , B = bij  and C = cij  , and we use the definitions to show that the

( i, j ) elements on each side of the equation are equal.

Suppose we let AB ≡ C =  cij  . By matrix multiplication

n
cij = ∑ aik bkj
k =1
Thus

( cij )
T
= c ji
n
= ∑ a jk bki
k =1
n
= ∑ bki a jk
k =1
n
= ∑ bikT akj
T

k =1

This is the row-column product which is the ( j , i ) th entry of BT AT

That is, the ( i, j ) th entry of AB is the ( j , i ) th entry of BT AT .

So, ( i, j ) th entry of AB is the ( j , i ) th entry of ( AB ) .

T

Example 2.5.2
6 
 4 2 −5
Given that A =   and B = 0 
 
0 1 3   −1
Find the following
(i). AB and ( AB )T
show that ( AB ) = BT AT
T
(ii).

17
2.5.1 Symmetric Matrix
A square matrix A is said to be symmetric if AT = A . That is, aij = a ji . For example

 1 −1 2  1 −1 2 
A = −1 4 7 and A =  −1 4 7 
  T
   
 2 7 8   2 7 8 

A matrix is symmetric if it is unchanged under reflection in the main diagonal,

i.e., the off-diagonal entries are equal in pairs

 *
 
 ⋱ 
 
* 
The square matrix A is said to be skew symmetric or anti-symmetric if AT = − A .
That is, aii = aiiT = − aii

It is skew-symmetric if the diagonal entries are zero and the off-diagonal

entries are equal but opposite in sign

 0 *
 
 ⋱ 
 −* 0 


To see that the diagonal entries of a skew-symmetric matrix are zero, we note that
aii = aiiT = − aii
⇒ 2aii = 0 ⇒ aii = 0

18
2.6 Determinants
The determinant of a matrix A, is denoted by det ( A ) or A , which is scalar

2.6.1 Determinant of 2x2 Matrix

a a 
If A =  11 12  then A = a11a22 − a12 a21
 a21 a22 

 4 2
Example: A =   A = ( 4 )( 3) − ( 2 )( −1) = 14
 −1 3 

2.6.2 Determinant of 3x3 Matrix

1 2 3 
Consider the matrix A =  4 5 6  the value of det ( A) is found, basically, by
 
7 8 9 
extracting 2 × 2 determinants from the 3 × 3 determinant, and, by covering up the row
and column containing that element.

5 6 4 6 4 5
A = (1) − ( 2) + ( 3)
8 9 7 9 7 8

A = (1)( −3) − ( 2 )( −6 ) + ( 3)( −3) = 0

In general, if A is a 3 × 3 matrix, then its determinant is

a11 a12 a13

det ( A ) = a21 a22 a23
a31 a32 a33
a22 a23 a21 a23 a21 a22
= a11 − a12 + a13
a32 a33 a31 a33 a31 a32

19
2.6.3 Determinants by Cofactor Expansion: Higher matrix determinant

Definition: If A is a square matrix, then the minor of entry aij is denoted by M ij

and is defined to be the determinant of the submatrix that remains after the i th row
and j th columns are deleted from A .
i+ j
The number ( −1) M ij is denoted by Cij and is called the cofactor of entry aij .

Example 2.6.1: Finding Minors and Cofactors

Let
 3 1 −4 
A = 2 5 6 
 
1 4 8 

3 1 −4
5 6
The minor of entry a11 is: M11 = 2 5 6 = = 16
4 8
1 4 8

1+1
The cofactor of a11 is: C11 = ( −1) M11 = 16

3 1 −4
3 −4
The minor of entry a32 is: M 32 = 2 5 6 = = 26
2 6
1 4 8

3+ 2
The cofactor of a32 is: C32 = ( −1) M 32 = −26

3 1 −4
3 −4
The minor of entry a22 is: M 22 = 2 5 6 = = 28
1 8
1 4 8

20
 2+ 2
The cofactor of a22 is: C22 = ( −1) M 22 = 28

So forth…..

Example 2.6.2: Cofactor expansion along the first row

3 1 0
Let A =  −2 −4 3 
 5 4 −2
Evaluate det ( A) by cofactor expansion along the first row of A

Solution 2.6.2

Example 2.6.3: Cofactor expansion along the first column

3 1 0
Let A =  −2 −4 3 
 
 5 4 −2

Evaluate det ( A) by cofactor expansion along the first column of A

Solution 2.6.3

21
 Note choosing row or column cofactor expansion to find the determinant,
both will give the same result.

Theorem 1.3: Expansions by Cofactors

The determinant of an n × n matrix A can be computed by multiplying the entries in
any row (or column) by their cofactors and adding the resulting products. That is, for
each 1 ≤ i ≤ n and 1 ≤ j ≤ n .

(i). det ( A) = a1 j C1 j + a2 j C2 j + … + anj Cnj

cofactor expansion along the j th column

(ii). det ( A) = ai1Ci1 + ai 2Ci 2 + … + ainCin

cofactor expansion along the i th row

Note that we may choose any row or any column.

22
Summary
Mathematically, the determinant of an n × n matrix A =  aij  is defined by
the cofactor expansion
n
det ( A ) ≡ ∑ a jk C jk (eqn 1)
k =1

where the summation is carried out on j for any fixed value of k (1 ≤ k ≤ n )

or on k for any fixed value of j (1 ≤ j ≤ n ) .

C jk is called the cofactor of the a jk element is defined as

j+k
C jk ≡ ( −1) M jk (eqn 2)

where M jk is called the minor of a jk , namely, the determinant of the

( n − 1) × ( n − 1) that survives when the row and column containing a jk (the

j th row and the k th column ) are struck out.

Thus, if A is n × n , then the right-hand-side of equation (1) is a linear

combination of ' n ' determinants, each of which is ( n − 1) × ( n − 1) .

Each of these, in turns, may be expressed as a linear combination of

( n − 2) × ( n − 2) determinants and so on, until we have a number of 1 × 1
determinants.

23
2.6.4 Properties of Determinants
(i). If any row(or column) of A is modified by adding α times the corresponding
elements of another row(or column) to it, yielding a new matrix B, then
det ( B ) = det ( A)

(ii). If any two rows (or columns) of A are interchanged, yielding a new matrix B,
then det ( B ) = − det ( A)

(iii). If A is a triangular, then det ( A) is simply the product of the diagonal entries.

(iv). If all the elements of any row or column are zero, then det ( A) = 0

(v). If any two rows or columns are proportional to each other, then det ( A) = 0

(vi). If any row (column) is a linear combination of other rows(columns), then

det ( A) = 0

(vii). If all the entries of any row or column are scaled by α , giving a new matrix B,
then det ( B ) = α det ( A)

(viii). det (α B ) = α n det ( B )

(ix). ( )
det AT = det ( A )

(x). In general, det ( A + B ) ≠ det ( A) + det ( B )

(xi). The determinant of a product equals the product of their determinants, i.e.,
det ( AB ) = det ( A) × det ( B )

(xii). If α,β are scalars, and A , B are n×n matrices, then

det (α A + β B ) ≠ α det ( A) + β det ( B )

24
Example 2.6.4
Find the determinant of the matrix
3 2 −1 −1 
1 3 2 −2 
A=
4 0 6 −3 
 
5 1 2 0

Solution 2.6.4

25
2.6.5 Adjoint or Adjugate
Definition: If A is any n × n matrix and Cij is the cofactor of aij , then the matrix

 C11 C12 ⋯ C1n 

C 
 21 C22 ⋯ C2 n 
K=
 ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ 
 
 Cn1 Cn 2 ⋯ Cnn 

is called the matrix of cofactors from A. The transpose of this matrix, K T is called
the adjoint of A and is denoted by adj ( A)

Example 2.6.5
 3 2 −1
Let A =  1 6 3 
 
 2 −4 0 

The cofactors of A are:

C11 = 12 C12 = 6 C13 =
C21 = C22 = 2 C23 =
C31 = C32 = C33 = 16

So, the matrix of cofactors is:

And, the adjoint of A is:

26
2.7 Inverse
Definition: If A is a square matrix, and if a matrix B of the same size can be found
such that AB = BA = I , then A is said to be invertible and B is called an inverse of
A . The inverse of A is denoted by A−1 .
If no such matrix B can be found, then A is said to be singular, i.e., A = 0 .

2.7.1 Theorem 1.4: Properties of Inverses

(a) The matrix A is invertible if and only if A is non-singular, ie, A ≠ 0

1
(b) If A is non-singular A−1 =
A

( ) = ( A−1 )
−1 T
(c) If A is square and non-singular, then, AT

(d) If B and C are both inverses of the matrix A , then B = C

(e) If A and B are invertible matrices of the same size, then AB is invertible and

( AB )−1 = B −1 A−1

(f) If A is invertible, then we define the negative powers to be

( )
n
A− n = A−1 = A−1 A−1 ⋯ A−1
n factors

(g) If A is a square matrix, r and s are integers, then

( Ar )
s
Ar As = Ar + s = Ars

( A−1 )
−1
(h) =A

−1 1 −1
(i) For any nonzero scalar k , the matrix kA is invertible and ( kA ) = A
k

27
 Proof (c)

Proof (d)

Proof (e)

2.7.2 Inverse of 2×2 Matrix

a b 
The matrix A =   is invertible if A is non-singular, such that,
c d 
1  d −b 
A −1 =
A  −c a 

Example 2.7.1
1 2  3 2 7 6
Consider the matrices: A =   B=  AB =  
1 3  2 2 9 8
Find the following:
(a) A−1
(b) B −1
−1
(c) ( AB )

(d) B −1 A−1
(e) A−3

( )
T
(f) A−1

(g) ( AT )
−1

28
Example 2.7.2

 −3 4   −5 4 
If A =   and B= 
 −1 5   −1 3 

Find (a) AB (b) Deduce A−1

Example 2.7.3

 4 −2 −2 
If A = 1 1 −1
 
 2 −2 0 

(a) Show that A ( 3I − A) = 2 I

(b) Determine if A−1 exist

(c) Find A−1

29
2.7.3 Inverse of a Matrix using its Adjoint
If A is an invertible matrix, then
1
A−1 = adj ( A)
A

Proof
We show that A × adj ( A) = det ( A) × I

Consider the product

 a11 a12 ⋯ a1n 

a ⋯ a1n   C11 C21 ⋯ C j1 ⋯ Cn1 
 21 a22  
 ⋮ ⋮ ⋯ a2n  C12 C22 ⋯ C j 2 ⋯ Cn 2 
A × adj ( A ) =  
 ai1 ai 2 ⋯ ain   ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ 
 
 ⋮ ⋮ ⋯ ⋮  C1n C2 n ⋯ C jn ⋯ Cnn 
  
 an1 an 2 ⋯ ann 

The entry in the i th row and j th column of the product A × adj ( A) is

ai1C j1 + ai 2C j 2 + ⋯ + ainC jn (eqn 1)

If i = j , then eqn (1) is the cofactor expansion of det ( A) along the i th row
A;

If i ≠ j , then a ' s and the cofactors come from different rows of A , so the
value of eqn (1) is zero.

30
Thus;
 det ( A ) 0 ⋯ 0 
 
 0 det ( A) ⋯ 0 
A × adj ( A ) = = det ( A ) × I (eqn 2)
 ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ 
 
 0 0 ⋯ det ( A ) 

Since A is invertible, det ( A) ≠ 0 ;

Eqn (2) can be rewritten as:

1
A × adj ( A) = I
A

 1 
A−1  A × adj ( A )  = A−1I
 A 

 1 
A−1 A  adj ( A )  = A−1I
 A 

1
A−1 = adj ( A)
A

31
Example 2.7.4
 3 2 −1
Determine the inverse of A =  0 1 4 
 
1 5 −2 

Example 2.7.5

2 1 3
Let A = 1 4 2  . Find the adj ( A) and hence determine A−1
 
 5 2 6 

32
2.8 Diagonal, Triangular and Symmetric Matrices

2.8.1 Diagonal matrix

A diagonal matrix is invertible if and only if all of its diagonal entries are nonzero;

 d1 0 ⋯ ⋯ 0
 1 
0 1
d2
⋯ ⋯ 0
 
D −1 =  ⋮ ⋮ ⋯ ⋯ ⋮
⋮ ⋮ ⋯ ⋯ ⋮
 
0 0 ⋯ ⋯ dn 
1
 

Powers of diagonal matrices are easy to compute, if k is a positive integers, then

 d1k 0 ⋯ ⋯ 0
 
0 d 2k ⋯ ⋯ 0
D = ⋮
k
⋮ ⋯ ⋯ ⋮ 

 ⋮ ⋮ ⋯ ⋯ ⋮ 
 
 0 0 ⋯ ⋯ d nk 

For example
1 0 0  1 0 0
 
A = 0 −3 0  −1
A = 0 − 13 0
 
0 0 2  0 0 1
 2

1 0 0 1 0 0
 
A = 0 −243 0 
5  A−5 = 0 − 243
1 0
 
0 0 32 0 0 1 
 32 

33
2.8.2 Triangular matrix
(i). The transpose of a lower triangular matrix is upper triangular; and the transpose
of an upper triangular matrix is lower triangular

(ii). The product of lower triangular matrices is lower triangular, and, the product
upper triangular matrices is upper triangular

(iii). A triangular matrix is invertible if and only if its diagonal entries are all nonzero

(iv). The inverse of an invertible lower triangular matrix is lower triangular, and, the
inverse of an invertible upper triangular matrix is upper triangular

Consider the triangular matrices

1 3 −1 1 0 0 
A = 0 2 4 an upper triangular and B =  2 1 0  a lower triangular
 
   
0 0 5   3 2 1 

The inverses are

1 −3 7 
2 5  1 0 0
 −2 
A−1 =  0 1
5 
B −1 =  −2 1 0 
2  
0 0 1   −3 −2 1 
 5 

34
2.8.3 Symmetric matrix
In general, a symmetric matrix need not be invertible, for example, a square zero matrix
is symmetric, but not invertible.

If A and B are symmetric matrices with the same size, and if k is any scalar
(i). AT is symmetric
(ii). A + B and A − B are symmetric
(iii). kA is symmetric
(iv). If A is an invertible symmetric matrix, then A−1

1 −2 4 
Let A= 
 3 0 −5 
Then
1 3  10 −2 −11
  1 −2 4  
A A = −2 0 
T
= −2 4 −8 
  3 0 −5  
 4 −5   
 −11 −8 41 

1 3
1 −2 4    =  21 −17 
AA = T
 −2 0
  −17 34 
3 0 −5    
 4 −5

Note that AAT and AT A are symmetric as expected

35