1

Chapter 2
DETERMINANTS
(1 weeks)

[Z`WZ`_

2.1 Determinants by CoIactor Expansion .................................................................................. 1
2.2 Evaluating Determinants by Row Reduction ..................................................................... 10
2.3 Properties OI The Determinant Function ........................................................................... 16
2.4 A Combinatorial Approach to Determinants ...................................................................... 17


2.1 Determinants by Cofactor Expansion
Determinant is a Iunction that associates a real number with a square matrix
otation : determinant oI matrix A is det(A) or ,A,
ethods to evaluate determinants: 1) CoIactor expansion
2) Row reduction

3) Combinatorial Approach or Cross-product


Minors and Cofactors











Definition of Minor

II A is a square matrix, then the minor oI entry a
ij
is denoted by M
ij
and is deIined to
be determinant oI sub matrix that remain aIter the i
th
row and f
th
column are deleted
Irom A .

2


Example 1
Given a matrix
1 2 3
5 7 8
6 4 1
A


=


|
. Find
11
,
23
and
32
.

11
1 2 3
7 8
5 7 8 7 32 39
4 1
6 4 1
A M


= = = =



|


23
1 2 3
1 2
5 7 8 4 12 8
6 4
6 4 1
A M


= = = =


|


32
1 2 3
1 3
5 7 8 8 15 7
5 8
6 4 1
A M


= = = =


|







Example 2
Given a matrix
1 2 3
5 7 8
6 4 1
A


=


|
.
a) Find C
23

C
23
(1)
2+3

23

(1)
5
(8)
8

b) Find C
11
, C
13
and C
31

C
11
(1)
1+1

11

(1)
2
(39)
39

C
13
(1)
1+3

13

(1)
4
(20 42)
22
Definition of Cofactor
II A is a square matrix, then the coIactor oI entry a
ij
is denoted by C
ij
(1)
i+j

ij


3


C
31
(1)
1+3

31

(1)
4
(16 21)
5

Cofactor Expansions
CoIactor Expansion is a method oI evaluating det (A)

det(A) a
i1
c
i1
+ a
i2
c
i2
+ . . . + a
in
c
in
(along the ith row)
or
det(A) a
1j
c
1j
+ a
2j
c
2j
+ . . . + a
nj
c
nj
(along the jth column)

Example 3
Evaluate det(A) by coIactor expansion given that

3 3 0 5
1 2 3
2 2 0 2
1) 6 5 2 2)
4 1 3 0
2 3 5
2 10 3 2
A A

= =



|
|

Solution

1 2 3
1) 6 5 2
2 3 5
A


=


|

&8ing Row 1
det(A) (1)(1)
2

5 2
3 5

(2) (1)
3

6 2
2 5

(3) (1)
4

6 5
2 3

(1)(25 6) (2) (30 4) (3) (1810)
133

3 3 0 5
2 2 0 2
2)
4 1 3 0
2 10 3 2
A

=


|

&8ing Column 3
det(A) (0)(1)
4

2 2 2
4 1 0
2 10 2

+ (0)(1)
5

3 3 5
4 1 0
2 10 2
+ (3) (1)
6

3 3 5
2 2 2
2 10 2

4



+ (3) (1)
7

3 3 5
2 2 2
4 1 0


det(A) 0 0 (3) (3) (1)
2

2 2
10 2

(3) (1)
3

2 2
2 2

(5) (1)
4

2 2
2 10

+ (3) (4) (1)
4

3 5
2 2
(1)(1)
2

3 5
2 2
0
(3) | (3)(420) (3)(44)(5)(204) | (3) | (4)(610)(1)( 610) |
(3) | 128| (3) | 48 |
240


Smart choice of row or column

Example 4
Evaluate det(A)
1 3 1 1
0 2 1
1 1 0 3
1) 1 2 2 2)
3 0 0 3
0 0 1
8 1 0 0
A A






= =




|
|

Solution

0 2 1
1) 1 2 2
0 0 1
A


=


|

&8ing Row 3
det(A) 00 (1)(1)
6

0 2
1 2

(1)(02)
2

Try to use Column 1

5


1 3 1 1
1 1 0 3
2)
3 0 0 3
8 1 0 0
A




=


|


&8ing Column 3
det(A) (1) (1)
4

1 1 3
3 0 3
8 1 0

(0) (0) (0)
(1) (1)(1)
3
3 3
8 0
(0) (1) (1)
5
1 3
3 3

(1) | (1)(024) (0) (1) (39) |

12

Try to use Row 3


Adjoint of a Matrix

Definition
II A is any nxn matrix and C
ij
is the coIactor oI a
ij
then the matrix
11 12 1
21 22 2
1 1 1
n
n
n n n
c c c
c c c
C
c c c
cc c

cc c

=
cc c

cc c
|





Example 5

1 2 3
Find the matrix oI coIactors Irom and the adjoint oI 5 7 8
6 4 1
A A


=


|



is called the matrix oI coIactors Irom A. The transpose oI
this matrix is called the adjoint oI A and denoted by
adj(A).

6



Solution
2 3 4
3 4 5
4 5 6
7 8 5 8 5 7
( 1) ( 1) ( 1)
4 1 6 1 6 4
2 3 1 3 1 2
( 1) ( 1) ( 1)
4 1 6 1 6 4
2 3 1 3 1 2
( 1) ( 1) ( 1)
7 8 5 8 5 7
C






=






|

39 53 22
14 19 8
5 7 3
C


=


|
and adj(A) C
T

39 14 5
53 19 7
22 8 3

|



Inverse of a Matrix Using Its Adjoint







Example
1. Find the inverse oI A given that
1 2 3
5 7 8
6 4 1
A


=


|


Solution
1 2 3
5 7 8
6 4 1
A


=


|
and adj(A)
39 14 5
53 19 7
22 8 3

|
(From Example 5)

det(A) 7 96 60 126 32 10 1


1
1
( )
det ( )
A adf A
A

=
39 14 5
1
53 19 7
1
22 8 3

|

39 14 5
53 19 7
22 8 3

|

Definition
II A is an invertible matrix, then
1
1
( )
det ( )
A adf A
A

=
7


2. Find the inverse oI A and B given that
1 0 2 1 4 1
3 4 6 and B 4 1 2
1 2 3 2 2 3
A


= =


| |
.

Solution

1 0 2 24 3 10
3 4 6 , 4 5 2
1 2 3 8 12 4
A C


= =


| |
adj(A)
24 4 8
3 5 12
10 2 4

|


det(A) 12 0 12 8 12 0 44


1
1
( )
det ( )
A adf A
A

=
24 4 8
1
3 5 12
44
10 2 4

|



1 4 1
B 4 1 2
2 2 3


=


|
det() 55


1 16 10 1 10 7
10 5 10 , adj( ) 16 5 2
7 2 15 10 10 15
C B


=


| |



1
1
( )
det ( )
B adf B
B

=
1 10 7
1
16 5 2
55
10 10 15

|



CRAMER`S RULES

II Ax b is a system oI n linear equations in n unknowns such that det (A) 0 , then the system
has a unique solution. The solution is

1
1
det( )
det( )
A
x
A
=

8



2
2
det( )
det( )
A
x
A
=

3
3
det( )
det( )
A
x
A
=

det( )
det( )
n
n
A
x
A
=

where A
f
is the matrix obtained by replacing the entries in the f
th
column oI A with entries in the
matrix b.


Example 18

1. Solve
1 2 3
1 2 3
1 2 3
4 6
3 5 2 19
2 2 3 15
x x x
x x x
x x x
=
=
=


Solution


1
2
3
1 4 1 6
3 5 2 19
2 2 3 15
x
x
x


=


| | |



1 4 1
3 5 2
2 2 3
A


=


|
det(A) 5


1
6 4 1
19 5 2
15 2 3
A


=


|
det(A) 5 , x
1

5
5

1


2
1 6 1
3 19 2
2 15 3
A


=


|
det(A) 10 , x
2

10
5

2


9



3
1 4 6
3 5 19
2 2 15
A


=


|
det(A) 15 , x
3

15
5

3



2. Find the value oI x
1
,x
2
,and x
3
given that
2 4 6 18
4 5 6 24
3 2 4
x y :
x y :
x y :
=
=
=


Solution


1
2
3
2 4 6 18
4 5 6 24
3 1 2 4
x
x
x


=


| | |



2 4 6
4 5 6
3 1 2
A


=


|
det(A) 6


1
18 4 6
24 5 6
4 1 2
A


=


|
det(A) 24 , x
1

24
6
4


2
2 18 6
4 24 6
3 4 2
A


=


|
det(A) 12 , x
2

12
6

2



3
2 4 18
4 5 24
3 1 4
A


=


|
det(A) 18 , x
3

18
6
3






10


2.2 Evaluating Determinants by Row Reduction


BASIC THEOREM ON DETERMINANT

1. II A is an n x n triangular matrix (lower triangular, upper triangular or diagonal) then
det(A) is the product oI the entries on the main diagonal oI the matrix that is det (A)
a
11
a
22
a
33
. . . a
nn


Example 7

3 0 0
1) 1 4 0 det( )
2 1 5
A A


= =


|
3 x 4 x 5 60


2 3 1 4
0 3 4 2
2) det( )
0 0 1 3
0 0 0 4
A A



= =


|
2 x 3 x 1 x 4 24

2. et A be a square matrix. II A has a row oI zeros or a column oI zeros,
then det(A) 0


Example 8
1 4 6
2 2 3 det( ) 0
0 0 0
A A


= =


|



1 4 0
2 3 0 det( ) 0
3 1 0
B A


= =


|


3. et A be a square matrix, then det(A) det ( A
T
)


Example 9


1 0 2 1 1 2
1 1 3 0 1 5
2 5 4 2 3 4
%
A A


= =


| |


det(A) 25 det (A
T
) 25
11


4. et A be a n x n matrix

(a) II is a matrix that results when a single row or single column oI A is multiplied by
a scalar k then det () k det (A)


Example 1
1
1 0 2 2 0 4
1 1 3 2R 1 1 3
2 5 4 2 5 4

A B


= =


| |

det(A) 25 det () 2 x det(A) 2 x 25 50


(b) II is a matrix that results when two rows or two columns oI A are interchanged,
then det () det (A)


Example 11


2 3
1 0 2 1 0 2
1 1 3 R R 2 5 4
2 5 4 1 1 3

A B


= =


| |
det(B) det(A) 25

(c) II is a matrix that results when a multiple oI one row oI A is added to another row
or when a multiple oI one column oI A is added to another column then
det () det (A)


Example 12


2 1 1
1 0 2 0 1 5
1 1 3 R R R 1 1 3
2 5 4 2 5 4
A B


= =


| |
det() 25


1 3 3
1 0 2 1 0 2
1 1 3 2R R R 1 1 3
2 5 4 0 5 0
A B


= =


| |
det() 25


5. et E be a n x n elementary matrix
(a) II E results Irom multiplying a row oI I
n
by k then det (E) k
12


Example 13
3 3
1 0 0 1 0 0
0 1 0 3R R 0 1 0
0 0 1 0 0 3
A B


= =


| |
det(E) 3

(b)II E results Irom interchanging two row oI I
n
, then det(E) 1

det(I
n
) 1 det(E) 1


Example 14


2 3
1 0 0 1 0 0
0 1 0 R R 0 0 1
0 0 1 0 1 0
A B


= =


| |



(c) II E results Irom adding a multiple oI one row oI I
n
to another row,
then det(E) 1


Example 15

det(I
n
) 1 det(E) 1


3 1 1
1 0 0 1 0 3
0 1 0 3R R R 0 1 0
0 0 1 0 0 1
A B


= =


| |



6. et A be a square matrix with two proportional rows/columns, then det(A) 0


Example 1

1 2 7
1) 4 8 5 det( ) 0
2 4 3


A A
twice


= =


|
T T

13




1 2 4
2) 3 4 5 2 det( ) 0
2 4 8
A time8 A


= =


|


Row Reduction Method

Reducing the matrix using the elementary row operations to the row echelon Iorm and hence
evaluate the determinants based on the basic theorems oI determinants.


Example 17
(1) Evaluate det(A) by row reduction where A
0 1 5
3 6 9
2 6 1

|


Solution


2
2
0 1 5 0 1 5
3
3 6 9 (3) 1 2 3
2 6 1 2 6 1
R
R =





2 3 3
2 0 1 5
(3) 1 2 3
0 10 5
R R R =

2 1
2 3 3
1 2 3
(3)( 1) 0 1 5
0 10 5
10 1 2 3
(3)( 1) 0 1 5
0 0 55
R R
R R R

det(A) (3)(1)(1x1x55) 165




14


(2) Evaluate det(A) by row reduction

1 2 3 1
5 9 6 3
1 2 6 2
2 8 6 1
A

=


|


Solution


1 2 2
1 3 3
1 4 4
5 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 1
5 9 6 3 0 1 9 2
1 2 6 2 0 0 3 1
2 2 8 6 1 0 12 0 1
R R R
A
R R R
R R R
=

=
=
=



2 4 4
1 2 3 1
0 1 9 2
0 0 3 1
12
0 0 108 23
R R R

=



3
1 2 3 1
0 1 9 2 3
( 3)
1
0 0 1
3
0 0 108 23
R





2 3 3
1 2 3 1
0 1 9 2
( 3)
1
0 0 1
108 3
0 0 0 13
R R R

(3) (13) 39


(3) Evaluate det(A) by row operation and cofactor expansion

1 2 3 1
5 9 6 3
1 2 6 2
2 8 6 1
A

=


|

15



Solution

1 2 2
1 3 3
1 4 4
5 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 1
5 9 6 3 0 1 9 2
1 2 6 2 0 0 3 1
2 2 8 6 1 0 12 0 1
R R R
A
R R R
R R R
=

=
=
=



2 4 4
1 2 3 1
0 1 9 2
0 0 3 1
12
0 0 108 23
R R R

=


(1) (1)
2

1 9 2
0 3 1
0 108 23


(1) (1) (1)
2

3 1
108 23



(3)(23) (1)(108) 39



(4) Evaluate det(A) by column operation

1 0 0 2
2 4 0 4
0 2 3 0
7 3 1 5
A



=


|


Solution


1 4 4
1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
2 4 0 4 2 2 4 0 0
0 2 3 0 0 2 3 0
7 3 1 5 7 3 1 9
C C C =

1 x 4 x 3 x 9 108





16


2.3 Properties Of The Determinant Function

et A and are n x n matrices and k is any scalar
1. det(kA) k
n
det(A)
2. det(A) det(A) . det()
3. II A is invertible then
(a) det (A) 0
(b) det ( A
1
)
1
det( ) A
|det (A)|
1

(c) det ( (kA)
1
)
1
det( ) A

1
det( )
n
A


(d) det ( kA
1
)
det( )
n

A



Example 19
Find det (A) iI given by
1 2 3
3 1 6
1 3 2
A


=


|


Hence , Iind det(3A), det ( A
1
) , det ( 2A
1
), det ( (2A)
1
) and det ( A
T
)

Solution

2 3 4
1 2 3
1 6 2 3 2 3
3 1 6 (1)( 1) (3)( 1) (1)( 1)
3 2 3 2 1 6
1 3 2
(1)(2 18) ( 3)( 4 9) (1)( 12 3)
( 16) (39) ( 15) 8
A

= =
=
= =

17


det(3A) 3
3
(8) 216 ; det ( A
1
)
1
8
; det ( 2A
1
) (2
3
)
1
8



1
det ( (2A)
1
)
3
1 1
(2 )8 64

=


; det ( A
T
) 8


Equivalent Statements

II A is an nxn matrix, then the Iollowing statements are equivalent.

(a) A is invertible
(b) Ax 0 has only the trivial solution
(c) The reduced row-echelon Iorm oI A is I
n

(d) A can b e expressed as a product oI elementary matrices
(e) Ax b is consistent Ior every n x1 matrix b
(I) Ax b has exactly one solution Ior every n x1 matrix
(g) det(A) 0


2.4 A Combinatorial Approach to Determinants
(this method do not work Ior determinants oI 4 x 4 matrices and higher)
Example 2

1. Consider a matrix
2 4 6
4 5 6
3 1 2
A


=


|
. Find det(A)
Solution


2 4 6 2 4
4 5 6 4 5
3 1 2 3 1
A =

(2 x 5 x 2) (4 x 6 x 3) (6 x 4 x 1) (6 x 5 x 3 ) (2 x 6 x 1) (4 x 4 x 2 )

(20) (72) (24) (90 ) (12) (32 )

6

18




2. Evaluate det (A) by row operation and combinatorial approach


1 2 3 1
5 9 6 3
1 2 6 2
2 8 6 1
A

=


|


Solution


1 2 2
1 3 3
1 4 4
5 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 1
5 9 6 3 0 1 9 2
1 2 6 2 0 0 3 1
2 2 8 6 1 0 12 0 1
R R R
A
R R R
R R R
=

=
=
=



2 4 4
1 2 3 1
0 1 9 2
0 0 3 1
12
0 0 108 23
R R R

=


(1) (1)
2

1 9 2
0 3 1
0 108 23




(1)
1 9 2 1 9
0 3 1 0 3
0 108 23 0 108




(1 x3 x 23) (9 x1x0) (2 x0x 108) (2 x3 x 0) (1 x1 x108) (9 x0x 23)

69 00 0 108 0 39







19







**************************** End OI Chapter 2 ******************************