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Inverse of A Matrix

The document discusses the inverse of a matrix, which is similar to the reciprocal of a number. It provides the definition of a matrix inverse, shows how to calculate the inverse of a 2x2 matrix, and gives examples of using the inverse to solve systems of linear equations. It also notes that a matrix may not have an inverse if its determinant is zero.

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106 views14 pages

Inverse of A Matrix

The document discusses the inverse of a matrix, which is similar to the reciprocal of a number. It provides the definition of a matrix inverse, shows how to calculate the inverse of a 2x2 matrix, and gives examples of using the inverse to solve systems of linear equations. It also notes that a matrix may not have an inverse if its determinant is zero.

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Anonymous IwqK1Nl
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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InverseofaMatrix

Pleasereadour IntroductiontoMatrices first.

What is the Inverse of a Matrix?


Thisisthe reciprocal ofaNumber:

ReciprocalofaNumber
TheInverseofaMatrixisthesameideabutwewriteitA1

Whynot1/A ?Becausewedon'tdividebyaMatrix!Andanyway1/8 canalsobewritten81


Andthereareothersimilarities:

Whenyoumultiplyanumberbyitsreciprocalyouget1
8(1/8 )=1
WhenyoumultiplyaMatrixbyitsInverseyougettheIdentityMatrix(which
islike"1"forMatrices):
AA1=I
Samethingwhentheinversecomesfirst:
(1/8 )8=1
A1A=I

Identity Matrix
Wejustmentionedthe"IdentityMatrix".Itisthematrixequivalentofthenumber"1":

A3x3IdentityMatrix

Itis"square"(hassamenumberofrowsascolumns),
Ithas1sonthediagonaland0severywhereelse.
It'ssymbolisthecapitalletterI.
TheIdentityMatrixcanbe22insize,or33,44,etc...

Definition
Hereisthedefinition:

TheInverseofAisA1onlywhen:

AA1=A1A=I
SometimesthereisnoInverseatall.

2x2 Matrix
OK,howdowecalculatetheInverse?
Well,fora2x2MatrixtheInverseis:

Inotherwords:swapthepositionsofaandd,putnegativesinfrontofbandc,anddivide
everythingbythe determinant (adbc).
Letustryanexample:

Howdoweknowthisistherightanswer?
Rememberitmustbetruethat:AA1=I
So,letuschecktoseewhathappenswhenwe multiplythematrix byitsinverse:

And,hey!,weendupwiththeIdentityMatrix!Soitmustberight.
Itshouldalsobetruethat:A1A=I
Whydon'tyouhaveagoatmultiplyingthese?SeeifyoualsogettheIdentityMatrix:

Why Would We Want an Inverse?


BecausewithMatriceswedon'tdivide!Seriously,thereisnoconceptofdividingbyaMatrix.

ButwecanmultiplybyanInverse,whichachievesthesamething.

Imagineyoucouldn'tdividebynumbers,andsomeoneasked"HowdoIshare10apples
with2people?"
Butyoucouldtakethereciprocalof2(whichis0.5),soyoucouldanswer:
100.5=5
Theyget5appleseach

ThesamethingcanbedonewithMatrices:

SaythatyouknowMatrixAandB,andwanttofindMatrixX:

XA=B
ItwouldbenicetodividebothsidesbyA(togetX=B/A),butrememberwecan't
divide.

ButwhatifwemultiplybothsidesbyA1?

XAA1=BA1

AndweknowthatAA1=I,so:

XI=BA1
WecanremoveI(forthesamereasonwecouldremove"1"from1x=abfornumbers):

X=BA1
Andwehaveouranswer(assumingwecancalculateA1)

Inthatexamplewewereverycarefultogetthemultiplicationscorrect,becausewithMatricesthe
orderofmultiplicationmatters.ABisalmostneverequaltoBA.

A Real Life Example


Agrouptookatriponabus,at$3perchildand$3.20peradultforatotalof$118.40.
Theytookthetrainbackat$3.50perchildand$3.60peradultforatotalof$135.20.
Howmanychildren,andhowmanyadults?

First,letussetupthematrices(becarefultogettherowsandcolumnscorrect!):

Thisisjustliketheexampleabove:

XA=B
Sotosolveitweneedtheinverseof"A":

Nowwehavetheinversewecansolveusing:

X=BA1

Therewere16childrenand22adults!
Theansweralmostappearslikemagic.Butitisbasedongoodmathematics.

Calculationslikethat(butusingmuchlargermatrices)helpEngineersdesignbuildings,
areusedinvideogamesandcomputeranimationstomakethingslook3dimensional,
andmanyotherplaces.
Itisalsoawaytosolve SystemsofLinearEquations .
Thecalculationsaredonebycomputer,butthepeoplemustunderstandtheformulas.

Order is Important
Saythatyouaretryingtofind"X"inthiscase:

AX=B
Thisisdifferenttotheexampleabove!XisnowafterA.
WithMatricestheorderofmultiplicationusuallychangestheanswer.Donotassumethat
AB=BA,itisalmostnevertrue.

Sohowdowesolvethisone?Usingthesamemethod,butputA1infront:

A1AX=A1B
AndweknowthatA1A=I,so:

IX=A1B
WecanremoveI:

X=A1B
Andwehaveouranswer(assumingwecancalculateA1)

Whydon'twetryourexamplefromabove,butwiththedatasetupthiswayaround.
(Yes,youcandothis,justbecarefulhowyousetitup.)

ThisiswhatitlookslikeasAX=B:

Itlookssoneat!IthinkIpreferitlikethis.
Alsonotehowtherowsandcolumnsareswappedover("Transposed")
comparedtothepreviousexample.
Tosolveitweneedtheinverseof"A":

ItisliketheInversewegotbefore,but
Transposed(rowsandcolumnsswappedover).
Nowwecansolveusing:

X=A1B

Sameanswer:16childrenand22adults.
So,Matricesarepowerfulthings,buttheydoneedtobesetupcorrectly!

The Inverse May Not Exist


Firstofall,tohaveanInversetheMatrixmustbe"Square"(samenumberofrowsandcolumns).
Butalsothedeterminantcannotbezero(oryouwouldendupdividingbyzero).Howaboutthis:

2424?Thatequals0,and1/0isundefined.
Wecannotgoanyfurther!ThisMatrixhasnoInverse.

SuchaMatrixiscalled"Singular",whichonlyhappenswhenthedeterminantiszero.

Anditmakessense...lookatthenumbers:thesecondrowisjustdoublethefirstrow,anddoes
notaddanynewinformation.
Imagineinourexampleabovethatthepricesonthetrainwereexactly,say,50%higher...we
wouldn'tbeanyclosertofiguringouthowmanyadultsandchildren...weneedsomethingdifferent.
Andthedeterminantneatlyworksthisout.

Bigger Matrices
Theinverseofa2x2iseasy...comparedtolargermatrices(suchasa3x3,4x4,etc).
Forthoselargermatricestherearethreemainmethodstoworkouttheinverse:
InverseofaMatrixusingElementaryRowOperations(GaussJordan)
InverseofaMatrixusingMinors,CofactorsandAdjugate
Useacomputer(suchastheMatrixCalculator)

Conclusion
TheInverseofAisA1onlywhenAA1=A1A=I
TofindtheInverseofa2x2Matrix:swapthepositionsofaandd,put

negativesinfrontofbandc,anddivideeverythingbythedeterminant(ad
bc).
SometimesthereisnoInverseatall

Question1Question2Question3Question4Question5
Question6Question7Question8

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