GEG 126

ENGINEERING
ALGEBRA II
MATRICES AND
DETERMINANTS
BY MICHEAL OGUNDERO
Matrices

A set of numbers (real or complex), arranged in a rectangular

formation (array or table) having m rows and n columns and
enclosed by a square bracket [ ] is called 𝑚 × 𝑛 matrix (read
“m by n matrix”)

The singular form is “matrix” while the plural form is

“matrices”
An 𝑚 × 𝑛 matrix is expressed as

𝑎11 𝑎12 ⋯ 𝑎1𝑛

𝑎21 𝑎22 ⋯ 𝑎2𝑛
⋮ ⋮ ⋱ ⋮
𝑎𝑚1 𝑎𝑚2 ⋯ 𝑎𝑚𝑛

Matrices are usually denoted by capital letters A, B, C etc and

its elements by small letters a, b, c etc.
Order of a Matrix
The order or dimension of a matrix is the ordered pair having
as first component the number of rows and as second
component the number of columns in the matrix

If there are 3 rows and 2 columns in a matrix, then its order is

written as (3, 2) or (3 x 2) read as three by two

In general, if there are m rows and n columns in a matrix, then

its order is (m x n)
Consider the matrix below:

1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12

The order of the matrix is (3 × 4)

Why?

It has 3 rows (horizontal arrangement) and 4 columns (vertical

arrangement)

Note: Row comes before column

Likewise the orders of the following matrices

𝑎 𝑏
5 6 7, 𝑐 𝑑
𝑒 𝑓
𝑎1 𝑎2 𝑎3 𝑎4 𝑎5
𝑏1 𝑏2 𝑏3 𝑏4 𝑏5
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐1 𝑐2 𝑐3 𝑐4 𝑐5
𝑑1 𝑑2 𝑑3 𝑑4 𝑑5
𝑒1 𝑒2 𝑒3 𝑒4 𝑒5

Are (1 × 3), (3 × 2) and (5 × 5)

Types of Matrices
1. Row Matrix

A matrix consisting of a single row is called a row matrix or a

row vector

It has a general shape of

𝑎11 ⋯ 𝑎1𝑛

It has a general order of (1 × 𝑛)

2. Column Matrix

A matrix consisting of a single column is called a column matrix or a

column vector

It has a general shape of

𝑎11
⋮
𝑎𝑚1

It has a general order of (𝑚 × 1)

3. Null or Zero Matrix

A matrix in which each element is 0 is called a Null or Zero matrix and

generally denoted by the symbol O

For example
0 0 0
𝑂 =
0 0 0

is a zero matrix of order 2 × 3

The matrix Omxn has the property that for every matrix Amxn
A+O= O+A=A
4. Square Matrix

A matrix A having same numbers of rows and columns is

called a square matrix

A square matrix of order 𝑛 × 𝑛, is simply written as An

𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
Therefore, the matrix 𝑑 𝑒 𝑓 is of order 3
𝑔 ℎ 𝑖
 Particular Cases of a square matrix

(a) Diagonal Matrix

A square matrix in which all elements are zero except those in

the main or principal diagonal is called a diagonal matrix

Some elements of the principal diagonal may be zero but not

all
For example

4 0 0 0
0 0 0
0 5 0 0
𝑎𝑛𝑑 0 1 0
0 0 1 0
0 0 1
0 0 0 2

are both diagonal matrices

In general, for a diagonal matrix

𝑎𝑖𝑗 = 0 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖 ≠ 𝑗
𝑎𝑖𝑗 ≠ 0 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖 = 𝑗
(b) Scalar Matrix

A diagonal matrix in which all the diagonal elements are the same is
called a scalar matrix

For example
𝑘 0 0
3 0
𝑎𝑛𝑑 0 𝑘 0
0 3
0 0 𝑘

are scalar matrices

(c) Identity or Unit Matrix

A scalar matrix in which each diagonal element is 1(unity) is

called a unit matrix

An identity matrix of order n is denoted by In

For example
1 0
0 1
is an identity matrix of order 2
Generally, for an identity matrix
𝑎𝑖𝑗 = 0 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖 ≠ 𝑗
𝑎𝑖𝑗 = 1 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖 = 𝑗

Note: If a matrix A and identity matrix I are conformable for

multiplication, then I has the property that

𝐴𝐼 = 𝐼𝐴 = 𝐴

i.e. I is the identity matrix for multiplication

Operations on Matrices

(a) Multiplication of a Matrix by a Scalar

If A is a matrix and k is a scalar (constant), then kA is a

matrix whose elements are the elements of A , each
multiplied by k
For example,
2 5 −7
𝑖𝑓 𝐴 =
−1 0 3

then for a scalar k

2𝑘 5𝑘 −7𝑘
𝑘𝐴 =
−1𝑘 0 3𝑘
Also,

3 6 8
𝑖𝑓 𝐴 = −2 0 −4
−3 −7 −1

Then A multiplied by 3 is

9 18 24
−6 0 −12
−9 −21 −3
(b) Addition and Subtraction of Matrices

If A and B are two matrices of same order m × n, then their

sum A + B, lets say equals C
𝑖. 𝑒 𝐴 + 𝐵 = 𝐶

Then each element is C is the sum of each corresponding

element in A and B
For example

3 6 8
If A =
−2 0 −4
8 2 1
And B =
−3 −7 −1
3 6 8 8 2 1
Then C = A + B = +
−2 0 −4 −3 −7 −1
11 8 9
=
−5 −7 −5
Similarly, the difference 𝐴 − 𝐵 of two matrices A and B is a
matrix each element of which is obtained by subtracting the
elements of B from the corresponding elements of A

Therefore for the given matrices A and B above, the difference

A – B is

3 6 8 8 2 1
𝐴– 𝐵 = −
−2 0 −4 −3 −7 −1
−5 4 7
=
1 7 −3
(c) Product of Matrices

Two matrices A and B are said to be conformable for the

product AB if the number of columns of A is equal to the
number of rows of B

Then the product matrix AB has the same number of rows as A

and the same number of columns as B
Matrix Order
A m×p
B p×n
AB (m × p) × (p × n)
= (m × n)
If C = A × B

Then C11 is the sum of the products of the elements in row 1 of A

and the corresponding elements in column 1 of B

Similarly, C12 is the sum of the products of the elements in row 1

of A and the corresponding elements in column 2 of B

And, C21 is the sum of the products of the elements in row 2 of A

and the corresponding elements in column 1 of B

And so on…
Now, if
2 4 1
3 6 8
A= and B = 3 5 2
−2 0 −4
5 3 6

Then
A×B
𝟑×𝟐+𝟔×𝟑+𝟖×𝟓 𝟑×𝟒+𝟔×𝟓+𝟖×𝟑 𝟑×𝟏+𝟔×𝟐+𝟖×𝟔
= −𝟐 ×𝟐+𝟎×𝟑−𝟒×𝟓 −𝟐 × 𝟒 + 𝟎 × 𝟓 − 𝟒 × 𝟑 −𝟐 × 𝟏 + 𝟎 × 𝟐 − 𝟒 × 𝟔

𝟔𝟒 𝟔𝟔 𝟔𝟑
=
−𝟐𝟒 −𝟐𝟎 −𝟐𝟔
Note :

1. Multiplication of matrices is not commutative i.e., AB ≠ BA in

general

2. For matrices A and B if AB = BA then A and B commute to each

other

3. A matrix A can be multiplied by itself if and only if it is a square

matrix (the product A.A in such cases is written as A2)

4. In the product AB, A is said to be pre multiple of B and B is said to

be post multiple of A
Determinants
The determinant of a matrix is a scalar (number), obtained
from the elements of a matrix by specified operations, which is
characteristic of the matrix

The determinants are defined only for square matrices

It is denoted by det A or |A| for a square matrix A

Determinant of a (2 × 2) Matrix

The determinant of a (2 × 2) matrix

𝑎11 𝑎12
𝐴 =
𝑎21 𝑎22

Is given by det A = |A|

𝑎11 𝑎12
=
𝑎21 𝑎22

= 𝑎11 𝑎22 − 𝑎12 𝑎21

For example, if

3 6
𝐴 =
−2 0

Then,
3 6
|A|=
−2 0
= [3 × 0] – [6 × (-2)]
= 0 – (-12)
= 12
Before we proceed,

What is the minor of an element?

Also, what is the cofactor of an element?

Minor of Element

The minor Mij of the element aij in a given determinant

is the determinant of order (n – 1 x n – 1) obtained by
deleting the ith row and jth column of A
For example, in the determinant
𝑎 𝑎12 𝑎13
11
|𝐴| = 𝑎21 𝑎22 𝑎23
𝑎31 𝑎32 𝑎33
𝑎22 𝑎23
The minor of the element 𝑎11 is 𝑀11 =
𝑎32 𝑎33
𝑎21 𝑎23
The minor of the element 𝑎12 is 𝑀12 =
𝑎31 𝑎33
𝑎21 𝑎22
The minor of the element 𝑎13 is 𝑀13 =
𝑎31 𝑎32

And so on….
For example, in the determinant
1 0 5
|𝐴| = 10 2 1
3 4 2

2 1
The minor of the element 𝑎11 is 𝑀11 = =2×2–1×4=0
4 2

10 1
The minor of the element 𝑎12 is 𝑀12 = = 10 × 2 - 1 × 3 = 17
3 2

10 2
The minor of the element 𝑎13 is 𝑀13 = = 10 × 4 – 2 × 3 = 34
3 4
Cofactor of Element

The scalars Cij = (-1)i+j Mij are called the cofactor

of the element aij of the matrix A
Now, for the determinant shown above:

1 0 5
|𝐴| = 10 2 1
3 4 2

The cofactor of the element 𝑎11 is 𝐶11 = (-1 ) 1+1 𝑀11 = 1 × 0 = 0

The cofactor of the element 𝑎12 is 𝐶12 = (-1 ) 1+2 𝑀12 = -1 × 17 = -17

The cofactor of the element 𝑎13 is 𝐶13 = (-1 ) 1+3 𝑀13 = 1 × 34 = 34

Determinant of a (3 × 3) Matrix

The determinant of a (3 × 3) matrix, say

𝑎11 𝑎12 𝑎13
|𝐴| = 𝑎21 𝑎22 𝑎23
𝑎31 𝑎32 𝑎33

Is gotten by
|A| = 𝑎11 𝐶11 + 𝑎12 𝐶12 + 𝑎13 𝐶13
= 𝑎11 𝑀11 − 𝑎12 𝑀12 + 𝑎13 𝑀13

Here, expansion was done using the first row

Any row or column can be used for this expansion

 2 4 1
If A = 3 5 2
5 3 6
2 4 1
Then |A| = 3 5 2
5 3 6
5 2 3 2 3 5
=2 -4 +1
3 6 5 6 5 3

= 2(30 - 6) -4(18 - 10) +1(9 -25)

= 48 -32 – 16
=0
Determinant of higher order Matrices

The determinants of higher order matrices are gotten in much the

same way as the (3 × 3) matrix

For example if we are to find the determinant of a (4 × 4) matrix

First we expand along any row or column

But then our minors will be of order (3 × 3)

From there we proceed to solve for our minors following the same
procedure outline for finding the determinant of a (3 × 3) matrix
In general, to find the determinant of a square matrix say (𝑚 × 𝑚) whose
order is higher than (2 × 2)

1. Expand the determinant of the matrix along any row or column to get
minors of ((m-1) by (m-1)) order

2. Check if the minors are of order (2 × 2)

3. If the minors are of order (2 × 2) proceed to get the value of each minor
using the (2 × 2) method, else repeat step 2 for each minor until they
are all of order (2 × 2), then calculate their values

4. Finish up your work by calculating the total value of the expansion

which is the required determinant
Thank you for your attendance and
attentiveness

Any question?