Western University

London Canada
Department of Mathematics
MATH 1229 Final Exam

December 13, 2022 Version A 2:00 - 5:00 pm

MATH 1229

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Complete the inside cover of this booklet AND the pro-

vided bubblesheet when the exam begins. Ensure your Student
Name and Student ID Number are correct before handing in your booklet and
bubblesheet.

2. CALCULATORS AND NOTES ARE NOT PERMITTED

3. DO NOT UNSTAPLE THE BOOKLET.

4. There are two parts to this examination: Part A (36 marks) in multiple choice
format and Part B (14 marks) in written answer format.

5. In Part A, fill in the bubble corresponding to the correct answer to each question
completely on the bubblesheet provided with your exam.

6. In Part B, write your answer in the space provided.

7. Questions are printed on both sides of the paper. They begin on Page 1 and
continue to Page 15. Be sure that your booklet is complete.

8. You must hand in this test booklet, the bubblesheet, and all rough work sheets.

9. TOTAL MARKS = 50
Remember to ensure your Student Name and Student ID Number
are correct before handing in your booklet.

Student ID Number

Student’s Name (Print)

 Page 1

PART A (36 marks)

YOUR ANSWERS TO THE PROBLEMS IN THIS PART MUST BE PROPERLY

FILLED IN ON THE SCANTRON PROVIDED WITH YOUR EXAM.

1 A1. Simplify the vector, 2(5, 2, 1) − 3(0, 6, 3) + (2, 2, −3).

mark
A: (12, −12, −10) B: (0, −18, −9) C: (9, −14, 6) D: (12, 6, −1) E: (10, 4, 2)

Solution: 2(5, 2, 1) − 3(0, 6, 3) + (2, 2, −3) = (10, 4, 2) − (0, 18, 9) + (2, 2, −3) = (12, −12, −10).

1 A2. Evaluate ||(5, −1) − ~j||.

mark
√ √ √ √
A: 17 B: 37 C: 29 D: 21 E: 5

Solution: ~j = (0, 1) so,

p √ √
||(5, −1) − ~j|| = ||(5, −1) − (0, 1)|| = ||(5, −2)|| = 52 + (−2)2 = 25 + 4 = 29

1 A3. Suppose we know that ~v is a vector with a length of 3. Evaluate ||~0 − 2~v ||.
mark
A: −18 B: −6 C: 18 D: −3 E: 6

Solution: ||~0 − 2~v || = || − 2~v || = | − 2| · ||~v || = 2||~v ||. Since ~v is said to have a length of 3 we can
see our final answer is 2||~v || = 2(3) = 6.

1 A4. For what value of k do the vectors (2, k, −5) and (−1, 3, k) have a dot product equal to 7
mark
14 9 9 7
A: k = B: k = 0 C: k = D: k = − E: k = −
3 8 2 2

Solution: 7 = (2, k, −5) • (−1, 3, k) = −2 + 3k − 5k = −2 − 2k. Rearranging we find 9 = −2k

9
which can be solved to give k = − .
2

1 A5. Find the volume of the parallelepiped determined by the vectors ~u = (1, 2, 3), ~v = (−1, 1, 2), and
mark w
~ = (2, 1, 4).

A: 27 B: 9 C: 23 D: 11 E: 10

Solution: We have a formula, volume = ~u • ~v × w ~ . We can calculate, ~v × w ~ = (2, 8, −3). Next,


we compute the dot product, ~u • ~v × w
~ = (1, 2, 3) • (2, 8, −3) = 9. Finally, we take the absolute
value, volume = 9 = 9.
 Page 2

1 A6. Which one of the following represents a point-normal form for the line through the point (3, 2) with
mark direction vector (5, −1)?

A: (2, −3) • ~x − (5, −1) = 0 B: (3, 2) • ~x − (5, −1) = 0 C: (5, −1) • ~x − (3, 2) = 0



D: (1, −5) • ~x − (3, 2) = 0 E: (1, 5) • ~x − (3, 2) = 0

Solution: A normal vector for this line will be orthogonal to the direction vector we’re given,
(5, −1). So (1, 5)
or any multiple of (1, 5) will suffice. Looking at the available options,
(1, 5) • ~x − (3, 2) = 0 is the only given point-normal form that has such a normal vector, so it must
be the answer.

1 A7. Consider the lines:

mark
`1 : ~x(t) = (1, 2) + t(2, 1) `2 : ~x(t) = (1, 2) + t(1, −2) `3 : ~x(t) = (−1, 2) + t(−10, −5)

Which of the following statements is/are true?

(i) `1 and `2 are parallel (ii) `2 and `3 are parallel (iii) `1 and `3 are parallel

A: (ii) only B: (i) only C: (ii) and (iii) only D: (iii) only

E: (i) and (iii) only

Solution: (i) is not true, as the direction vectors for the two lines are not scalar multiples.
(ii) is not true, as the direction vectors for the two lines are not scalar multiples.
(iii) is true, since (−10, −5) = −5(2, 1), the direction vectors of these two lines are scalar multiples.

1 A8. Find a standard form equation for the plane passing through the points P (−1, 1, 0), Q(2, 0, 1), and
mark R(0, 0, 0).

A: 2x + y + z = 1 B: x + y + z = 0 C: x + y = 0 D: x + y − 2z = 0 E: x + 2y + 3z = 0

−→
Solution: We can make vectors P Q = Q − P = (2, 0, 1) − (−1, 1, 0) = (3, −1, 1) and
−→
P R = R − P = (0, 0, 0) − (−1, 1, 0) = (1, −1, 0) which lie along the plane. To make a standard form
−→ −→
equation we’ll need a normal vector P Q × P R = (3, −1, 1) × (1, −1, 0) = (1, 1, −2). With this
normal vector we can set up our standard form equation, x + y − 2z = d. Plugging in any of our
three points we can solve for d = 0 which gives us our final equation, x + y − 2z = 0.

1 A9. Let θ be the angle between the vectors ~u = (2, −1, 0, 3) and ~v = (1, 1, 5, −2). Determine cos(θ).
mark
4 8 5 5 8
A: − √ √ B: √ √ C: − √ √ D: √ E: − √
14 31 14 31 14 31 3 6 3 6
 Page 3

Solution: For vectors ~u and ~v we can use the formula,

~u · ~v
cos(θ) =
||~u||||~v ||
Using the given vectors in this formula we find
(2)(1) + (−1)(1) + (0)(5) + (3)(−2)
cos(θ) = p p
(2)2 + (−1)2 + (0)2 + (3)2 (1)2 + (1)2 + (5)2 + (−2)2
−5
= √ √
14 31

1 A10. Which one of the following points is a solution to the system of linear equations,
mark
x + 3y − 2z = 4
2x + y = 5
−2x + y + z = −9

A: (1, 3, 3) B: (3, −1, −2) C: (−4, −13, −4) D: (2, 1, −6) E: (−1, 7, 8)

Solution: (−1, 7, 8) is not a solution to −2x + y + z = −9. (−4, −13, −4) is not a solution to
2x + y = 5. (2, 1, −6) is not a solution to x + 3y − 2z = 4. (1, 3, 3) is not a solution to
−2x + y + z = −9.

(3, −1, −2) is a solution to all three equations and so it is a solution to the whole system.

1 0 1 1
 
0 0 0 −1
1 A11. Determine the row reduced echelon form of the matrix,  .
 
mark 0 1 −1 1 
1 1 0 1

1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 −1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
         
0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0  0 1 1 0 0 1 −1 0 0 1 0 0
A: 


 B: 


 C: 
  D: 
 
 E: 
  

0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Page 4

Solution:
1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1
     
0 0 0 −1 0 0 0 −1 0 0 0 1
 R4 ← R4 − R1   R2 ← −R2 
     
0 1 −1 1  −−−−−−−−−−→ 0 1 −1 1  −−−−−−−→ 0 1 −1 1
 

1 1 0 1 0 1 −1 0 0 1 −1 0

1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
   
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
R1 ← R1 − R2  R ← R − R 
   
−−−−−−−−−−→ 0 1 −1 1 −−3−−−−−3−−−→2 0 1 −1

0
0 1 −1 0 0 1 −1 0
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
   
0 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
R4 ← R4 − R3   R2 ↔ R3 
   
−−−−−−−−−−→ 0 1 −1 0 −−−−−−→ 0

0 0 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 A12. For which value(s) of k does the system represented by the following augmented matrix have exactly
mark no solutions?  
1 0 5 −3
 0 1 −2 2 
 

0 k 6 −1

A: any k 6= 3 B: k = −3 only C: no values of k D: k = 3 only E: any k 6= −3

Solution: We begin to row reduce our matrix,

   
1 0 5 −3 1 0 5 −3
 0 1 −2 2  R3 ← R3 − kR2  0 1 −2 2
   
−−−−−−−−−−−→

0 k 6 −1 0 0 6 + 2k −1 − 2k

In order to have no solutions we’ll need the last row to have only 0s on the left of the and a
nonzero value on the right. This means we’ll need 6 + 2k = 0 which means k = −3. Plugging it back
into our equation (to check to make sure we aren’t actually in an "infinitely many solutions"
situation) we have,  
1 0 5 −3
 0 1 −2 2 
 

0 0 0 5
So we do indeed get no solutions when k = −3.

1 A13. Find all solutions to the system of linear equations represented by the augmented matrix,
mark
1 2 0 0 1
 
 0 0 1 0 1 
 
 
 0 0 0 0 0 
0 0 0 0 0

A: (1 − 2s, s, 1, t) B: (1 − 2t, t, 1, 0) C: (1 − 2s, s, 1) D: (1 − 2t, t, s, r) E: no solutions

 Page 5

Solution: Converting the augmented matrix back to a SLE we get

x1 + 2x2 = 1
x3 = 1

We can ignore the equatiosn that would come from the third and fourth rows (the all zero rows) as
they simplify to 0 = 0 which tells us nothing about any possible solutions. We can see that only x1
and x3 correspond to leading 1s in the matrix. So the other variables, x2 and x4 must be free
variables. For each we introduce a new parameter, x2 = s and x4 = t.

Next we plug these back into the equations and isolate for our leading variables,
x1 = 1 − 2s
x3 = 1
Putting this all together we get the system’s general solution,
(x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 ) = (1 − 2s, s, 1, t)

" # " #
2 −1 −3 5
1 A14. Simplify 3A − 2B if A = and B = .
mark 3 0 1 −2

" # " # " # " # " #

13 −17 12 −13 8 −11 9 −8 5 −6
A: B: C: D: E:
3 6 7 4 1 4 8 2 2 2

" # " # " # " # " #

2 −1 −3 5 6 −3 −6 10 12 −13
Solution: 3A − 2B = 3 −2 = − =
3 0 1 −2 9 0 2 −4 7 4

1 A15. Suppose that A is a 4 × 7 matrix, B is a 4 × 5 matrix, and C is a 5 × 3 matrix. Determine the

mark dimensions of the matrix (BC)T A.

A: 4 × 3 B: 4 × 7 C: 3 × 3 D: 7 × 5 E: 3 × 7

Solution: BC is a 4 × 3 matrix. (BC)T is thus a 3 × 4 matrix. And finally (BC)T A = 3 × 7 matrix.

 2
2 −1 1
1 A16. Simplify 0 3 −1 .
 
mark 1 −2 −2

         
7 −1
5 4 −7 1 5 7 5 5 −7
5 −7 −1 1
A: 
−1 7 −1

B: 
4 10 0

C: 
1 11 5

D: 
−1 11 −1 E: 1 7
 
1


0 3 3 −2 −3 7 4 11 7 0 −3 7 0 −3 3

 2     
2 −1 1 2 −1 1 2 −1 1 5 −7 1
Solution: 0 3 −1 = 0 3 −1 0 3 −1 = −1 11 −1.
      

1 −2 −2 1 −2 −2 1 −2 −2 0 −3 7
 Page 6
" #
2 1 −3
1 A17. Suppose that A = . Simplify AT A.
mark 0 −1 −1

   
" # −2 −2
0 4 2 −6 " #
14 2 14 −2
A: B: −2 −2 2  C:  2 2 −2 D:
   
E: not defined
2 2 −2 6
−2 2 6 −6 −2 10

   
" #T " 2
# 0 " # 4 2 −6
2 1 −3 2 1 −3  2 1 −3
Solution: AT A = =  1 −1 = 2 2 −2
  
0 −1 −1 0 −1 −1 0 −1 −1
−3 −1 −6 −2 10

" # " #
1 2 1 0 3
1 A18. Let A = and B = . Compute A−1 B.
mark 1 1 0 2 1

" # " # " # " # " #

−1 4 5 0 4 5 1 2 4 −1 4 −1 −1 4 1
A: B: C: D: E:
1 2 4 1 2 4 1 4 5 1 −2 2 1 −2 2

" # " #" # " #

−1 2 −1 2 1 0 3 −1 4 −1
Solution: A−1 = so A−1 B = = .
1 −1 1 −1 0 2 1 1 −2 2

0 0 1 0
 
1 0 0 0
1 A19. Find the rank of A =  .
 
mark 1 0 0 1
1 0 1 0

A: 0 B: 1 C: 3 D: 4 E: 6

Solution:
0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
     
1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
 R4 ← R4 − R1   R3 ← R3 − R2 
     
1 0 0 1 −−−−−−−−−−→ 1 0 0 1 −−−−−−−−−−→ 0 0 0 1
 

1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
   
1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
R4 ← R4 − R2  R ↔ R 
   
−−−−−−−−−−→ 0 0 0 1 −−1−−−−→2 0 0 0 1


0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
We can see there are three leading ones, so the rank is 3.
 Page 7

1 A20. Suppose we have a system of linear equations represented by the matrix equation A~x = ~b. If we
~


mark know rank(A) = 4, rank A | b = 4 and A is an 6 × 4 matrix, which of the following statements
describes the solutions to the system?

A: the system has no solutions

B: the system has exactly one solution

C: the system has a one parameter family of solutions

D: the system has a two parameter family of solutions

E: the system requires three or more parameters to express its solutions

Solution: If p = rank(A), q = rank A | ~b and A is an m × n matrix then we can see

p = q = n = 4. According to our rank theory, in this case the system will have exactly one solution.

1 A21. Consider a homogeneous system of 4 equations in 7 unknown variables. Which of the following
mark statements describes the solutions to the system?

A: the system has no solutions

B: the system has exactly one solution

C: the system has a one parameter family of solutions

D: the system has a two parameter family of solutions

E: the system requires three or more parameters to express its solutions

Solution: Since the system is homogeneous it must have at least one solution. Since the system
has 4 equations in 7 unknowns we can conclude that its coefficient matrix, A, is 4 × 7. The rank of
A is at most the minimum of the dimensions of A, so p = rank(A) ≤ 4 < 7 = n. By our rank theory,
since p = q < n we must have infinitely many solutions with n − p parameters. Since p ≤ 4 we see
n − p ≤ 3. So this system requires three or more parameters to express its full solution.

" #
4 2
1 A22. Calculate det .
mark −1 5

A: 22 B: 13 C: −14 D: 18 E: 6

" #
4 2
Solution: det = (4)(5) − (−1)(2) = 20 − −2 = 22.
−1 5
 Page 8

1 −4 2
 

1 A23. Calculate the (2, 1) cofactor of the matrix  0 3 7 .

 
mark −1 3 1

A: 7 B: 0 C: −7 D: 13 E: −13

" #
1 −4
Solution: (2, 1) cofactor = (−1)2+1 det = (−1)(1 − −12) = −13.
3 1

 
4 −7 −6
1 A24. Which of the following expressions for det  8 5 2  is found by cofactor expanding along
 
mark −1 3 −9
the second column?

"
# " # " #
−7 −6 4 −6 4 −7
A: (−7)(−1)1+2 det + (5)(−1)2+2 det + (3)(−1)3+2 det
3 −9 −1 −9 −1 3
" # " # " #
−7 −6 4 −6 4 −7
B: (8)(−1)2+1 det + (5)(−1)2+2 det + (2)(−1)2+3 det
3 −9 −1 −9 −1 3
"
# " # " #
8 2 4 −6 4 −6
C: (−7)(−1)1+2 det + (5)(−1)2+2 det + (3)(−1)3+2 det
−1 −9 −1 −9 8 2
" # " # " #
5 2 8 2 8 5
D: (8)(−1)2+1 det + (5)(−1)2+2 det + (2)(−1)2+3 det
3 −9 −1 −9 −1 3
" # " # " #
5 2 8 2 8 5
E: (4)(−1)1+1 det + (−7)(−1)1+2 det + (−6)(−1)1+3 det
3 −9 −1 −9 −1 3

Solution: Expanding along the second column requires that we pair up the entries along the
second column with their corresponding cofactors:




(−7) (1, 2) cofactor + (5) (2, 2) cofactor + (3) (3, 2) cofactor
" # " # " #
8 2 4 −6 4 −6
(−7)(−1)1+2 det + (5)(−1)2+2 det + (3)(−1)3+2 det
−1 −9 −1 −9 8 2

1 0 −4 2
 
 3 0 −2 1 
1 A25. Find the determinant of  .
 
mark −2 0 1 −3
1 0 5 0

A: −13 B: 0 C: −5 D: 8 E: 13

Solution: Since the second column of this matrix is all 0s we can conclude the determinant is 0 as
well.
 Page 9
 
6 0 0
1 A26. Find the determinant of −8 −1 0.
 
mark 2 5 3

A: 8 B: 18 C: −18 D: −90 E: 0

Solution: Since this matrix is lower triangular its determinant is the product of the entries on the
main diagonal, 6 × −1 × 3 = −18.

 
−5 7 8
1 A27. Find the determinant of  13 −9 0 .
 
mark −50 70 80

A: 138 B: −910 C: −16 D: 0 E: 60

Solution: We  the third row is 10 times the first row. Immediately this lets us
 can notice that
−5 7 8
conclude det  13 −9 0  = 0.
 

−50 70 80

   
a b c 2a 2b −6c
1 A28. Suppose we know that det d e f  = −5. Determine det  d e −3f .
   
mark g h i g h −3i

5
A: 30 B: −11 C: 1 D: E: 0
6

Solution:
    
2a 2b −6c

a b c 2a 2b 2c
d e f  d e f C3 ← −3C3  d e −3f 
     
R1 ← 2R1
−−−−−−→ −−−−−−−−→
g h i g h i g h −3i
det = −5 det = −10 det = 30

   
a b c b + 4e e 7h
1 A29. Suppose we know that det d e f  = 2. Determine det a + 4d d 7g .
   
mark g h i c + 4f f 7i

9
A: 9 B: −14 C: −8 D: − E: 56
4
 Page 10

Solution:
     
a b c a d g b e h
d e f   b e h a d g 
     
transpose R1 ↔ R2
−−−−−−→ −−−−−−→
g h i c f i c f i

det = 2 det = 2 det = −2

   
b + 4e e h
b + 4e e 7h
C1 ← C1 + 4C2 a + 4d d g  C3 ← 7C3 a + 4d d 7g 
   
−−−−−−−−−−→ −−−−−−→
c + 4f f i c + 4f f 7i
det = −2 det = −14

1 A30. Suppose that A is a 3 × 3 matrix and we know det(2A) = −32 determine det(A).
mark
√ 32 √
A: 32 B: −4 C: − D: 3 32 E: −16
3

Solution: Since A is 3 × 3 we can see −32 = det(2A) = 23 det(A) = 8 det(A). Solving we find
det(A) = −4

A31. Suppose that A and B are 5 × 5 matrices with det(A) = 2 and det(B) = −3. Simplify det AT B −1 .


1
mark
2 2 3
A: − B: C: D: −5 E: 6
3 3 10

1 2
Solution: det AT B −1 = det AT det B −1 = det(A)




=−
det(B) 3

" #55
5 7
1 A32. Calculate the determinant of the matrix .
mark −1 −2

A: 255 (−17) B: (−3)55 C: −165 D: (−17)55 E: 355

" #55  " #

55
5 7 5 7
55
Solution: det = det = (5)(−2) − (−1)(7) = (−3)5 5.
−1 −2 −1 −2

" #
4 −7
1 A33. For what value(s) of k is the matrix invertible?
mark 3 k

21 21
A: k = only B: k = 25 only C: any k > 84 D: any k 6= − E: any k 6= 0
4 4
 Page 11

Solution:
" #A matrix is invertible exactly when its determinant is nonzero. So
4 −7 21
det = 4k + 21 6= 0. Solving this gives us k 6= − .
3 k 4

 
2 5 7
1 A34. Determine the (3, 1) entry of Adj  3 1 −4.
 
mark −3 2 −1

A: −13 B: −9 C: 27 D: 9 E: −27

Solution:
  (3, 1) entry of the adjoint is just
The equal to the (1, 3) cofactor of the original matrix,
2 5 7 " #
3 1
 3 1 −4. This is equal to (−1)1+3 det = (1)(6 − −3) = 9.
 
−3 2
−3 2 −1

   
a b c 4 −4 −8
1 A35. If A = d e f  and Adj(A) =  3 −4 −5 calculate det(A).
   
mark 2 −1 1 −5 4 7

A: 7 B: 18 C: −7 D: 0 E: −4

Solution: AAdj(A) = det(A)I, and from there we can see,

(3rd row of A) • (3rd column of Adj(A)) = det(A)

This gives us (2, −1, 1) • (−8, −5, 7) = −16 + 5 + 7 = −4.

a 3 −1
 

1 A36. Suppose we know that det d 5 2  = −2, solve for the x coordinate in the unique solution to
 
mark g 0 1
the system,
ax + 3y − z = −6
dx + 5y + 2z = 0
gx + z = 0

A: −30 B: −3 C: 15 D: −15 E: 3

Solution: According to Cramer’s rule,

−6 3 −1
 
0 5 2
det  
det A(1)

0 0 1 −6 × 5 × 1
x= =  = = 15
det(A) a 3 −1 −2

d 5 2
det  
g 0 1
 Page 12

PART B (14 marks)

YOU MUST SHOW SUFFICIENT WORK TO JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS.

A CORRECT ANSWER WITH LITTLE WORK MAY EARN FEW/NO MARKS.

3 B1. Find the point of intersection of the plane and the line given by the following equations:
marks
−x + 5y − z = −7, (x, y, z) = (2, −2, 4) + t(3, −1, 1)

Solution: First we will express the line in parametric form,

x = 2 + 3t
y = −2 − t
z = 4+t
Plugging these equations into the plane we have
−(2 + 3t) + 5(−2 − t) − (4 + t) = −7

Simplifying we get,
−2 − 3t − 10 − 5t − 4 − t = −16 − 9t = −7
−9t = 9
and can solve for the parameter, t = −1. Plugging it back into the line we recover the point of
intersection, (−1, −1, 3).

" #
4 −3
2 B2. Suppose A = . Simplify AT − 2A−1 A.
marks 5 1
" #
1 0
Solution: We know that A−1 A = I = . So,
0 1
" #T " # " # " # " #
4 −3 1 0 4 5 2 0 2 5
AT − 2A−1 A = −2 = − =
5 1 0 1 −3 1 0 2 −3 −1
 Page 13
 
a b c
3 B3. For this question, we will consider a 3 × 3 matrix A = d e f . Suppose know det(A) = 2 and
 
marks g h i
 
−1 −1 1
Adj(A) =  4 2 −2.
 

7 5 −3

(a) Determine A−1 .

Solution:   1
− 2 − 12 12
 
−1 −1 1
1 1
A−1 = Adj(A) =  4 2 −2 =  2 1 −1 
  
det(A) 2 7 5
7 5 −3 2 2
− 32

(b) Find the unique solution to the system,

ax + by + cz = −4
dx + ey + f z = 2
gx + hy + iz = 6

    
a b c x −4
    
Solution: Writing the system as a matrix equation we have  d e f  y  =  2 . The
   
g h i z 6
method of inverses tells us that this can be rewritten as
   −1    1    
x a b c −4 − 2 − 12 12 −4 4
          
 y  = d e f   2  =  2
       1 −1    2  = −12
   
7 5
z g h i 6 2 2
− 32 6 −18

And from there we recover our solution, (x, y, z) = (4, −12, −18).
 Page 14
 
4 1 k
3 B4. Consider the matrix, 3 −2 0 .
 
marks 1 2 −4

(a) By cofactor expanding along the third column, express the determinant of the matrix in terms
of k.

Solution:
 
4 1 k




det 3 −2 0  = k (1, 3) cofactor + 0 (2, 3) cofactor + (−4) (3, 3) cofactor
 

1 2 −4 " # " #
3 −2 4 1
= k(−1)1+3 det + 0 + (−4)(−1)3+3 det
1 2 3 −2
= k(6 − −2) − 4(−8 − 3)

= 8k + 44

(b) Using your answer in (a), for what value(s) of k is this matrix not invertible?

Solution: We know that a matrix is not invertible exactly when the determinant is equal to
11
0. Solving 8k + 44 = 0 we see k = − .
2
 Page 15

3 B5. By using Cramer’s Rule for each, find both of the coordinates in unique solution to the following
marks system of equations.
4x − 2y = −1
−x + 3y = 4



det A(1) det A(2)
Solution: According to Cramer’s Rule, x = and y = .
det(A) det(A)
" #
4 −2
det(A) = det = 12 − 2 = 10
−1 3
" #

−1 −2
det A(1) = det = −3 − −8 = 5
4 3
" #

4 −1
det A(2) = det = 16 − 1 = 15
−1 4
5 1 15 3 1 3

So, x = = and y = = , giving the solution: (x, y) = , .
10 2 10 2 2 2

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