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Determinants
6
This chapter may be covered at any time after Chapter 1

Overview In this chapter we introduce the idea of the determinant of a square matrix. We also
investigate some of the properties of the determinant. For example, a square matrix is
singular if and only if its determinant is zero.
We also consider applications of determinants in matrix theory. For instance, we
describe Cramer’s Rule for solving Ax = b, see how to express A−1 in terms of the
adjoint matrix, and show how the Wronskian can be used as a device for determining
linear independence of a set of functions.

Core Sections 6.2 Cofactor Expansions of Determinants

6.3 Elementary Operations and Determinants
6.4 Cramer’s Rule
6.5 Applications of Determinants: Inverses and Wronskians

447
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448 Chapter 6 Determinants

INTRODUCTION
6.1
Determinants have played a major role in the historical development of matrix theory,
and they possess a number of properties that are theoretically pleasing. For example, in
terms of linear algebra, determinants can be used to characterize nonsingular matrices,
to express solutions of nonsingular systems Ax = b, and to calculate the dimension of
subspaces. In analysis, determinants are used to express vector cross products, to express
the conversion factor (the Jacobian) when a change of variables is needed to evaluate a
multiple integral, to serve as a convenient test (the Wronskian) for linear independence
of sets of functions, and so on. We explore the theory and some of the applications of
determinants in this chapter.
The material in Sections 6.2 and 6.3 duplicates the material in Sections 4.2 and 4.3
in order to present a contiguous coverage of determinants. The treatment is slightly
different because the material in Chapter 6 is self-contained, whereas Chapter 4 uses a
result (Theorem 6.13) that is stated in Chapter 4 but actually proved in Chapter 6. Hence,
the reader who has seen the results of Sections 4.2 and 4.3 might want to proceed directly
to Section 6.4.

COFACTOR EXPANSIONS OF DETERMINANTS

6.2
If A is an (n × n) matrix, the determinant of A, denoted det(A), is a number that we
associate with A. Determinants are usually defined either in terms of cofactors or in
terms of permutations, and we elect to use the cofactor definition here. We begin with
the definition of det(A) when A is a (2 × 2) matrix.

Definition 1 Let A = (aij ) be a (2 × 2) matrix. The determinant of A is given by

det(A) = a11 a22 − a12 a21 .

For notational purposes the determinant is often expressed by using vertical bars:




a11 a12




det(A) =

.

a21 a22

Example 1 Find the determinants of the following matrices:

     
1 2 4 1 3 4
A= , B= , and C = .
−1 3 2 1 6 8
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6.2 Cofactor Expansions of Determinants 449

Solution




1 2




det(A) =

= 1 · 3 − 2(−1) = 5;

−1 3





4 1




det(B) =

= 4 · 1 − 1 · 2 = 2;

2 1





3 4




det(C) =

=3·8−4·6=0

6 8

We now define the determinant of an (n × n) matrix as a weighted sum of

[(n − 1) × (n − 1)] determinants. It is convenient to make a preliminary definition.

Definition 2 Let A = (aij ) be an (n × n) matrix, and let Mrs denote the [(n − 1) × (n − 1)]
matrix obtained by deleting the rth row and sth column from A. Then Mrs is
called a minor matrix of A, and the number det(Mrs ) is the minor of the (r,s)th
entry, ars . In addition, the numbers

Aij = (−1)i+j det(Mij )

are called cofactors (or signed minors).

Example 2 Determine the minor matrices M11 , M23 , and M32 for the matrix A given by
 
1 −1 2
 
A= 2 3 −3  .
4 5 1

Also, calculate the cofactors A11 , A23 , and A32 .

Solution Deleting row 1 and column 1 from A, we obtain M11 :
 
3 −3
M11 = .
5 1

Similarly, the minor matrices M23 and M32 are

   
1 −1 1 2
M23 = and M32 = .
4 5 2 −3
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450 Chapter 6 Determinants

The associated cofactors, Aij = (−1)i+j det(Mij ) are given by

3 −3

1+1


A11 = (−1)

= 3 + 15 = 18;

5 1





1 −1


2+3

A23 = (−1)

= −(5 + 4) = −9;

4 5





1 2




A32 = (−1)3+2

= −(−3 − 4) = 7.

2 −3

We use cofactors in our definition of the determinant.

Definition 3 Let A = (aij ) be an (n × n) matrix. Then the determinant of A is

det(A) = a11 A11 + a12 A12 + · · · + a1n A1n ,
where Aij is the cofactor of a1j , 1 ≤ j ≤ n.

Determinants are defined only for square matrices. Note also the inductive nature
of the definition. For example, if A is (3 × 3), then det(A) = a11 A11 + a12 A12 + a13 A13 ,
and the cofactors A11 , A12 , and A13 can be evaluated from Definition 1. Similarly, the
determinant of a (4 × 4) matrix is the sum of four (3 × 3) determinants, where each
(3 × 3) determinant is in turn the sum of three (2 × 2) determinants.

Example 3 Compute det(A), where

 
3 2 1
 
A= 2 1 −3  .
4 0 1

Solution The matrix A is (3 × 3). Using n = 3 in Definition 3, we have

det(A) = a11 A11 + a12 A12 + a13 A13








1 −3

2 −3

2 1








= 3

−2

+ 1



0 1

4 1

4 0

= 3(1) − 2(14) + 1(−4) = −29.
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6.2 Cofactor Expansions of Determinants 451

DETERMINANTS BY PERMUTATIONS The determinant of an (n × n) matrix A can

be defined in terms of permutations rather than cofactors. Specifically, let S = {1, 2, . . . , n} denote the
set consisting of the first n positive integers. A permutation (j1 , j2 , . . . , jn ) of the set S = {1, 2, . . . , n}
is just a rearrangement of the numbers in S. An inversion of this permutation occurs whenever a number
jr is followed by a smaller number js . For example, the permutation (1, 3, 2) has one inversion, but
(2, 3, 1) has two inversions. A permutation of S is called odd or even if it has an odd or even number of
inversions.
It can be shown that det(A) is the sum of all possible terms of the form ±a1j1 a2j2 . . . anjn , where
(j1 , j2 , . . . , jn ) is a permutation of S and the sign is taken as + or −, depending on whether the
permutation is even or odd. For instance,




a11 a12






= +a11 a22 − a12 a21 ;

a21 a22

a11 a12 a13








a21 a22 a23
= +a11 a22 a33 − a11 a23 a32 − a12 a21 a33 + a12 a23 a31 + a13 a21 a32 − a13 a22 a31 .




a a32 a33

31

Since there are n! different permutations when S = {1, 2, . . . , n}, you can see why this definition is not
suitable for calculation. For example, calculating the determinant of a (10 × 10) matrix requires us to
evaluate 10! = 3,628,800 different terms of the form ±a1j1 a2j2 . . . a10j10 . The permutation definition is
useful for theoretical purposes, however. For instance, the permutation definition gives immediately that
det(A) = 0 when A has a row of zeros.

Example 4 Compute det(A), where

 
1 2 0 2
 
 −1 2 3 1 
A=
 −3
.
 2 −1 0 

2 −3 −2 1

Solution The matrix A is (4 × 4). Using n = 4 in Definition 3, we have

det(A) = a11 A11 + a12 A12 + a13 A13 + a14 A14 = A11 + 2A12 + 2A14 .
The required cofactors, A11 , A12 , and A14 , are calculated as in Example 3 (note that the
cofactor A13 is not needed, since a13 = 0).
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452 Chapter 6 Determinants

In detail,




2 3 1







A11 =
2 −1 0





−3 −2 1









−1 0

2 0


2 −1







= 2

− 3

+ 1

= −15;

−2 1

−3 1

−3 −2





−1 1


3





A12 = −
−3 −1 0





2 −2 1









−1 0

−3 0


−3 −1







= − −1

− 3

+ 1

= −18;

−2 1

2 1

2 −2





−1 2 3







A14 = −
−3 2 −1





2 −3 −2









2 −1


−3 −1


−3 2






= − −1

−2

+ 3

= −6.

−3 −2

2 −2

2 −3

Thus it follows that

det(A) = A11 + 2A12 + 2A14 = −15 − 36 − 12 = −63.

The definition of det(A) given in Definition 3 and used in Examples 3 and 4 is based
on a cofactor expansion along the first row of A. In Section 6.5 (see Theorem 13), we
prove that the value det(A) can be calculated from a cofactor expansion along any row
or any column.
Also, note in Example 4 that the calculation of the (4×4) determinant was simplified
because of the zero entry in the (1, 3) position. Clearly, if we had some procedure
for creating zero entries, we could simplify the computation of determinants since the
cofactor of a zero entry need not be calculated. We will develop such simplifications in
the next section.

Example 5 Compute the determinant of the lower-triangular matrix T , where

 
3 0 0 0
 
 1 2 0 0 
T =
 2
.
 3 2 0 

1 4 5 1
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6.2 Cofactor Expansions of Determinants 453

Solution We have det(T ) = t11 T11 + t12 T12 + t13 T13 + t14 T14 . Since t12 = 0, t13 = 0, and t14 = 0,
the calculation simplifies to




2 0 0







det(T ) = t11 T11 = 3
3 2 0





4 5 1





2 0




= 3·2



5 1

= 3 · 2 · 2 · 1 = 12.
In Example 5, we saw that the determinant of the lower-triangular matrix T was the
product of the diagonal entries, det(T ) = t11 t22 t33 t44 . This simple relationship is valid
for any lower-triangular matrix.

Theorem 1 Let T = (tij ) be an (n × n) lower-triangular matrix. Then

det(T ) = t11 · t22 · · · · · tnn .
Proof If T is a (2 × 2) lower-triangular matrix, then




t11 0




det(T ) =

= t11 t22 .

t21 t22

Proceeding inductively, suppose that the theorem is true for any (k × k) lower-triangular
matrix, where 2 ≤ k ≤ n − 1. If T is an (n × n) lower-triangular matrix, then






t11 0 0 ··· 0

t22 0 · · · 0







t

t


21 t22 0 · · · 0

32 t33 · · · 0

det(T ) =
.
= t11 , T11 , where T 11 =
..

.

.. ..

...

.

.


t t t ··· t

t t ··· t

n1 n2 n3 nn n2 n3 nn

Clearly, T11 is the determinant of an [(n − 1) × (n − 1)] lower-triangular matrix, so

T11 = t22 t33 · · · tnn . Thus det(T ) = t11 t22 · · · tnn , and the theorem is proved.

Example 6 Let I denote the (n × n) identity matrix. Calculate det(I ).

Solution Since I is a lower-triangular matrix with diagonal entries equal to 1, we see from
Theorem 1 that
det(T ) = 1 · 1 · · · · · 1 = 1.
n factors

6.2 EXERCISES
   
In Exercises 1–8, evaluate the determinant of the given 1. 1 3 2. 6 7
matrix. If the determinant is zero, find a nonzero vector 2 1 7 3
x such that Ax = θ . (We will see later that det(A) = 0
if and only if A is singular.)
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454 Chapter 6 Determinants

     
3. 2 4 4. 1 3 2 0 2 0
 1 3 1 2 
4 8 0 2  
23. A =  
     0 1 2 1 
5. 4 3 6. 2 −1 0 3 1 4
1 7 1 1  
1 2 1 1
   
7. 4 1 8. 1 3  0 2 0 3 
 
24. A =  
−2 1 2 6  1 4 1 2 
0 2 1 3
In Exercises 9–14, calculate the cofactors A11 , A12 , A13 ,
and A33 for the given matrix A. In Exercises 25 and 26, show that the quantities det(A),
    a21 A21 + a22 A22 + a23 A23 , and a31 A31 + a32 A32 +
1 2 1 1 4 0
    a33 A33 are all equal. (This is a special case of a gen-
9. A =  0 1 3  10. A =  1 0 2  eral result given later in Theorem 13.)
2 1 1 3 1 2    
1 3 2 2 4 1
     
2 −1 3 25. A =  −1 4 1  26. A =  3 1 3 
 
11. A =  −1 2 2  2 2 3 2 3 2
3 2 1 In Exercises 27 and 28, show that a11 A21 + a12 A22 +
    a13 A23 = 0, and a11 A31 + a12 A32 + a13 A33 = 0. (This
1 1 1 −1 1 −1
    is a special case of a general result given later in the
12. A =  1 1 2  13. A =  2 1 0  lemma to Theorem 14.)
2 1 1 0 1 3 27. A as in Exercise 25 28. A as in Exercise 26
 
4 2 1 In Exercises 29 and 30, form the (3 × 3) matrix of co-
  factors C where cij = Aij and then calculate BA where
14. A =  4 3 1 
B = C T . How can you use this result to find A−1 ?
0 0 2
29. A as in Exercise 25 30. A as in Exercise 26
In Exercises 15–20, use the results of Exercises 9–14 to
find det(A), where: 31. Verify that det(A) = 0 when
 
15. A is in Exercise 9. 16. A is in Exercise 10. 0 a12 a13
 
17. A is in Exercise 11. 18. A is in Exercise 12. A =  0 a22 a23  .
19. A is in Exercise 13. 20. A is in Exercise 14. 0 a32 a33

In Exercises 21–24, calculate det(A). 32. Use the result of Exercise 31 to prove that if U =
  (uij ) is a (4 × 4) upper-triangular matrix, then
2 1 −1 2
  det(U ) = u11 u22 u33 u44 .
 3 0 0 1  33. Let A = (aij ) be a (2 × 2) matrix. Show that
21. A =  2 1 2 0 

  det(AT ) = det(A).
3 1 1 2 34. An (n × n) symmetric matrix A is called positive
definite if xT Ax > 0 for all x in R n, x = θ . Let A
  be a (2 × 2) symmetric matrix. Prove the following:
1 −1 1 2
 1 0 1 3  a) If A is positive definite, then a11 > 0 and
 
22. A =   det(A) > 0.
 0 0 2 4 
b) If a11 > 0 and det(A) > 0, then A is positive
1 1 −1 1 definite. [Hint: For part a), consider x = e1 .
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6.3 Elementary Operations and Determinants 455

Then consider x = [u, v]T and use the fact that determinants necessary to find det(A) for an
A is symmetric.] arbitrary n.
35. a) Let A be an (n × n) matrix. If n = 3, det(A) b) Suppose you can perform additions,
can be found by evaluating three (2 × 2) subtractions, multiplications, and divisions
determinants. If n = 4, det(A) can be found by each at a rate of one per second. How long
evaluating twelve (2 × 2) determinants. Give a does it take to evaluate H (n) determinants of
formula, H (n), for the number of (2 × 2) order (2 × 2) when n = 2, n = 5, and n = 10?

ELEMENTARY OPERATIONS AND DETERMINANTS

6.3
In this section we show how certain column operations simplify the calculation of de-
terminants. In addition, the properties we develop will be used later to demonstrate
some of the connections between determinant theory and linear algebra. We use three
elementary column operations, which are analogous to the elementary row operations
defined in Chapter 1. For a matrix A, the elementary column operations are as follows:
1. Interchange two columns of A.
2. Multiply a column of A by a scalar c, c  = 0.
3. Add a scalar multiple of one column of A to another column of A.
From Chapter 1, we know that row operations can be used to reduce a square matrix A
to an upper-triangular matrix (that is, we know A can be reduced to echelon form, and
a square matrix in echelon form is upper triangular). Similarly, it is easy to show that
column operations can be used to reduce a square matrix to lower-triangular form. One
reason for reducing an (n × n) matrix A to a lower-triangular matrix T is that det(T )
is trivial to evaluate (see Theorem 1). Thus if we can calculate the effect that column
operations have on the determinant, we can relate det(A) to det(T ).
Before proceeding, we wish to make the following statement about elementary row
and column operations. We will prove a succession of results dealing only with column
operations. These results lead to a proof in Section 6.5 of the following theorem (see
Theorem 12):

Theorem If A is an (n × n) matrix, then

det(AT ) = det(A). (1)

Once Eq. (1) is formally established, we will immediately know that the theorems
for column operations are also valid for row operations. (Row operations on A are
precisely mirrored by column operations on AT .) Therefore the following theorems are
stated in terms of elementary row operations, as well as elementary column operations,
although the row results will not be truly established until Theorem 12 is proved.

Elementary Operations
Our purpose is to describe how the determinant of a matrix A changes when an elementary
column operation is applied to A. The description will take the form of a series of
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456 Chapter 6 Determinants

theorems. Because of the technical nature of the first three theorems, we defer their
proofs to the end of the section.
Our first result relating to elementary operations is given in Theorem 2. This theorem
asserts that a column interchange (or a row interchange) will change the sign of the
determinant.

Theorem 2 Let A = [A1 , A2 , . . . , An ] be an (n×n) matrix. If B is obtained from A by interchanging

two columns (or rows) of A, then det(B) = − det(A).
The proof of Theorem 2 is at the end of this section.

Example 1 Verify Theorem 2 for the (2 × 2) matrix

 
a11 a12
A= .
a21 a22

Solution Let B denote the matrix obtained by interchanging the first and second columns of A.
Thus B is given by
 
a12 a11
B= .
a22 a21

Now det(B) = a12 a21 −a11 a22 , and det(A) = a11 a22 −a12 a21 . Thus det(B) = − det(A).

Example 2 Let A be the (3 × 3) matrix

 
1 3 1
 
A= 2 0 4 .
1 2 3
The determinant of A is −10. Use the fact that det(A) = −10 to find the determinants
of B, C, and F , where
     
3 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 3
     
B =  0 2 4 , C =  2 4 0  , and F =  4 2 0  .
2 1 3 1 3 2 3 1 2

Solution If A is given in column form as A = [A1 , A2 , A3 ], then B = [A2 , A1 , A3 ], C =

[A1 , A3 , A2 ], and F = [A3 , A1 , A2 ]. Since both B and C are obtained from A by a
single column interchange, it follows from Theorem 2 that
det(B) = det(C) = − det(A) = 10.
We can obtain F from A by two column interchanges as follows:
A → G = [A2 , A1 , A3 ] → F = [A3 , A1 , A2 ].
From Theorem 2, det(G) = − det(A) and det(F ) = − det(G). Therefore det(F ) =
− det(G) = −[− det(A)] = det(A) = −10.
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6.3 Elementary Operations and Determinants 457

By performing a sequence of column interchanges, we can produce any rear-

rangement of columns that we wish; and Theorem 2 can be used to find the deter-
minant of the end result. For example, if A = [A1 , A2 , A3 , A4 ] is a (4 × 4) ma-
trix and B = [A4 , A3 , A1 , A2 ] then we can relate det(B) to det(A) as follows: Form
B1 = [A4 , A2 , A3 , A1 ]; then form B2 = [A4 , A3 , A2 , A1 ]; and then form B by in-
terchanging the last two columns of B2 . In this sequence, det(B) = − det(A) and
det(B2 ) = − det(B1 ), so det(B) = − det(B2 ) = det(B1 ) = − det(A).
Our next theorem shows that multiplying all entries in a column of A by a scalar c
has the effect of multiplying the determinant by c.

Theorem 3 If A is an (n × n) matrix, and if B is the (n × n) matrix resulting from multiplying the

kth column (or row) of A by a scalar c, then det(B) = c det(A).
Again, the proof of Theorem 3 is rather technical, so we defer it to the end of this
section. The next example, however, verifies Theorem 3 for a (2 × 2) matrix A.

Example 3 Verify Theorem 3 for the (2 × 2) matrix

 
a11 a12
A= .
a21 a22

Solution Consider the matrices A and A given by

   

ca11 a12 
a11 ca12
A = and A = .
ca21 a22 a21 ca22

Clearly, det(A ) = ca11 a22 − ca21 a12 = c(a11 a22 − a21 a12 ) = c det(A). Similarly,

det(A ) = ca11 a22 − ca21 a12 = c(a11 a22 − a21 a12 ) = c det(A).

These calculations prove Theorem 3 for a (2 × 2) matrix A.

We emphasize that Theorem 3 is valid when c = 0. That is, if A has a column of
zeros, then det(A) = 0.

Example 4 Let A be the (3 × 3) matrix

 
1 3 1
 
A= 2 0 4 .
1 2 3

The determinant of A is −10. Use the fact that det(A) = −10 to find the determinants
of G, H , and J , where
     
2 3 1 2 −3 1 2 −3 2
     
G =  4 0 4 , H = 4 0 4  , and J =  4 0 8 .
2 2 3 2 −2 3 2 −2 6
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458 Chapter 6 Determinants

Solution Let A = [A1 , A2 , A3 ]. Then

G = [2A1 , A2 , A3 ], H = [2A1 , −A2 , A3 ], and J = [2A1 , −A2 , 2A3 ].

By Theorem 3, det(G) = 2 det(A) = −20.

Next, H is obtained from G by multiplying the second column of G by −1. There-
fore, det(H ) = − det(G) = 20. Finally, J is obtained from H by multiplying the third
column of H by 2. Thus, det(J ) = 2 det(H ) = 40.
The following result is a corollary of Theorem 3:

Corollary Let A be an (n × n) matrix and let c be a scalar. Then

det(cA) = cn det(A).
We leave the proof of the corollary as Exercise 32.

Example 5 Find det(3A), where

 
1 2
A= .
4 1

Solution Clearly, det(A) = −7. Therefore, by the corollary, det(3A) = 32 det(A) = −63. As a
check, note that the matrix 3A is given by
 
3 6
3A = .
12 3

Thus, det(3A) = 9 − 72 = −63, confirming the calculation above.

So far we have considered the effect of two elementary column operations: column
interchanges and multiplication of a column by a scalar. We now wish to show that the
addition of a constant multiple of one column to another column does not change the
determinant. We need several preliminary results to prove this.

Theorem 4 If A, B, and C are (n×n) matrices that are equal except that the sth column (or row) of A is
equal to the sum of the sth columns (or rows) of B and C, then det(A) = det(B) + det(C).

As before, the proof of Theorem 4 is somewhat technical and is deferred to the end of
this section.

Example 6 Verify Theorem 4 where A, B, and C are (2 × 2) matrices.

Solution Suppose that A, B, and C are (2 × 2) matrices such that the first column of A is equal
to the sum of the first columns of B and C. Thus,
     
b1 α c1 α b1 + c1 α
B= , C= , and A = .
b2 β c2 β b2 + c2 β
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6.3 Elementary Operations and Determinants 459

Calculating det(A), we have

det(A) = (b1 + c1 )β − α(b2 + c2 )

= (b1 β − αb2 ) + (c1 β − αc2 )
= det(B) + det(C).

The case in which A, B, and C have the same first column is left as an exercise.

Example 7 Given that det(B) = 22 and det(C) = 29, find det(A), where
     
1 3 2 1 1 2 1 2 2
     
A= 0 4 7 , B= 0 2 7  , and C =  0 2 7 .
2 1 8 2 0 8 2 1 8

Solution In terms of column vectors, A1 = B1 = C1 , A3 = B3 = C3 , and A2 = B2 + C2 . Thus,

det(A) = det(B) + det(C) = 22 + 29 = 51.

Theorem 5 Let A be an (n × n) matrix. If the j th column (or row) of A is a multiple of the kth
column (or row) of A, then det(A) = 0.

Proof Let A = [A1 , A2 , . . . , Aj , . . . , Ak , . . . , An ] and suppose that Aj = cAk . Define B to be

the matrix B = [A1 , A2 , . . . , Ak , . . . , Ak , . . . , An ] and observe that det(A) = c det(B).
Now if we interchange the j th and kth columns of B, the matrix B remains the same,
but the determinant changes sign (Theorem 2). This [det(B) = − det(B)] can happen
only if det(B) = 0; and since det(A) = c det(B), then det(A) = 0.
Two special cases of Theorem 5 are particularly interesting. If A has two identical
columns (c = 1 in the proof above), or if A has a zero column (c = 0 in the proof), then
det(A) = 0.
Theorems 4 and 5 can be used to analyze the effect of the last elementary column
operation.

Theorem 6 If A is an (n × n) matrix, and if a multiple of the kth column (or row) is added to the j th
column (or row), then the determinant is not changed.

Proof Let A = [A1 , A2 , . . . , Aj , . . . , Ak , . . . , An ] and let B = [A1 , A2 , . . . , Aj + cAk , . . . ,

Ak , . . . , An ]. By Theorem 4, det(B) = det(A) + det(Q), where Q = [A1 , A2 , . . . ,
cAk , . . . , Ak , . . . , An ]. By Theorem 5, det(Q) = 0; so det(B) = det(A), and the
theorem is proved.
As shown in the examples that follow, we can use elementary column operations
to introduce zero entries into the first row of a matrix A. The analysis of how these
operations affect the determinant allows us to relate this effect back to det(A).
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460 Chapter 6 Determinants

Example 8 Use elementary column operations to simplify finding the determinant of the (4 × 4)
matrix A:
 
1 2 0 2
 
 −1 2 3 1 
A=
 −3
.
 2 −1 0 

2 −3 −2 1

Solution In Example 4 of Section 6.2, a laborious cofactor expansion showed that det(A) = −63.
In column form, A = [A1 , A2 , A3 , A4 ], and clearly we can introduce a zero into the (1, 2)
position by replacing A2 by A2 − 2A1 . Similarly, replacing A4 by A4 − 2A1 creates a
zero in the (1, 4) entry. Moreover, by Theorem 6, the determinant is unchanged. The
details are






1 2 0 2



1 0 0 2










−1 2 3 1

−1 4 3 1

det(A) =


=



−3 2 −1 0



−3 8 −1 0








2 −3 −2 1

2 −7 −2 1





1 0 0


0






−1 4 3 3

=


.

−3 8 −1 6






2 −7 −2 −3

Thus it follows that det(A) is given by




4 3 3







det(A) =
8 −1 6
.




−7 −2 −3

We now wish to create zeros in the (1, 2) and (1, 3) positions of this (3 × 3) determi-
nant. To avoid using fractions, we multiply the second and third columns by 4 (using
Theorem 3), and then add a multiple of −3 times column 1 to columns 2 and 3:








4 3 3


4 12 12


4 0 0








1

1


det(A) =
8 −1 6
=
8 −4 24
=
8 −28 0
.


16

16



−7 −2 −3

−7 −8 −12

−7 13 9

Thus we again find det(A) = −63.

Example 9 Use column operations to find det(A), where

 
0 1 3 1
 
 1 −2 −2 2 
A=
 3
.
 4 2 −2 

4 3 −1 1
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6.3 Elementary Operations and Determinants 461

Solution As in Gaussian elimination, column interchanges are sometimes desirable and serve to
keep order in the computations. Consider






0 1 3 1


1 0 3 1











1 −2 −2 2

−2 1 −2 2

det(A) =


= −



4

.

3 4 2 −2

3 2 −2








4 3 −1 1

3 4 −1 1

Use column 1 to introduce zeros along the first row:

1 0 0 0






1 4 4







−2 1 4 4

det(A) = −


= −

3 −10


−6
.

4 3 −10 −6




4




−10 −2


3 4 −10 −2

Again column 1 can be used to introduce zeros:

1 0 0








−22 −18


−22 1







det(A) = −
3 −22 −18
= −

= 18

,



−26 −18

−26 1


4 −26 −18

and we calculate the (2 × 2) determinant to find det(A) = 72.

Proof of Theorems 2, 3, and 4 (Optional)

We conclude this section with the proofs of Theorems 2, 3, and 4. Note that these proofs
are very similar and fairly straightforward.
Proof of Theorem 2 The proof is by induction. The initial case (k = 2) was proved in Example 1.
Assuming the result is valid for any (k × k) matrix, 2 ≤ k ≤ n − 1, let B be obtained
from A by interchanging the ith and j th columns. For 1 ≤ s ≤ n, let M1s and N1s
denote minor matrices of A and B, respectively.
If s  = i or j , then N1s is the same as M1s except for a single column interchange.
Hence, by the induction hypotheses,

det(N1s ) = − det(M1s ), s  = i or j.

For definiteness let us suppose that i > j . Note that N1i contains no entries from the
original j th column. Furthermore, the columns of N1i can be rearranged to be the same
as the columns of M1j by i − j − 1 successive interchanges of adjacent columns. By
the induction hypotheses, each such interchange causes a sign change, and so

det(N1i ) = (−1)(i−j −1) det(M1j ).

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462 Chapter 6 Determinants

Therefore,
 
 
n

det(B) =  a1s (−1)1+s det(N1s ) + a1j (−1)i+1 det(N1i )
s=1
s =ior j

+ a1i (−1)1+j det(N1j )

 
 n

= a1s (−1)1+s [− det(M1s )] + a1j (−1)1+i (−1)i−j −1 det(M1j )
s=1
s =ior j

+ a1i (−1)1+j (−1)i−j −1 det(M1i )


n
= a1s (−1)2+s det(M1s ) = − det(A).
s=1

Proof of Theorem 3 Again, the proof is by induction. The case k = 2 was proved in Example 3.
Assuming the result is valid for (k × k) matrices, 2 ≤ k ≤ n − 1, let B be the (n × n)
matrix, where
B = [A1 , . . . , As−1 , cAs , As+1 , . . . , An ].
Let M1j and N1j be minor matrices of A and B, respectively, for 1 ≤ j ≤ n.
If j  = s, then N1j = M1j except that one column of N1j is multiplied by c. By the
induction hypothesis,
det(N1j ) = c det(M1j ), 1 ≤ j ≤ n, j  = s.
Moreover, N1s = M1s . Hence
 

n

det(B) =  a1j (−1)1+j det(N1j ) + ca1s (−1)1+s det(N1s )
j =1
j =s
 
n

= a1j (−1)1+j c det(M1j ) + ca1s (−1)1+s det(M1s )
j =1
j =s


n
=c a1j (−1)1+j det(M1j ) = c det(A).
j =1

Proof of Theorem 4 We use induction where the case k = 2 is done in Example 6. Assuming the result is
true for (k × k) matrices for 2 ≤ k ≤ n − 1, let
A = [A1 , A2 , . . . , An ], B = [A1 , . . . , As−1 , Bs , As+1 , . . . , An ], and
C = [A1 , . . . , As−1 , Cs , As+1 , . . . , An ],
where As = Bs + Cs , or
ais = bis + cis , for 1 ≤ i ≤ n.
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6.3 Elementary Operations and Determinants 463

Let M1j , N1j , and P1j be minor matrices of A, B, and C, respectively, for 1 ≤ j ≤ n.
If j  = s, then M1j , N1j , and P1j are equal except in one column, which we designate
as the rth column. Now the rth columns of N1j and P1j sum to the rth column of M1j .
Hence, by the induction hypothesis,
det(M1j ) = det(N1j ) + det(P1j ), 1 ≤ j ≤ n, j  = s.
Clearly, if j = s, then M1s = N1s = P1s . Hence
 

n

det(B) + det(C) =  a1j (−1)1+j det(N1j ) + b1s (−1)1+s det(N1s )
j =1
j =s
 
n

+  a1j (−1)1+j det(P1j ) + c1s (−1)1+s det(P1s )
j =1
j =s
 
 
n

= a1j (−1)1+j [det(N1j ) + det(P1j )]
j =1
j =s

+ (b1s + c1s )(−1)1+s det(M1s )


n
= a1j (−1)1+j det(M1j ) = det(A).
j =1

6.3 EXERCISES
In Exercises 1–6, use elementary column operations to 10. B = [A1 , A1 + 2A2 , A3 , A4 ]
create zeros in the last two entries in the first row and 11. B = [A1 + 2A2 , A2 + 3A3 , A3 , A4 ]
then calculate the determinant of the original matrix.
    12. B = [2A1 − A2 , 2A2 − A3 , A3 , A4 ]
1. 1 2 1 2. 2 4 −2
    In Exercises 13–15, use only column interchanges to
 2 0 1   0 2 3 
produce a triangular matrix and then give the determi-
1 −1 1 1 1 2 nant of the original matrix.
       
3. 0 1 2 4. 2 2 4 13. 1 0 0 0 14. 0 0 2 0
     2 0 0 3   0 0 1 3 
 3 1 2   1 0 1     
2 0 3 2 1 2    
 1 1 0 1   0 4 1 3 
   
5. 0 1 3 6. 1 1 1 1 4 2 2 2 1 5 6
     
 2 1 2   2 1 2  15. 0 1 0 0
1 1 2 3 0 2  0 2 0 3 
 
 
Suppose that A = [A1 , A2 , A3 , A4 ] is a (4 × 4) matrix,  2 1 0 6 
where det(A) = 3. In Exercises 7–12, find det(B). 3 2 2 4
7. B = [2A1 , A2 , A4 , A3 ]
In Exercises 16–18, use elementary column operations
8. B = [A2 , 3A3 , A1 , −2A4 ] to create zeros in the (1, 2), (1, 3), (1, 4), (2, 3), and
9. B = [A1 + 2A2 , A2 , A3 , A4 ] (2, 4) positions. Then evaluate the original determinant.
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464 Chapter 6 Determinants

16.
1 2 0 3
17.
2 4 −2 −2
25. Let U be an (n × n) upper-triangular matrix and






2 5 1 1

1 3 1 2
consider the cofactors U1j , 2 ≤ j ≤ n. Show that




U1j = 0, 2 ≤ j ≤ n. [Hint: Some column in U1j is






2 0 4 3

1 3 1 3
always the zero column.]






0 1 6 2

−1 2 1 2

26. Use the result of Exercise 25 to prove inductively


that det(U ) = u11 u22 . . . unn , where U = (uij ) is an
18.
1 1 2 1



(n × n) upper-triangular matrix.

0 1 4 1






27. Let y = mx + b be the equation of the line through

2 1 3 0



the points (x1 , y1 ) and (x2 , y2 ) in the plane. Show

2 2 1 2

that the equation is given also by
19. Use elementary row operations on the determinant


in Exercise 16 to create zeros in the (2, 1), (3, 1),
x y 1




(4, 1), (3, 2), and (4, 2) positions. Assuming the



x1 y1 1
= 0.
column results in this section also hold for rows,



x y 1

give the value of the original determinant to verify 2 2
that it is the same as in Exercise 16.
28. Let (x1 , y1 ), (x2 , y2 ), and (x3 , y3 ) be the vertices of
20. Repeat Exercise 19, using the determinant in Exer-
a triangle in the plane where these vertices are num-
cise 17.
bered counterclockwise. Prove that the area of the
21. Repeat Exercise 19, using the determinant in Exer- triangle is given by
cise 18.



22. Find a (2 × 2) matrix A and a (2 × 2) matrix B,
x1 y1 1



1



where det(A + B) is not equal to det(A) + det(B).

Area =
x2 y2 1
.
Find a different A and B, both nonzero, such that 2



x y 1

det(A + B) = det(A) + det(B). 3 3

23. For any real number a, a  = 0, show that

29. Let x and y be vectors in R 3 , and let A = I + xyT .

a+1 a+4 a+7



Show that det(A) = 1 + yT x. [Hint: If B = xyT ,




a + 2 a + 5 a + 8
= 0, B = [B1 , B2 , B3 ], then A = [B1 + e1 , B2 + e2 , B3 +




a+3 a+6 a+9
e3 ]. Therefore, det(A) = det[B1 , B2 + e2 , B3 +


e3 ] + det[e1 , B2 + e2 , B3 + e3 ]. Use Theorems 4

a 4a 7a



and 5 to show that the first determinant is equal to


det[B1 , e2 , B3 + e3 ], and so on.]

2a 5a 8a
= 0,




3a 6a 9a
30. Use column operations to prove that






a a4 a7

1 a a2







2 5 8



and
a a a
= 0.
1 b b2
= (b − a)(c − a)(c − b).

3 6 9




a a a

1 c c2

24. Let A = [A1 , A2 , A3 ] be a (3 × 3) matrix and set

  31. Evaluate the (4 × 4) determinant
2 0 0
 


B =  3 −1 0  .
1 a a2 a3







1 3 4
1 b b2 b3



.
a) Show that
1 c c2 c3







AB = [2A1 + 3A2 + A3 , −A2 + 3A3 , 4A3 ].
1 d d2 d3

b) Use column operations to show that
det(AB) = −8 det(A). [Hint: Proceed as in Exercise 30.]
c) Conclude that det(AB) = det(A) det(B). 32. Prove the corollary to Theorem 3.
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6.4 Cramer’s Rule 465

CRAMER’S RULE
6.4
In Section 6.3, we saw how to calculate the effect that a column operation or a row
operation has on a determinant. In this section, we use that information to analyze
the relationships between determinants, nonsingular matrices, and solutions of systems
Ax = b. We begin with the following lemma, which will be helpful in the proof of the
subsequent theorems.

Lemma 1 Let A = [A1 , A2 , . . . , An ] be an (n × n) matrix, and let b be any vector in R n . For each
i, 1 ≤ i ≤ n, let Bi be the (n × n) matrix:

Bi = [A1 , . . . , Ai−1 , b, Ai+1 , . . . , An ].

If the system of equations Ax = b is consistent and xi is the ith component of a solution,

then

xi det(A) = det(Bi ). (1)

Proof To keep the notation simple, we give the proof of Eq. (1) only for i = 1. Since the
system Ax = b is assumed to be consistent, there are values x1 , x2 , . . . , xn such that

x1 A1 + x2 A2 + · · · + xn An = b.

Using the properties of determinants, we have

x1 det(A) = det[x1 A1 , A2 , . . . , An ]
= det[b − x2 A2 − · · · − xn An , A2 , . . . , An ]
= det[b, A2 , . . . , An ] − x2 det[A2 , A2 , . . . , An ]
− · · · − xn det[An , A2 , . . . , An ].

By Theorem 5, the last n − 1 determinants are zero, so we have

x1 det(A) = det[b, A2 , . . . , An ];

and this equality verifies Eq. (1) for i = 1. Clearly, the same argument is valid for
any i.
As the following theorem shows, one consequence of Lemma 1 is that a singular
matrix has determinant zero.

Theorem 7 If A is an (n × n) singular matrix, then det(A) = 0.

Proof Since A is singular, Ax = θ has a nontrivial solution. Let xi be the ith component of
a nontrivial solution, and choose i so that xi  = 0. By Lemma 1, xi det(A) = det(Bi ),
where Bi = [A1 , . . . , Ai−1 , θ , Ai+1 , . . . , An ]. It follows from Theorem 3 that det(Bi ) =
0. Thus, xi det(A) = 0, and since xi  = 0, then det(A) = 0.
Theorem 9, stated later, establishes the converse of Theorem 7: If det(A) = 0, then
A is a singular matrix. Theorem 9 will be an easy consequence of the product rule for
determinants.
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466 Chapter 6 Determinants

The Determinant of a Product

Theorem 8 states that if A and B are (n × n) matrices, then det(AB) = det(A) det(B).
This result is somewhat surprising in view of the complexity of matrix multiplication.
We also know, in general, that det(A + B) is distinct from det(A) + det(B).

Theorem 8 If A and B are (n × n) matrices, then

det(AB) = det(A) det(B).
Before sketching a proof of Theorem 8, note that if A is an (n × n) matrix, and
if B is obtained from A by a sequence of elementary column operations, then, by the
properties of determinants given in Theorems 2, 3, and 6, det(A) = k det(B), where the
scalar k is completely determined by the elementary column operations. To illustrate,
suppose that B is obtained by the following sequence of elementary column operations:
1. Interchange the first and third columns.
2. Multiply the second column by 3.
3. Add 2 times the second column to the first column.
It now follows from Theorems 2, 3, and 6 that det(B) = −3 det(A) or, equivalently,
det(A) = (−1/3) det(B). Moreover, the scalar −1/3 is completely determined by the
operations; that is, the scalar is independent of the matrices involved.
The proof of Theorem 8 is based on the previous observation and on the following
lemma.

Lemma 2 Let A and B be (n × n) matrices and let C = AB. Let Ĉ denote the result of applying
an elementary column operation to C and let B̂ denote the result of applying the same
column operation to B. Then Ĉ = AB̂.
The proof of Lemma 2 is left to the exercises. The intent of the lemma is given schemat-
ically in Fig. 6.1.

A
Column
* AB operation
AB

B
AB = AB
A

* AB
Column
B operation
B

Figure 6.1 Schematic diagram of Lemma 2

Lemma 2 tells us that the same result is produced whether we apply a column
operation to the product AB or whether we apply the operation to B first (producing B̂)
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6.4 Cramer’s Rule 467

and then form the product AB̂. For example, suppose that A and B are (3 × 3) matrices.
Consider the operation of interchanging column 1 and column 3:
B = [B1 , B2 , B3 ] → B̂ = [B3 , B2 , B1 ]; AB̂ = [AB3 , AB2 , AB1 ]
 = [AB3 , AB2 , AB1 ];
AB = [AB1 , AB2 , AB3 ] → AB  = AB̂.
AB
Proof of Theorem 8 Suppose that A and B are (n×n) matrices. If B is singular, then Theorem 8 is immediate,
for in this case AB is also singular. Thus, by Theorem 7, det(B) = 0 and det(AB) = 0.
Consequently, det(AB) = det(A) det(B).
Next, suppose that B is nonsingular. In this case, B can be transformed to the
(n × n) identity matrix I by a sequence of elementary column operations. (To see
this, note that B T is nonsingular by Theorem 17, property 4, of Section 1.9. It now
follows from Theorem 16 of Section 1.9 that B T can be reduced to I by a sequence
of elementary row operations. But performing row operations on B T is equivalent to
performing column operations on B.) Therefore, det(B) = k det(I ) = k, where k is
determined entirely by the sequence of elementary column operations. By Lemma 2,
the same sequence of operations reduces the matrix AB to the matrix AI = A. Thus,
det(AB) = k det(A) = det(B) det(A) = det(A) det(B).

Example 1 Show by direct calculation that det(AB) = det(A) det(B) for the matrices
   
2 1 −1 3
A= and B = .
1 3 2 −2
Solution We have det(A) = 5 and det(B) = −4. Since AB is given by
 
0 4
AB = ,
5 −3
it follows that det(AB) = −20 = (5)(−4) = det(A) det(B).
The following theorem is now an easy consequence of Theorem 8.

Theorem 9 If the (n × n) matrix A is nonsingular, then det(A) = 0. Moreover, det(A−1 ) =

1/ det(A).
Proof Since A is nonsingular, A−1 exists and AA−1 = I . By Theorem 8, 1 = det(I ) =
det(AA−1 ) = det(A) det(A−1 ). In particular, det(A)  = 0 and det(A−1 ) = 1/ det(A).

Theorems 7 and 9 show that an (n×n) matrix A is singular if and only if det(A) = 0.
This characterization of singular matrices is especially useful when we want to examine
matrices that depend on a parameter. The next example illustrates one such application.

Example 2 Find all values λ such that the matrix B(λ) is singular, where
 
2−λ 0 0
 
B(λ) =  2 3−λ 4 .
1 2 1−λ
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468 Chapter 6 Determinants

Solution By Theorems 7 and 9, B(λ) is singular if and only if det[B(λ)] = 0. The equation
det[B(λ)] = 0 is determined by
0 = det[B(λ)]
= (2 − λ)[(3 − λ)(1 − λ) − 8]
= (2 − λ)[λ2 − 4λ − 5]
= (2 − λ)(λ − 5)(λ + 1).
Thus, B(λ) is singular if and only if λ is one of the values λ = 2, λ = 5, or λ = −1.
The three matrices discovered by solving det[B(λ)] = 0 are listed next. As we can
see, each of these matrices is singular:
     
0 0 0 −3 0 0 3 0 0
     
B(2) =  2 1 4 , B(5) =  2 −2 4 , B(−1) =  2 4 4 .
1 2 −1 1 2 −4 1 2 2

Solving Ax = b with Cramer’s Rule

A major result in determinant theory is Cramer’s rule, which gives a formula for the
solution of any system Ax = b when A is nonsingular.

Theorem 10 Cramer’s Rule Let A = [A1 , A2 , . . . , An ] be a nonsingular (n × n) matrix, and

let b be any vector in R n . For each i, 1 ≤ i ≤ n, let Bi be the matrix Bi =
[A1 , . . . , Ai−1 , b, Ai+1 , . . . , An ]. Then the ith component, xi , of the solution of Ax = b
is given by
det(Bi )
xi = . (2)
det(A)
Proof Since A is nonsingular, det(A)  = 0. Formula (2) is now an immediate consequence of
(1) in Lemma 1.

Example 3 Use Cramer’s rule to solve the system

3x1 + 2x2 = 4
5x1 + 4x2 = 6.
Solution To solve this system by Cramer’s rule, we write the system as Ax = b, and we form
B1 = [b, A2 ] and B2 = [A1 , b]:
     
3 2 4 2 3 4
A= , B1 = , B2 = .
5 4 6 4 5 6
Note that det(A) = 2, det(B1 ) = 4, and det(B2 ) = −2. Thus, from Eq. (2), the solution
is
4 −2
x1 = = 2 and x2 = = −1.
2 2
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6.4 Cramer’s Rule 469

Example 4 Use Cramer’s rule to solve the system

x1 − x2 + x3 = 0
x1 + x2 − 2x3 = 1
x1 + 2x2 + x3 = 6.
Solution Writing the system as Ax = b, we have
   
1 −1 1 0 −1 1
   
A= 1 1 −2  , B1 =  1 1 −2  ,
1 2 1 6 2 1
   
1 0 1 1 −1 0
   
B2 =  1 1 −2  , B3 =  1 1 1 .
1 6 1 1 2 6

A calculation shows that det(A) = 9, det(B1 ) = 9, det(B2 ) = 18, and det(B3 ) = 9.

Thus, by Eq. (2), the solution is
9 18 9
x1 = = 1, x2 = = 2, and x3 = = 1.
9 9 9

As a computational tool, Cramer’s rule is rarely competitive with Gaussian elimi-

nation. It is, however, a valuable theoretical tool. Three specific examples illustrating
the use of Cramer’s rule in theoretical applications are as follows.
1. The method of variation of parameters (see W. E. Boyce and R. C. DiPrima,
Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems, p. 277. New
York: John Wiley and Sons, 1986).
2. The theory of continued fractions (see Peter Henrici, Applied and Computational
Complex Analysis, Volume 2, pp. 520–521. New York: John Wiley and Sons,
1977).
3. Characterization of best approximations (see E. W. Cheney, Introduction to
Approximation Theory, p. 74. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966).

CRAMER’S RULE In 1750, Gabriel Cramer (1704–1752) published a work in which, in the
appendix, he stated the determinant procedure named after him for solving n linear equations in n
unknowns. The first discoverer of this rule, however, was almost surely the Scottish mathematician Colin
Maclaurin (1698–1746). It appeared in a paper of Maclaurin’s in 1748, published two years after his
death. This perhaps compensates for the fact that the famous series named after Maclaurin was not first
discovered by him. (Ironically, the Maclaurin series is a special case of a Taylor series, named after the
English mathematician Brook Taylor. However, as with the Maclaurin series, Taylor was not the first
discoverer of the Taylor series!)
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470 Chapter 6 Determinants

6.4 EXERCISES
 
In Exercises 1–3, use column operations to reduce the λ 1 1
given matrix A to lower-triangular form. Find the deter-  
13. B(λ) =  1 λ 1 
minant of A.
    1 1 λ
0 1 3 1 2 1  
    2−λ 0 3
1. A =  1 2 1  2. A =  2 4 3   
14. B(λ) =  2 λ 1 
3 4 1 2 1 3
  1 0 −λ
2 2 4
  In Exercises 15–21, use Cramer’s rule to solve the given
3. A =  1 3 4 
system.
−1 2 1
15. x1 + x2 = 3 16. x1 + 3x2 = 4
In Exercises 4–6, use column operations to reduce the x1 − x2 = −1 x1 − x 2 = 0
given matrix A to the identity matrix. Find the determi-
17. x1 − 2x2 + x3 = −1
nant of A.    x1 + x3 = 3
1 0 1 1 0 −2
    x1 − 2x2 = 0
4. A =  2 1 1  5. A =  3 1 3 
18. x1 + x2 + x3 = 2
1 2 1 0 1 2 x1 + 2x2 + x3 = 2
  x1 + 3x2 − x3 = −4
2 2 2
  19. x1 + x2 + x3 − x4 =2
6. A =  4 3 4 
x2 − x3 + x4 =1
2 1 2 x3 − x4 =0
7. Let A and B be (3×3) matrices such that det(A) = 2 x3 + 2x4 =3
and det(B) = 3. Find the value of each of the 20. 2x1 − x2 + x3 = 3
following. x1 + x2 =3
a) det(AB) b) det(AB 2 ) x2 − x3 = 1
c) det(A B) d) det(2A−1 )
−1
21. x1 + x2 + x3 = a
e) det(2A)−1 x2 + x3 = b
8. Show that the matrices x3 = c
 
  sin θ − cos θ 2 22. Suppose that A is an (n×n) matrix such that A2 = I .
sin θ − cos θ   Show that | det(A)| = 1.
and  cos θ sin θ 3 
cos θ sin θ 23. Prove Lemma 2. [Hint: Let
0 0 1
are nonsingular for all values of θ . B = [B1 , B2 , . . . , Bi , . . . , Bj , . . . , Bn ]

In Exercises 9–14, find all values λ such that the given and consider the matrix B̂ produced by interchang-
matrix B(λ) is singular. ing column i and column j . Also consider the matrix
 
λ 0 B̂ produced by replacing Bi by Bi + aBj .]
9. B(λ) = 24. We know that AB and BA are not usually equal.
3 2−λ
    However, show that if A and B are (n × n), then
λ 1 2 λ det(AB) = det(BA).
10. B(λ) = 11. B(λ) =
1 λ λ 2 25. Suppose that S is a nonsingular (n × n) matrix, and
 2
 suppose that A and B are (n × n) matrices such that
1 λ λ SAS −1 = B. Prove that det(A) = det(B).
 
12. B(λ) =  1 1 1  26. Suppose that A is (n × n) and A2 = A. What is
1 3 9 det(A)?
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6.5 Applications of Determinants: Inverses and Wronskians 471

27. If det(A) = 3, what is det(A5 )? 30. Verify the result in Exercise 29 for the matrix
28. Let A be a nonsingular matrix and suppose that all  
the entries of both A and A−1 are integers. Prove 1 2 0 0 0
that det(A) = ±1. [Hint: Use Theorem 9.]  
 2 1 0 0 0 
 
29. Let A and C be square matrices, and let Q be a  
Q= 3 5 1 2 2 .
matrix of the form    
 7 2 3 5 1 
A O  
Q= .
B C 1 8 1 4 1
Convince yourself that det(Q) = det(A) det(C).
[Hint: Reduce C to lower-triangular form with col-
umn operations; then reduce A.]

APPLICATIONS OF DETERMINANTS: INVERSES

6.5
AND WRONSKIANS
Now that we have det(AB) = det(A) det(B), we are ready to prove that det(AT ) =
det(A) and to establish some other useful properties of determinants. First, however, we
need the preliminary result stated in Theorem 11.

Theorem 11 Let A be an (n × n) matrix. Then there is a nonsingular (n × n) matrix Q such that

AQ = L, where L is lower triangular. Moreover, det(QT ) = det(Q).
The proof of Theorem 11 is based on the following fact: The result of any elementary
column operation applied to A can be represented in matrix terms as AQi , where Qi is
an elementary matrix. We discuss this fact and give the proof of Theorem 11 at the end
of this section.
Theorem 11 can be used to prove the following important result.

Theorem 12 If A is an (n × n) matrix, then det(AT ) = det(A).

Proof By Theorem 11, there is an (n × n) matrix Q such that AQ = L, where L is a lower-
triangular matrix. Moreover, Q is nonsingular and det(QT ) = det(Q). Now, given
AQ = L, it follows that
QTAT = LT .
Applying Theorem 8 to AQ = L and to QTAT = LT , we obtain
det(A) det(Q) = det(L)
det(QT ) det(AT ) = det(LT ).
Since L and LT are triangular matrices with the same diagonal entries, it follows (see
Theorem 1 of Section 6.2 and Exercise 26 of Section 6.3) that det(L) = det(LT ). Hence,
from the two equalities above, we have
det(A) det(Q) = det(QT ) det(AT ).
Finally, since det(Q) = det(QT ) and det(Q)  = 0, we see that det(A) = det(AT ).
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472 Chapter 6 Determinants

At this point we know that Theorems 2–6 of Section 6.3 are valid for rows as well as
for columns. In particular,we can use row operations to reduce a matrix A to a triangular
matrix T and conclude that det(A) = ± det(T ).

Example 1 We return to the (4 × 4) matrix A in Example 8 of Section 6.3, where det(A) = −63:




1 2 0 2








−1 2 3 1

det(A) =


.

−3 2 −1 0






2 −3 −2 1

By using row operations, we can reduce det(A) to




1 2 0 2








0 4 3 3

det(A) =


.

0 8 −1 6






0 −7 −2 −3

Now we switch rows 2 and 3 and then switch columns 2 and 3 in order to get the number
−1 into the pivot position. Following this switch, we create zeros in the (2, 3) and (2, 4)
positions with row operations; and we find




1 0 2 2








0 −1 8 6

det(A) =




0 3 4 3






0 −2 −7 −3





1 0 2 2








0 −1 8 6

=


.

0 0 28 21






0 0 −23 −15

(The sign of the first determinant above is the same as det(A) because the first determinant
is the result of two interchanges.) A quick calculation shows that the last determinant
has the value −63.
The next theorem shows that we can evaluate det(A) by using an expansion along
any row or any column we choose. Computationally, this ability is useful when some
row or column contains a number of zero entries.

Theorem 13 Let A = (aij ) be an (n × n) matrix. Then:

det(A) = ai1 Ai1 + ai2 Ai2 + · · · + ain Ain (1)
det(A) = a1j A1j + a2j A2j + · · · + anj Anj . (2)

Proof We establish only Eq. (1), which is an expansion of det(A) along the ith row. Expansion
of det(A) along the j th column in Eq. (2) is proved the same way.
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6.5 Applications of Determinants: Inverses and Wronskians 473

Form a matrix B from A in the following manner: Interchange row i first with row
i − 1 and then with row i − 2; continue until row i is the top row of B. In other words,
bring row i to the top and push the other rows down so that they retain their same relative
ordering. This procedure requires i − 1 interchanges; so det(A) = (−1)i−1 det(B). An
inspection shows that the cofactors B11 , B12 , . . . , B1n are also related to the cofactors
Ai1 , Ai2 , . . . , Ain by B1k = (−1)i−1 Aik . To see this relationship, one need only observe
that if M is the minor of the (1, k) entry of B, then M is the minor of the (i, k) entry
of A. Therefore, B1k = (−1)k+1 M and Aik = (−1)i+k M, which shows that B1k =
(−1)i−1 Aik . With this equality and Definition 2 of Section 6.2,
det(B) = b11 B11 + b12 B12 + · · · + b1n B1n
= ai1 B11 + ai2 B12 + · · · + ain B1n
= (−1)i−1 (ai1 Ai1 + ai2 Ai2 + · · · + ain Ain ).
Since det(A) = (−1)i−1 det(B), formula (1) is proved.

The Adjoint Matrix and the Inverse

We next show how determinants can be used to obtain a formula for the inverse of
a nonsingular matrix. We first prove a lemma, which is similar in appearance to
Theorem 13. In words, the lemma states that the sum of the products of entries from the
ith row with cofactors from the kth row is zero when i  = k (and by Theorem 13 this
sum is the determinant when i = k).

Lemma If A is an (n × n) matrix and if i = k, then ai1 Ak1 + ai2 Ak2 + · · · + ain Akn = 0.
Proof For i and k, given i  = k, let B be the (n × n) matrix obtained from A by deleting the
kth row of A and replacing it by the ith row of A; that is, B has two equal rows, the ith
and kth, and B is the same as A for all rows but the kth.
In this event it is clear that det(B) = 0, that the cofactor Bkj is equal to Akj , and
that the entry bkj is equal to aij . Putting these together gives
0 = det(B) = bk1 Bk1 + bk2 Bk2 + · · · + bkn Bkn
= ai1 Ak1 + ai2 Ak2 + · · · + ain Akn ;
thus the lemma is proved.
This lemma can be used to derive a formula for A−1 . In particular, let A be an (n×n)
matrix, and let C denote the matrix of cofactors; C = (cij ) is (n × n), and cij = Aij .
The adjoint matrix of A, denoted Adj(A), is equal to C T . With these preliminaries, we
prove Theorem 14.

Theorem 14 If A is an (n × n) nonsingular matrix, then

1
A−1 = Adj(A).
det(A)
Proof Let B = (bij ) be the matrix product of A and Adj(A). Then the ij th entry of B is
bij = ai1 Aj 1 + ai2 Aj 2 + · · · + ain Aj n ,
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474 Chapter 6 Determinants

and by the lemma and Theorem 13, bij = 0 when i  = j , while bii = det(A). Therefore,
B is equal to a multiple of det(A) times I , and the theorem is proved.

Example 2 Let A be the matrix

 
1 −1 2
 
A= 2 1 −3  .
4 1 1
We calculate the nine required cofactors and find
A11 = 4 A12 = −14 A13 = −2
A21 = 3 A22 = −7 A23 = −5
A31 = 1 A32 = 7 A33 = 3.
The adjoint matrix (the transpose of the cofactor matrix) is
 
4 3 1
 
Adj(A) =  −14 −7 7 .
−2 −5 3
A multiplication shows that the product of A and Adj(A) is
 
14 0 0
 
 0 14 0  ;
0 0 14

so A−1 = (1/14)Adj(A), where of course det(A) = 14.

Theorem 14 is especially useful when we need to calculate the inverse of a matrix
that contains variables. For instance, consider the (3 × 3) matrix
 
a 1 b
 
A =  1 1 1 . (3)
b 1 a
Although A has some variable entries, we can calculate det(A) and Adj(A) and hence
find A−1 .

Example 3 Let A be the (3 × 3) matrix displayed in (3). Find A−1 .

Solution Although we can do this calculation by hand, it is more convenient to use a computer
algebra system. We used Derive and found A−1 as shown in Fig. 6.2.

The Wronskian
As a final application of determinant theory, we develop a simple test for the linear
independence of a set of functions. Suppose that f0 (x), f1 (x), . . . , fn (x) are real-valued
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6.5 Applications of Determinants: Inverses and Wronskians 475

a 1 b -1
7: 1 1 1
b 1 a

a - 1 1 1 - b
-
(a + b - 2)(a - b) a + b - 2 (a + b - 2)(a - b)

1 a + b 1
8: - -
a + b - 2 a + b - 2 a + b - 2

1 - b 1 a - 1
-
(a + b - 2)(a - b) a + b - 2 (a + b - 2)(a - b)

Figure 6.2 Using Derive to find the inverse of a matrix with variable
entries, as in Example 3

functions defined on an interval [a, b]. If there exist scalars a0 , a1 , . . . , an (not all of
which are zero) such that

a0 f0 (x) + a1 f1 (x) + · · · + an fn (x) = 0 (4)

for all x in [a, b], then {f0 (x), f1 (x), . . . , fn (x)} is a linearly dependent set of functions
(see Section 5.4). If the only scalars for which Eq. (4) holds for all x in [a, b] are
a0 = a1 = · · · = an = 0, then the set is linearly independent.
A test for linear independence can be formulated from Eq. (4) as follows: If
a0 , a1 , . . . , an are scalars satisfying Eq. (4) and if the functions fi (x) are sufficiently dif-
ferentiable, then we can differentiate both sides of the identity (4) and have a0 f0(i) (x) +
a1 f1(i) (x) + · · · + an fn(i) (x) = 0, 1 ≤ i ≤ n. In matrix terms, these equations are
    
f0 (x) f1 (x) · · · fn (x) a0 0
    
 f0 (x) f1 (x) · · · fn (x)   a1   0 
    =  
 .. ..   ..   ..  .
 . .  .   . 
f0(n) (x) f1(n) (x) · · · fn(n) (x) an 0

If we denote the coefficient matrix above as W (x), then det[W (x)] is called the Wron-
skian for {f0 (x), f1 (x), . . . , fn (x)}. If there is a point x0 in [a, b] such that det[W (x0 )] =
0, then the matrix W (x) is nonsingular at x = x0 , and the implication is that a0 = a1 =
· · · = an = 0. In summary, if the Wronskian is nonzero at any point in [a, b], then
{f0 (x), f1 (x), . . . , fn (x)} is a linearly independent set of functions. Note, however, that
det[W (x)] = 0 for all x in [a, b] does not imply linear dependence (see Example 4).
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476 Chapter 6 Determinants

WRONSKIANS Wronskians are named after the Polish mathematician Josef Maria
Hoëné-Wroński (1778–1853). Unfortunately, the violent character of his personal life often detracted
from the respect he was due from his mathematical work. The Wronskian provides a partial test for linear
independence. If the Wronskian is nonzero for some x0 in [a, b], then f0 (x), f1 (x), . . . , fn (x) are
linearly independent (see the first part of Example 4). If the Wronskian is zero for all x in [a, b], then the
test gives no information (see the second part of Example 4).
The Wronskian does provide a complete test for linear independence, however, when
f0 (x), f1 (x), . . . , fn (x) are solutions of an (n + 1)st-order linear differential equation of the form
y (n+1) + gn (x)y (n) + · · · + g1 (x)y  + g0 (x)y = 0,
where g0 (x), g1 (x), . . . , gn (x) are all continuous on (a, b). In this case, f0 (x), f1 (x), . . . , fn (x) are
linearly independent if and only if the Wronskian is never zero for any x in (a, b).

Example 4 Let F1 = {x, cos x, sin x} and F2 = {sin2 x, | sin x| sin x} for −1 ≤ x ≤ 1. The
respective Wronskians are




x cos x sin x







w1 (x) =
1 − sin x cos x
= x




0 − cos x − sin x

and




sin2 x | sin x| sin x




w2 (x) =

= 0.

sin 2x | sin 2x|

Since w1 (x)  = 0 for x  = 0, F1 is linearly independent. Even though w2 (x) = 0 for all
x in [−1, 1], F2 is also linearly independent, for if a1 sin2 x + a2 | sin x| sin x = 0, then
at x = 1, a1 + a2 = 0; and at x = −1, a1 − a2 = 0; so a1 = a2 = 0.

Elementary Matrices (Optional)

In this subsection, we observe that the result of applying a sequence of elementary column
operations to a matrix A can be represented in matrix terms as multiplication of A by a
sequence of elementary matrices. In particular, let I denote the (n × n) identity matrix,
and let E be the matrix that results when an elementary column operation is applied to
I . Such a matrix E is called an elementary matrix.
For example, consider the (3 × 3) matrices
   
1 0 3 0 1 0
   
E1 =  0 1 0  and E2 =  1 0 0  .
0 0 1 0 0 1
As we can see, E1 is obtained from I by adding 3 times the first column of I to the third
column of I . Similarly, E2 is obtained from I by interchanging the first and second
columns of I . Thus E1 and E2 are specific examples of (3 × 3) elementary matrices.
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6.5 Applications of Determinants: Inverses and Wronskians 477

The next theorem shows how elementary matrices can be used to represent elemen-
tary column operations as matrix products.

Theorem 15 Let E be the (n × n) elementary matrix that results from performing a certain column
operation on the (n × n) identity. If A is any (n × n) matrix, then AE is the matrix that
results when this same column operation is performed on A.
Proof We prove Theorem 15 only for the case in which the column operation is to add c times
column i to column j . The rest of the proof is left to the exercises.
Let E denote the elementary matrix derived by adding c times the ith column of I
to the j th column of I . Since I is given by I = [e1 , e2 , . . . , ei , . . . , ej , . . . , en ], we can
represent the elementary matrix E in column form as
E = [e1 , e2 , . . . , ei , . . . , ej + cei , . . . , en ].
Consequently, in column form, AE is the matrix
AE = [Ae1 , Ae2 , . . . , Aei , . . . , A(ej + cei ), . . . , Aen ].
Next, if A = [A1 , A2 , . . . , An ], then Aek = Ak , 1 ≤ k ≤ n. Therefore, AE has the form
AE = [A1 , A2 , . . . , Ai , . . . , Aj + cAi , . . . , An ].
From this column representation for AE, it follows that AE is the matrix that results
when c times column i of A is added to column j .
We now use Theorem 15 to prove Theorem 11. Let A be an (n × n) matrix. Then A
can be reduced to a lower-triangular matrix L by using a sequence of column operations.
Equivalently, by Theorem 15, there is a sequence of elementary matrices E1 , E2 , . . . , Er
such that
AE1 E2 · · · Er = L. (5)
In Eq. (5), an elementary matrix Ek represents either a column interchange or the addition
of a multiple of one column to another. It can be shown that:
(a) If Ek represents a column interchange, then Ek is symmetric.
(b) If Ek represents the addition of a multiple of column i to column j , where
i < j , then Ek is an upper-triangular matrix with all main diagonal entries
equal to 1.
Now in Eq. (5), let Q denote the matrix Q = E1 E2 · · · Er and observe that Q is nonsin-
gular because each Ek is nonsingular. To complete the proof of Theorem 11, we need
to verify that det(QT ) = det(Q).
From the remarks in (a) and (b) above, det(EkT ) = det(Ek ), 1 ≤ k ≤ r, since each
matrix Ek is either symmetric or triangular. Thus
det(QT ) = det(ErT · · · E2T E1T )
= det(ErT ) · · · det(E2T ) det(E1T )
= det(Er ) · · · det(E2 ) det(E1 )
= det(Q).
An illustration of the discussion above is provided by the next example.
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478 Chapter 6 Determinants

Example 5 Let A be the (3 × 3) matrix

 
0 1 3
 
A= 1 2 1 .
3 4 2
Display elementary matrices E1 , E2 , and E3 such that AE1 E2 E3 = L, where L is lower
triangular.
Solution Matrix A can be reduced to a lower-triangular matrix by the following sequence of
column operations:
   
0 1 3 1 0 3
  C1 ↔ C2  
A =  1 2 1  −− −−−−→  2 1 1 
3 4 2 4 3 2
   
1 0 0 1 0 0
C3 − 3C1   C3 + 5C2  
−−− −−−→  2 1 −5  −− −−−−→  2 1 0  .
4 3 −10 4 3 5
Therefore, AE1 E2 E3 = L, where
     
0 1 0 1 0 −3 1 0 0
     
E1 =  1 0 0  , E2 =  0 1 0  , and E3 =  0 1 5 .
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
Note that E1 is symmetric and E2 and E3 are upper triangular.

6.5 EXERCISES
   
In Exercises 1–4, use row operations to reduce the given 7. 1 0 1 8. 2 1 0
determinant to upper-triangular form and determine the    
 2 1 2   3 0 1 
value of the original determinant.


1 1 2 0 1 1
1.

1 2 1

2.

0 3 1










1 2 1
   

2 3 2


9. 1 1 1 10. 1 2 3



2 −2 2
   

−1 4 1

 1 2 2   0 1 2 





3.

0 1 3

4.

1 0 1

1 3 1 0 0 1






1 2 2

0 2 4





In Exercises 11–16, calculate the Wronskian. Also, de-

3 1 0

3 2 1

termine whether the given set of functions is linearly
In Exercises 5–10, find the adjoint matrix for the given independent on the interval [−1, 1].
matrix A. Next, use Theorem 14 to calculate the inverse 11. {1, x, x 2 } 12. {ex , e2x , e3x }
of the given matrix.
    13. {1, cos2 x, sin2 x} 14. {1, cos x, cos 2x}
5. 1 2 6. a b
2
3 4 c d 15. {x , x|x|} 16. {x 2 , 1 + x 2 , 2 − x 2 }
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Supplementary Exercises 479

In Exercises 17–20, find elementary matrices E1 , E2 , 26. Let L be a nonsingular (4 × 4) lower-triangular ma-
and E3 such that AE1 E2 E3 = L, where L is lower tri- trix. Show that L−1 is also a lower-triangular matrix.
angular. Calculate the product Q = E1 E2 E3 and verify [Hint: Consider a variation of Exercise 25.]
that AQ = L and det(Q) = det(QT ). 27. Let A be an (n × n) matrix, where det(A) = 1 and
   
0 1 3 0 −1 2 A contains only integer entries. Show that A−1 con-
    tains only integer entries.
17. A =  1 2 4  18. A =  1 3 −1 
2 2 1 1 2 1 28. Let E denote the (n × n) elementary matrix cor-
    responding to an interchange of the ith and j th
1 2 −1 2 4 −6 columns of I . Let A be any (n × n) matrix.
   
19. A =  3 5 1  20. A =  1 1 1  a) Show that matrix AE is equal to the result of
4 0 2 3 2 1 interchanging columns i and j of A.
b) Show that matrix E is symmetric.
In Exercises 21–24, calculate det[A(x)] and show that
29. An (n × n) matrix A is called skew symmetric if
the given matrix A(x) is nonsingular for any real value of
AT = −A. Show that if A is skew symmetric, then
x. Use Theorem 14 to find an expression for the inverse
det(A) = (−1)n det(A). If n is odd, show that A
of A(x).
    must be singular.
x 1 1 x
21. A(x) = 22. A(x) = 30. An (n × n) real matrix is orthogonal provided that
−1 x −x 2 AT = A−1 . If A is an orthogonal matrix, prove that
  det(A) = ±1.
2 x 0
  31. Let A be an (n × n) nonsingular matrix. Prove
23. A(x) =  −x 2 x 
that det[Adj(A)] = [det(A)]n−1 .
0 −x 2 [Hint: Use Theorem 14.]
 
sin x 0 cos x 32. Let A be an (n × n) nonsingular matrix.
 
24. A(x) =  0 1 0  a) Show that
− cos x 0 sin x 1
[Adj(A)]−1 = A.
25. Let L and U be the (3 × 3) matrices det(A)
    [Hint: Use Theorem 14.]
1 0 0 1 a b
    b) Show that
L =  a 1 0  and U =  0 1 c  .
1
b c 1 0 0 1 Adj(A−1 ) = A.
det(A)
Use Theorem 14 to show that L−1 is lower triangular [Hint: Use Theorem 14 to obtain a formula for
and U −1 is upper triangular. (A−1 )−1 .]

SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES
1. Express 2. Let A = [A1 , A2 , . . . , An ] be an (n × n) matrix and


let B = [An , An−1 , . . . , A1 ]. How are det(A) and

a11 + b11 a12 + b12
det(B) related when n is odd? When n is even?





3. If A is an (n × n) matrix such that A3 = A, then list

a21 + b21 a22 + b22

all possible values for det(A).
as a sum of four determinants in which there are no 4. If A is a nonsingular (2 × 2) matrix and c is a scalar
sums in the entries. such that AT = cA, what are the possible values
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480 Chapter 6 Determinants

for c? If A is a nonsingular (3 × 3) matrix, what are be the matrix of cofactors for A. (That is, A11 = −7,
the possible values for c? A12 = 5, and so on.) Find A.
5. Let A = (aij ) be a (3 × 3) matrix such that det(A) = 7. Let b = [b1 , b2 , . . . , bn ]T .
2, and let Aij denote the ij th cofactor of A. If a) For 1 ≤ i ≤ n, let Ai be the (n × n) matrix
 
A31 A21 A11 Ai = [e1 , . . . , ei−1 , b, ei+1 , . . . , en ]. Apply
  Cramer’s rule to the system In x = b to show that
B =  A32 A22 A12  ,
det(Ai ) = bi .
A33 A23 A13
b) If B is the (n × n) matrix B = [b, . . . , b], then
then calculate AB. use part a) and Theorem 4 to determine a formula
6. Let A = (aij ) be a (3 × 3) matrix with a11 = 1, for det(B + I ).
a12 = 2, and a13 = −1. Let
  8. If the Wronskian for {f0 (x), f1 (x), f2 (x)} is
−7 5 4 (x 2 + 1)ex , then calculate the Wronskian for
 
C =  −4 3 2  {xf0 (x), xf1 (x), xf2 (x)}.
9 −7 −5

CONCEPTUAL EXERCISES
In Exercises 1–8, answer true or false. Justify your an- 10. Let A and B be (n × n) matrices such that AB = I .
swer by providing a counterexample if the statement is Prove that BA = I . [Hint: Show that det(A) = 0
false or an outline of a proof if the statement is true. and conclude that A−1 exists.]
1. If A, B, and C are (n × n) matrices such that 11. If A is an (n × n) matrix and c is a scalar, show that
AB = AC and det(A)  = 0, then B = C. det(AT − cI ) = det(A − cI ).
2. If A and B are (n × n) matrices, then det(AB) = 12. Let A and B be (n × n) matrices such that B is
det(BA). nonsingular, and let c be a scalar.
3. If A is an (n × n) matrix and c is a scalar, then a) Show that det(A − cI ) = det(B −1 AB − cI ).
det(cIn − A) = cn − det(A). b) Show that det(AB − cI ) = det(BA − cI ).
4. If A is an (n × n) matrix and c is a scalar, then 13. If A is a nonsingular (n × n) matrix, then prove that
det(cA) = c det(A). Adj(A) is also nonsingular. [Hint: Consider the
5. If A is an (n × n) matrix such that Ak = O for some product A[Adj(A)].]
positive integer k, then det(A) = 0. 14. a) If A and B are nonzero (n × n) matrices such
6. If A1 , A2 , . . . , Am are (n × n) matrices such that that AB = O, then prove that both A and B are
B = A1 A2 . . . Am is nonsingular, then each Ai is singular. [Hint: What would you conclude if
nonsingular. either A or B were nonsingular?]
b) Use part a) to prove that if A is a singular
7. If the matrix A is symmetric, then so is Adj(A). (n × n) matrix, then Adj(A) is also a singular
8. If A is an (n × n) matrix such that det(A) = 1, then matrix. [Hint: Consider the product
Adj[Adj(A)] = A. A[Adj(A)].]
15. If A = (aij ) is an (n × n) orthogonal matrix (that
In Exercises 9–15, give a brief answer. is, AT = A−1 ), then prove that Aij = aij det(A),
9. Show that A2 + I = O is not possible if A is an where Aij is the ij th cofactor of A. [Hint: Express
(n × n) matrix and n is odd. A−1 in terms of Adj(A).]
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MATLAB Exercises 481

MATLAB EXERCISES
Exercises 1–6 will illustrate some properties of the determinant and help you sharpen your
skills using MATLAB to manipulate matrices and perform matrix surgery. These exercises
also reinforce the theoretical properties of the determinant that you learned in Chapter 6.

1. Use the A = round(20*rand(5,5) - 10*ones(5,5)) command to generate a

random (5 × 5) matrix A having integer entries selected from [−10, 10]. Use Definition 3
to calculate det(A), using the MATLAB det command to calculate the five cofactors
A11 , A12 , . . . , A15 . Use matrix surgery to create the five minor matrices Mij (recall that
the minor matrix is defined in Definition 2). Compare your result with the value of the
determinant of A as calculated by the MATLAB command det(A).

2. Use matrix A from Exercise 1 (or a similarly randomly generated matrix) to illustrate
Theorems 2, 3, and the corollary to Theorem 3.

3. As in Exercise 2, use a randomly generated (5 × 5) matrix to illustrate Theorems 4, 5,

and 6.

4. As in Exercise 2, use a randomly generated (5 × 5) matrix to illustrate Theorem 12.

5. As in Exercise 2, use a randomly generated (5 × 5) matrix and a randomly generated

vector b to illustrate Cramer’s Rule (Theorem 10).

6. As in Exercise 2, use a randomly generated (5 × 5) matrix A and a randomly generated

(5 × 5) matrix B to illustrate Theorem 8.

7. How common are singular matrices? Because of the emphasis on singular matrices
in matrix theory, it might seem that they are quite common. In this exercise, randomly
generate 100 matrices, calculate the determinant of each, and then make a rough assessment
as to how likely encountering a singular matrix would be.
The following MATLAB loop will generate the determinant values for 100 randomly
chosen matrices:
determ = zeros(1,100);
for i = 1 : 100
A = round(20*rand(5,5) - 10*ones(5,5));
determ(1,i) = det(A);
end
After executing this loop, list the vector determinant to display the 100 determinant
values calculated. Are any of the 100 matrices singular? Repeat the experiment using 1000
randomly generated matrices instead of 100. Rather than listing the vector determinant, use
the min(abs(determ)) command to find the smallest determinant in absolute value.
Did you encounter any singular matrices?

8. Generating integer matrices with integer inverses For certain simulations, it is con-
venient to have a collection of randomly-generated matrices that have integer entries and
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482 Chapter 6 Determinants

whose inverses also have integer entries. Argue, using Theorem 14, that an integer matrix
with determinant equal to 1 or −1 will have an integer inverse.
One easy way to create an integer matrix A with determinant equal to 1 or −1 is to set
A = LU where L is a lower-triangular integer matrix with 1’s and −1’s on its diagonal
and where U is an upper-triangular integer matrix with 1’s and −1’s on its diagonal. Then,
since det(A) = det(L) det(U ), we see that both A and A−1 will be integer matrices.
Use these ideas to create a set of ten randomly generated (5 × 5) integer matrices with
integer inverses. For each matrix A created, use the MATLAB inv command to generate
the inverse for A. Note, because of roundoff error, that the MATLAB inverse for A is
not always an integer matrix. To eliminate the roundoff error, you can use the command
round(inv(A)) in order to round the entries of A−1 to the nearest integer. Check, by
direct multiplication, that this will produce the inverse.