MATH 157: Algebra

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD

January 2024

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 1 / 30

DEFINITIONS

Matrix: A rectangular array of numbers. The numbers in a matrix

are called elements.

Order: The order/dimension of a matrix is the number of rows by

the number of columns. A 2× 3 matrix
 has two rows and three
1 2 3
columns. For example, A = is a 2 × 3 matrix.
4 5 6
Square matrix: A matrix
 whichhas the same number of rows as
1 2 3  
1 2
columns. For example, 4 5 6 or is a square matrix.
4 5
3 3 7

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 2 / 30

Null or zero matrix: A null or zero matrix is a matrix in which
every element is zero. For example,
   
  0 0 0 0 0
0 0
A= B = 0 0 0 M = 0 0
0 0
0 0 0 0 0

The unit or identity matrix: The identity matrix I is a square

matrix in which each element in the leading diagonal has a value of
one (1) and all other elements have a value of zero (0). The 2 × 2
and the 3 × 3 unit matrices are respectively
 
  1 0 0
1 0
I= and I = 0 1 0
0 1
0 0 1

Any matrix multiplied by the unit matrix gives the same matrix, i.e.,
AI = A.
Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 3 / 30
ADDITION OF MATRICES

Two matrices can be added if they are of the same dimension. For
example,      
a b e f a+e b+f
+ =
c d g h c+g d+h
   
3 4 10 6
Example: Given the matrices A = and B = , find
9 1 7 5
A + B.

       
10 6 3 4 10 + 3 6 + 4 13 10
A+B = + = =
7 5 9 1 7+9 5+1 16 6

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 4 / 30

SUBTRACTION MATRICES
Two matrices can be subtracted if they are of the same dimension.
For example,
     
a b e f a−e b−f
− =
c d g h c−g d−h
   
3 4 10 6
Example: Given the matrices A = and B = , find
9 1 7 5
A − B.

       
3 4 10 6 3 − 10 4 − 6 −7 −2
A−B = − = =
9 1 7 5 9−7 1−5 2 −4

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 5 / 30

MULTIPLICATION OF MATRICES
Two matrices A and B can only be multiplied if the number of
columns in A is the same as the number of rows in B. An (m × n)
matrix multiplied by an (n × p) matrix results in an (m × p) matrix.
So the product of two matrices can be calculated as shown below:
     
a b e f ae + bg af + bh
× =
c d g h ce + dg cf + dh
   
3 4 10 6
Example: Given the matrices A = and B = , find
9 1 7 5
AB.

       
3 4 10 6 3(10) + 4(7) 3(6) + 4(5) 58 38
AB = × = =
9 1 7 5 9(10) + 1(7) 9(6) + 1(5) 97 59

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 6 / 30

Remark

   
a b c αa αb αc
If A = d
 e f  and α is a scalar then αA = αd αe
 αf 
g h k αg αh αk
     
a b c a b c a b c
If A = d e f  then A2 = AA = d e f  × d e f
g h k g h k g h k

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 7 / 30

TRIAL

   
13 5 7 3 8 7
Given that B =  1 9 8 and C = 0 2 5.
9 12 3 4 6 3
Find:
i. 2B + C
ii. C − B
iii. C 2

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 8 / 30

TRANSPOSE OF A MATRIX

The transpose of a matrix is an operation that involves switching its

rows with its columns. If we have a matrix A with dimensions m x n,
the transpose, denoted as AT will have dimensions n x m. In other
words, the rows of the original matrix become the columns of the
transposed matrix, and vice versa.

Mathematically, if A = [aij ] is the original matrix, then the transpose

AT is given by AT = [aji ]

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 9 / 30

PROPERTIES OF A TRANSPOSE OF A MATRIX

A matrix A is said to be symmetric if its transpose is equal to

itself i.e. AT = A.
(A + B)T = AT + B T .
(cA)T = cAT .
(AB)T = B T AT .

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 10 / 30

EXAMPLE

 
2 1 4
Find the transpose of the matrix A = 3 5 0
7 3 9

Solution:  
2 3 7
The transpose of the matrix A is AT = 1 5 3
4 0 9

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 11 / 30

DETERMINANT OF A MATRIX
The determinant of a square matrix is a scalar value that is a
function of the entries of the matrix. It is denoted by det(A) or det A
or |A|.  
a b
The determinant of a 2 × 2 matrix A = is defined as:
c d

a b
|A| = = ad − bc
c d
 
a b c
The determinant of a 3 × 3 matrix A = d e f  is defined as:
g h i

e f d f d e
|A| = a −b +c
h i g i g h
Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 12 / 30
EXAMPLES

 
9 5
Find the determinant of the following matrices: T =
10 4
 
9 5
Given the matrix T = .
10 4

9 5
det(T ) = = (4 × 9) − (10 × 5) = 36 − 50 = −14
10 4

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 13 / 30

  
3 8 7
Find the determinant of the following matrices: A = 0 2 5
4 6 3

Solution:
2 5 0 5 0 2
|A| = 3 −8 +7
6 3 4 3 4 6

= 3[2(3) − 6(5)] − 8[0 − 4(5)] + 7[0 − 4(2)]

= 3(−24) − 8(−20) + 7(−8)
= 32

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 14 / 30

Properties of Determinants
The determinant of the identity matrix is 1.
Interchanging any two rows/columns of a square matrix
multiplies its determinant by −1.
Multiplying a row/column of a square matrix by a scalar
multiplies its determinant by the same scalar.
The determinant of a square matrix A, remains unchanged if its
rows and columns are interchanged.i.e. |A| = |AT |.
If all elements in a row/column are zeros, then the determinant
is zero.
If any two rows/columns of a square matrix are identical, then
the determinant is zero.
If one row/column of a square matrix is a scalar multiple of
another row/column then the determinant is zero.
Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 15 / 30
TRIAL

Find the determinant of each of the matrices below.

 
1 5 8
1. A = 8 2 −3
 5 4 2
8 7
2. P =
7 −3 
5 7
3. B =
0 3 
1 8 7
4. T = 8 7 8

7 2 3

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 16 / 30

MINORS AND COFACTORS
The minors of a matrix are computed for each element of the
matrix. The minor for a particular element in the matrix is
obtained by deleting the row and the column of the matrix on
which that particular element lies. For instance, the minor for
the element aij in the matrix A is denoted by Mij .
 
a b c
For the matrix A = d e f , the minor for the element a is
  g h i
e f
M11 = . Again, the minor for f is given by
h i
 
a b
M23 = .
g h

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 17 / 30

 The cofactor of an element in a matrix is the determinant of the
minor for that particular element, and multiplying the
determinant obtained by +1 or −1, depending on its position in
the matrix.
For instance, the cofactor for aij is as follows:

Cij = (−1)i+j |Mij |

The adjoint of the matrix A is the transpose of the matrix of

cofactors.

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 18 / 30

INVERSE OF MATRICES

A square matrix A has an inverse, denoted as A−1 , such that the

product of A and its inverse A−1 is the identity matrix I, and vice
versa, i.e., AA−1 = A−1 A = I. However, it’s only possible to find
the inverse of square matrices. If the determinant of the matrix is
zero (0), the matrix is called a singular matrix.  
a b
2 × 2 Inverse: The inverse of a 2 × 2 matrix A = is given
c d
by:  
−1 1 d −b
A =
detA −c a
where det(A) = (ad − bc).

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 19 / 30

EXAMPLES

 
1 6
Given matrix A = , find the inverse of A.
4 5

Solution
det(A) = 5(1) − 4(6) = −19
 
−1 1 5 −6
A =−
19 −4 1
 5 6

−1 − 19 19
A = 4 1
19
− 19

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 20 / 30

Inverse of a 3 × 3 matrix

We follow the following steps to find the inverse of a 3 × 3 matrix:

1 Find the determinant of the given matrix.
2 Find the matrix of cofactors.
3 Transpose the matrix of cofactors to get the adjoint of the
matrix.
4 Divide each term of the adjoint matrix by the determinant. This
matrix gives the inverse of the matrix
 
1 2 3
Example: Find the inverse of the 3 × 3 matrix A = 0 1 4.
5 6 0

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 21 / 30

solution

1 4 0 4 0 1
det(A) = −2 +3
6 0 5 0 5 6
= 1(−24) − 2(−20) + 3(5)
= -24 + 40 - 15
=1  
1 0 5
Transpose of A: AT = 2 1 6
3 4 0
Now, we will find the determinant of each of the 2 × 2 minor
matrices.
For first row elements:
1 6
= −24
4 0

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 22 / 30

 2 6
= −18
3 0
2 1
=5
3 4
For second row elements:
0 5
= −20
4 0
1 5
= −15
3 0
1 0
=4
3 4
For third row elements:
0 5
= −5
1 6

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 23 / 30

 1 5
= −4
2 6
1 0
= −5
2 1
Now,the new matrixis
−24 −18 5
A=  −20 −15 4
−5 −4 1
Adj(A)
 = the new matrix
 is 
−24 18 5 + − +
A =  20 −15 −4 × − + −
 −5 4 1 + − +
−24 18 5
A = 20 −15 −4

−5 4 1

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 24 / 30

A−1 = detA
1
× Adj(A)
 
−24 18 5
=  20 −15 −4
−5 4 1

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 25 / 30

TRIAL

Find 
the inverse ofthe following matrices
−4 8 5
V =  2 5 −4
−5 3 0 
−2 8 −6
A =  0 −1 −4
−5 4 1

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 26 / 30

SYSTEM OF EQUATION
Matrices can be used to solve systems of equations (otherwise called
simultaneous equations). In solving such problems using matrices, we
can use the following methods.
1 Cramer’s Rule
2 Gaussian elimination
We will focus on Cramer’s Rule in this course.
CRAMER’S RULE
Cramer’s Rule is a method that uses determinants to solve a system
of n = 3 linear equations in n = 3 unknowns/variables, i.e.
a1 x + b 1 y + c 1 z = α
a2 x + b 2 y + c 2 z = β
a3 x + b 3 y + c 3 z = γ

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 27 / 30

The system above can be written in matrix form as AX = b, where
A is the 3 × 3 coefficient matrix, X is the column vector of variables
or unknowns we wish to solve for and b is the column vector of
constants.
 i.e.     
a1 b1 c1 x α
A = a2 b2 c2 , X = y  and b = β .
a3 b3 c3 z γ
The system has a unique solution when |A| =
̸ 0. Therefore Cramer’s
Rule can be applied to find the components of the solution vector X.

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 28 / 30

Continuation of Cramer’s Rule
|A1 | |A2 | |A3 |
x= |A|
, y= |A|
and z = |A|

Note that A1 is the matrix obtained from A by replacing the first

column of A by b.
Example
Solve the system of equations below.

3x1 + 4x2 = 6
x1 − 2x2 = 3

Solution
Given:     
3 4 x 6
A= , X= 1 , b=
1 −2 x2 3

Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 29 / 30

Using Cramer’s Rule:
6 4
3 −2
x1 = = (−12)−(12)
(−6)−(4)
= −24
−10
= 12
5
3 4
1 −2
3 6
1 3 (9)−(6) 3 −3
x2 = = (−6)−(4)
= −10
= 10
3 4
1 −2
Trial Exercise
Solve the system of equations below using Cramer’s Rule:
x1 + 3x2 − x3 = 1
−2x1 − 6x2 + x3 = −3
3x1 + 3x2 − 2x3 = 4
Instructor: Kwame Piesie, PhD MATH 157: Algebra January 2024 30 / 30