Chapter 2

MATRICES

Definitions

1. A matrix is a rectangular array of numbers. The horizontal arrays of a matrix are

called its rows and the vertical arrays are called its columns. A matrix is said to
have the order m × n if it has m rows and n columns. An m × n matrix A can be
represented in either of the following forms:

   
a11 a12 . . . a1n a11 a12 . . . a1n
   
 a21 a22 . . . a2n   a21 a22 . . . a2n 
A= . or A= .
   
 .. .. ... .. 
 .. .. ... .. 
 . . 
  . . 

am1 am2 . . . amn am1 am2 . . . amn

We shall mostly be concerned with matrices having real numbers, denoted R, as

entries. For example, if

" #
1 3 7
A= then a11 = 1, a12 = 3, a13 = 7, a21 = 4, a22 = 5, a23 = 6
4 5 6

2. A matrix in which each entry is Zero is called a Zero matrix denoted by 0 for
!
0 0
example; 02×2 = .
0 0

3. A matrix that has the same number of rows as the number of columns is called a
Square matrix.

4. A square matrix A = [aij ] is said to be a Diagonal matrix if [aij ] = 0 for i 6= j. In

other words, the non-zero entries appear only on the principal diagonal. Example

1
 !
4 0
the zero matrix 0n ,
0 2

A diagonal matrix D of order n with diagonal entries d1 , d2 , . . . , dn is denoted by

D = diag(d1 , d2 , . . . , dn ). If di = d for all i = 1, 2, . . . , n then the diagonal matrix D
is called a Scalar matrix

5. A scalar matrix A of order n is called an Identity matrix if d = 1. This matrix is

 
! 1 0 0
1 0  
denoted by In . Example I2 = , I3 =  0 1 0 

0 1 
0 0 1

6. Asquare matrix A = aij is said to be an Upper triangular matrix if aij = 0 for

i > j and a Lower triangular matrix if aij = 0 for i < j. A square matrix A is
said to be Triangular if it is an upper or a lower triangular matrix.

!
1 1
2 2
7. A matrix A is said to be Idempotent if A2 = A. Example 1 1
2 2

8. The transpose of an m×n matrix A = [aij ] is defined as the n×m matrix B = [bji ].
The transpose of A is denoted by AT or At .
 
! 1 4
1 2 3  
Example; If A = then AT =  2 5 
4 5 6  
3 6

9. Let A be a square matrix of order n. A square matrix B is said to be a Left inverse

of A if BA = In and Right inverse if AB = In . A matrix A is said to be Invertible
(said to have an inverse) if there exists a matrix B such that AB = BA = In .

10. A matrix A is called Symmetric if AT = A and Skew-symmetric if AT = −A

11. Let A be an n × n matrix. Then Trace of A denoted by tr(A) is the sum of all the
diagonal elements of A that is;

2
 tr(A) = a11 + a22 + . . . + ann .

Matrix Operations
Addition of Matrices
Let A = [aij ] and B = [bij ] be two m × n matrices. Then the sum A + B is defined to be
the matrix C = [cij ] with cij = aij + bij . Note that, we define the sum of two matrices
only when the order of the two matrices are same.
Multiplying a Scalar to a Matrix
Let A = [aij ] be an m × n matrix, then for any scalar k, we define kA = [kaij ].
Multiplication of Matrices
Let A = [aij ] be an m × n matrix and B = [bij ] be two n × r matrix. The product AB is
a matix C = [cij ] of order m × r with; cij = nk=1 aik bkj = ai1 b1j + ai2 b2j + . . . + ain bnj
P

 . .. 
  .. b1j .
... ... ... ... ...  .
   .. .. 
 ... ... ... ... ...   b2j . 

   . .. 
That is if Am×n =  ai1

ai2 ai3 . . . ain  and Bn×r

= .  then;
 . b3j . 
   . .. ..
 ..
 ... 
 ... ... ... ... 
 . . 
 
... ... ... ... ... .. ..
. bnj .

[AB]ij = ai1 b1j + ai2 b2j + . . . + ain bnj .

N.B: The product AB is defined if and only if the number of columns of A equals to the
number of rows of B.

3
Determinant of matrix
Let A be a matrix, the determinant of A is denoted by det(A) or |A|. A matrix A is said
to be invertible if its determinant is non-zero.
Determinant of a 2 × 2 matrix
!
a b
Let A =
c d

a b
The determinant of A = |A| = = ad − cd
c d

Determinant of a 3 × 3 matrix
To compute the determinant of a 3 × 3 matrix, a 4 × 4 matrix and so on, the following
two methods can be used;

(a) Cofactor Expansion Method.

(b) Combinatorial Method

Cofactor Expansion Method.

Definitions

1. If A is a square matrix, |Mij | denote the determinant of the submatrix Mij that
remains after the ith row and the j th column are deleted from A. Alternatively, if
A = [aij ] is an n × n matrix then Mij will denote the n − 1 × n − 1 matrix obtained
from A by deleting the ith row and the j th column. The determinant of the subma-
trix Mij is called the minor of the element aij of A.

2. The cofactor of aij denoted by Aij is given by;

Aij = (−1)i+j |Mi j|
Example

(a) Find all the cofactors of the entries of the matrix

4
  
1 2 3
 
A= 3 2 1 


2 0 2

Solution

2 1 3 1
A11 = (−1)1+1 = 4, A12 = (−1)1+2 = −4,
0 2 2 2

3 2 2 3
A13 = (−1)1+3 = −4, A21 = (−1)2+1 = −4,
2 0 0 2

1 3 1 2
A22 = (−1)2+2 = −4, A23 = (−1)2+3 = 4,
2 2 2 0

2 3 1 3
A31 = (−1)3+1 = −4, A32 = (−1)3+2 = 8,
2 1 3 1

1 2
A33 = (−1)3+3 = −4
3 2

So the cofactor matrix of A is;

   
A11 A12 A13 4 −4 −4
   
(Aij ) =  A21 A22 A23  =  −4 −4 4 
  

A31 A32 A33 −4 8 −4

 
2 1 −1
 
(b) EER: Find the cofactor matrix of the matrix B = 
 3 1 4 

5 −3 3

3. Suppose that A = (aij ) is an n × n matrix and let Aij denote the cofactor of the
element aij with i, j = 1, 2, . . . , n. The determinant of matrix A is equal to the sum
of the products of any row or column and the corresponding cofactors. That is;

5
 (i) Summing along the ith row;
|A| = ai1 Ai1 + ai2 Ai2 + . . . + ain Ain

(i) Summing along the j th column;

|A| = a1j A1j + a2j A2j + . . . + anj Anj

Example
 
1 2 3
 
Compute the determinant of the matrix A = 
 3 2 1 

2 0 2

1st row: (1)(4)+(2)(-4)+(3)(-4) = -16

1st column: (1)(4)+(3)(-4)+(2)(-4) = -16
EER: Try out the remaining rows and columns.

Theorem 1. If A is an n × n triangular matrix then the determinant of A is the

product of the terms on the diagonal. That is;
|A| = a11 × a11 × . . . × ann .

4. The transpose of the cofactor matrix is the adjoint of the matrix A. It is usually
denoted by adj(A)
Observe that if
 
a11 a12 . . . a1n
 
 a21 a22 . . . a2n 
A=
 
.. .. . . .. 

 . . . .  
an1 an2 . . . ann

The cofactor matrix of A is given by;

6
  
A A12 . . . A1n
 11 
 A21 A22 . . . A2n 
(Aij ) =  .
 
 .. .. .. .. 
 . . . 

An1 An2 . . . Ann

And the adjoint of A is given by;

 
A A21 . . . An1
 11 
 A12 A22 . . . an2 
adj(A) =  .
 
 .. .. .. .. 
 . . . 

A1n A2n . . . ann

 
1 2 3
 
Find the adjoint of the matrix A = 
 3 2 1 

2 0 2

The cofactor matrix of A is

   
4 −4 −4 4 −4 −4
   
(Aij ) = 
 −4 −4 4  ⇒ adj(A) =  −4 −4 8
 

−4 8 −4 −4 4 −4

Combinatorial Method
Definitions

1. A permutation of a set of integers {1, 2, . . . , n} is the arrangement of these integers

in some order without omissions or repetitions.
We shall denote a general permutation of the set {1, 2, . . . , n} by < i1 , i2 , . . . , in >
where i1 is the first integer in the permutation, i2 is the second integer in the per-
mutation etc. For example there are six different permutations of the set of integers

7
 {1, 2, 3} . These are;
< 1, 2, 3 >, < 1, 3, 2 >, < 2, 1, 3 >, < 2, 3, 1 >, < 3, 1, 2 > and < 3, 2, 1 >
The set of n elements has n! permutations. For example a set with 4 elements has
4! = 4.3.2.1 = 24 permutations.
The set of all permutations of n elements is denoted by Sn is commonly called the
symmetric group of degree n. For example the set of all permutations for the set of
integers {1, 2, 3} is given by;
S3 = {< 1, 2, 3 >, < 1, 3, 2 >, < 2, 1, 3 >, < 2, 3, 1 >, < 3, 1, 2 >, < 3, 2, 1 >}
EER: Find all the permutations of the given set of integers

(i) {4, 7}
(i) {1, 2, 3, 4}
(iii) {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

2. A permutation < i1 , i2 , . . . , in > of set S is said to have an inversion if a larger

integer preceeds (comes before) a smaller integer.
For example < 1, 2, 3, 4 > has no inversion, < 4, 1, 3 > has two inversions, < 6, 1 >
has one inversion , < 2, 1, 3 > has one inversion, < 3, 2, 1 > hasthreeinversions etc.
EER: Find the total number of inversions in the following permutations:

(i) < 4, 1, 3, 5, 2 >

(ii) < 3, 1, 2 >

3. A permutation is even if the total number of inversions is an even integer and is odd
if the total number of inversions is an odd integer.
The following table classifies the various permutations of S = {1, 2, 3}.

Permutation Number of inversions Classification

< 1, 2, 3 > 0 even
< 1, 3, 2 > 1 0dd
< 2, 1, 3 > 1 0dd

8
4. An elementary product from a n × n matrix A is any product of n entries from A
and no two of which come from the same row or the same column.
For example consider the 3 × 3 matrix

 
a11 a12 a13
 
A =  a21 a22 a23 


a31 a32 a33

Matrix A has 6 elementary products (3! elementary products). These are a11 a22 a33 ,
a11 a23 a32 , a12 a21 a33 , a12 a23 a31 , a13 a21 a32 , a13 a22 a31 .

5. A signed elementary product from a n × n matrix A is an elementary product

a1i1 a2i2 . . . anin multiplied by +1 or −1.
An elementary product is multiplied by +1 if the permutation < i1 , i2 , . . . , in > is
even and is multiplied by −1 if the permutation < i1 , i2 , . . . , in > is odd.

6. Let A = (aij ) be an n × n matrix. The determinant of A is defined as the sum of

all the assigned elementary products from A.
Examples

 
1 2 3
 
(a) Find the determinant of matrix A = 
 3 2 1 

2 0 2

using the method of permutation.

Solution

9
 Elementary products Associated permutations Number of inversions Classification Signed elementary product

(1)(2)(2) < 1, 2, 3 > 0 even +(1)(2)(2)

(1)(1)(0) < 1, 3, 2 > 1 odd −(1)(1)(0)
(2)(3)(2) < 2, 1, 3 > 1 odd −(2)(3)(2)
(2)(1)(2) < 2, 3, 1 > 2 even +(2)(1)(2)
(3)(3)(0) < 3, 1, 2 > 2 even +(3)(3)(0)
(3)(2)(2) < 3, 2, 1 > 3 0dd −(3)(2)(2)

|A| = (1)(2)(2) − (1)(1)(0) − (2)(3)(2) + (2)(1)(2) + (3)(3)(0) − (3)(2)(2)

= 4 − 0 − 12 + 4 + 0 − 12 = 8 − 24 = −16
 
1 2 0
 
(b) Find the determinant of matrix A =  3 0 1 


3 3 4

using the method of permutation.

Solution

Elementary products Associated permutations Number of inversions Classification Signed elementary product

(1)(0)(4) < 1, 2, 3 > 0 even +(1)(0)(4)

(1)(1)(3) < 1, 3, 2 > 1 odd −(1)(1)(3)
(2)(3)(4) < 2, 1, 3 > 1 odd −(2)(3)(4)
(2)(1)(3) < 2, 3, 1 > 2 even +(2)(1)(3)
(0)(3)(3) < 3, 1, 2 > 2 even +(0)(3)(3)
(0)(0)(3) < 3, 2, 1 > 3 0dd −(0)(0)(3)

|A| = (1)(0)(4) − (1)(1)(3) − (2)(3)(4) + (2)(1)(3) + (0)(3)(3) − (0)(0)(3)

= 0 − 3 − 24 + 6 + 0 − 0 = 6 − 27 = −21

10
 EER: Use the permutation method to evaluate the determinant of matrix A given
below

 
1 2 3
 
(a) A = 
 2 3 4 

1 5 7

 
−1 1 2
 
(b) A = 
 3 0 −5 

1 7 2

Properties of the determinant of a matrix

• For any square matrix A, |A| = |AT |.

• If two rows or columns of a square matrix are identical (the same) then its determi-
nant is equal to 0.

• If a square matrix A has a zero row or column, then |A| = 0.

• The determinant of a triangular matrix or a diagonal matrix is given by the product

of the elements on the main diagonal.

• If a matrix B is obtained from a square matrix A by interchanging the position of

two rows in A then |B| = −|A| .

• If A and B are square matrices of the same order then |AB| = |A||B|.

• |A − 1| = 1
|A|
; |A|¬0 and A−1 is called the inverse of A.

• The determinant of any identity matrix is A.

• If A is an n × n matrix and λ is a scalar, then |λA| = λn |A|

• If a matrix B is obtained from a square matrix A by multiplying every element in

one row of A by a scalar α then |B| = α|A|.

11
 • If a matrix B is obtained from a square matrix A by adding to one row of A a scalar
times another row 0f A then |B| = |A|.

NOTE: We can use the above properties to determine the determinant of a square matrix
A as below.
Using row operations to calculate the determinant
These operations are used to reduce the given matrix to a triangular form (either upper or
lower) and then the product of the principal diagonal is obtained to give the determinant.

Elementary row operations Effect on the determinant

Ri ↔ Rj Changes the sign of the determinant
Ri → cRi Multiplies the determinant by c
Ri + kRj → Ri No effect on the determinant

Examples
Use the elementary row operations to find the determinant of the following matrices

 
2 1 3 1
 
 1 0 1 1 
1. A =  
 0 2 1 0 
 
0 1 2 3

Solution
By interchanging rows

2 1 3 1 1 0 1 1
1 0 1 1 2 1 3 1
=−
0 2 1 0 0 2 1 0
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

R2 − 2R1 → R2

12
 1 0 1 1
0 1 1 −1
−
0 2 1 0
0 1 2 3

R3 − 2R2 → R3 , R4 − R2 → R4

1 0 1 1
0 1 1 −1
−
0 0 −1 2
0 0 1 4

R4 + R3 → R4

1 0 1 1
0 1 1 −1
−
0 0 −1 2
0 0 0 6

|A| = −(1)(1)(−1)(6) = 6

 
2 4 −2 6
 
 1 2 5 4 
2. A = 
 1 1 2 4 

 
0 2 −6 3

Solution

2 4 −2 6 1 2 −1 3
1 2 5 4 1 2 5 4
=2
1 1 2 4 1 1 2 4
0 2 −6 3 0 2 −6 3

R2 − R1 → R2 , R3 − R1 → R3

13
 1 2 −1 3 1 2 −1 3
0 0 6 1 0 −1 3 1
2 = −2
0 −1 3 1 0 0 6 1
0 2 −6 3 0 2 −6 3

R4 + 2R1 → R4

1 2 −1 3
0 −1 3 1
−2
0 0 6 1
0 0 0 5

|A| = −2(1)(−1)(6)(5) = 60

Inverses of square matrices

Definition
A square matrix B is said to be an inverse of a square matrix A if AB = BA = I.
This matrix is usually denoted by A−1 and it is of the same order as A.
An inverse of a matrix can be obtained by the

1. Method of elementary row operations

2. Adjoint method

3. Direct method

Method of elementary row operations Steps

1. Create the augmented matrix [A|I] where A is an n × n matrix to be inverted and

I an n × n identity matrix.

2. Apply elementary row operations on [A|I] to transform A to row reduced form.

3. If the row reduced form of A has zero element along the main diagonal, stop (it
implies that A has no inverse). Otherwise continue.

4. Use the elementary row operations on the augmented matrix to transform the left
partition to an n × n identity matrix.

14
 5. The right partition of the final augmented matrix is the inverse of A.

Examples

1. Find the inverse of the matrix

!
1 2
A=
3 4

Solution
" # " # " # " #
1 2 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 0 −2 1
[A|1] = ∼ ∼ 3
∼
3 4 0 1 0 −2 −3 1 0 1 2
− 21 0 1 3
2
− 12

" #
−2 1
A−1 = 3
2
− 12

2. Find the inverse of matrix

 
0 1 1
 
A=  1 1 1 

1 1 3

Solution
     
0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0
     
[A|1] = 
 1 1 1 ∼ 0 1 1
0 1 0  ∼ 0 1 1
1 0 0  1 0 0
 

1 1 3 0 0 1 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 −1 1
     
1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 −1 1 0 1 0 0 −1 1 0
     
1
∼
 0 1 1 1 0 ∼ 0 1 1
0   1 0 ∼ 0 1 0
0   1 2
− 21 

0 0 1 0 − 21 1
2
0 0 1 0 − 12 1
2
0 0 1 0 − 12 1
2

15
  
−1 1 0
−1
 
A = 1 1 1 

2
− 2 
1 1
0 −2 2

 
1 −1 2
 
EER: Show that matrix A = 
 3 −3 1  has no inverse.

3 −3 1

The adjoint method

Theorem 2. Let A be a square matrix and I the identity matrix of the same order as A.
Then adj(A)A = |A|I.

6 0 then A−1 =
Corollary 1. If A is a square matrix and |A| = 1
|A|
adj(A).

Proof. Note that

adj(A)A = |A|I ⇔ 1
|A|
adj(A)A =I⇔ 1
|A|
adj(A)AA−1 = IA−1 ⇔ 1
|A|
adj(A) = A−1

 
1 1 −1
 
EER: Find the inverse of matrix A = 
 0 0  using the adjoint method.
1 
2 1 2

16