Linear Algebra : Operations and Properties

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Linear Algebra

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Example Questions

Example Question #14 : The Determinant

 is a five-by-five matrix with determinant 100.

Give the determinant of .

Possible Answers:

More information is needed to find the determinant of .

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The transpose of a square matrix has the same determinant as the original matrix, so

.

Example Question #11 : The Determinant

Given: a matrix  such that .

Give .

Possible Answers:

More information is needed to answer the question.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The determinant of the transpose of a matrix is equal to that of the original matrix; the determinant of the inverse of a matrix is equal to the reciprocal of that of the original matrix. Therefore, 

 .

Example Question #21 : The Determinant

Consider the matrix 

Calculate the cofactor  of this matrix.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The cofactor  of a matrix , by definition, is equal to 

,

where  is the minor of the matrix - the determinant of the matrix formed when Row  and Column  of  are struck out. Therefore, we first find the minor  of the matrix  by striking out Row 2 and Column 1 of  , as shown in the diagram below:

Minor

The minor is therefore equal to 

This is equal to the product of the upper-left and lower-right elements minus the product of the upper-right to lower-right elements, which is

Setting  and  in the definition of the cofactor, the formula becomes 

,

so

.

Example Question #22 : The Determinant

Consider the system of linear equations:

By Cramer's rule, which of the following expressions is equal to ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

It will help if we rewrite the system so that the "missing" term in each equation is replaced with a term with a coefficient of zero:

By Cramer's Rule,  is equal to the fraction of the determinants of two matrices. The denominator is the determinant of the matrix of coefficients:

The numerator is the determinant of the matrix formed by replacing the first column (the -coefficients) by the constants at the right of the equality symbols:

The correct choice is therefore the expression

.

Example Question #23 : The Determinant

 and  are both matrices with nonzero determinant .

Evaluate . If applicable, give the determinant in terms of .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The determinant of the transpose of a matrix is equal to that of the original matrix; therefore, .

The determinant of the inverse of a matrix is equal to the reciprocal of that of the determinant of the original matrix; therefore, .

The determinant of the product of two matrices is equal to the product of the determinants of the individual matrices, so 

.

Example Question #24 : The Determinant

Consider the matrix 

.

Give cofactor  of this matrix.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The minor of a matrix  is the determinant of the matrix formed by striking out Row  and Column . By definition, the corresponding cofactor  can be calculated from this minor using the formula

To find cofactor , we first find minor  by striking out Row 2 and Column 3, as follows:

Minor

 is equal to the determinant 

which is found by taking the product of the upper left and lower right entries and subtracting that of the other two entries:

In the cofactor equation, set :

Example Question #25 : The Determinant

Consider the matrix 

.

Give cofactor  of this matrix.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The minor of a matrix  is the determinant of the matrix formed by striking out Row  and Column . By definition, the corresponding cofactor  can be calculated from this minor using the formula

To find cofactor , we first find minor  by striking out Row 3 and Column 3, as follows:

Minor

 is equal to the determinant

which is found by taking the product of the upper left and lower right entries and subtracting that of the other two entries:

In the cofactor equation, set :

 

Example Question #26 : The Determinant

The determinant of a three-by-three matrix  is 3. Give the determinant of .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The determinant of the scalar product of  and an  matrix  is

.

Set ,

Example Question #27 : The Determinant

The determinant of  is 2. Give the determinant of .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

 is the same matrix as , except each entry in one row (the third row) of  has been multiplied by the same scalar, 2. This has the effect of multiplying that determinant by that scalar. Therefore,

.

Example Question #28 : The Determinant

.

The determinant of  is equal to 5. True or false: the determinant of  is also 5.

Possible Answers:

False

True

Correct answer:

False

Explanation:

 is obtained from  by switching one of its rows with another. This makes the determinant of  equal to the additive inverse of that of . Since  has determinant 5,  has determinant .

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