Linear Algebra : The Hessian

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Linear Algebra

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Example Questions

Example Question #31 : The Hessian

Let

Which of the following does not appear in the Hessian matrix of ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The Hessian matrix of is the matrix of partial second derivatives

To identify which choice does not give an entry of the matrix, we need to find all nine partial derivatives; however, since , and , we need only find six such derivatives. They are as follows:

 

 

 

Of the five given choices, only is not one of the partial second derivatives. This is the correct choice.

Example Question #32 : The Hessian

Let .

Find the Hessian matrix .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The Hessian matrix is the matrix of partial second derivatives

.

can be rewritten as

, then

This makes the partial second derivatives easier to find.

 

 

The Hessian matrix for is

Example Question #33 : The Hessian

Consider the function .

Which of the following expressions does not appear twice in the Hessian matrix of ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The Hessian matrix is the matrix of partial second derivatives

.

Since , we only need to find six partial second derivatives and compare them to the five choices.

 

 

As stated before,

,

so all three expressions will appear twice in the Hessian matrix.

Also note that

,

so this expression appears twice as well.

,

however, only appears once. This is the correct choice.

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