IE 171 De Franza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

Determinants 1.6

Determinant of a 2x2 Matrix The determinant of the matrix = , denoted by of det(), is given by =det = = . A 2x2 matrix is invertible if and only if its determinant is nonzero.

DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

Examples: Determinant of a 2x2 Matrix

DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

Determinant of a 3x3 Matrix The determinant of the matrix

11 = 21 31 12 22 32 13 23 33
23 21 33 + 13 31 22 32

is
= 11 22 32 23 21 33 12 31

DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

Determinant of a 3x3 Matrix

The computation of the 3x3 determinant takes the form
= 11 12 + 13

where the first 2x2 determinant is obtained by deleting the

first row and first column, the second by deleting the first row and second column, and the third by deleting the first row and third column. This is called expansion along the first row. One may also choose to expand along the second row, or the third row.
DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

Example: Determinant of a 3x3 Matrix

DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

Minors and Cofactors of a Matrix

If is a square matrix, then the minor , associated

with the entry , is the determinant of the 1 ( 1) matrix obtained by deleting row and column from the matrix .

The cofactor of is = (1)+ . Using this notation, the determinant of is

= 11 11 + 12 12 + 13 13 Example.
DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

Minors and Cofactors of a Matrix

If is a square matrix, then the minor , associated

with the entry , is the determinant of the 1 ( 1) matrix obtained by deleting row and column from the matrix .

The cofactor of is = (1)+ . Using this notation, the determinant of is

= 11 11 + 12 12 + 13 13 Example.
DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

Determinant of a Square Matrix If A is an matrix, then det = 11 11 + 12 12 + + 1 1

=
=1

1 1

Similar to the situation for 3x3 matrices, the determinant of any square matrix can be found by expanding along any row or column.
DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

Theorem 12
Let be an matrix. Then the determinant of equals the cofactor expansion along any row or any column of the matrix. That is, for every = 1, , and = 1, , ,

det = 1 1 + 2 2 + + = and
=1

det = 1 1 + 2 2 + + =
.
=1

DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

10

Triangular Matrices
An matrix is upper triangular if

= 0 for all >

and is lower triangular if

= 0 for <
A square matrix is a diagonal matrix if

= 0 for all
DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

11

Some Upper Triangular Matrices

1.

2.

3.

2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0

4 9 6 4 0 9 0 5 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 5 1
12

DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

Some Lower Triangular Matrices

1. 2.

3.

1 1 2 0 1 1 0 1 0

0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 1

0 0 2 0 0 1 3

0 0 0 1
13

DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

Theorem 13: Determinant of a Triangular Matrix

If is an triangular matrix, then the determinant of is the product of the terms on the diagonal. That is, det = 11 22
Proof on p. 57.

DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

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Theorem 14: Properties of Determinants

Let be a square matrix. 1. If two rows of are interchanged to produce a matrix , then det = det 2. If a multiple of one row of is added to another row to produce a matrix , then det = det 3. If a row of is multiplied by a real number to produce a matrix , then det = det
DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

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Examples

DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

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Theorem 15: Properties of Determinants

Let and be matrices and a real number: 1. The determinant computation is multiplicative. That is, det = det det 2. det = det 3. det = det 4. If has a row (or column) of all zeros, then det = 0 5. If has two equal rows (or columns), then det = 0 6. If has a row (or column) that is a multiple of another row (or column), then det = 0.
DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

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Theorem 16: Invertible Matrix A square matrix is invertible if and only if det 0.
Proof on p. 60.

DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

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Corollary 1 Let be an invertible matrix. Then 1 det 1 = det()

DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

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Theorem 17
Let be a square matrix. Then the following statements are equivalent. 1. The matrix is invertible. 2. The linear system = has a unique solution for every vector . 3. The homogeneous linear system = has only the trivial solution. 4. The matrix is row equivalent to the identity matrix. 5. The determinant of the matrix is nonzero.
DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

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Cramers Rule
Let be an invertible matrix, and let be a column vector with components. Let be the matrix obtained by replacing the th column of with . If
1 2 =

is the unique solution to the linear system

= , then =
Proof on p. 63.
DeFranza & Gagliardi, Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications, McGraw-Hill 2009

det( ) det()

for = 1,2, ,

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