17.

Matrix Algebra (2): Determinants

Tony U
University of Macau

Outline

1 Determinants of 2 2 and 3 3 Matrices

2 Determinants of 3 3 Matrices
3 Cofactor Expansion Method (Making Use of Minors)
4 Finding the Determinant Using Cofactors
5 Properties of Determinants

Determinants of 2 2 and 3 3 Matrices

Determinants of 2 2 and 3 3 Matrices

Determinant: a real number, is only defined for square
matrices
Notation: det(A) = = |A|
For a 1 1 matrix A = [a], det(A) = a
For a 2 2 matrix A = [aij ]22 ,

 a b
det(A) = 
c d
-1-



 = ad bc.


Determinants of 2 2 and 3 3 Matrices

Example 1.

Let A =

2 4
1 2

and B =


2 1
. Determine det(A) and
0 0

det(B).

-2-

Determinants of 2 2 and 3 3 Matrices

Example 1.

Let A =

2 4
1 2

and B =


2 1
. Determine det(A) and
0 0

det(B).
Sol.:
det(A) = 2 2 4 1 = 0
det(B) = 2 0 1 0 = 0

-2-

Determinants of 2 2 and 3 3 Matrices

Example 2.



1 2
1 2
. Prove that
and D =
Let C =
1 2
3 1
det(CD) = det(C ) det(D).


-3-

Determinants of 2 2 and 3 3 Matrices

Example 2.



1 2
1 2
. Prove that
and D =
Let C =
1 2
3 1
det(CD) = det(C ) det(D).


Sol.: First
CD =

1 2
3 1



1 2
1 2

1 6
2 8

det(CD) = 1 8 6 2 = 20
det(C ) = 1 1 2 3 = 5
det(D) = 1 2 2 1 = 4,
therefore
det(CD) = det(C ) det(D) = (5)(4) = 20
-3-

Determinants of 3 3 Matrices

Determinants of 3 3 Matrices

For a 3 3 matrix A = [aij ]33 ,


 a11 a12 a13

det(A) =  a21 a22 a23
 a31 a32 a33

=a11 a22 a33 + a12 a23 a31 + a13 a21 a32

a13 a22 a31 a12 a21 a33 a11 a23 a32

-4-

Determinants of 3 3 Matrices

A simple way to remember the above sum is

a11

a12

a13

a11

a12

a21

a22

a23

a21

a22
= p1 + p2 + p3 q1 q2 q3

q1

a31

a32

q2

q3

a33

a31

a32

p1

p2

p3

The above method is called the Sarruss Rule or Sarrus Expansion.

-5-

Determinants of 3 3 Matrices

Example 3.

4 2 1
Given a 3 3 matrix A = 3 4 7 , determine det(A) using
1 2 3
Sarruss Rule.

Determinants of 3 3 Matrices

Example 3.

4 2 1
Given a 3 3 matrix A = 3 4 7 , determine det(A) using
1 2 3
Sarruss Rule.
Sol.:

56

18

48

14

det(A) = 48 + 14 + 6 4 56 18 = 10
-6-

Cofactor Expansion Method (Making Use of Minors)

Minors

The Sarruss rule can not be applied to 4 4 or higher order

matrices
The determinants of 4 4 or higher order matrices could be
found by using cofactor expansion
For A = [aij ], the minor of the element/entry aij is the
determinant of the submatrix that remains after row i and
column j are deleted from A

-7-

Cofactor Expansion Method (Making Use of Minors)

Example 4.

4 2 1
Given a 3 3 matrix A = 3 4 7 , determine
1 2 3
a. The minor of a32 .
b. The minor of a22 .

-8-

Cofactor Expansion Method (Making Use of Minors)

Sol.: (a) The minor of a32 is



4 1
det
= 4(7) 1(3) = 25
3 7

-9-

Cofactor Expansion Method (Making Use of Minors)

Sol.: (a) The minor of a32 is



4 1
det
= 4(7) 1(3) = 25
3 7
(b) The minor of a22 is


4 1
det
= 4(3) 1(1) = 11
1 3

-9-

Cofactor Expansion Method (Making Use of Minors)

Cofactors
The cofactor aij or cij is the product of (1)i +j and the minor
of aij . [That is: aij = (1)i +j Minor of aij ]
A quick way for determining whether to use the + or sign
that relating the minor and the corresponding cofactor:

+ + +
+ +

+ + +

+ +

.. .. .. .. ..
. . . . .

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Cofactor Expansion Method (Making Use of Minors)

Example 5.

4 2 1
Given a 3 3 matrix A = 3 4 7 , determine
1 2 3
a. The cofactor of a32 .

b. The cofactor of a22 .

-11-

Cofactor Expansion Method (Making Use of Minors)

Example 5.

4 2 1
Given a 3 3 matrix A = 3 4 7 , determine
1 2 3
a. The cofactor of a32 .

b. The cofactor of a22 .

= (1)3+2 25 = 25
Sol.: (a) a32

-11-

Cofactor Expansion Method (Making Use of Minors)

Example 5.

4 2 1
Given a 3 3 matrix A = 3 4 7 , determine
1 2 3
a. The cofactor of a32 .

b. The cofactor of a22 .

= (1)3+2 25 = 25
Sol.: (a) a32
= (1)2+2 11 = 11
(b) a22

-11-

Finding the Determinant Using Cofactors

Finding the Determinant Using Cofactors

The determinant of an n n matrix A can be computed by
multiplying the entries in any row (or column) by their
cofactors and adding the resulting products; that is, for each
1 i n, 1 j n,
Cofactor expansion along the jth column:
det(A) = a1j c1j + a2j c2j + + anj cnj
Cofactor expansion along the i th row:
det(A) = ai 1 ci 1 + ai 2 ci 2 + + ain cin

-12-

Finding the Determinant Using Cofactors

Example 6.

2
0
Find |A| using cofactors expansion if A =
0
1

-13-

0
1
0
2

0
0
1
3

1
3
.
2
0

Finding the Determinant Using Cofactors

Sol.: Method 1, using cofactor expansion along the 1st row,





 1 0 3 
 0 1 0 




det(A) =2(1)1+1  0 1 2  + 1(1)1+4  0 0 1 
 2 3 0 
 1 2 3 
=2(6 6) 1(1) = 25

Method 2, using cofactor expansion along the 2rd column,




 2 0 1 
 2 0 1



2+2 
4+2 

det(A) =1(1)
 0 1 2  + 2(1)
 0 0 3
 1 3 0 
 0 1 2
=1(1 12) + 2(6) = 25

-14-

Properties of Determinants

Properties of Determinants: (Let A be any n n matrix)

a. det(AT ) = det(A)
b. If B is the matrix that results when a single row of A is
multiplied by a constant k, then det(B) = k det(A)
c. If k is a constant, then det(kA) = k n det(A)
d. If B is the matrix that results when two rows of A are
interchanged, then det(B) = det(A)
e. If B is the matrix that results when a multiple of one row of A
is added to another row, then det(B) = det(A)

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Properties of Determinants

f. If A contains a row of zeros, then det(A) = 0

g. If two rows of A are identical, det(A) = 0
h. If one row of A is a multiple of another row, det(A) = 0
i. If A is an n n triangular matrix (upper triangular or lower
triangular), then det(A) is the product of the entries on the
main diagonal
j. If A and B are square matrices of the same size, then
det(AB) = det(A) det(B)
Remark: By property (a), properties of determinants with respect
to rows also hold respect to columns.
-16-

Properties of Determinants

Example 7.

2 0 0 1
0 1 0 3

Let A =
0 0 1 2 . Use property (e) in the above to
1 2 3 0
transform A into a triangular matrix. Then use property (i) to find
the determinant of triangular matrix, and hence find det(A).

-17-

Properties of Determinants

Sol.: 0.5 times the


 2

 0
det(A) = 
 0
 1

1st row and adds

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

it to the 4th row,


0 0
1 
1 0
3 
0 1
2 
2 3 0.5 

-2 tims the 2nd row and adds it to the 4th

and adds it to the 4th row
 

  2
 2 0 0
1
 

 0 1 0
3   0

=
=
2   0
 0 0 1
 0 0 3 6.5   0

row, -3 times 3rd row

0
1
0
0

0
1
0
3
1
2
0 12.5

using property (i), det(A) = 2(1)(1)(12.5) = 25

-18-