M 221-03 – Second Midterm Review Key – Fall 2017

1. Give the definitions:

(a) What is the space Rn ?

Solution: The space of all n-vectors (x1 , . . . , xn ).

(b) What is a subspace of Rn ?

Solution: A space of vectors containing the zero vector which is closed under addition
and scalar multiplication, i.e., whenever the space contains v and w, it also contains
v + w and all scalar multiples cv.

(c) What is the column space C(A) of a matrix A?

Solution: The space of all linear combinations of the columns of A.

(d) What is the nullspace N (A) of a matrix A?

Solution: The space of all vectors x which solve the equation Ax = 0.

2. Consider the matrix  

1 2 2 4 6
1 2 3 6 9
A=
0

0 2 2 4
1 2 0 2 2
(a) Find the reduced row echelon form R of A.

Solution:  
1 2 0 0 0
0 0 1 0 1
R=
0

0 0 1 1
0 0 0 0 0

(b) Find the rank of A.

Solution: r = 3.

(c) Find bases and dimensions for the four subspaces associated with A.

Solution: Dimensions are dim C(A) = dim C(AT ) = 3, dim N (A) = 2, dim N (AT ) =
1.
M 221-03 Second Midterm Review Key Page 2 of 4

Bases are
     
1 2 4
1 3 6
C(A) :  0 , 2 , 2 (Pivot columns of A)
    

1 0 2
     
1 0 0
2 0 0
C(AT ) : 
     
0 , 1 , 0 (Pivot rows of R)
    
0 0 1
0 1 1
   
−2 0
 1  0
   
N (A) :  0 , −1 (special solutions)
  
 0 −1
0 1
 
−1
0
N (AT ) :  T

 1 (special solutions for A )


For the left nullspace I did elimination on the transpose of AT to get

   
1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1
2 2 0 2
 elimination 0 1 0 0

T
 
A = 2 3 2 0 −−−−−−−→ 0 0 1 −1
  

4 6 2 2 0 0 0 0
6 9 4 2 0 0 0 0

3. Consider the following system of linear equations:

2x + y + 2z = b1
4x + 3z = b2
2y + z = b3

(a) Write this in matrix form as Ax = b.

Solution:     
2 1 2 x b1
4 0 3 y  = b2 
0 2 1 z b3

 
(b) Perform elimination on the augmented matrix A b .
M 221-03 Second Midterm Review Key Page 3 of 4

Solution:
     
2 1 2 b1 2 1 2 b1 2 1 2 b1
4 0 3 b2 → 0 −2 −1
  b2 − 2b1 → 0 −2 −1
  b2 − 2b1 
0 2 1 b3 0 2 1 b3 0 0 0 b3 + b2 − 2b1

(c) Under what condition on b1 , b2 , and b3 is this system solvable?

Solution: b3 + b2 − 2b1 = 0

(d) Find the complete solution of Ax = b for b = (1, 1, 1).

Solution: By part (b), the row echelon form of the augmented matrix for b1 = b2 =
b3 = 1 is  
2 1 2 1
0 −2 −1 −1
0 0 0 0
This gives the particular solution (free variable x3 = 0)
 
1/4
xp = 1/2
0

and the nullspace has a basis consisting of one special solution

 
−3/4
s = −1/2
1

so the complete solution is

   
1/4 −3/4
x = xp + cs = 1/2 + c −1/2 .
0 1

4. True or false? Justify your answers.

(a) If a matrix A has full row rank, then Ax = b always has a solution.

Solution: True, because the row echelon form has no zero rows.

(b) If a matrix A has full column rank, then Ax = b always has a solution.
   
1 0
Solution: False, counterexample A = has rank 1, but Ax = has no solution
0 1
M 221-03 Second Midterm Review Key Page 4 of 4

 
0
because b = is not in the column space.
1

(c) If A is a 3 by 4 matrix, then the rows of A are always linearly dependent.

 
1 0 0 0
Solution: False, because there might be a pivot in every row, e.g. A = 0 1 0 0.
0 0 1 0

(d) If A is a 4 by 3 matrix, then the rows of A are always linearly dependent.

Solution: True, because there are 4 rows, but at most 3 pivots, since there can not
be more than 1 pivot in every column.

(e) A matrix A and its reduced row echelon form R have the same column space.
   
1 1
Solution: False, counterexample A = has R = . Here the column space of A
1 0
is the line x = y, whereas the column space of R is the x-axis, i.e., the line y = 0.

(f) A matrix A and its reduced row echelon form R have the same row space.

Solution: True, because row operations do not change the row space.

(g) A matrix A and its reduced row echelon form R have the same nullspace.

Solution: True, because row operations do not change the solutions to Ax = 0.

(h) If AT = A, then the row space of A equals the column space.

Solution: True, because the row space of A is the column space of AT .

(i) If the row space of A equals the column space, then AT = A.

 
1 1
Solution: False, counterexample A = is invertible, so both row and column
0 1
 
2 T 1 0
space are R . However, A is not symmetric, since A = 6 A.
=
1 1
 M 221-03 – Third Midterm Review Key – Fall 2017

1. Give the definitions:

(a) What does it mean for vectors v and w to be orthogonal ?

Solution: v · w = 0.

(b) What does it mean for subspaces V and W to be orthogonal ?

Solution: v · w = 0 for all v 2 V and w 2 W .

(c) What is an eigenvector of a matrix A?

Solution: A non-zero vector x with Ax = x (where the number is the

corresponding eigenvalue.)

(d) What is an eigenvalue of a matrix A?

Solution: A number for which a non-zero vector x with Ax = x exists.

(Here x is a corresponding eigenvector.)

2. Suppose S is spanned by the vectors (2, 1, 2, 3) and (3, 1, 3, 2). Find a basis for the
orthogonal complement S ? . (Hint: If you put these two vectors as rows into a matrix
A, which of the four subspaces of A would be S, and which one would be its orthogonal
complement S ? ?)

Solution: Following the hint, and doing an elimination step, we get

 
2 1 2 3 2 1 2 3
A= ! .
3 1 3 2 0 1/2 0 5/2

The row space C(AT ) is S, and its orthogonal complement is the nullspace N (A). A
basis for the nullspace is given by the special solutions, which from the row echelon
form come out as s1 = ( 1, 0, 1, 0) and s2 = (1, 5, 0, 1). These two vectors form a
basis for S ? .

3. Find the projection matrix P onto the plane x 2y z = 0. (Hint: Find two linearly
independent vectors in this plane, make them the columns of a matrix A, and then find
P = A(AT A) 1 AT .)
M 221-03 Third Midterm Review Key Page 2 of 4

⇥ ⇤
Solution: This plane is the nullspace of B = 1 2 1 , and two linearly inde-
pendent vectors are given by the special solutions s1 = (2, 1, 0) and s2 = (1, 0, 1),
which leads to the matrix 2 3
2 1
A = 4 1 05
0 1
We first find 2 3
 2 1 
T 2 1 0 4 5 5 2
A A= 1 0 =
1 0 1 2 2
0 1
with inverse (using the formula for the inverse of a 2 by 2 matrix)

T 1 1 2 2
(A A) =
6 2 5

and projection matrix

2 3
2 1  
T 1 T 14 5 2 2 2 1 0
P = A(A A) A = 1 0
6 2 5 1 0 1
0 1
2 3 2 3
2 1  5 2 1
14 2 1 0 1
= 2 25 = 42 2 25
6 1 0 1 6
2 5 1 2 5

4. Use row operations to simplify and compute the determinant

2 3
101 201 301
det 4102 202 3025
103 203 303

Solution: Elimination is not really practical for this matrix without a calculator,
but adding or subtracting multiples of one row to or from another never changes the
determinant, so we can subtract the first row from both the second and third row
without changing the determinant, so it is
2 3 2 3
101 201 301 101 201 301
det 4 1 1 1 5 = det 4 1 1 1 5=0
2 2 2 0 0 0

where in the second step we subtracted twice the second row from the third, and
then used the fact that a matrix with a zero row (or a zero column) always has
determinant zero.
M 221-03 Third Midterm Review Key Page 3 of 4

5. Find the following determinant by a suitably chosen cofactor expansion. (Pick a row or
column with lots of zeros for the expansion, repeat with the resulting 3 by 3 determi-
nant(s).) 2 3
1 5 0 2
60 3 4 57
det 6
45 4
7
0 35
2 0 0 1

Solution:
1 5 2 ✓ ◆
5 2 1 5
= 4 5 4 3 = 4 2 + = 4 (2(15 8) + 4 25) = 28
4 3 5 4
2 0 1

where the first step is expansion by the third column (which has only one non-zero
entry), followed by expanding the 3 by 3 matrix by the third row.

6. A matrix A is called skew-symmetric if it satisfies AT = A.

(a) Find a skew-symmetric 2 by 2 matrix A with non-zero determinant |A| =
6 0.

Solution:Lots of possible examples, any skew-symmetric 2 by 2 matrix has the

0 b
form A = with |A| = b2 > 0 whenever b 6= 0.
b 0

(b) Show that every skew-symmetric 3 by 3 matrix A has zero determinant |A| = 0.

Solution: We know that in general |A| = |AT |, and in this special skew-
symmetric 3 by 3 case |AT | = | A| = ( 1)3 |A| = |A|. Combining these
gives |A| = |A|, and the only possible solution to this is |A| = 0.

7. Find the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of


2 1
A=
1 2

Solution: Eigenvalues are roots of

2 1
|A I| = = (2 )2 1 = 0,
1 2

which has solutions = 2 ± 1, i.e., 1 = 3 and 2 = 1.

M 221-03 Third Midterm Review Key Page 4 of 4

Eigenvector for 1 = 3 is special solution for


1 1
A 3I =
1 1

given by x1 = (1, 1).

Eigenvector for 2 = 1 is special solution for

1 1
A I=
1 1

given by x2 = ( 1, 1).

8. True or false? Justify your answers.

(a) The row space C(AT ) of a matrix A is always orthogonal to the null space N (A).

Solution: True, from the Fundamental Theorem of Linear Algebra, Part 2.

(b) The column space C(A) of a matrix A is always orthogonal to the null space N (A).

Solution: False, one counterexample is


0 1
A= ,
0 0

where both the column space and the nullspace are spanned by (1, 0), i.e., both
of them are the x-axis, so they are not orthogonal.

(c) If an n by n matrix A has a zero determinant |A| = 0, then A has linearly dependent
rows.

Solution: True, determinant 0 means that the matrix is not invertible, so its
rank r must be smaller than n. This means that A does not have full row rank.

(d) If an n by n matrix A has a zero determinant |A| = 0, then A has linearly dependent
columns.

Solution: True, for basically the same reason. Determinant 0 means that the
matrix is not invertible, so its rank r must be smaller than n. This means that
A does not have full column rank.
 M 221-03 – Final Exam Review – Fall 2017

1. Vectors, unit vectors, inner products, lengths.

(a) Compute the length of the vector (1, 3, 5).
√ √
Solution: 12 + 3 2 + 5 2 = 35.

(b) Compute the inner product between the vectors (1, 3, 5) and (−4, 2, 6).

Solution: 1 · (−4) + 3 · 2 + 5 · 6 = −4 + 6 + 30 = 32.

(c) What is cos(θ) of θ the angle between the two vectors (1, 3, 5) and (−4, 2, 6)?

Solution:
(1, 3, 5) · (−4, 2, 6) 32 32
cos θ = =√ p =√ √
k(1, 3, 5)k k(−4, 2, 6)k 2 2
35 (−4) + 2 + 6 2 35 56

(d) What is a unit vector?

Solution: A vector of length 1.

(e) Give all possible a (if any exist) such that the vectors (a, 1) and (−1, 5) are
i. orthogonal

Solution: Equation is 0 = (a, 1) · (−1, 5) = −a + 5, so a = 5 makes the vectors

orthogonal.

ii. parallel

Solution: The vectors are parallel if they are multiples of each other, so the
equation is (−1, 5) = λ(a, 1) = (−λa, λ). This gives λ = 5 and a = −1/5 as the
only solution.

(f) What is the definition of linear independence of a set of vectors?

Solution: Vectors v1 , . . . , vn are linearly independent if the only way to write zero as
a linear combination 0 = c1 v1 + . . . + cn vn is with all coefficients zero, i.e., c1 = . . . =
cn = 0.

(g) Consider the following sets of vectors and determine whether they are linearly dependent
or independent, and whether they span a point, line, plane, or the entire 3-space:
i. (1, 3, 5)

Solution: Linearly independent, spans a line.

M 221-03 Final Exam Review Page 2 of 10

ii. (1, 3, 5) and (−4, 2, 6)

Solution: Linearly independent, span a plane.

iii. (1, 3, 5) and (0, 0, 0)

Solution: Linearly dependent, span a line.

iv. (1, 3, 5), (−4, 2, 6), and (5, 1, −1)

Solution: Check for linear independence by putting vectors into a matrix and
eliminating:
     
1 −4 5 1 −4 5 1 −4 5
3 2 1  −→ 0 14 −14 −→ 0 14 −14
5 6 −1 0 26 −26 0 0 0

So the rank of the matrix is 2, the vectors are linearly dependent, and they span
a plane.

v. (1, 3, 5), (−4, 2, 6), (5, 1, −4), and (4, 7, 5)

Solution: Since these are 4 vectors in R3 , they must be linearly dependent. To

determine what kind of subspace they span, we again put them into a matrix and
find its rank by elimination.
     
1 −4 5 4 1 −4 5 4 1 −4 5 4
3 2 1 7 −→ 0 14 −14 −5  −→ 0 14 −14 −5 
5 6 −4 5 0 26 −26 −15 0 0 0 −15 + 5 · 26/14

The last entry in this matrix after elimination is not zero, so we have 3 pivots,
the rank of the matrix is 3, and they span the whole space R3 .

2. Gaussian elimination. Consider the linear system

2x1 − 2x2 = −2
x1 − 4x2 + 2x3 = −9
3x1 + 3x3 = 0

(a) Give the matrix A and vector b such that Ax = b encodes the above problem.

Solution:    
2 −2 0 −2
A = 1 −4 2 and b = −9
3 0 3 0

(b) Perform elimination to find an equivalent problem U x = c. Mark the 3 pivots.

M 221-03 Final Exam Review Page 3 of 10

Solution:
     
2 −2 0 −2 2 −2 0 −2 2 −2 0 −2
1 −4 2 −9 −→ 0 −3 2 −8 −→ 0 −3 2 −8
3 0 3 0 0 3 3 3 0 0 5 −5

(c) Solve this equivalent system by back substitution.

Solution: Last equation is 5x3 = −5, so x3 = −1. Second equation is −3x2 + 2x3 =
−8, so x2 = −8−2x
−3
3
= 2. First equation is 2x1 − 2x2 = −2, so x1 = −2+2x
2
2
= 3. This
gives the solution x = (1, 2, −1).

(d) Verify that the solution of the equivalent system truly solves the original Ax = b.

Solution:
      
2 −2 0 1 2 · 1 − 2 · 2 + 0 · (−1) −2
Ax = 1 −4 2  2  = 1 · 1 − 4 · 2 + 2 · (−1) = −9
3 0 3 −1 3 · 1 − 0 · 2 + 3 · (−1) 0

3. Gauss-Jordan. Consider the linear system (same as above)

2x1 − 2x2 = −2
x1 − 4x2 + 2x3 = −9
3x1 + 3x3 = 0
   
(a) Form the augmented matrix A b and perform Gauss-Jordan elimination towards I x .

Solution: First elimination steps are the same as above, so we continue from the
result of Gauss elimination and eliminate above the pivots, and divide by the pivots
at the end.
       
2 −2 0 −2 2 −2 0 −2 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 1
0 −3 2 −8 −→ 0 −3 0 −6 −→ 0 −3 0 −6 −→ 0 1 0 2 
0 0 5 −5 0 0 5 −5 0 0 5 −5 0 0 1 −1

 
(b) Now, instead, perform Gauss-Jordan elimination of the augmented matrix A I to get
I A−1


     
2 −2 0 1 0 0 2 −2 0 1 0 0 2 −2 0 1 0 0
1 −4 2 0 1 0 −→ 0 −3 2 −1/2 1 0 −→ 0 −3 2 −1/2 1 0 −→
3 0 3 0 0 1 0 3 3 −3/2 0 1 0 0 5 −2 1 1
   
2 −2 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 4/5 −2/5 4/15
0 −3 0 3/10 3/5 −2/5 −→ 0 −3 0 3/10 3/5 −2/5
0 0 5 −2 1 1 0 0 5 −2 1 1
M 221-03 Final Exam Review Page 4 of 10

and dividing by the pivots gives

 
1 0 0 2/5 −1/5 2/15
0 1 0 −1/10 −1/5 2/15
0 0 1 −2/5 1/5 1/5

(c) Find x = A−1 b.

Solution:
      
2/5 −1/5 2/15 −2 2/5 · (−2) − 1/5 · (−9) + 2/15 · 0 1
x = −1/10 −1/5 2/15 −9 = −1/10 · (−2) − 1/5 · (−9) + 2/15 · 0 =  2 
−2/5 1/5 1/5 0 −2/5 · (−2) + 1/5 · (−9) + 1/5 · 0 −1

4. A = LU decomposition. Consider the linear system (same as above)

2x1 − 2x2 = −2
x1 − 4x2 + 2x3 = −9
3x1 + 3x3 = 0

(a) Perform LU-decomposition of the matrix A.

Solution: U is just the upper triangular matrix obtained by Gauss elimination above.
The matrix L has the multipliers from Gauss elimination in the corresponding spots,
with signs reversed, and 1’s on the diagonal, i.e.,
   
1 0 0 2 −2 0
L = 1/2 1 0 and U = 0 −3 2
3/2 −1 1 0 0 5

(b) Check that A = LU !

Solution:     
1 0 0 2 −2 0 2 −2 0
LU = 1/2 1 0 0 −3 2 = 1 −4 2 = A
3/2 −1 1 0 0 5 3 0 3

(c) Given the RHS b, solve the system Ly = b by forward substitution

Solution: With b = (−2, −9, 0), the first equation is y1 = −2. The second equation is
1/2y1 + y2 = −9, so y2 = −9 − 1/2y1 = −8. The third equation is 3/2y1 − y2 + y3 = 0,
so y3 = −3/2y1 + y2 = 3 − 8 = −5. This shows that y = (−2, −8, −5).

(d) Then solve U x = y by backward substitution.

M 221-03 Final Exam Review Page 5 of 10

Solution: Starting with the last equation 5x3 = −5, we get x3 = −1. The second
equation is −3x2 +2x3 = −8, so x2 = −8−2x
−3
3
= 2. The first equation is 2x1 −2x2 = −2,
−2+2x2
so x1 = 2 = 1. Together this gives x = (1, 2, −1).

5. Vector spaces, 4 fundamental spaces, fundamental theorem of linear algebra, bases,

dimension.
(a) What is the rank of a matrix A?

Solution: The number of pivots (or the number of linearly independent columns or
rows.)

(b) If the m by n matrix A has rank r, then what are the dimensions of C(A), C(AT ), N (A),
and N (AT ), respectively?

Solution: dim C(A) = dim C(AT ) = r, dim N (A) = n − r, dim N (AT ) = m − r.

(c) Consider a d-dimensional subspace V of Rn . A set of linearly independent vectors that

span V is called a basis of V . What are the dimensions (number of rows and columns)
of a matrix whose columns represent such a basis? The basis multiplies vectors with how
many components?

Solution: The matrix would be an n by d matrix, i.e., with n rows and d columns.
It multiplies vectors (in the form Ax) with d components.

(d) A subset S of a vector space V is a subspace if ... and ...

Solution: It is is a subspace if it contains 0, and whenever v and w are vectors in S,

and c is any scalar, it also contains v + w and cv.

(e) A vector space always contains at least the ...-element

Solution: Zero.

(f) A vector v ∈ V is orthogonal to the subspace S if ...

Solution: v · w = 0 for all vectors w in S.

(g) The set of all vectors v ∈ V that are orthogonal to the subspace S form a ... which is
called ...

Solution: They form a subspace which is called the orthogonal complement of S,

denoted by S ⊥ .

(h) The orthogonal complement of C(A) is ..., and the orthogonal complement N (A)⊥ is ...
M 221-03 Final Exam Review Page 6 of 10

Solution: C(A)⊥ = N (AT ) and N (A)⊥ = C(AT ).

6. Row reduced echelon form (I). Consider the linear system (same as above)

2x1 − 2x2 = −2
x1 − 4x2 + 2x3 = −9
3x1 + 3x3 = 0

(a) Perform row-reduction to find the row-reduced echelon form R of A; apply the elimination
steps to the RHS b simultaneously to obtain the equivalent system Rx = c.

Solution: The row-reduced echelon form R is the identity matrix, obtained by Gauss-
Jordan elimination above in problem 3, obtaining R = I and c = (1, 2, −1).

(b) Find the dimension of, and a basis for the column space C(A).

Solution: Since the matrix is invertible, the column space is all of R3 , and a basis is
(1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (0, 0, 1).

(c) Find the dimension of, and a basis for the nullspace N (A).

Solution: The nullspace contains only the zero vector in this case, so the basis has
no elements at all. (The basis of the zero subspace is the empty set.)

(d) Find the complete solution to Ax = b.

Solution: In this case it is the unique solution given above, x = (1, 2, −1).

7. Row reduced echelon form (II). 

1 2 0 4 0
−1 −2 2 2 0
Consider the matrix A = 
2
 and its reduced row echelon form R =
4 0 8 6
1 2 −1 1 4
 
1 2 0 4 0
0 0 1 3 0
0 0 0 0 1.
 

0 0 0 0 0
(a) Find the dimension of, and a basis for the column space C(A).

Solution: R has 3 pivots, so the dimension of C(A) is 3, and a basis is given by the
pivot columns of A, i.e., by x1 = (1, −1, 2, 1), x2 = (0, 2, 0, −1), and x3 = (0, 0, 6, 4).

(b) Find the dimension of, and a basis for the null space N (A).
M 221-03 Final Exam Review Page 7 of 10

Solution: The dimension is dim N (A) = 2, and a basis is given by the special solutions
s1 = (−4, 0, −3, 1, 0) and s2 = (−2, 1, 0, 0, 0).

(c) Starting from

  Ax = b, row
 reduction
 produced the equivalent system Rx = c,
2 2
0 1
with b = −2 and c = −1. Find the complete solution to that problem.
  

−3 0

Solution: Particular solution is xp = (2, 0, 1, 0, −1), so the complete solution is given

by x = xp + cs1 + ds2 = (2, 0, 1, 0, −1) + c(−4, 0, −3, 1, 0) + d(−2, 1, 0, 0, 0).
  
2 0
0 0
(d) Find the complete solution for b = 
−2 leading to c = 0. What happened?
  

1 1

Solution: Here the last equation in Rx = c is 0 = 1, so this has no solution. This

shows that b is not in the column space of A.

8. Orthogonality and projection.

(a) The projection of a vector b onto the vector a is given by ...

a·b
Solution: p = a·a a.

(b) The projection of a vector b onto the unit vector u is given by ...

Solution: Given by the same formula, but in this case u · u = 1, so the denominator
in the formula is 1 and it simplifies as p = (u · b)u

(c) The projection of a vector b onto the subspace spanned by the columns of A, assuming
they are linearly independent, is given by ...

Solution: p = A(AT A)−1 AT b

9. Determinants, area and volume.

 
1 2 0 4
−1 −2 2 2
Consider A = 
2
.
4 0 8
1 2 −1 1
(a) Compute the determinant of A.
M 221-03 Final Exam Review Page 8 of 10

Solution: Cofactor expansion works, but in this case we try elimination:

   
1 2 0 4 1 2 0 4
−1 −2 2 2 0 0 2 6
  −→  
2 4 0 8 0 0 0 0
1 2 −1 1 0 0 −1 −3

We can stop here, because we now have a zero row, which means the determinant is
zero.

(b) Compute the area of the triangle with corners at (1, 1), (2, 4), (3, −2) using a determinant.

Solution: With P = (1, 1), Q = (2, 4), R = (3, −2), two sides of the triangle are
−−→ −→
given by v = P Q = (1, 3) and w = P R = (2, −3). The area is given by
  
1  1 2  1
det = |−3 − 6| = 9/2.
2 3 −3  2

     
1 0 1
(c) Compute the volume of the parallelepiped spanned by the vectors 0 , 1 , and 21 .
    
0 0 2

Solution: This is   

 1 0 1 

det 0 1 1/2 = |1 · 1 · 2| = 2
 
 0 0 2 

10. Eigenvalues, eigenvectors, and diagonalization

 
2 −3
(a) Consider the matrix A = .
2 −5
i. Find the eigenvalues of A.

Solution: The characteristic polynomial is

 
2 − λ −3 
|A−λI| = 
 = (2−λ)(−5−λ)−(−3)·2 = λ2 +3λ−4 = (λ−1)(λ+4)
2 −5 − λ

so the eigenvalues are λ1 = 1 and λ2 = −4.

ii. Find the associated eigenvectors of A.

 
1 −3
Solution: Starting with λ1 = 1, we have A − I = with special nullspace
2 −6
solution x1 = (3, 1), which is the eigenvector for λ1 .
M 221-03 Final Exam Review Page 9 of 10

 
6 −3
Continuing with λ2 = −1, we have A − (−4)I = with special nullspace
2 −1
solution x2 = (1/2, 1), which is the eigenvector for λ2 . In order to have integer
entries, we could also use 2x2 = (1, 2) as an eigenvector here.

iii. Check that the determinant equals the product of the eigenvalues, and the sum of the
eigenvalues matches the trace of A.

Solution: |A| = 2 · (−5) − (−3) · 2 = −4, and the product of the eigenvalues is
λ1 λ2 = 1 · (−4) = −4, too.
tr A = 2 + (−5) = −3, and the sum of eigenvalues is λ1 + λ2 = 1 + (−4) = −3,
too.

iv. Find the diagonalization A = XΛX −1 .

Solution: Opting for eigenvalues with integer entries, we get

   
1 0 3 1
Λ= and X =
0 −4 1 2

with  
−1 1 2 −1
X = ,
5 −1 3
so      
2 −3 3 1 1 0 2/5 −1/5
A= =
2 −5 1 2 0 −4 −1/5 3/5

 
3 2
(b) Consider the matrix A = .
−1 2
i. Find the eigenvalues of A.

Solution: The characteristic polynomial is

 
3 − λ 2 
|A − λI| = 
 = (3 − λ)(2 − λ) − 2 · (−1) = λ2 − 5λ + 8
−1 2 − λ
√ √
5± −7 5 7
which has roots λ1,2 = 2 = 2 ± 2 i.

ii. Find the associated eigenvectors of A.

" √ #
√
5 7
1
2 − 27 i 2
Solution: Starting with λ1 = 2 +we get A − λ1 I =
2 i, 1
√
7
−1 −2 − 2 i
 √ 
with special nullspace solution x1 = − 21 − 27 i, 1 , which is the eigenvector for
λ1 . " √ #
√ 1 7
+ i 2
Continuing with λ2 = 52 − 27 i, we get A − λ2 I = 2 2 √ with
−1 − 12 + 27 i
M 221-03 Final Exam Review Page 10 of 10

 √ 
special nullspace solution x2 = − 12 + 27 i, 1 , which is the eigenvector for λ2 .
(Both of these eigenvectors are found with some basic complex arithmetic, but
nothing this computationally intensive will be on the final exam.)

iii. Check that the determinant equals the product of the eigenvalues, and the sum of the
eigenvalues matches the trace of A.

Solution: The determinant is |A| = 3 · 2 − 2 · (−1) = 8, and the product of

 √  √ 
2  √ 2
the eigenvalues is λ1 λ2 = 25 + 27 i 52 − 27 i = 52 − 27 i = 25 7 2
4 − 4i =
25 7 32
4 + 4 = 4 = 8, too.
√
5 7
The trace is tr A = 3 + 2 = 5, and the sum of eigenvalues is λ1 + λ2 = 2 + 2 i +
√
5 7
2 − 2 i = 5, too.

(c) How do the eigenvalues inform about the invertibility of the matrix?

Solution: A matrix is invertible exactly if zero is not an eigenvalue.

(d) Assume that a 4 by 4 matrix A has eigenvalues 1, −1, i, and −i.

i. Find the determinant and the trace of A.

Solution: They are the product and sum of the eigenvalues, respectively, so
det A = 1 · (−1) · i · (−i) = i2 = −1, and tr A = 1 + (−1) + i + (−i) = 0.

ii. Show that A4 = I and that A−1 = A3 .

Solution: Since A has four different eigenvalues, the corresponding eigenvectors

are linearly
 independent,
 and A can be diagonalized as A = XΛX −1 , where
1 0 0 0
0 −1 0 0 
Λ =  0 0 i 0  is a diagonal matrix with the eigenvalues on the diago-


0 0 0 −i
nal, and
 X is a matrix with the corresponding eigenvectors as columns. Then
14

0 0 0 1 0 0 0
 0 (−1)4 0 0   = 0 1 0 0 is the identity matrix I, and
 
Λ4 =  0 4
0 i 0  0 0 1 0
0 0 0 (−i) 4 0 0 0 1
A4 = XΛ4 X −1 = XIX −1 = XX −1 = I. Since I = A4 = AA3 = A3 A, this
also means that A is invertible with A−1 = A3 . (Because A3 multiplied with A
both from the left and from the right is the identity matrix.)