Determinants and Inverses of square matrices

Determinants are definite for square matrix.

Determinant of 2  2 matrix.

 a11 a12 
Let A    then the determinant of A , denoted by det A or A and is given by
 a 21 a 22 
det A  A  a11a 22  a 21a12 .

Example 1

1 2
Let A    , compute det A .
3 4
Solution:

1 2
det A   1  4  3  2  4  6  2
3 4

Example 2

 
If  0 , find  .
3  2

Solution:

   2  3  0

2  5  0

   5  0

  0 or   5

Example 3

  4  2
Let A    , compute det A .
 3 2 

Solution:
 4 2
det A    4  2   3  2   8  6  2
3 2

Inverse of a 2  2 matrix

 a11 a12  1
Let A    , then the inverse of matrix A , denoted by A 1 and is given by A 1  Adj . A
 a 21 a 22  A
 a22  a12 
where A  a11a 22  a12 a 21 and AdjA    .

 21
a a11 

1  a 22  a12 
i.e., A 1   .
a11a 22  a12 a 21   a 21 a11 

NOTE: A1 A  AA 1  I , where I is an identity matrix.

Check:
1  a22  a12  a11 a12  1  a11a 22  a12 a 21 a 22 a12  a 22 a12 
A 1 A       
a11a 22  a12 a 21   a 21 a11  a 21 a 22  a11a22  a12 a 21   a21a11  a 21a11 a11a 22  a12 a 21 

1  a11a 22  a12 a 21 0 
  
a11a 22  a12 a 21  0 a11a 22  a12 a 21 

1 0
  
 0 1 
Example 1

 2 5
Let A    , find A1 .
 1 3 
Solution

A  3  2  1 5  1

1 1  3  5  3  5
A 1  AdjA    
A 1   1 2    1 2 

Example 2

 5 4
Let A    , find A1 .
  2 3
 A  5  3  4  2  15  8  23

1 1  3  4  3  4
A 1  AdjA    
A 23  2 5   2 5 

Example 3

1 3
Let A    , find A1 .
 2 4
Solution

A  1  4  3  2  2

1 1  4  3    2 1.5 
A 1  AdjA    
A  2   1 1   0.5  0.5 

Example 4

1 2
Let A    , find A1 .
 4 7 
Solution

A  1  7   4  2  1

1 1  7  2   7 2 
A 1  AdjA    
A  1   4 1   4  1

Solution of simultaneous equations by inverse matrix method:

Let the equation be

a1 x  b1 y  c1
a 2 x  b2 y  c 2

Write the above equations in the matrix form

 a1 x b1 y   c1   a1 b1  x   c1 
          
b2  y   c2 
or
 a 2 x b2 y   c2   a2
Or
 AX  B …………. 1
 a1 b1   x c 
Where A    , X    and B   1 
 a2 b2   y  c2 

Pre-multiplying 1 by A 1 .

A1 AX  A1 B or IX  A1 or X  A1 B

Example 1
Solve the system using inverse matrix method

x  2y  6
4x  3y  3

Solution:
Form a matrix equation

 1 2  x   6 
     
 4 3  y   3 

1 2  x  6
Therefore A    , X    and B   
 4 6  y  3

 6  2
A  3  8  5 , Adj .A   
 4 1 

1  6  2
A 1   
 5   4 1 

X  A1 B

 x  1  3  2  6    12 5    2.4 
         
 y   5   4 1  3   215   4.2 

 x  2.4, y  4.2
Example 2
Solve the system using inverse matrix method

3x  6 y  5
7x  2 y  4

Solution:
Form a matrix equation

 3  6  x   5 
     
 7 2  y   4 

 3  6  x 5
Therefore A    , X    and B   
7 2   y  4

 2 6
A  3  2  7  6  6  42  48 , Adj .A   
  7 3

1 1  2 6
A 1  Adj . A   
A 48   7 3 

X  A1 B

 x  1  2 6  5  1  2  5  6  4  1  10  24  1  34   34 48 
               
 
y 48   7 3  
4 48   7  5   3  4   48   35  12  48   23    23 48 

34 17  23
 x  , y
48 24 48
Example 3
Solve the system using inverse matrix method

90 x  110 y  40
30 x  15 y  25

Solution:
Form a matrix equation

 90  110  x   40 
     
 30  15  y   25 

 90  110   x  40 
Therefore A    , X    and B   
 30  15   y  25 
   15 110 
A  90  15   110  30  1350  3300  1950 , Adj .A   
  30 90 

1 1   15 110 
A 1  Adj . A   
A 1950   30 90 

X  A1 B
 x 1   15 110  40  1   15  40  110  25 1   600  2750  1  2150 
              
 y  1950   30 90  25  1950   30  40  90  25  1950   1200  2250  1950  1050 

 2150 
 1950    1.10256 
 1050   0.53846 
 1950  
 x  1.10256, y  0.53846

Exercise
1) Evaluate the given determinants

2 4
i. Ans.  10
3 1

3 5
ii. Ans. 29
7 2

0.75 1.32
iii. Ans. 0.687
0.15 1.18

2 a 1
iv. Ans.  a2  a  2
a2 a

x y yx
v. Ans. 2 y 2  2x 2
2x 2y

2) Solve the following:

2 5
i. 3 Ans. x4
1 x
1 x
ii. 7 Ans. x  1
3 4
 x 5
iii.  17 Ans. x  2
3 1

3) Solve the following equations using the inverse matrix method.

x  2y  5
i. Ans. x  1, y  2
x  3y  7

2x  y  7
ii. Ans. x  3, y  1
x y 2

4 x  3 y  4
iii. Ans. x  0.5, y  2
y  2x  3

r  3s  2 2
iv. Ans. r  4, s 
 2r  9 s  2 3

10i  27v  29 1
v. Ans. i  2, v  
40i  33v  69 3

7x  2 y  6 6 36
vi. Ans. x , y
7 y  12  4 x 19 19

3R  8  5 I 7 39
vii. Ans. R , I 1
6 I  8R  11 58 58

0.42 x  0.56 y  1.26

viii. Ans. x  49, y  34.5
0.98 x  1.40 y  0.28

Determinant of 3 3 matrix.

 a11 a12 a13 

 
Let A   a 21 a 22 a 23  then,
a a33 
 31 a32

a 22 a 23 a a 23 a a 22
A  a11  a12 21  a13 21
a32 a33 a31 a33 a31 a32

 a11 a22 a33  a23 a32   a12 a21a33  a23 a31   a13 a21a32  a22 a31 
Example 1

5 2 3
Compute 4 0 1
3 1 2

Solution:

5 2 3
0 1 4 1 4 0
4 0 1 5   2    3
1 2 3 2 3 1
3 1 2

 50  2  1  1  24  2  1  3  34  1  0  3

 50  1  28  3  3 4  0

 5  10  12

 27

Example 2

2 3 4
Compute 5 6 7
8 9 1

Solution:

2 3 4
6 7 5 7 5 6
5 6 7 2 3 4
9 1 8 1 8 9
8 9 1
  26  63  35  56  445  48

 2 57  3 51  4 3

 114  153  12

 27

NOTE: Determinant of a 3 3 matrix can also be obtained by using the following elementary scheme.

 a11 a12 a13 

 
Let A   a 21 a 22 a 23  then , the elementary scheme is
a a33 
 31 a32

a11 a12 a13 a11 a12

a 21 a 22 a 23 a 21 a 22
a31 a32 a33 a31 a32

Then A  a11a22 a33  a12 a23 a31  a13 a21a32   a13 a22 a31  a11a23 a32  a12 a21a33 

Example 1

 2  3  4
 
Find the determinant of   1 4 2 .
 3 10 1 
 

Solution:

 2  3  4
 
Let A    1 4 2 
 3 10 1 
 

The elementary scheme is

 2 3 4 2 3
1 4 2 1 4
3 10 1 3 10

A  2  4 1   3  2  3   4  110   4  4  3  2  2 10   3  11

 8  18  40   48  40  3

 35

Example 2

1 4 2
 
Find the determinant of  2 3 5  .
3 1 7
 

Solution:

1 4 2
 
Let A   2 3 5 
3 1 7
 

The elementary scheme is

1 4 2 1 4
2 3 5 2 3
3 1 7 3 1

A  1  3  7   4  5  3  2  2  1  4  2  7   1  5  1  2  3  3

 21  60  4  56  5  18

6
Exercise

1) Evaluate the determinant of the following matrices.

3 0 0
i. 2 1 4 Ans. 39
4 2 5

10 0  3
ii. 2 4 1 Ans.  116
3 0 2

3 0 0
iii. 0 10 0 Ans. 150
 9 1  5

 40 30  20
iv. 8 8 16 Ans. 54000
 15 75  45

3 2 5
v. 2 1 4 Ans.  13
4 2 5

1 2 3
vi. 2 5 3 Ans.  6
4 7 9

2) Solve the equation the following:

1 1  2
i. 2 3x 1  2 .
2 1 x

x 1 2
ii. 0 1 3  5
2 2 1
 1 2 1
iii.  2 3 x  3
1 2  2

Inverse of matrices
Adjoint of a square matrix

Let the determinant of the square matrix A be A .

 a11 a12 a13  a11 a12 a13

If A  a 21 a 22 
a 23  , then A  a 21 a 22 a 23 .

 a31 a32 a33  a31 a32 a33

 A11 A12 A13 

 
The matrix formed by the co-factors of the elements in A is  A21 A22 A23  where
A A33 
 31 A32

a22 a23 a21 a23

A11   a22 a33  a23 a32 , A12    a21a33  a23 a31 ,
a32 a33 a31 a33
a21 a22
A13   a21a32  a22 a31
a31 a32

a12 a13 a11 a13

A21    a12 a33  a13 a32 , A22   a11a33  a13 a31 ,
a32 a33 a31 a33
a11 a12
A23    a11a32  a12 a31
a31 a32

a12 a13 a11 a13

A31   a12 a23  a13a22 , A32    a11a23  a13 a21 ,
a22 a23 a21 a23
a11 a12
A33   a11a22  a12 a21
a21 a22
  A11 A21 A31 
 
Then the transpose of the matrix of cofactors  A12 A22 A32  is called the adjoint of the matrix A
A A33 
 13 A23
and written AdjA.

To find the inverse matrix by help of adjoint matrix

Procedure:

1) Find all the cofactors of every element of a given matrix , e.g. matrix A .
2) Form a matrix of co-factors.
3) Find the adjoint of matrix A by finding the transpose of the matrix of cofactors.
1
4) Find A 1  Adj . A
A

Example 1

1 0 3
1
 
Find A given that A   2 1 4  .
1 2 1
 
Solution:
The cofactors of A

1 4 2 4 2 1 0 3
A11   7 , A12    2 , A13   3 , A21    6,
2 1 1 1 1 2 2 1

1 3 1 0 0 3 1 3 1 0
A22   2 , A23    2 , A31   3 , A32    2 , A33  1
1 1 1 2 1 4 2 4 2 1

 7 2 3 
 
Matrix of cofactors   6  2  2 
3 2 1 


  7 6  3
 
AdjA   2  2 2 
 3 2 1 
 

1 4 2 4 2 1
A 3 0 3  31  8  02  4   34  1  2
2 1 1 1 1 2
   7 6  3
1 
A   AdjA  
1
1
 2 2 2 
A 2 
 3 2 1 
Example 2

 3  3 4
 
If A   2  3 4  , find A1 .
 0 1 1 
 
Solution:

 3  3 4
 
A   2  3 4
 0 1 1 
 

3 4 2 4 2 3
A 3   3 4  3 3  4   32  0  4 2  0  1
1 1 0 1 0 1

Cofactors

3 4 2 4 2 3 3 4 3 4
A11   1 , A12    2 , A13   2 , A21   1 , A22   3,
1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1

3 3 3 4 3 4 3 3
A23    3 , A31   0 , A32    4 , A33   3
0 1 3 4 2 4 2 3

Matrix of cofactors

 1  2  2  1 1 0 
   
 1 3 3 , AdjA    2 3  4 
 0  4  3   2 3  3
   

 1 1 0   1 1 0 
1
1 1   
A  AdjA    2 3  4     2 3  4 
A 1   
  2 3  3   2 3  3
Example 3

8 1 4 
1 
If A   4  4  7  , prove that A1  AT .
9
1 8 4 

Solution:
 8 1 4  8 4 1 
1  1 
A  4  4  7 , A  1  4 8 
T

9  9 
1 8  4  4  7  4

8 1 4  8 4 1   81 0 0   1 0 0 
1  1  1   
AA   4  4  7    1  4 8    0 81 0    0 1 0 
T

9  9  4  7  4  81  0 0 81  0 0 1 
 1 8  4      

Hence AAT  I

Therefore, A1  AT Proved.

NOTE: Matrix A is said to be orthogonal.

Exercise
1) Find the adjoint and inverse of the following matrices:
 2 5 3 3 1 7 
  1 
i.  3 1 2 Ans.  1 1 5 
1 2 1 4
   5 1  13 
1 1 2   6 6  15 
  1 
ii. 1 9 3  Ans.   1 0 1 
1 4 2  3 
  5 3 8 
1 2 5  2 1 3 
  1 
iii. 3 1 4 Ans.   2  3 11 
1 1 2 4
   2 1  5 
1 0 1   2 6 4 
  1  
iv. 3 4 5  Ans.  21  7  8 
0  6  7 20 
    18 6 4 
  4  3  3   4  3  3
   
v.  1 0 1  Ans.  1 0 1 
 4 3   4 3 
 4  4
2 4 3    3 10 1 
  1 
vi. 0 1 1  Ans.  2  8  2
 2 2 1 4
   2 4 2 
Solution of simultaneous equations by inverse matrix method:
Let the equation be

a1 x  a 2 y  a3 z  d1
b1 x  b2 y  b3 z  d 2
c1 x  c 2 y  c3 z  d 3

Write the above equations in the matrix form

 a1 x  a 2 y  a3 z   d1   a1 a2 a3  x   d1 
        
 b1 x  b2 y  b3 z    d 2  or  b1 b2 b3  y    d 2 
c x  c y  c z  d  c c3  z   d 3 
 1 2 3   3  1 c2

AX  B …………. 1
 a1 a2 a3   x  d1 
     
Where A   b1 b2 b3  , X   y  and B   d 2 
c c3  z d 
 1 c2    3

Pre-multiplying 1 by A 1 .

A1 AX  A1 B or IX  A1 or X  A1 B

Example 1
Solve by inverse matrix method.

x1  3 x 2  2 x3  3
2 x1  4 x 2  2 x3  8
x1  2 x 2  x3  10

Solution:
Form a matrix equation

 1 3 2  x1   3 
    
 2 4 2  x 2    8 
 1 2  1 x  10 
  3   

1 3 2   x1  3
     
Therefore A   2 4 2  , X   x 2  and B   8 
 1 2  1 x  10 
   3  
Cofactors of A

4 2 2 2 2 4 3 2
A11   8 , A12    4, A13   0 , A21    7,
2 1 1 1 1 2 2 1

1 2 1 3 3 2 1 2
A22   3 , A23   , A31   2 , A32    2 ,
1 1 1 2 4 2 2 2

1 3
A33   2
2 4

The matrix of cofactors of A

8 4 0 
 
 7 3 1 
  2 2  2
 

  8 7  2
 
AdjA   4  3 2 
 0 1  2 


4 2 2 2 2 4
A 1 3 2  1 4  4  3 2  2  24  4   4
2 1 1 1 1 2

  8 7  2
11 1 
A  AdjA   4  3 2 
A 4
 0 1  2 

 x1    8 7  2  3   3 
  1 1    
Therefore X   x 2   A B   4  3 2  8    2 
x  4
 3  0 1  2 10    3 

x1  3 , x 2  2 , x3  3

Example 2
Solve, with help of matrices, the simultaneous equations.

x  y  z  3 , x  2 y  3z  4 , x  4 y  9 z  6

Solution:
The given equations in the matrix form are written as below
 1 1 1  x   3 
    
1 2 3  y    4 
1 4 9  z   6 
    
AX  B

1 1 1   x  3
     
where A  1 2 3  , X   y  and B   4 
1 4 9  z 6
     

X  A1 B
Cofactors of A

2 3 1 3 1 2 1 1
A11   6, A12    6 , A13   2, A21    5 ,
4 9 1 9 1 4 4 9

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
A22   8, A23    3 , A31  1, A32    2 ,
1 9 1 4 2 3 1 3

1 1
A33  1
1 2

 6 6 2   6 5 1 
   
Matrix of cofactors    5 8  3  , AdjA    6 8  2  ,
 1 2 1   2  3 1 
   

2 3 1 3 1 2
A 1 1 1  118  12  19  3  14  2   2
4 9 1 9 1 4

 6 5 1 
11 1 
A  AdjA    6 8  2 
A 2 
 2  3 1 

 6  5 1  3   4  2
1
1
  1    
X  A B    6 8  2  4    2    1 
2   2  0   0 
  2  3 1  6     
x  2, y  1, z  0
Example 3
Given the matrices

 1 2 3  x 1
     
A   3  1 1  , X   y  and C   2 
 4 2 1 z  3
     
Write down the linear equations given by AX  C and solve for x, y, z by the matrix method.

Solution:

AX  C

 1 2 3  x   1 
    
 3  1 1  y    2 
 4 2 1  z   3 
    

X  A 1C
Cofactors of A

1 1 3 1 3 1 2 3
A11   3 , A12    1 , A13   10 , A21    4,
2 1 4 1 4 2 2 1

1 3 1 2 2 3 1 3
A22   11 , A23    6 , A31   5 , A32    8,
4 1 4 2 1 1 3 1

1 2
A33   7
3 1

 3 1 10   3 4 5 
   
Matrix of cofactors of A   4  11 6  , AdjA   1  11 8 
 5 8  7   10 6  7 
 

1 1 3 1 3 1
A 1 2 3  1 1  2  23  4   36  4  29
2 1 4 1 4 2

 3 4 5 
1 1  
A 1  AdjA   1  11 8 
A 29 
 10 6  7 

X  A 1C
  x  3 4 5  1 
  1   
 y   1  11 8  2 
 z  29  10 6  7  3 
  

 20  
20 
 x
  1    29 
 y   3    3 29 
z 29 1  1 
     29 

20 3 1
x , y , z
29 29 29
Exercise
Solve the following equations by matrix inversion.

i. 3x  y  2 z  3, 2x - 3y - z  -3, x  2y  z  4 Ans. x  1, y  2, z  1
9 1
ii. x  2 y  3z  1, 2x  3y  8z  2, x  y  z  3 Ans. x 
, y  1, z  
2 2
iii. 4 x  2 y  z  9, x  y  3z  -4, 2x  z  1 Ans. x  1, y  2, z  1
iv. 5 x  3 y  3z  48, 2x  6 y  3z  18, 8x - 3y  2z  21 Ans. x  3, y  5, z  6
v. x  y  z  1, x  y  2z  18, 3x  y  z  8 Ans. x  1, y  2, z  3
7 3 1
vi. x  2 y  3z  1, 3x  2 y  z  2, 4x  2 y  z  3 Ans. x  , y  , z
10 40 20
vii. 9 x  4 y  3z  1, 5x  y  2z  1, 7x  3y  4z  1 Ans. x  0, y  1, z  1
5 4
viii. x  y  z  8, x  y  2z  6, 9x  5y  7z  44 Ans. x  5, y  , z 
3 3
9 9 5
ix. 3x  2 y  4 z  7, 2x  y  z  4, x  3y  5z  2 Ans. x  , y   , z 
4 8 8

Crammer’s rule
Consider a system of n linear equations and n unknowns.

a11 x1  a12 x 2  a13 x3  .....  a1n x n  b1

a 21 x1  a 22 x 2  a 23 x3  .....  a 2 n x n  b2
..............................................................
..............................................................
a n1 x1  a n 2 x 2  a n 3 x3  .......  a nn x n  bn
Let  denote the determinant of the matrix of coefficient. Also let  i denote the determinant of a matrix
obtained by replacing the i th column of A by the column of constants b1 , b2 ,...., bn  . Then the above
T

system has a unique solution if and only if   0 .

a11 a12 .... b1 ... a1n

a 21 a 22 .... b2 ... a2n
... .... ... ....
 a a n 2 ... bn ... a nn
xi  i  n1
 a11 a12 a13 ...... a1n
a 21 a 22 a 23 ..... a2n
.... ..... ...... .....
a n1 a n 2 a n 3 ... a nn

In this case the unique solution is given by

1   
x1  , x2  2 , x3  3 , ….., xn  n
   
Example 1
Use Crammer’s rule to solve

3x  6 y  5
7x  2 y  4

Solution:

5 6
4 2 10  24 34 17
x   
3 6 6  42 48 24
7 2

3 5
7 4 12  35  23
y  
3 6 6  42 48
7 2

17  23
 x , y
24 48
Example 2
Use Crammer’s rule to solve

90 x  110 y  40
30 x  15 y  25

Solution:

40  110
25  15  600  2750 2150 4
x   1
90  110  1350  3300 1950 39
30  15

90 40
25 25 2250  1000 1250 25
y   
90  110  1350  3300 1950 39
30  15

4 25
 x 1 , y
39 39
Example 3
Use Crammer’s rule to solve

2x  3y  z  1
3x  5 y  2 z  8
x  2 y  3z  1

Solution:

1 3 1
8 5 25 2 8 2 8 5
3 1   1
1  2  3
2 3 1  3  1  2 1 11  3 22  1 11 66
x    3
2 3 1 5 2 3 2 3 5 2 11  3 11  1 11 22
2 3   1
3 5 2 2 3 1 3 1 2
1 2 3
 2 1 1
3 8 2 8 2 3 2 3 8
12   1
1 1  3 1  3 1  3 1 1 2 22  1 11  1 11  22
y     1
2 3 1 5 2 3 2 3 5 2 11  3 11  1 11 22
2 3   1
3 5 2 2 3 1 3 1 2
1 2 3

2 3 1
3 5 8 5 8 3 8 3 5
32 1
1  2 1  2 1 1 3 1 2 211  3 11  1 11 44
z    2
2 3 1 5 2 3 2 3 5 2 11  3 11  1 11 22
2 3   1
3 5 2 2 3 1 3 1 2
1 2 3

 x  3, y  1, z  2

Example 4
Use Crammer’s rule to solve

2x  y  z  4
x  2y  z  3
3x  3 y  2 z  1

Solution:

4 1 1
3  2 1  2 1 3 1 3 2
1 4 1
1 3 2 3 2 1 2 1 3 4 1  1 5  111 12
x    2
2 1 1  2 1 1 1 1 2 2 1  11  19 6
2 1 1
1  2 1 3 2 3 2 3 3
3 3 2

2 4 1
1 3 1 3 1 1 1 1 3
4 2 1
3 1 2 1 2 3 2 3 1 2 5  41  1 8  22  11
y    
2 1 1  2 1 1 1 1 2 2 1  11  19 6 3
2 1 1
1  2 1 3 2 3 2 3 3
3 3 2
 2 1 4
1 2 3 2 3 1 3 1 2
1 2 4
3 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 3 2 11  1 8  49 22 11
z    
2 1 1  2 1 1 1 1 2 2 1  11  19 6 3
2 1 1
1  2 1 3 2 3 2 3 3
3 3 2

11 11
 x  2, y , z
3 3
Exercise
1) Solve the following equations by determinants:
x  2y  z  2
i. 3x  6 y  2 z  2
2x  z  8

1
Ans. x  3, y  , z  2
2

2r  s  2t  8
ii. 3r  2s  4t  5
 2r  3s  4t  3

Ans. x  3, s  1, t  1.5

4u  4v  2w  4
iii. 20u  15v  10w  10
24u  12v  9w  39
1
Ans. u   , v  2, w  3
2

3.6 x  5.2 y  z  2.2

iv. 3.2 x  4.8 y  3.9 z  8.1
6.4 x  4.1y  2.3z  5.1
Ans. x  0.1678, y  0.1559, z  2.4065
 32t  24u  63v  32
v. 19v  31u  42t  132
48t  12u  11v  0
Ans. t  0.3958, u  2.8648, v  1.3983

2) A slaughter house bought goats and bulls at Ksh. 1, 200 and Ksh.15,000 each. They paid a total

bill of Ksh. 135,000 . If they double the number of goats and three bulls less, they would have

saved Ksh. 15,000 .

i. By using matrix method, determine the number of goats and bulls that were bought.

ii. The slaughter house sold the animals at a profit of 25% per goat and 30% per bull.
Determine the amount of profit made.

3) The cost of 5 resistors, 4 capacitors and 1 diode is Ksh. 340 ; the cost of 10 resistors, 9

capacitors and 4 diodes is Ksh. 880 ; while the cost of 10 resistors, 13 capacitors and 15

diodes is Ksh. 1920 .

i. Formulate three linear simultaneous equations.

ii. Determine the cost of each component using the inverse matrix method.

4) In a production process it takes 23 hours to produce 1 copper , 2 iron and 3 steel rods ; it takes

44 hours to produce 2 copper, 4 iron and 5 steel rods; while it takes 58 hours to produce 3

copper , 5 iron and 6 steel rods for a certain industrial use.

i. Formulate three linear simultaneous equations.

ii. Use Crammer’s rule to determine how long it would take to produce each type of rod.