ENTRY TEST BOOK SERIES 27 Matrices and

Determinants

Ch: 3
MATRICES AND DETERMINANTS
Matrix
A rectangular array of “mn” numbers in the form of “m” horizontal lines (Called rows) and “n” vertical
lines (Called columns), is called a matrix of order m by n, written as “m  n” matrix. Such an array is
enclosed by [ ] or ( ). An “m  n” matrix is usually written as

= (The numbers etc. are known as elements)

Types of Matrices

Row Matrix
A matrix having only one row is called a row vector or a row Matrix.
Example
A = [2 3 -4 1]
is a row matrix of order 14.

Column Matrix
A matrix having only one column is called a column vector or a column Matrix.

For example is a column matrix of order 3  1.

Zero Matrix or Null Matrix
A matrix whose every element is zero , is called a zero matrix or a null Matrix.

For example The Matrices are null matrices of order 2  2 and 2  3

respectively.
Example
Discuss the matrices

i) ii) [ 0 ] iii) [ 1 ]
Ans:
i. There is no concept of empty matrix in matrix algebra
ii. It is row matrix, column matrix and zero matrix
iii. It is row and column matrix
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Square matrix
A matrix in which number of rows is equal to the number of columns, say n is called a square
matrix of order n.

For example the matrices are square matrices of order 2 and 3 respectively.

Diagonal Matrix: for all and at least one for

Scalar Matrix: for all and for

A square matrix A=[aij] said to be

Identity Matrix: for all and for

Types of square matrix

Upper Triangular Matrix: for all

Lower Triangular Matrix: for all

Symmetric Matrix: i. ii. for all

Skew Symmetric Matrix: i. ii. iii.

Hermitian Matrix: i. ii. iii. for all

Skew Hermitian Matrix: i. ii. iii.

Singular Matrix:

Non-Singular Matrix:
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Note:
Every identity matrix is scalar as well as diagonal matrix but converse is not true.
Example:
Discuss the matrices

i) ii) iii) iv)

Ans:
In Example (i), (ii) are diagonal matrices, In example (iii) is a scalar matrix and In
example (iv) is a square matrix
Examples:
Discuss the matrices

i) ii) iii)
Ans:
In example (i) Upper triangular matrix (ii) Lower triangular matrix (iii) Both upper and
lower triangular matrix also singular matrix as well as diagonal.

Note:
Diagonal matrices are both upper triangular and lower triangular
Examples:
Discuss the matrices

i) ii) iii) iv) v)

Ans:
In example (i), (ii), (iii) are symmetric matrix and example (iv), (v) skew symmetric.

Note:
Zero matrix of order ‘n’ is symmetric as well as skew symmetric matrix.
Example:
Discuss the matrices

i) ii)
Ans:
In example (i) is hermitian matrix and example (ii) is a skew hermitian matrix
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Equality of matrices
Two matrices A and B are said to be equal if they have same corresponding elements

Note:
Equal matrices may be square matrices or rectangular matrices.

Trace of a matrix
The sum of the diagonal elements of a square matrix “A” is called the trace of A and is denoted
by tr(A) . For example, if

, then tr(A) = 1 – 1 + 4 = 4.

Sub of a matrix
A matrix which is obtained from a given matrix by deleting any number of rows or columns or

both is called a sub-matrix of the given matrix. For example, is a sub matrix of the

matrix

Algebra of Matrices
Addition of matrices and subtraction of matrices

Let and be two matrices then their sum and subtraction is denoted and

defined as A B = for all i and j.

Properties of addition of matrices

i. Matrix addition is commutative. If A and B are two matrices of the same order, then
A +B = B + A.
ii. Matrix addition is associative. If A , B and C are three matrices of the same order, then
(A+B) + C = A+ (B+C).
iii. Existence of additive identity. If O is the zero matrix of the same order as that of the matrix
A, then A+O = A = O + A.
iv. Existence of additive inverse. If A is any matrix, then A + (-A) = O = (-A) + A.
v. Cancellation laws hold good in case of addition of matrices. If A,B ,C are matrices of the same
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order, then A + B = A + C  B = C (left cancellation law) and B+A = C+A  B = C (right

cancellation law)

Note:
The zero matrix plays the same role in matrix addition as the number zero does in addition of
numbers.

Multiplication of a matrix by a scalar

Let be an mn matrix and k be any non zero scalar. Then the matrix obtained by

multiplying of A by k and is denoted by kA. Thus, if then .

Properties of scalar multiplication

i. If A and B are two matrices of the same order and k be a non zero scalar, then
k (A+B) = kA + kB
ii. If k1 and k2 are two non zero scalars and A is a matrix, then (k1 +k2) A = k1A+k2A.
iii. If kl and k2 are two scalars and A is a matrix, then (k1k2) A = k1 (k2A) = k2(k1A)

Multiplication of matrices
Two matrices A and B can be multiplied only if the number of columns in A (pre-multiplier) is

same as the number of rows in B(first multiplier). For example, if and

are two matrices of order m  n and n  p respectively, then their product AB is of order mp
and is defined as

= (ith row of A) (kth column of B)

(AB)ik = sum of the product of elements of ith row of A with the corresponding elements of kth column of
B.

Properties of Matrix multiplication

i. Multiplication is distributive over matrix addition. If A, B, C are m  n, n  p and n  p
matrices respectively, then A (B+C) = AB + AC.
ii. Multiplication is associative. If A, B, C are matrices of order m  n, n  p and p  r
ENTRY TEST BOOK SERIES 32 Matrices and
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respectively, then (AB) C = A(BC) .

iii. Multiplication identity. If A is an m  n matrix and In the identity matrix of order n  n and Im
the identity matrix of order m  m, then ImA = A and AIn = A
In particular if A is a square matrix of order n, then AIn = InA = A.
iv. AB = 0 (null matrix ) does not necessarily implies that A = 0 or B = 0 or both = 0. For

example, if and , then

v. If “A” is a square matrix of order n, then A2 is defined as AA. In general Am = AA …. A (m
times), where m is any positive integer.
vi. If I be a unit matrix , then I = I2 = I3 = …= In.

Transpose of matrix
Let “A” be an mn matrix. Then nm matrix from “A” is obtained by interchanging the rows
and columns of “A” is called the transpose of “A” and is denoted by A/ or At. Thus,
i. If order of “A” is m  n, then, the order of A/ is n  m.
ii. (i , j)th element of A = (j , i)th element of A/ .

For example, if , then

Properties of the Transpose of a Multiplication

i. Let A and B two matrices of order mn , then .

ii. Let A be a matrix of order m n and k be a scalar, then

iii. Let A and B be two matrices of order m  n and np respectively. Then , .
iv. The double transpose of any matrix is the original matrix. For example, if “A” is any matrix

then .

Properties of symmetric and skew symmetric matrices

i. If A is square matrix, then
(a) is symmetric
(b) is skew symmetric.
ii. If A and B are two symmetric (or skew-symmetric) matrices of the same order, then so is A+B.
iii. If A is symmetric (or skew symmetric) matrix and k is a scalar, then kA is also symmetric (or
skew symmetric).
iv. If A and B are symmetric matrices of the same order, then the product AB is symmetric if and
only if AB = BA.
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v. Every square matrix can be expressed uniquely as the sum of the symmetric and a skew
symmetric matrix.
vi. The matrix is symmetric or skew symmetric according as A is symmetric or skew
symmetric.

Note:
i. A Hermitian matrix over the set of real numbers is actually a real symmetric matrix.
ii. A skew Hermitian matrix over the set of real number is actually a real skew symmetric matrix.

Adjoint of a square matrix

Let be a square matrix of order n and let Cij be the cofactor of aij in the determinant |A|.
Then the adjoint of A is denoted by adj A, is defined as the transpose of the cofactor matrix.

Properties of the adjoint of a matrix

i. If A is a square matrix of order n, then

ii. If A and B are two square matrices of the same order, then .

Inverse of a square matrix

Let “A” be any n-rowed square matrix. Then a square matrix “B”
such that
AB = BA = I
“B” is called inverse of “A”. the inverse of “A” denoted by A-1 is determined by the formula

It may be noted that

Properties of the inverse of a matrix

i. A square matrix is invertible if and only if it is non-singular

ii. The inverse of the inverse of square matrix is the original matrix itself, i.e.

iii. The inverse of the transpose of a matrix is the transpose of its inverse, i.e.
iv. If A and B are two invertible matrices of the same order, then AB is also invertible and

moreover
v. Let A, B, C be square matrices of the same order n. If A is a non-singular matrix, then
a) AB = AC  B = C (left cancellation law)
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b) BA = CA  B = C (Right cancellation law)

Note:
These cancellation laws hold only if the matrix A is non-singular square matrix.
vi. If A is a non-singular matrix such that A is symmetric then A-1 is also symmetric.

vii. If A is a non-singular square matrix, then

MINOR

If and from matrix are removed, the remaining square submatrix of rows and
columns is left. The determinant of a square submatrix of order is called a minor of A of
order . For example, in the matrix

i. Every element of the matrix is the minor of order 1.

ii. are minors of order 2.

iii. etc. are the minors of order 3.

Rank of a Matrix
A positive integer “r” is said to be the rank of a non-zero matrix “A”, if
i. There exists at least one minor in “A” of order which is not zero

ii. Every minor in “A” of order greater than r is zero. It is written as

The rank of a zero matrix is defined to be zero.

For example, rank of is 2 because the minor

And rank of is 3 as the minor

Properties of Rank of Matrix

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i. Rank of a matrix remains unaltered by elementary transformations.

ii. No skew-symmetric matrix can be of rank 1.
iii. Rank of matrix A = Rank of matrix A/,
iv. AA/ has the same rank as A

Echelon Form of a Matrix

A non-zero matrix A is said to be in Echelon form if A satisfies the following conditions:
i. All the non-zero rows of A, if any, precede the zero rows.
ii. The number of zeros preceding the first non-zero element in a row is less than the number of
such zeros in the succeeding row.
iii. The first non-zero element in a row is unity.
The number of non-zero rows of a matrix given in the Echelon form is its rank. For example, the
matrix

is in the Echelon form because.

a) There are three non-zero rows which precede the fourth zero row.
b) Number of zeros in are 1,2 which are in ascending order.
c) The first non-zero element is unity.

Note:
That there are three non-zero rows, so the rank is 3.

Criterion of Consistency
i. If the (row) rank of the augmented matrix and the coefficient matrix of the system is the same
which is equal to the number of variables in the systems. Then system is consistent and has a
unique solution.
ii. If the (row) rank of the augmented matrix and the coefficient matrix of the system is the same
which is less than the number of variables in the systems. Then system is consistent and has
infinitely many solutions.
iii. If the rank of the coefficient matrix is not equal to the rank of augmented matrix of the system
then system is inconsistent and has no solution.

Remarks:
Let AX = O be a homogeneous system of linear equations.

i. If p(A) = number of variable, then AX = 0 have a trivial solution X = 0 or

ii. If p(A) < number of variables, then AX = 0 have a non-trivial solution. It will have
ENTRY TEST BOOK SERIES 36 Matrices and
Determinants

infinitely many solutions or .

Determinant
A determinant can also be evaluated by multiplying the entries of any row (or column) by their
cofactors and summing the resulting products.

Let

Remarks:
It is a fact that determinant of a matrix is unique and does not depend on the row or column
chosen for its evaluation.

Properties of Determinants
Properties of determinants of order three only are stated below. However these properties hold for
determinants of any order. These properties help a good deal in the evaluation of determinants.
1. The value of the determinant remains unchanged if rows are changed into columns and
columns are changed into rows, i.e.

2. If two adjacent rows (or columns) of a determinant are interchanged, the value of the
determinant so obtained is the negative of the value of the original determent, i.e.

3. If two rows or columns of a determinant are identical then its value is zero . i.e.
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4. If each element of a row or column of a determinant is multiplied by a constant k then the value
of the new determinant is k times the value of the original determinant, i.e.

5. If any two rows or columns of a determinant are proportional, then its value is zero, i.e.

=k =0

6. If each element of a row (or column) of a determinant is the sum of two or more terms, then the
determinant can be expressed as the sum of the two or more determinants, i.e.

7. If each element of a row (or column) of a determinant is multiplied by a constant k and then
added or subtracted to the corresponding elements of some other row (column), then the value of
the determinant remains the same, i.e.

8. If each element of a row (or column) of a determinant is zero, then its value is zero.

9. If the elements of a determinant that involve x are polynomials in x, and if the determinant
become zero when a is substituted for x, then “x – a” is a factor of given determinant.

For example, let if we consider then we have

( first and second column are identical)
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This implies that must be a factor of . Since the product of the diagonal elements of
is , which is a third degree expression, is a polynomial of degree 3. But

is a factor of which is of degree 3 itself. Therefore, the only other factor of

can be a constant, say k.

In order to find the value of k, give values to a,b and c such that calculations are easy and the two
sides do not vanish. For example, assume we get

or (on solving the determinant along first column)

Thus . Hence,

Note:
In general, if “r” rows (or r columns) become identical when “a” is substitute for “x” then

is a factor of given determinant.

10. The sum of the products of the elements of any row (or column) of a determinant with the
corresponding cofactors is equal to the value of determinant, i.e. if

and so on.
11. The sum of the products of elements of any row (or column) of a determinant with the co-
factors of the corresponding elements of any other row (or column) is zero i.e. if

i.e. =0
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Solving Techniques

1) If where A and B are square matrix of order 4, then rank of A is

Sol: Rank of A is 4 because is possible only if , so A has no zero row so no. of non-
zero rows = 4

2) If A and B are two non-singular square matrix and = then

Sol: In general but so

3) If A is matrix of order then is of order

Ans: order of is because order of A is so order of is so order of is
Note: is always a square matrix.

Important to know
4. All positive integral powers of a symmetric matrix are symmetric.
5. All positive odd integral powers of a skew symmetric matrix are skew symmetric and positive
even integral powers of a skew symmetric matrix are symmetric.
6. If A and B are symmetric matrices of the same order, then
i. AB – BA is a skew symmetric matrix.
ii. AB +BA is a symmetric matrix

7) If A is singular matrix, then what can we say about adj. A

Ans: adj of A is also singular because A(adj A) = |A|I
 |A(adj A) = |A|n
 |A| |adj. A| = |A|n
 |adj.A| = |A|n-1
As A is singular so adj A is also singular
Note: Also det (adj A) = (detA)n-1
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8) If has rank 3 then what we can say about x

Ans: If Rank of given matrix is 3 then minor of order 3 is non-zero i.e.

(expanding from c1)