Chapter 3: Determinants

3.1 Definition
3.2 Properties of Determinants
3.3 Cofactor Expansion
3.4 Inverse of a Matrix
3.5 Other Applications of Determinants
3.6 Computing Determinants
 3.2 Properties of Determinants

Theorem – Determinants have the following properties.

1. det (AT) = det (A).
2. If matrix B is obtained from matrix A by
interchanging two rows (columns) of A, then
det (B) = - det (A).
3. If two rows (columns) are equal, then det (A) = 0.
4. If a row (column) consists only of zeros, then
det (A) = 0.
 3.2 Properties of Determinants
 Theorem -
 Proof - Suppose B is obtained from A by
interchanging rows r and s of A. Without loss of
generality, let r < s. Then brj = asj, bsj = arj, for all j
and bij = aij for all j if i ≠ r, i ≠ s.

det  B       b1 j b2 j brjr bsjs bnjn

1 2

     a1 j a2 j asjs arjr anjn

1 2

     a1 j a2 j arjr asjs anjn

1 2
 3.2 Properties of Determinants

Theorem – Determinants have the following properties.

5. If B is obtained from A by multiplying a row
(column) by c, then det (B) = c det (A).
6. det (c A) = c n det (A) where A is n x n.
7. If B is obtained from A by adding to a row (column)
a multiple of a different row (column), then
det (B) = det (A).
3.2 Properties of Determinants

 Properties 2, 5 and 7 allow us to define

relationships between equivalent
matrices.

 
det  A   det A ri rj , i j
1
 
det  A   det A kri ri , k  0
k
 
det  A   det A kri rj rj , i  j
 Properties of Determinants
 Theorem - Let A = [ aij ] be an upper (lower) triangular
matrix, then det(A) = a11a22 … ann. That is, the
determinant of a triangular matrix is just the product of
the elements on the main diagonal.
 This theorem, together with the previous one, provide a
method to find the determinant of a matrix of any size.
 Method of reduction to triangular form: reduce A to a
triangular matrix B keeping track of all row operations,
then det(A) = k b11b22 … bnn where k is a constant
determined from the row operations.
Properties of Determinants
 Theorem - Let E be an elementary
matrix. Then det(EA) = det(E) det(A)
and det(AE) = det(A) det(E)
 3.2 Properties of Determinants
 Theorem - Let A be a n x n matrix. Then A is
nonsingular if and only if det( A ) ≠ 0
 Proof -  Let A be nonsingular. Then A can be
expressed as the product of elementary matrices,
A = E1E2 L Ek. Then det( A ) = det( E1E2 L Ek ) =
det( E1 ) det( E2 ) L det( Ek ) ≠ 0
 Let det( A ) ≠ 0. Suppose A is singular. Then A is
row equivalent to a matrix B with a row of zeros. A =
E1E2 L Ek B where E1 , E2 ,…, Ek are elementary
matrices. Since B has a row of zeros, det( B ) = 0.
Now, det( A ) = det( E1E2 L Ek B ) = det( E1 ) det( E2
) L det( Ek ) det( B ) = 0, which is a contradiction. So,
A is nonsingular.
QED
 3.2 Properties of Determinants

 Theorem - If A is an n x n matrix, then Ax = 0 has a

nontrivial solution if and only if det( A ) = 0.
 Proof - Ax = 0 has a nontrivial solution if and only if
A is singular. If A is singular, then det( A ) = 0.
 3.2 Properties of Determinants
 Theorem - If A and B are n x n matrices, then
det( AB ) = det( A ) det( B )
 Proof - If A or B is singular, then AB is singular and the
result follows immediately. So, suppose that A and B are
both nonsingular. Then A and B can be expressed as the
product of elementary matrices.
A = E1E2 L Ep and B = F1F2 L Fq
det(A) = det(E1) det(E2) L det(Ep)
det(B) = det(F1) det(F2) L det(Fq)
det(AB) = det(E1E2 L Ep F1F2 L Fq) =
det(E1) det(E2) L det(Ep) det(F1) det(F2) L det(Fq) = det(
A ) det( B )
 3.2 Properties of Determinants
 Theorem - If A is nonsingular, then
det( A–1 ) = 1 / det( A )
 Proof - Let In be the n x n identity. Then AA–1 = In
and det( In ) = 1. By the preceding theorem,
det( A ) det( A–1 ) = 1, so det( A–1 ) = 1 / det( A )
 3.2 Properties of Determinants
 Theorem - If A and B are similar matrices,
then det( A ) = det( B )
 Proof - A and B are similar if there exists a
nonsingular matrix P such that B = P–1 A P.
Then det( B ) = det( P–1 A P ) = det( P–1 )
det( A ) det( P ) = det( A )