Properties of Determinants

1. What is the determinant of a

triangular matrix?
2. How do elementary row operations
effect the value of the determinant?
3. What is the determinant of an
elementary matrix?
4. What is the determinant of an
invertible matrix?
What is the determinant of a
triangular matrix?
(
(
(

4 0 0
16 2 0
9 2 7
Hint: Expand on column 1
Row Operations
Multiply a row by a non zero constant.

What happens to the determinant?


(
(
(

=
(
(
(

=
3 4 5
4 3 2
3 4 5
4 3 2
1 1 1 k k k
B A
Row Operations: Switch two rows
(
(
(

=
(
(
(

=
3 4 5
1 1 1
4 3 2
3 4 5
4 3 2
1 1 1
B A
Row Operations: Add a multiple of
one row to another
(
(
(

+ + + =
(
(
(

=
3 4 5
4 3 2
1 1 1
3 4 5
4 3 2
1 1 1
k k k B A
Hint: Expand on Row 1
Theorem 3
Multiplication of a row by a constant multiplies
the determinant by that constant.

Switching two rows changes the sign of the
determinant.

Replacing one row by that row plus a multiple of
another row has no effect on the determinant.

Proof by induction is given in the text.
Example Find |A|
(
(
(

=
2 18 4
3 4 2
9 6 3
A
Strategy Perform row operations to obtain an upper
triangular matrix. Label each matrix with a new letter.
What is the determinant of
an elementary matrix?
Suppose a matrix A is not invertible.

What can we say about det A?

Why?
Theorem 4: A is invertible iff detA0.

Note This theorem links the determinant to
the invertible matrix theorem.

For instance, if the columns (or rows) of A
are linearly dependent, then detA=0.

So if you perform row operations so that 2
rows or columns are the same, then
detA=0.
Proof (outline)
A is invertible iff A is row equivalent to I
n
.

iff detA0

Note that each row operation changes the
determinant by some non zero factor.
Since det I
n
=1, we couldnt have started with
a determinant of 0.
Example 3 (from text) Find det A if

(
(
(
(

+
(
(
(
(

=
9 0 8 5
6 3 5 0
6 3 5 0
5 2 1 3
~
R3 2R1 R3
9 0 8 5
4 7 7 6
6 3 5 0
5 2 1 3
A
Theorem 5 If A is an nxn matrix,

detA
T
=detA

Proof: By induction. Theorem is obvious for n=1.
Suppose it is true for n=k. Let n=k+1.
The cofactor of a
1j
in A equals the cofactor of a
j1
in A
T

because the cofactors involve kxk determinants and
weve assumed the theorem is true for n=k.
So the cofactor expansion along the first row of A equals
the cofactor expansion along the first column of A
T
.
By the principle of induction, the theorem is true for all
n1.
Theorem 6 If A and B are nxn matrices, then

detAB = (detA)(detB)

Proof Please read in text for homework.

Note - det(A+B)detA+detB


Homework Finish reading and exercises
for sections 3.1 and 3.2.