Carleton University

School of Mathematics and Statistics

MATH 1119 A, Fall 2017
Test 4, November 22, 2017

Part I. True or false Questions. Each question carries one mark.

1. Let A and B be two 𝑛 × 𝑛 matrices. Then det (𝐴𝐵) = 𝑑𝑒𝑡(𝐴) 𝑑𝑒𝑡(𝐵). T F

2. If A is a 𝑛 × 𝑛 matrix and 𝛼 is a number, then 𝑑𝑒𝑡 (𝛼𝐴) = 𝛼 𝑑𝑒𝑡(𝐴). T F

3. Let A be a 𝑛 × 𝑛 matrix. If A has a column with zeros in all its entries, 𝑑𝑒𝑡 (𝐴) = 0.
T F
4 5
4. The determinant of the matrix 𝐴 = [ ] is 2. T F
2 3
5. Let A be a 𝑛 × 𝑛 matrix. If det(𝐴) = 0, the homogeneous system Ax = 0 has an infinite
solution set. T F

Part II. Essay questions. Show your work for each question.
1 1 −1
6. Consider the matrix 𝐴 = [ 0 −1 1 ].
−4 −2 2
A) Compute det A by row reducing A to RREF. [2 marks]

B) Is A invertible? [1 marks]

C) Give the solution set of the corresponding homogeneous system 𝐴𝑥 = 0 in a

parametric form. [2 marks]
Answer.
A) The row reduction process is as follows.
1 1 −1 𝑅3 →𝑅3+4𝑅1 1 1 −1 𝑅3 →𝑅3+2𝑅2 1 1 −1 −𝑅2 1 1 −1
[ 0 −1 1 ] → [0 −1 1 ] → [0 −1 1 ] → [0 1 −1]
−4 −2 2 0 2 −2 0 0 0 0 0 0

𝑅1 →𝑅1 −𝑅2 1 0 0
→ [0 1 −1] = 𝑅
0 0 0
 Let 𝐸1 , 𝐸2 , 𝐸3 , and 𝐸4 be the elementary operations representing the operations
𝑅3 →𝑅3 +4𝑅1 𝑅3 →𝑅3 +2𝑅2 −𝑅2 𝑅1 →𝑅1 −𝑅2
→ ,→ , → and → , respectively. Then
1 0 0
𝑑𝑒𝑡 [0 1 −1]
𝑑𝑒𝑡 𝑅 0 0 0
𝑑𝑒𝑡 𝐴 = =
𝑑𝑒𝑡 𝐸1 𝑑𝑒𝑡 𝐸2 𝑑𝑒𝑡 𝐸3 𝑑𝑒𝑡 𝐸4 (1)(1)(−1)(1)
As the matrix R is triangular, 𝑑𝑒𝑡 𝑅 = (1)(1)(0) = 0. Then
0
𝑑𝑒𝑡𝐴 = =0
−1
B) The matrix A is noninvertible as 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝐴 = 0.

1 0 0
C) As the RREF of A is [0 1 −1], the solution of the system is
0 0 0
𝑥1 = 0,
𝑥2 = 𝑥3
𝑥3 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒
The solution set can be written as
𝑥1 0 0
𝑥 𝑥
𝑥 = [ 2 ] = [ 3 ] =𝑥3 [1]
𝑥3 𝑥3 1
Letting 𝑠 = 𝑥3 , the solution set of the system can be written in the vector parametric form
𝑥1 0 0 0
𝑥
as 𝑥 = [ 2 ] = [𝑥3 ] =[ 𝑠 ] = 𝑠 [1] , where s is any real number.
𝑥3 𝑥3 𝑠 1
−2 3 3
7. Consider the matrix 𝐴 = [−4 −1 −4]. Compute 𝑑𝑒𝑡 𝐴 by cofactor expansion along
2 2 4
the column 2.
[3 marks]
Answer
2 2
det 𝐴 = 3(−1)1+2 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝐴(1/2) + (−1)(−1)2+2 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝐴 ( ) + 2(−1)3+2 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝐴 ( )
2 3
−4 −4
= −3 𝑑𝑒𝑡 [ ]
2 4
−2 3 −2 3
− 𝑑𝑒𝑡 [ ] − 2 𝑑𝑒𝑡 [ ] = −3(−8) − (−14) − 2(20) = −2.
2 4 −4 −4
 3 2 1
8. Consider the linear system Ax=b, with 𝐴 = [ ] and 𝑏 = [ ]. Solve the system
4 2 −2
Ax=b by the Cramer’s rule. [3 marks]

Answer
𝑑𝑒𝑡𝐴 = (2)(3) − (2)(4) = 6 − 8 = −2
1 2
𝑑𝑒𝑡 [ ]
𝑥1 = −2 2 = 6 = −3
𝑑𝑒𝑡 𝐴 −2

3 1
𝑑𝑒𝑡 [ ]
𝑥2 = 4 −2 = −10 = 5
𝑑𝑒𝑡 𝐴 −2

The solution of the system is

𝑥1 −3
𝑥 = [𝑥 ] = [ ]
2 5