MATRICES AND DETERMINANTS

Introduction

In many of social and economic models, the relationship between variables is assumed to be linear.

Multiples of linear equations may be generated which are usually difficult to be solved by the

common algebraic approaches. In such situations, matric methods are found useful.

Matrices

A matrix is a set of mn numbers arranged in a tabular form with m rows and n columns. The order

of the matrix is mxn.

a11 a12 ........ a1n 

Generally, matrix is written as A = a 21 a 22 ........ a 2 n 
a m1 a m 2 ........ a mn 

The horizontal lines are known as rows, while the vertical lines are called columns. Each element

is described by its location, thus element aij is the element located on the ith row and jth column.

Common Types of Matrices

(i) Row matrix – A matrix with a single row

(ii) Column matrix – A matrix with only one column and may contain any numbers of row.

(iii) Square matrix – A matrix with same number of rows and columns, that is m = n. the

main Diagonal of a square matrix has the elements a11, a22, …, amn

(iv) Diagonal Matrix – We have a Diagonal matrix when all the elements of a square matrix

except those of the main Diagonal are zero.

 (v) Identity Matrix – A matrix is referred to as identity matrix when all elements of a

diagonal matrix are unity (1).

(vi) Zero Matrix – When all elements of a matrix are zero.

(vii) Scalar -a matrix of the order (1x1), which contains a single element is known as a

scalar.

Laws

Commutative Law: A + B = B + A

The addition of individual elements

Aij + bij = bij +  ij

for all i and j

Associative Law of Addition

A + (B + C) = (A + B) + C

Matric Multiplication

Unlike in the basic algebra, matrix multiplication is not commutative.

AB  BA

For example, let

2 3 0  1
A B= 
5 7 
and
4 6
 (2 x0)  (2 x6) (2 x  1)  (3 x7) 
AB  
(4 x0)  (5 x6) (4 x  1)  (5 x7)

0  12  2  21
AB  
0  30  4  35

12 19 
AB  
30 31

Use the same values for A and B,

Check if

AB = BA

Note that two matrices A and B can only be multiplied if the number of columns of A is equal to

the number of rows of B. If a row vector and (R) a column vector (C) each have n elements, the

product of R into C is known as scalar

Transpose of a matrix

Transpose of a matrix A, generally denoted as AT is derived by interchanging the rows and columns

of A. for example, if

a11 a12 a13 

A= 
a12 a 22 a 23 

then
  
a11 a 21 
A = a12
T
a 22 
 
 
a13 a 23 

So, if A = (aij)

Then, AT = (aji)

Inverse of a Matrix

In basic algebra

y
= yx-1 = x-1y
x

In the above, division by x is equal to multiplication by the inverse of x, that is, x-1.

Applying this to matrices:

AA-1 = A-1A = I

Properties of Inverses

(1) It is not all matrices that have inverses. Those that have no inverses are referred to as

singular, otherwise they are tagged as non-singular.

(2) If an inverse exists, it must be unique

(3) Matrix A must be square in order to have an inverse (This condition is necessary but not

sufficient).

Determinants
The determinant of a matrix is a scalar (number), derived from elements of a matrix by certain

operations. Lit is also the characteristic of the matrix. The determinants are computed for only

square matrix.

For example, the determinant of matrix A

a11 a12 
AB  
a 22 
Given then
a 21

Is given by det A = |A| = a11 a 22  a12 a 21

b11 b12 b13 

Also, if matrix B = A = b21 T
b 22 b23 
b31 b32 b33 

Determinant of matrix B is given as

Det B = |B| Using La place Method

b22 b23 b21 b23 b21 b22

 b11 - b12 + b13
b32 b33 b31 b33 b31 b32

= b11 (b22 b23  b23 b32 )  b12 (b21b33  b23 b31 )  b13 (b21b32  b22 b31 )

Each determinant in the same is the determinant of a submatrix of B gotten by deleting row and

column of B. these determinants are known as minors and then + or - signs are according to (-

1)i+jbij

Minor and Cofactor

The minor Mij of the element aij in a given determinant is the determinant of order
(n-1 x n-1) obtained by deleting the ith row and jth column for example in the determinant

b11 b12 b13 

|B | = b21 b 22 b23 
b31 b32 b33 

b22 b23
The minor of the element b11 is M11 = b13
b32 b33

b21 b23
The minor of element b12 is m12 = b13
b31 b33

and so on

The scalar eij = (-1)i+jMij are known as the cofactor of the element bij of the matrix B:

Cramer’s Rule

Cramer’s rule is an approach to solve linear equation by determinants.

Given linear equations in two variables x and y

a1x + b1y = c1 (1)

a2x + b2y = c2

Then,

Ax Ay
x= and y=
A A

[Refer to your textbooks for the proving of Cramer’s rule)

Example:

Solve the following simultaneous linear equations using Cramer’s rule

-4a + 2b = 9c = 2

3a + 4b + c = 5

a – 3b + 2c = 8

Solution

The determinant of the coefficient is

4 2 9
|A|= 3 4 1
1 3 2

= -4(8+3) – 2(6-1) – 9(-9 – 4)

|A| = 63

To derive | Aa | replace the first column of |A| with corresponding constants 2, 5, 8,

2 2 9
Aa = 5 4 1
8 3 2

= 441

The same approach for |Ab| and |Ac|

 4 2 9
|Ab| = 3 5 1
1 8 2

= -189

4 2 2
|Ac| = 3 4 5
1 3 8

= -252

Therefore,

| Aa | 441
a=  7
| A| 63

| Ab |  189
b=   3
| A| 63

| Ac |  252
c=   74
| A| 63

Example of Application of Matrices and Determinants in Social Sciences.

Good example is National Income Model commonly used by economists.

Y = C + Io + Go (1)

C = a + bY (2)

From (1): Y – C = Io + Go (3)

From (2): -by + c = a

1  1 Y  I  Go 
In matrix form:     = o 
 b 1  C  a 

Solving for Ye

I o  G o 1
a - 1
Ye =
1 -1
-b 1

I o  Go  a
=
1 b

1 Io  G o
-b a
Solving for Ce =
1 -1
-b 1

a  b(I o  G o )
=
1- b

POLYNOMIALS

A polynomial is a combination of terms containing number and variables raised to positive (or

zero) while number powers for example, 5x2y4+3x2y3-8 is a polynomial.

If the power is a fraction or negative, the contribution of terms and variables are not polynomials.

The term degree is the sum of powers in a term for example the term degree of 3x2y3 is 5

Also, the polynomial degree for 5x2y4+3x2y2 -8 is 6, that is, maximum (not total) term degree.
Addition and subtraction of Polynomials

The method follows the conventional procedure of combining like terms

For example, find (6x 3  4x - 3) - (7x 2 - 5x  3)

Solution

6𝑥 3 + 4𝑥 − 3 − 7𝑥 2 + 5𝑥 − 3

= 6x 3 - 7x 2  9x  6

Multiplying polynomials by monomial

A monomial is one-term polynomial. For this multiplication, the distributive property is

applicable.

For example, to find 10𝑥 3 𝑦 2 (3𝑥𝑦 − 6𝑦 + 8𝑥𝑦 2 )

Solution = 30x 4 y 3 - 60x 3 y 3  80x 4 y 4

The same distributive property applies to multiplying polynomials of any size

for example, expand (4x 3 - 5x  5)(x 3  3x - 4)

Solution

(4x 3 - 5x  5)x 3  (4x 3 - 5x  5)3x  (4x 3 - 5x  5)(-4)

= 4𝑥 6 − 5𝑥 4 + 5𝑥 3 + 12𝑥 4 − 15𝑥 2 + 15𝑥 − 16𝑥 3 + 20𝑥 − 20

= 4𝑥 6 + 7𝑥 4 − 11𝑥 3 − 15𝑥 2 + 35𝑥 − 20

Division of Polynomials

Example

Divide polynomial

x 3  4 x 2  5 x  14 by x – 2

Solution

x 2  6x  7
x  2 x  4 x  5 x  14
-(x3-2x2)
6x2 - 5x
-(6x2 - 12x)
7x – 14
-(7x – 14)
0
Therefore, ( x 3  4 x 2  5 x  14 ) = (x-2) ( x 3  6 x  7)

The Remainder and Factor Theorems

Suppose d(x) and P(x) are non-zero polynomials where the degree of P is greater than or equal to

the degree of d. There exist two unique polynomials q(x) and r(x), such that

P(x) = d(x) + r(x), where r(x) = 0 or the degree of r is strictly less than the degree of d.

The polynomial P is called the divider, d is the divisor, q is the quotient, r is the remainder.
If r(x) = 0, then d is called a factor of P

Therefore, the remainder theorem states: suppose P is a polynomial of degree at least 1

and c is a real number when p(x) is divided by 𝑥 − 𝑐 the remainder is P(x)

rPrrrrrrrrrerrrrremainremainder is P©

Also, the factor theorem states: Suppose P is a non-zero polynomial. The

real number c is a zero of P if and only if (𝑥 − 𝑐) is a factor of P(x)

In the above division, P(x) = 𝑥 3 + 4𝑥 2 – 5𝑥 – 14 was divided by 𝑥 − 2 and the remainder was

zero (0).

According to remainder theorem, P(2) = remainder substituting x= 2 in P(x)

 2 3  4(2) 2  5(2)  14  8  16  10  14  0

Thus, we have checked for the applicability of remainder theorem in our previous example.

PARTIAL FRACTIONS

In the section we describe how do break rational functions into pieces.

The process of breaking a fraction down back to its original form is known as partial fraction

decomposition. There are different Scenarios.

Scenario 1: When the demonstrators has non-repeated factors.

Example 1:
 7x  4
Decompose
x  2x  8
2

Solution

First factorise the denominator

7x  4 7x  4
=
x  2x  8
2
( x  2)( x  4)

7x  4 A B
= 
( x  2)( x  4) x2 x4

To find A and B, we multiply both sides by Least Common Denominator (LCD)

 7x  4 A B 
(x+2)(x-4)    
 ( x  2)( x  4) x  2 x  4 

7x – 4 = A(x-4) + B(x+2)

7x – 4 = Ax – 4A + Bx + 2B

we then group terms that have 𝑥 in common and the ones that have no 𝑥 in common.

7x = Ax + Bx = A + B = 7

-4 = -4A + 2B = -4A + 2B = -4

A+B=7

-4A + 2B = -4

A = 3, B = 4
Therefore

7x  4 A B
= 
x  2 x  8)
2
x2 x4

Scenario 2: Repeated Linear Factors

Example 2

7 x 2  5x  7
Decompose
( x  2)( x 2  2 x  1)

Solution: First factorise the quadratic equation in the Denominator before going ahead to

decompose, i.e., 𝑥 2 + 2𝑥 + 1=𝑥 2 + 𝑥 + 𝑥 + 1=𝑥(𝑥 + 1) + 1(𝑥 + 1)=(𝑥 + 1)2

7 x 2  5x  7 7 x 2  5x  7
=
( x  2)( x 2  2 x  1) ( x  2)( x  1) 2

(The denominator has one non repeated linear factor and repeated linear factor.

 7 x 2  5x  7 A B C 
    
 ( x  2)( x  2 x  1) x  2 x  1 ( x  1)
2 2


Remove the fractions by multiplying by LCD

 7 x 2  5x  7 A B C 
( x  2)( x  1) 2     
 ( x  2)( x  1)
2
x  2 x  1 ( x  1) 2 

7 x 2  5 x  7  A( x  1) 2  B( x  2)( x  1)  c( x  2)

7 x 2  5 x  7  A( x 2  2 x  1)  B( x 2  x  2)  c( x  2)  c( x  2)
7 x 2  5 x  7  Ax 2  2 Ax  A  Bx 2  Bx  2 B  Cx  2C

Collecting the like terms, such as shown below:

7 x 2  Ax 2  Bx 2

5 x  2 Ax  Bx  Cx

7  A  2 B  2C

A+B=7

2A – B + C = 5

A – 2B – 2C = 7

Solving the equations,

A = 5, B = 2, C = -3

Therefore

7 x 2  5x  7 5 2 3
  
( x  2)( x  2 x  1) x  2 x  1 ( x  1) 2
2
Scenario 3: Non repeated irreducible quadratic factors

Example 3:

2 x 2  13 x  17
Decompose into partial fractions
( x  3)( x 2  2 x  4)

In this example, the denominator has one linear factor and one irreducible quadratic equation, the

denominator will be set as A and Bx + C

2 x 2  13 x  17 A Bx  C
  2
( x  3)( x  2 x  4) x  3 x  2 x  4
2

Remove the fractions by multiplying by LCD

 2 x 2  13 x  17 A Bx  C 
( x  3)( x 2  2 x  4)   2 
 ( x  3)( x  2 x  4) x  3 x  2 x  4 
2

2 x 2  13 x  17  A( x 2  2 x  4)  ( Bx  C )( x  3)( x  3)

2 x 2  13 x  17  Ax 2  2 x  4 A  Bx 2  3Bx  ( x  3C )

Solving the equations by grouping

2 x 2  Ax 2  Bx 2

13 x  2 A  3Bx  Cx

-17 = 4A + 3C

A+B=2

-2A + 3B + C = 13
4A + 3C = 17

A = -2, B = 4, C = -3

2 x 2  13 x  17 2 4x  3
  2
( x  3)( x  2 x  4) x  3 x  2 x  4
2

Scenario 4: Repeated irreducible quadratic factor

Example 4

Case 1:

4𝑥 2 +3𝑥−11 𝐴𝑥+𝐵 𝐶𝑥+𝐷

= 𝑥 2 −5 + (𝑥 2 −5)2
(𝑥 2 −5)2

(We include linear expression in the numerator because the dev. In quadratic. Also, two

fractions are required because the quadratic factor is repeated twice).

Case 2:

2𝑥 2 −5𝑥+7 𝐴𝑥+𝐵 𝐶𝑥+𝐷 𝐸𝑥+𝐹

= 𝑥 2 −5 + (𝑥 2 −5)2 + (𝑥 2 −5)3
(𝑥 2 −5)3

(Three fractions are required because the quadratic factors are repeated three terms)

Case 3

13𝑥−8 𝐴𝑥+𝐵 𝐶𝑥+𝐷

= + (𝑥 2 −3𝑥+1)2
(𝑥 2 −3𝑥+1)2 𝑥 2 −3𝑥+1

(The fractions are required because the quadratic factor is repeated twice)