MAM2011F, Linear Algebra 19–20 March 2025

Tutorial 5
Determinants

1. Let A be a 7 × 7 matrix, with det(A) = 3. Find

(a) det(−4A) (b) det(A−1 AT ) (c) det(A4 ) (d) det(AAT ).

Solution:

(a) det(−4A) = (−4)7 det(A) = (−4)7 · 3 = −49152.

(b) det(A−1 AT ) = det(A−1 ) · det(AT ) = 1

det(A)
det(AT ) = 1
det(A)
det(A) = 1.

(c) det(A4 ) = 34 = 81.

(d) det(AAT ) = det(A) · det(AT ) = det(A) · det(A) = 32 = 9.

2. Let
 
3 0 −9 6
 −2 5 1 −1 
A=
 −1 7
.
4 −2 
4 −1 2 3

(a) Perform elementary row operations on matrix A to make all the entries in the
first column, except the first entry, to zero.
(b) Use (a) to find det(A).

Solution:
3 0 −9 6 1 0 −3 2 1 0 −3 2
−2 5 1 −1 −2 5 1 −1 0 5 −5 3
det(A) = =3· =3·
−1 7 4 −2 −1 7 4 −2 0 7 1 0
4 −1 2 3 4 −1 2 3 0 −1 14 −5

5 −5 3
=3· 7 1 0 = 3 · 97 = 291.
−1 14 −5

1
3. Prove or disprove:
(a) For any square matrix A, det(−A) = − det(A).

Solution: False: det(−I2 ) = det(I2 ) = 1, not −1. In general, det(−A) =

(−1)n det(A) if A is an n × n matrix.

(b) If A is a square matrix, then det(AT A) ≥ 0.

Solution: True. det(AT A) = det(AT ) det(A) = (det(A))2 ≥ 0, no matter

what A is.

(c) If A and B are square matrices of the same size, det(A + B) = det(A) + det(B).

Solution: False. A possible counterexample: Let A = I2 , B = −I2 . Then

det(A + B) = 0, but det(A) + det(B) = 1 + 1 = 2.

(d) If A is a square matrix such that AT = A−1 then det(A) = 1 or det(A) = −1.

Solution: True. Since det(AT ) = det(A) we obtain det(A) = det(A−1 ) =

1
det(A)
and so (det(A))2 = 1, which makes det(A) = 1 or −1. (Note that
det(A) cannot be zero, because A is invertible.)

4. Evaluate the determinants below by inspection.

(a)

2 0 0 0
123 5 0 0
−726 544 −3 0
241 −489 267 1

Solution: The determinant can be easily evaluated by inspection because

the matrix is upper-triangular (all entries below the main diagonal are zero).
For triangular matrices, the determinant is the product of the diagonal en-
tries:

2 · 5 · (−3) · 1 = −30

2
 (b)
4 7 0 0
3 9 1 1
2 −1 2 2
1 2 3 3

Solution: The determinant is zero because the matrix has two equal columns.

(c)
1 5 0 2
−2 7 0 1
3 6 0 −7
4 1 0 3

Solution: The determinant is zero because the matrix has a zero column.

5. Let
 
0 1 2 3
1 1 1 1
A=
−2 −2 3

3
1 2 −2 −3
(a) Use Gaussian elimination to compute det(A).

Solution: Step 1: Original Matrix

 
0 1 2 3
1 1 1 1
 
−2 −2 3 3
1 2 −2 −3

Step 2: Swap Row 1 and Row 2 (sign change)

1 1 1 1
0 1 2 3
=−
−2 −2 3 3
1 2 −2 −3
Step 3: Eliminate Column 1 Entries
1 1 1 1
0 1 2 3
=− (R3 → R3 + 2R1 , R4 → R4 − R1 )
0 0 5 5
0 1 −3 −4

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 Step 4: Eliminate Column 2 Entries

1 1 1 1
0 1 2 3
=− (R4 → R4 − R2 )
0 0 5 5
0 0 −5 −7

Step 5: Eliminate Column 3 Entry

1 1 1 1
0 1 2 3
=− (R4 → R4 + R3 )
0 0 5 5
0 0 0 −2

Final Step: Compute Determinant

Now, the matrix is upper triangular. Thus, the determinant is the product
of diagonal elements multiplied by the previously factored −1 (due to row
swap):

= −(1 · 1 · 5 · (−2)) = 10

Thus, the determinant is:

det(A) = 10

(b) Use the value of det(A) to determine

0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
−2 −2 3 3 1 1 1 1
and .
1 2 −2 −3 −1 −1 4 4
1 1 1 1 2 3 −1 −2

Solution: First Matrix:

This matrix is obtained from A by two row swaps:
- R2 ↔ R4 and then R3 ↔ R2 .
Each row swap multiplies the determinant by −1, thus two swaps multiply
by (−1) · (−1) = 1. Therefore, the determinant of this matrix equals
the determinant of A. Therefore, the first determinant given in (b) is also
10.

(b) Second Matrix:

This matrix is obtained by taking the original matrix A and replacing:
- R3 → R3 + R2

4
 - R4 → R4 + R2
Adding a multiple of one row to another row does not change the deter-
minant. Thus, this operation does not change the determinant from the
original matrix A.
Therefore, the determinant of this second matrix is also equal to det(A),
which we have already found to be 10.

(c) Compute det(A) using the recursive definition of the determinant (as given in
Definition 1.7.6 from the Notes).

Solution: Expanding along the first row:

det(A) = a11 C11 + a12 C12 + a13 C13 + a14 C14

Since a11 = 0, the first term vanishes:

det(A) = (0) · C11 + (1) · C12 + (2) · C13 + (3) · C14

—
Cofactor C12 :
- Sign: (−1)1+2 = −1
- Minor M12 :

1 1 1
M12 = −2 3 3
1 −2 −3

Expanding along the first row:

3 3 −2 3 −2 3
=1· −1· +1·
−2 −3 1 −3 1 −2

Evaluate minors:
- (3 · (−3)) − (3 · (−2)) = −3
- (−2 · (−3)) − (3 · 1) = 3
- (−2 · (−2)) − (3 · 1) = 1
Thus, M12 = −3 − 3 + 1 = −5, and C12 = (−1)(−5) = 5.
—
Cofactor C13 :
- Sign: (−1)1+3 = +1

5
- Minor M13 :

1 1 1
M13 = −2 −2 3
1 2 −3

Expanding along first row:

−2 3 −2 3 −2 −2
=1· −1· +1·
2 −3 1 −3 1 2

Evaluate minors:
- (−2 · (−3)) − (3 · 2) = 0
- (−2 · (−3)) − (3 · 1) = 3
- (−2 · 2) − (−2 · 1) = −2
Thus, M13 = 0 − 3 − 2 = −5, and C13 = 1 · (−5) = −5.
—
Cofactor C14 :
- Sign: (−1)1+4 = −1
- Minor M14 :

1 1 1
M14 = −2 −2 3
1 2 −2

Expanding along first row:

−2 3 −2 3 −2 −2
=1· −1· +1·
2 −2 1 −2 1 2

Evaluate minors:
- (−2 · (−2)) − (3 · 2) = −2
- (−2 · (−2)) − (3 · 1) = 1
- (−2 · 2) − (−2 · 1) = −2
Thus, M14 = −2 − 1 − 2 = −5, and C14 = (−1)(−5) = 5.
—
Substitute back all cofactors into determinant expansion:

det(A) = (0) · C11 + (1)(5) + (2)(−5) + (3)(5) = 0 + 5 − 10 + 15 = 10

—
For large matrices, it is generally much more efficient to use Gaussian elimi-
nation to compute determinants. The recursive definition of the determinant
results in an exponential-time algorithm.