Indian Institute of Technology Indore

MA-106 (Linear Algebra and ODE)

Assignment 1, Linear Algebra

A matrix is called real (or complex) matrix if the entries of the matrix are real numbers
(or complex numbers). Transpose of an m × n matrix is an n × m matrixP B = [bij ] such
that bij = aji for all i and j. Trace of a square matrix An×n is defined as ni=1 aii .

1. Let A be a 2 × 2 real invertible matrices. Show that the image under A of

(a) straight line is a straight line

(b) a straight line passing through origin is a straight line passing through origin.
(c) parallel straight lines are parallel straight lines.

2. Let A be nilpotent (Am = 0, for some m ≥ 1) matrix. Show that I +A is invertible.

3. Show that an n × n matrix A is invertible iff the system AX = Y has a solution

for every Y = (y1 , . . . , yn )t .

4. Suppose the permutation σ takes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) to (5, 4, 1, 2, 3).

a) Find sign of σ
b) What does σ 2 := σ ◦ σ do to (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)?
c) What does the inverse permutation σ −1 do to (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)?
d) What is the sign of σ −1 ?

5. Let A = [aij ] be an invertible matrix and let B = [pi−j aij ]. Find the inverse of B
also find |B|.

6. Let A be an n × n matrix. Show that |A| = 0 iff there exist x1 , . . . , xn , not all zero,
such that A(x1 , . . . , xn )t = 0.

7. Find, by definition, the determinant of A = [aij ] in each of the following cases:

(a) A is a diagonal matrix
(b) A is a lower triangular matrix (i.e. aij = 0 for all j > i)
(c) A is an upper triangular matrix (i.e. aij = 0 for all j < i)

8. Let A = [aij ] be an n × n matrix and c be a constant. Show that |cA| = cn |A|.

What about |A−1 |, if A−1 exists?

9. A real matrix A is said to be orthogonal if AAt = I. Show that if A is orthogonal

then |A| = ±1.

10. Let A be an invertible square matrix with integer entries. Show that A−1 has integer
entries if and only if |A| = ±1.

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 Practice Problems

11. Find the inverse of the following using row operations:

 
1 2 2
 2 1 2 
2 2 1 .

12. Apply Gauss elimination to the following system

2x + y + 2z = 3
3x − y + 4z = 7
4x + 3y + 6z = 5
t 2
13. Assume that the column matrix  [x  y] represent the point (x, y) in R . Find 2 × 2
x
real matrices A such that A = b in each of the following.
  y  
x −x
(i) b = (Reflection across x−axis), (ii) b = (reflection across
−y   y
 
−x y
y−axis), (iii) b = (reflection across origin), (iv) b = (reflection across
−y   x  
kx x + ky
the line x = y), (v) b = ( dilation or contraction), (vi) b = (
ky   y
x cos θ − y sin θ
shear in x−direction), (vii) b = ( anticlockwise rotation)
x sin θ + y cos θ
14. The numbers 1375, 1287, 4191 and 5731 are all divisible by 11. Prove that the
determinant of the matrix  
1 1 4 5
 3 2 1 7 
 
 7 8 9 3 
5 7 1 1
is also divisible by 11.
15. Find the determinant of
 
1 2 3 4 ... n

 2 2 3 4 ... n 


 3 3 3 4 ... n 

 .. .. .. .. ... n 
n n n n ... n .

16. Try to use induction to find the determinant of

· · · x1n−1

x1 x21

1
 1
 x2 x22 · · · x2n−1 

 . . . ... . 
 
 . . . ... . 
1 xn x2n · · · xnn−1 .

2
  
2 −1
17. Let A =  4 −1 . Find a 2 × 3 matrix B such that BA = I. Can you find a
2 2
2 × 3 matrix Y such that AY = I?

18. Let A and B be two matrices. Show that

(a) (A + B)t = At + B t if A + B is defined.

(b) (AB)t = B t At if AB is defined.

19. Show that every square matrix can be written as a sum of a symmetric and a
skew symmetric matrices. Further show that if A and B are symmetric then AB is
symmetric if and only if AB = BA.
(A matrix A is called symmetric if A = At and skew symmetric if A = −At )

20. Show that matrix multiplication is associative and distributes over addition of ma-
trices.

21. Let A and B be two n × n invertible matrices. Show that (AB)−1 = B −1 A−1 .

22. Find two 2 × 2 invertible matrices A and B such that A 6= B and A + B is not
invertible.

23. Let A and B be two n × n matrices.

Pm m
Ifm−i AB = BA then show that (a) (AB)m =
A B and (b) (A + B) = i=1 i A B i . If AB 6= BA then these two results
m m m

need not hold. Show it by constructing examples.

24. Let A = [aij ] and B = [bij ] be n × n matrices. Show that

(a) If B = At then |A| = |B|.

(b) If A is matrix and E is an elementary matrix then show that |EA| = |E||A|.
Further show that |AB| = |A||B|.

25. For a complex matrix A = [aij ], let Ā = [ aij ] and A∗ = Āt . Show that |Ā| =
|A∗ | = |A| . Therefore if A is Hermitian (that is A∗ = A) then its determinant is
real.

26. Let A be a real matrix such that AAt = 0. Show that A = 0. Is the same true if
t
A is a complex matrix? Show that if A is a n × n complex matrix and tr A A = 0
then A = 0

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