COFACTOR AND
DETERMINANTS
Ryan Jeffrey P. Curbano, Ph.D.
Subject Professor, MTH5
Learning Objectives
Find the minors and
cofactors of a matrix
Find the determinants
and use expansion by
of a matrix and a
cofactors to find the
triangular matrix.
determinant of a
matrix.
The Determinant of a Matrix
• Every square matrix can be associated with a real number called its
determinant
Example
The
determinant
of a matrix
can be
positive, zero,
or negative.
Definitions of Minors and Cofactors of a
Matrix
Illustration
As you can see,
the minors and
cofactors of a
matrix can differ
only in sign. To
obtain the
cofactors of a
matrix, first find
the minors and
then apply the
checkerboard
pattern of + ’s and
-’s shown below.
Sign Pattern for Cofactors
Example
Determinant of a Matrix
The Determinant of a Matrix of Order 3
The Determinant of
a Matrix of Order 4
Using Basket Method
• There is an alternative method commonly used for evaluating the determinant
of a matrix To apply this method, copy the first and second columns of to form
fourth and fifth columns. The determinant of is then obtained by adding (or
subtracting) the products of the six diagonals, as shown in the following
diagram.
Example
Triangular Matrices
• Evaluating determinants of matrices of order 4 or higher can be tedious.
There is, however, an important exception: the determinant of a
triangular matrix. A matrix that is both upper and lower triangular is
called diagonal.
• To find the determinant of a triangular matrix, simply form the product
of the entries on the main diagonal. It is easy to see that this procedure is
valid for triangular matrices of order 2 or 3.
Activity 3: Use
expansion by
cofactors to find
the determinant
of the matrix.
Activity 4 Find
the determinant
of the triangular
matrix
MATRICES AND ZERO DETERMINANTS
Example
Determinant of a Matrix Product
Determinant of a Scalar Multiple of a Matrix
Determinant of a Transpose
Determinant of an Inverse Matrix
THE ADJOINT OF A MATRIX
Finding the Adjoint of a Square Matrix
Inverse of a Matrix Given by Its Adjoint
Using the Adjoint of a Matrix to Find Its
Inverse