“AZƏRBAYCAN HAVA YOLLARI” QSC

NATIONAL AVIATION ACADEMY

Individual Work № 3

Topic: Minors and their cofactors. The main properties of determinants. The
inverse matrix.

Subject: Higher Mathematics Teacher: Elvin Əzizbəyov

Group: 1419i Student: Hidayət Köçərli

Date:20.12.2020 Signature: Köçərli

Baku 2020
Minors and their cofactors.

Minors and cofactors are two of the most important concepts in matrices as they are
crucial in finding the adjoint and the inverse of a matrix. To find the determinants
of a large square matrix (like 4×4), it is important to find the minors of that matrix
and then the cofactors of that matrix. Below is a detailed explanation on “what are
minors and cofactors” along with steps to find them.

This article is about a concept in linear algebra. For the concept of "minor" in graph
theory, see Graph minor.

In linear algebra, a minor of a matrix A is the determinant of some smaller square

matrix, cut down from A by removing one or more of its rows and columns. Minors
obtained by removing just one row and one column from square matrices (first
minors) are required for calculating matrix cofactors, which in turn are useful for
computing both the determinant and inverse of square matrices.

A Cofactor, in mathematics, is used to find the inverse of the matrix, adjoined. The
Cofactor is the number you get when you remove the column and row of a designated
element in a matrix, which is just a numerical grid in the form of rectangle or a square.
The cofactor is always preceded by a positive (+) or negative (-) sign.

The main properties of determinants.

Properties of Determinants

In linear algebra, determinant is a special number that can be determined from a

square matrix. The determinant of a matrix, say P is denoted det(P), |P| or det P.
Determinants have some properties that are useful as they permit us to generate the
same results with different and simpler configurations of entries (elements). There
are 10 main properties of determinants which include reflection property, all-zero
property, proportionality or repetition property, switching property, scalar multiple
property, sum property, invariance property, factor property, triangle property, and
co-factor matrix property. All the determinant properties have been covered below
in a detailed way along with solved examples.
Important Properties of Determinants

1. Reflection Property:
The determinant remains unaltered if its rows are changed into columns and the columns into rows. This is
known as the property of reflection.

2. All-zero Property:
If all the elements of a row (or column) are zero, then the determinant is zero.

3. Proportionality (Repetition) Property:

If the all elements of a row (or column) are proportional (identical) to the elements of some other row (or
column), then the determinant is zero.

4. Switching Property:
The interchange of any two rows (or columns) of the determinant changes its sign.

5. Scalar Multiple Property:

If all the elements of a row (or column) of a determinant are multiplied by a non-zero constant, then the
determinant gets multiplied by the same constant.

The inverse matrix.

The inverse of a matrix A is a matrix that, when multiplied by A results in the

identity. The notation for this inverse matrix is A–1.

Does every matrix have an inverse?

Thinking about the number 0, there is no number you can multiply it by to get 1. So, the number 0
has no multiplicative inverse.

Similarly, not every matrix has an inverse. For it to even be a possibility, the matrix must first be
square (same number of rows as columns). Even then, there may not be an inverse. When talking
about a matrix with or without an inverse, the following terminology is used:

 A matrix is said to be invertible or, less commonly, nonsingular if it has an inverse.

 A matrix is said to be singular or not invertible if it does not have an inverse.
Often, you can’t simply look at a matrix and tell whether it is invertible or not. Consider the
following matrix.
You can verify that this matrix not invertible using your calculator. Or, ff you have studied a lot of
linear algebra, you may be able to tell by carefully inspecting the columns (hint: it has to do with
linear dependence).
How can we determine if a matrix is invertible?
This is one of the biggest areas of study in a linear algebra course, since, it turns out that invertible
matrices have connections back to systems of equations and to other concepts like linear
independence or dependence. This idea will be explored in future articles.