Worksheet 3 – Matrices

1. In questions a to z, the matrices have the following values

A= (23 −1
4 ) B= (01 −25 ) C= ( 41 3
−2 ) D= ( 14 5 1
−6 1 )
( ) ()
1 0 4
E= −1 1
2 5
F=( 4 5 ) G= 1
3
H= (03 1 −2
−4 5 )
( )
1 −3
J= ()
3
1
K= 0
−7 0
1

a) A + B b) D + H c) J + F d) B – C
e) 2F f) 3B g) K – E h) 2A + B
i) G–J j) C+B+A k) 2E – 3K l) 0.5A – B
m) AB n) BA o) DG p) AJ
q) HK r) KH s) (AB) C t) A (BC)
u) AF v) CK w) (D + H) G x) (A – C) D
y) A2 z) A4

2. In questions a – z, find the value of the unknowns

a) ( 2y 7x)+(−34 2y)=( xz 99)

( )( )( )
x 2 x y 8 z
b) −1 −2 + y −3 = x w
w 3 v 5 w 8

c) ( ac b0)−(−32 d5)=2( 1b −1a )

d) (−2x 3y)( 21)=(101)
)( ) ( )
2
e) ( p 2 −1
q −2 2 q
1=
3
5
−10
f) (2 y3+4y x 32 zz)=(68 −3
w )
3. If A= (13 02), B=(1x 03), and AB=BA, find x.

4. If X = ( k2 −k2 ), and X =5(10 01), find k .

2

5. M= (−13 −13 ) 6. N= (−25 −25 )

a) Find x if M 2=x M a) Find u if N 2=u N
b) Find y if M 4 = y M b) Find v if N 4 =v N

7. Find the inverse of the following 8 matrices

A= ( 43 11) B= (−12 −22 ) C= ( 02 −34 ) D= (31 −2

4 )
E= (−57 01) F= ( 21 −3
−4 ) G= (−32 11) H= (158 −3
−6 )
8. Find B if A= (−12 −2
3 )
and AB=
4 −2
0 7
. ( )

9. Find M if (−21 11) M =2( 10 01).

10. If A= ( 20 −31 ) and B=(−11 −13 ), find

a) AB b) A−1 c) B−1 d) ( AB )−1
Show that ( AB )−1=B−1 A−1

11. It is given than A= (21 11) and C=( 117). If B is a ( 2 ×1) matrix such that AB=C ,
find B

12. Find x if the determinant of ( x1 32) is

a) 5 b) -1 c) 0 d) x
What does it mean for a matrix if its determinant is 0.
13. If the matrix ( 1x −24 ) has no inverse, what is the value of x .
14. In a swimming match between two schools, C and D, two students from each
school took part in each event.
The number of places each school gained in each position is shown in the table.

First Second Third Fourth

School C 6 3 5 6

School D 4 7 5 4

The points awarded for First, Second, Third and Fourth places were 5, 3, 1 and 0
respectively.
The matrices related to this information are defined below.

()
5
A= (
6 3 5 6
4 7 5 4 ) and B=
3
1
0

a) What does the sum of the elements in each column of A represent?

b) i) Find AB.
ii) What information is shown by AB?
c) It was suggested that the points awarded for the First, Second, Third and
Fourth places should have been 5, 3, 2, and 1 respectively.
Would this suggestion have made any difference to which school won
this match? Show clear working to justify your answer.

15. Ann went on a car journey that was split into three stages.
Two relevant matrices are shown below.
The first matrix shows the average speed, in km/h, of the car during each stage.
The second matrix shows the time, in hours, taken for each stage.

()
1
1
2
X =( 40 30 50 ) and Y= 1
1
2
2

a) Find XY .
b) What information is given by the matrix obtained in part (a)?
c) Calculate the average speed of the whole journey.
16. Bertie goes shopping and buys three different types of fruit.
The first matrix below shows the number of kilograms of each fruit bought
during two different weeks.
The second matrix shows the price per kilogram, in cents, of each fruit.

( )
290
( 1 2 0.5
1.5 1 1 ) and 160
640

)( )
290
a) Find F , given than F= (
1 2 0.5
1.5 1 1
160
640
b) Explain the meaning of the information given by the matrix F .
c) Find the total amount of money, in dollars, that Bertie spent on fruit during
the two weeks.

The one question to rule them all (Know Thyself)

17. Zara is going to put carpet and underlay in three rooms, A, B and C, of her house.
The cost per square metre for the carpet in A is $18, in B is $22 and in C is $25.
The cost per square metre for the underlay is $6 in A and $8 in the other rooms.
This information is represented by matrix P below.

P= (186 22 25
8 8 )
The amount of carpet and underlay required for rooms A, B and C is 8 m2, 15 m2
and 20 m2 respectively. This information is represented by matrix Q below.

()
8
Q= 15
20

a) Find the PQ.

b) Explain what the matrix PQ represents.