10/2/23, 12:26 AM Linear Algebra Advanced Problems

Problem 5: Determinant and Cofactor Expansion

Let A be a 3 × 3 matrix defined as follows:

1 & 2 & 3 \\
0 & 4 & 5 \\
1&0&6
\end{bmatrix}

Compute the determinant of A using cofactor expansion along any row or column.

Solution 5:

The determinant of a 3 × 3 matrix A can be computed using cofactor expansion along any row or
column. Let's expand along the first row:

det(A) = 1 × C11 − 2 × C12 + 3 × C13

​ ​ ​

where Cij is the cofactor corresponding to the element at the ith row and j th column.
​

Next, calculate the cofactors Cij for each element in the first row and use them to compute the
​

determinant.

Problem 6: Eigenvalues and Diagonalization

Let A be a 4 × 4 matrix with eigenvalues λ1 ​ = 3, λ2 = −2, λ3 = 1, and λ4 = 5. Determine the matrix P

​ ​ ​

that diagonalizes A and find P −1 .

Solution 6:

For a matrix to be diagonalizable, it must have n linearly independent eigenvectors, where n is the size
of the matrix. Given that we have four distinct eigenvalues, we can find the corresponding
eigenvectors and use them to form the matrix P .

Next, form the diagonal matrix D with the eigenvalues on the diagonal.

D = diag(λ1 , λ2 , λ3 , λ4 )
​ ​ ​ ​

The matrix P is formed by arranging the eigenvectors as columns.

To find P −1 , use the inverse of P .

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10/2/23, 12:26 AM Linear Algebra Advanced Problems

P −1 = P −1

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