# Tagged: determinant of a matrix

## Problem 394

Determine the values of $x$ so that the matrix
$A=\begin{bmatrix} 1 & 1 & x \\ 1 &x &x \\ x & x & x \end{bmatrix}$ is invertible.
For those values of $x$, find the inverse matrix $A^{-1}$.

## Problem 391

(a) Is the matrix $A=\begin{bmatrix} 1 & 2\\ 0& 3 \end{bmatrix}$ similar to the matrix $B=\begin{bmatrix} 3 & 0\\ 1& 2 \end{bmatrix}$?

(b) Is the matrix $A=\begin{bmatrix} 0 & 1\\ 5& 3 \end{bmatrix}$ similar to the matrix $B=\begin{bmatrix} 1 & 2\\ 4& 3 \end{bmatrix}$?

(c) Is the matrix $A=\begin{bmatrix} -1 & 6\\ -2& 6 \end{bmatrix}$ similar to the matrix $B=\begin{bmatrix} 3 & 0\\ 0& 2 \end{bmatrix}$?

(d) Is the matrix $A=\begin{bmatrix} -1 & 6\\ -2& 6 \end{bmatrix}$ similar to the matrix $B=\begin{bmatrix} 1 & 2\\ -1& 4 \end{bmatrix}$?

## Problem 390

Prove that if $A$ and $B$ are similar matrices, then their determinants are the same.

## Problem 389

(a) A $2 \times 2$ matrix $A$ satisfies $\tr(A^2)=5$ and $\tr(A)=3$.
Find $\det(A)$.

(b) A $2 \times 2$ matrix has two parallel columns and $\tr(A)=5$. Find $\tr(A^2)$.

(c) A $2\times 2$ matrix $A$ has $\det(A)=5$ and positive integer eigenvalues. What is the trace of $A$?

(Harvard University, Linear Algebra Exam Problem)

## Problem 380

Find the determinant of the following matrix
$A=\begin{bmatrix} 6 & 2 & 2 & 2 &2 \\ 2 & 6 & 2 & 2 & 2 \\ 2 & 2 & 6 & 2 & 2 \\ 2 & 2 & 2 & 6 & 2 \\ 2 & 2 & 2 & 2 & 6 \end{bmatrix}.$

(Harvard University, Linear Algebra Exam Problem)

## Problem 374

Let $A=\begin{bmatrix} a_0 & a_1 & \dots & a_{n-2} &a_{n-1} \\ a_{n-1} & a_0 & \dots & a_{n-3} & a_{n-2} \\ a_{n-2} & a_{n-1} & \dots & a_{n-4} & a_{n-3} \\ \vdots & \vdots & \dots & \vdots & \vdots \\ a_{2} & a_3 & \dots & a_{0} & a_{1}\\ a_{1} & a_2 & \dots & a_{n-1} & a_{0} \end{bmatrix}$ be a complex $n \times n$ matrix.
Such a matrix is called circulant matrix.
Then prove that the determinant of the circulant matrix $A$ is given by
$\det(A)=\prod_{k=0}^{n-1}(a_0+a_1\zeta^k+a_2 \zeta^{2k}+\cdots+a_{n-1}\zeta^{k(n-1)}),$ where $\zeta=e^{2 \pi i/n}$ is a primitive $n$-th root of unity.

## Problem 363

(a) Find all the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the matrix
$A=\begin{bmatrix} 3 & -2\\ 6& -4 \end{bmatrix}.$

(b) Let
$A=\begin{bmatrix} 1 & 0 & 3 \\ 4 &5 &6 \\ 7 & 0 & 9 \end{bmatrix} \text{ and } B=\begin{bmatrix} 2 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 3 &0 \\ 0 & 0 & 4 \end{bmatrix}.$ Then find the value of
$\det(A^2B^{-1}A^{-2}B^2).$ (For part (b) without computation, you may assume that $A$ and $B$ are invertible matrices.)

## Problem 338

Each of the following sets are not a subspace of the specified vector space. For each set, give a reason why it is not a subspace.
(1) $S_1=\left \{\, \begin{bmatrix} x_1 \\ x_2 \\ x_3 \end{bmatrix} \in \R^3 \quad \middle | \quad x_1\geq 0 \,\right \}$ in the vector space $\R^3$.

(2) $S_2=\left \{\, \begin{bmatrix} x_1 \\ x_2 \\ x_3 \end{bmatrix} \in \R^3 \quad \middle | \quad x_1-4x_2+5x_3=2 \,\right \}$ in the vector space $\R^3$.

(3) $S_3=\left \{\, \begin{bmatrix} x \\ y \end{bmatrix}\in \R^2 \quad \middle | \quad y=x^2 \quad \,\right \}$ in the vector space $\R^2$.

(4) Let $P_4$ be the vector space of all polynomials of degree $4$ or less with real coefficients.
$S_4=\{ f(x)\in P_4 \mid f(1) \text{ is an integer}\}$ in the vector space $P_4$.

(5) $S_5=\{ f(x)\in P_4 \mid f(1) \text{ is a rational number}\}$ in the vector space $P_4$.

(6) Let $M_{2 \times 2}$ be the vector space of all $2\times 2$ real matrices.
$S_6=\{ A\in M_{2\times 2} \mid \det(A) \neq 0\}$ in the vector space $M_{2\times 2}$.

(7) $S_7=\{ A\in M_{2\times 2} \mid \det(A)=0\}$ in the vector space $M_{2\times 2}$.

(Linear Algebra Exam Problem, the Ohio State University)

(8) Let $C[-1, 1]$ be the vector space of all real continuous functions defined on the interval $[a, b]$.
$S_8=\{ f(x)\in C[-2,2] \mid f(-1)f(1)=0\}$ in the vector space $C[-2, 2]$.

(9) $S_9=\{ f(x) \in C[-1, 1] \mid f(x)\geq 0 \text{ for all } -1\leq x \leq 1\}$ in the vector space $C[-1, 1]$.

(10) Let $C^2[a, b]$ be the vector space of all real-valued functions $f(x)$ defined on $[a, b]$, where $f(x), f'(x)$, and $f^{\prime\prime}(x)$ are continuous on $[a, b]$. Here $f'(x), f^{\prime\prime}(x)$ are the first and second derivative of $f(x)$.
$S_{10}=\{ f(x) \in C^2[-1, 1] \mid f^{\prime\prime}(x)+f(x)=\sin(x) \text{ for all } -1\leq x \leq 1\}$ in the vector space $C[-1, 1]$.

(11) Let $S_{11}$ be the set of real polynomials of degree exactly $k$, where $k \geq 1$ is an integer, in the vector space $P_k$.

(12) Let $V$ be a vector space and $W \subset V$ a vector subspace. Define the subset $S_{12}$ to be the complement of $W$,
$V \setminus W = \{ \mathbf{v} \in V \mid \mathbf{v} \not\in W \}.$

## Problem 337

Let $A, B$ be complex $2\times 2$ matrices satisfying the relation
$A=AB-BA.$

Prove that $A^2=O$, where $O$ is the $2\times 2$ zero matrix.

## Problem 332

Let $G=\GL(n, \R)$ be the general linear group of degree $n$, that is, the group of all $n\times n$ invertible matrices.
Consider the subset of $G$ defined by
$\SL(n, \R)=\{X\in \GL(n,\R) \mid \det(X)=1\}.$ Prove that $\SL(n, \R)$ is a subgroup of $G$. Furthermore, prove that $\SL(n,\R)$ is a normal subgroup of $G$.
The subgroup $\SL(n,\R)$ is called special linear group

## Problem 330

Let $V$ be the vector space of all $n\times n$ real matrices.
Let us fix a matrix $A\in V$.
Define a map $T: V\to V$ by
$T(X)=AX-XA$ for each $X\in V$.

(a) Prove that $T:V\to V$ is a linear transformation.

(b) Let $B$ be a basis of $V$. Let $P$ be the matrix representation of $T$ with respect to $B$. Find the determinant of $P$.

## Problem 316

Let $n$ be an odd positive integer.
Determine whether there exists an $n \times n$ real matrix $A$ such that
$A^2+I=O,$ where $I$ is the $n \times n$ identity matrix and $O$ is the $n \times n$ zero matrix.

If such a matrix $A$ exists, find an example. If not, prove that there is no such $A$.

How about when $n$ is an even positive number?

## Problem 289

(a) Find the inverse matrix of
$A=\begin{bmatrix} 1 & 0 & 1 \\ 1 &0 &0 \\ 2 & 1 & 1 \end{bmatrix}$ if it exists. If you think there is no inverse matrix of $A$, then give a reason.

(b) Find a nonsingular $2\times 2$ matrix $A$ such that
$A^3=A^2B-3A^2,$ where
$B=\begin{bmatrix} 4 & 1\\ 2& 6 \end{bmatrix}.$ Verify that the matrix $A$ you obtained is actually a nonsingular matrix.

(The Ohio State University, Linear Algebra Midterm Exam Problem)