Western University

London Canada
Department of Mathematics
MATH 1229 Final Exam

April 14, 2023 Version A 9:00 - 12:00 noon

MATH 1229

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Complete the inside cover of this booklet AND the pro-

vided bubblesheet when the exam begins. Ensure your Student
Name and Student ID Number are correct before handing in your booklet and
bubblesheet.

2. CALCULATORS AND NOTES ARE NOT PERMITTED

3. DO NOT UNSTAPLE THE BOOKLET.

4. There are two parts to this examination: Part A (36 marks) in multiple choice
format and Part B (14 marks) in written answer format.

5. In Part A, fill in the bubble corresponding to the correct answer to each question
completely on the bubblesheet provided with your exam.

6. In Part B, write your answer in the space provided.

7. Questions are printed on both sides of the paper. They begin on Page 1 and
continue to Page 17. Be sure that your booklet is complete.

8. You must hand in this test booklet, the bubblesheet, and all rough work sheets.

9. TOTAL MARKS = 50
Remember to ensure your Student Name and Student ID Number
are correct before handing in your booklet.

Student ID Number

Student’s Name (Print)

 Page 1

PART A (36 marks)

YOUR ANSWERS TO THE PROBLEMS IN THIS PART MUST BE PROPERLY

FILLED IN ON THE SCANTRON PROVIDED WITH YOUR EXAM.

−→
1 A1. Determine the vector P Q equivalent to the directed line segment starting at point P (−4, 12) and
mark ending at point Q(0, 3).

A: (−4, 15) B: (4, −15) C: (−4, 9) D: (4, −9) E: (−2, −2)

−→
Solution: Our vector starts at P and ends at Q. So to find the components of P Q we subtract the
coordinates of P from the corresponding coordinates of Q.
−→
PQ = Q − P
= (0, 3) − (−4, 12)


= 0 − −4, 3 − 12
= (4, −9)

1 A2. Consider vectors ~u = (−6, 1, −1), ~v = (6, 1, 3) and w

~ = (−2, −1, −2). Simplify −~u − 3~v − w.
~
mark
A: (−6, −1, −3) B: (−10, −3, −6) C: (−2, −1, −2) D: (−4, −2, −4) E: (4, 0, 1)

Solution: To perform this calculation, we first perform the scalar multiplication and then simplify
the rest of the expression,
−~u − 3~v − w
~ = −(−6, 1, −1) − 3(6, 1, 3) − (−2, −1, −2)
= (6, −1, 1) − (18, 3, 9) − (−2, −1, −2)
= (−10, −3, −6)

1 A3. Simplify (1, −1, −1) × (−4, 1, −2).

mark
A: (12, 3, 9) B: (−1, 4, 4) C: (−3, −6, 3) D: (−12, −3, −9) E: (3, 6, −3)

Solution: We can use the formula,

(u1 , u2 , u3 ) × (v1 , v2 , v3 ) = u2 v3 − v2 u3 , u3 v1 − v3 u1 , u1 v2 − v1 u2
When applied to our vectors we can simplify the expression,


(1, −1, −1) × (−4, 1, −2) = (−1)(−2) − (1)(−1), (−1)(−4) − (−2)(1), (1)(1) − (−4)(−1) = (3, 6, −3)
 Page 2

1 A4. Consider the line given by equation: x + y = −2. Which one of the following points is not on this
mark line?

A: (−3, 1) B: (−1, −1) C: (4, 0) D: (5, −7) E: (4, −6)

Solution: To determine whether or not a point is on a line we need to substitute the point into the
equation of the line (x + y = −2) and determine if the equation is satisfied (Left Hand Side = Right
Hand Side). Doing this we see,
(−3) + (1) = −2 = −2
(5) + (−7) = −2 = −2
(−1) + (−1) = −2 = −2
(4) + (−6) = −2 = −2
(4) + (0) = 4 6= −2
and we conclude (4, 0) is the only point not on the line.

1 A5. If the line (x, y, z) = (3, −5, 1) + t(2, k, −4) is parallel to the plane 2x + y + 3z = −5 determine the
mark value of k.

A: k = 8 B: k = −5 C: k = 2 D: k = 3 E: k = 13

Solution: For a line to be parallel to the plane the direction vector of the line must be orthogonal
to the normal vector (2, 1, 3). So that means 0 = (2, k − 4) • (2, 1, 3) = 4 + k − 12. This simplifies to
8 = k.

1 A6. Determine the distance from the point, P (1, 1), to the line, −x + 5y = −1.
mark
4 3 5 −5 −3
A: √ B: √ C: √ D: √ E: √
26 26 26 26 26

| ax + by − c |
Solution: The distance from the point (p1 , p2 ) to the line, ax + by = c is given by √ .
a2 + b 2
Applying this to the given point and line we find a distance of
| (−1) · 1 + 5 · 1 − (−1) | 5
p =√
2
(−1) + 5 2 26
.

1 A7. Find the point of intersection between the plane, x + y + z = 2, and the line,
mark (x, y, z) = (−3, −6, −1) + t(−2, −8, −2).

A: (1, 10, 3) B: (−1, 2, 1) C: (−5, −14, −3) D: (−8, 2, 8) E: (−3, −6, −1)
 Page 3

Solution: Writing out the line in parametric form we get

x = −3 − 2t
y = −6 − 8t
z = −1 − 2t
which can which can be substituted into the standard form equation for the plane,
(−3 − 2t) + (−6 − 8t) + (−1 − 2t) = 2

We can simplify both sides to get −10 − 12t = 2. This can be rearranged to give us a value of
t = −1. Plugging this back into our line we get the unique point of intersection,

(−3, −6, −1) + (−1)(−2, −8, −2) = (−1, 2, 1)

1 A8. Which one of the following vectors is not orthogonal to (1, −6, −5, 4)?
mark
A: (2, −1, 0, −2) B: (−1, −7, 3, −7) C: (5, 0, 5, 5) D: (6, 2, 2, 4) E: (3, −1, 5, 4)

Solution: Two vectors are orthogonal if their dot product is equal to zero. So we’ll just compute
the dot products of (1, −6, −5, 4) with each of the presented options.

(1)(3) + (−6)(−1) + (−5)(5) + (4)(4) = 0

(1)(2) + (−6)(−1) + (−5)(0) + (4)(−2) = 0
(1)(5) + (−6)(0) + (−5)(5) + (4)(5) = 0
(1)(6) + (−6)(2) + (−5)(2) + (4)(4) = 0
(1)(−1) + (−6)(−7) + (−5)(3) + (4)(−7) = −2
And from these calculations we see that (−1, −7, 3, −7) is the vector which is not orthogonal to
(1, −6, −5, 4)

1 A9. Suppose that θ is the angle between the two vectors, ~u = (1, 3, −1, −4) and ~v = (−1, −3, −3, −2).
mark Which of the following is equal to cos(θ)?

−28 −1 −16 1 28
A: √ √ B: √ √ C: √ √ D: √ √ E: √ √
27 46 27 23 46 23 27 23 27 46

Solution: For vectors ~u and ~v we can use the formula,

~u · ~v
cos(θ) =
||~u||||~v ||
Using the given vectors in this formula we find
(1)(−1) + (3)(−3) + (−1)(−3) + (−4)(−2)
cos(θ) = p p
(1) + (3)2 + (−1)2 + (−4)2 (−1)2 + (−3)2 + (−3)2 + (−2)2
2

1
= √ √
27 23
 Page 4

1 A10. Find the solution to the system represented by the augmented matrix below,
mark
1 0 −3 0 2 1
 

 0 1 2 0 0 5 
 
 
 0 0 0 1 −5 0 
 
0 0 0 0 0 0

A: (x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 , x5 ) = (1, 5, 0, 0, 0)

B: (x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 , x5 ) = (1 + t, 5 − 2t, t, 5t, t)

C: (x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 , x5 ) = (1 − 3s + 2t, 5 + 2s, s, 5t, t)

D: (x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 , x5 ) = (1 + 3s − 2t, 5 − 2s, s, 5t, t)

E: this system has no solutions

Solution: Converting back to a system of equations we have

x1 − 3x3 + 2x5 = 1
x2 + 2x3 = 5
x4 − 5x5 = 0

We can see that x3 and x5 are free variables (since their columns don’t have leading 1s). Let x3 = s
and x5 = t. We can then rearrange our equations to solve for the other three variables.
x1 − 3s + 2t = 1
x2 + 2s = 5
x4 − 5t = 0
becomes
x1 = 1 + 3s − 2t
x2 = 5 − 2s
x4 = 5t
which gives us the full solution, (x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 , x5 ) = (1 + 3s − 2t, 5 − 2s, s, 5t, t).

1 −1 −2
 

1 A11. Find the reduced row echelon form of the matrix,  3 −2 −6 .

 
mark −5 6 9

1 0 2 1 −2 0 1 −1 2 1 0 −2 1 0 0
         

A: 
 0 1 3 

B: 
 0 0 1 

C: 
 0 0 0 

D: 
 0 1 0 

E: 
 0 1 0 


0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
 Page 5

Solution:
1 −1 −2 1 −1 −2
   

 3 −2 −6  R2 ← R2 − 3R1  0 1 0
   
−−−−−−−−−−−→

−5 6 9 −5 6 9
1 −1 −2
 

R3 ← R3 + 5R1  0 1 0
 
−−−−−−−−−−−→

0 1 −1
1 0 −2
 

R1 ← R1 + R2  0 1 0 
 
−−−−−−−−−−→
0 1 −1
1 0 −2
 

R3 ← R3 − R2  0 1 0 
 
−−−−−−−−−−→
0 0 −1
1 0 −2
 

R3 ← −R3  0 1 0 
 
−−−−−−−→
0 0 1
1 0 0
 

R1 ← R1 + 2R3  0 1 0 
 
−−−−−−−−−−−→
0 0 1

1 A12. For what value(s) of k does the system represented by

mark
1 0 −3 1
 

 0 1 2 −4 
 

0 5 k 3
have exactly one solution?

A: no such k B: any k > −10 C: k = ±1 only D: any k 6= 10 E: k = 11 only

Solution: In order to have exactly one solution to the system we’ll need to have a third leading 1
in the third column (we have two already in the first two columns). We start to row reduce,
1 0 −3 1 1 0 −3 1
   

 0 1 2 −4  R3 ← R3 − 5R2  0 1 2 −4 . In order to have the third leading 1 that

   
−−−−−−−−−−−→
0 5 k 3 0 0 k − 10 23
we need, we’ll have to be able to use an elementary row operation to turn k − 10 into a 1. This can
be done exactly when k − 10 6= 0. So for any k 6= 10 we’ll get a third leading 1 and ultimately the
system will have exactly one unique solution.
 Page 6
 
4 −1 8
−5 0 7
 
1 A13. If B = 
  find the (3, 2) entry of B.
mark  2 9 1 

3 −2 −3

A: 4 B: 7 C: 9 D: 1 E: −5

Solution: The (3, 2) entry of B is found in the third row and the second column, b32 = 9.


2 −1
 
−1 0


1 A14. If A = 0 1  and B =  3 4  simplify 4A − B.

   
mark 3 2 2 −1


−4
 
−4
     
−4

9 8 6 3 1 0 7
A: 
−3 0 

B: 
0 4 

C: 
−4 0

D: 
−3 −4

E: 
3 8 


10 9 12 8 2 −7 −2 1 14 7

Solution:

2 −1
 
−1 0
 
8 −4
 
−1 0
 
8 − (−1) −4 − 0
 
9 −4


4A − B = 4 0 1  −  3 4  =  0 4 − 3 4 = 0−3 4 − 4  = −3 0 

           

3 2 2 −1 12 8 2 −1 12 − 2 8 − (−1) 10 9


2 5 −1
 
0 −3 1


1 A15. If A = 0 3 1  and B = 2 4 −1 simplify AT B 2 .

   
mark 2 1 2 1 0 2


−15
 
9 14 −5
 
−6 −30 20
 
−1

23 29 4 6
A: 
23 27 −7 

B: 
7 12 −1

C: 
−2 −33 18

D: 
−3 12 23 


1 −20 16 4 −2 5 16 16 1 12 −9 26
 
2 18 10
E: 
13 93 12


6 7 8

  
0 −3 1

0 −3 1
 
−5 −12 5

2 0 2
Solution: AT =  5 3 1 and B 2 = 2 4 −1 2 4 −1 =  7 10 −4. So,
      

−1 1 2 1 0 2 1 0 2 2 −3 5
 
−5 −12 5
 
−6 −30 20

2 0 2
AT B 2 =  5 3 1  7 10 −4 = −2 −33 18
     

−1 1 2 2 −3 5 16 16 1
 Page 7

1 A16. Suppose A and
B are 3 × 5 matrices and C is a 6 × 5 matrix. Determine the dimensions of the
mark matrix A + B C T (3C).

A: 6 × 6 B: 3 × 5 C: 3 × 6 D: 6 × 5 E: 5 × 3

Solution: Since A and B are 3 × 5 matrices, A + B is a 3 × 5 matrix. Since C is a 6 × 5 matrix,

3C is also a 6 × 5 matrix and C T is a 5 × 6 matrix. The product C T (3C) is a 5 × 5 matrix. Finally,
(A + B)C T (3C) would then be a 3 × 5 matrix.

1 A17. If A is a 3 × 3 matrix, simplify 5A−1 A.

mark
  
−5 −5 −5
      
1 1 1 3 0 0 5 0 0 1 0 0
A: 
1 1 1

B: 
−5 −5 −5 C: 0 3 0
  
D: 
0 5 0

E: 
0 1 0


1 1 1 −5 −5 −5 0 0 3 0 0 5 0 0 1

   
1 0 0 5 0 0
Solution: 5A−1 A = 5I = 5 0 1 0 = 0 5 0.
   

0 0 1 0 0 5

" #−1 " #

a b 5 −3
1 A18. Suppose we know that = . Solve the system of linear equations,
mark c d −2 −1

ax + by = 3
cx + dy = 4

A: (x, y) = (12, −1) B: (x, y) = (3, −10) C: (x, y) = (3, −2) D: (x, y) = (−2, −10)

E: (x, y) = (12, −10)

" #" # " #

a b x 3
Solution: Writing the SLE as a matrix equation we have = . Rewriting the
c d y 4
" # " #−1 " # " #" # " #
x a b 3 5 −3 3 3
equation with the method of inverses we find = = = . So
y c d 4 −2 −1 4 −10
(x, y) = (3, −10) is the solution to the system.

 
1 0 1
1 A19. Find the rank of the matrix, 1 1 0 .
 
mark 0 1 −1

A: 0 B: 1 C: 2 D: 3 E: 5
 Page 8

Solution: To find the rank we need to row reduce our matrix,

   
1 0 1 1 0 1
 1 1 0  R2 ← R2 − R1  0 1 −1 
   
−−−−−−−−−−→
0 1 −1 0 1 −1
 
1 0 1
R3 ← R3 − R2  0 1 −1 
 
−−−−−−−−−−→
0 0 0
From there we can see there are 2 leading 1s, so the rank of the original matrix must be 2.

~
1  a system of equations represented by A~x = b. If A has a rank of 5, the augmented
A20. Suppose we have
mark matrix A ~b has a rank of 6 and A is known to have dimensions 7 × 8 which one of the following
statements about the system is correct?

A: there are no solutions

B: there is one unique solution

C: there is a one parameter family of solutions

D: there is a two parameter family of solutions

E: there is a three parameter family of solutions

Solution: Since rk(A) = 5 < 6 = rk A|~b we can conclude the system A~x = ~b has no solutions.
 

1 A21. Which one of the following augmented matrices represents a homogenous system of linear equations?
mark

2 0 −1 0
   
4 2 −1 5
 
3 −1 2 0

1 0 0 1
A: 
 0 1 3 3 

B: 
 0 1 0 0 

C: 
 −1 7 0 2  D:  2 0
 
5 0 


0 0 0 1 0 0 1 −2 0 0 0 0 1 1 −4 0

3 −2 0 0


E: 
 0 0 6 0 


0 0 0 1

Solution: A homogeneous SLE is one where   on the right of the | are 0. The only
all the constants
3 −1 2 0
presented option where this is the case is  2 0 5 0 .
 

1 1 −4 0
 Page 9

1 A22. Suppose that A is a 4 × 4 matrix with det(A) = 3. Which of the following statements is/are false?
mark
(i) A is an invertible matrix.
(ii) The rank of A is 3.
(iii) The homogeneous system A~x = ~0 has infinitely many solutions.

A: (i) only B: (ii) and (iii) only C: (i) and (iii) only D: (iii) only

E: (i) and (ii) only

Solution: Since det(A) = 3 6= 0 we know by the Fundamental Theorem of Invertible Matrices that
A must be invertible, its rank must be equal to its size (so its rank is 4), and the homogeneous SLE
A~x = ~0 will have a unique (trivial) solution. Comparing these consequences to the given statements
we see (i) is true, but (ii) and (iii) are false.


3 −1 2


1 A23. Find the (3, 1) cofactor of the matrix 2 5 −1.

 
mark 1 3 3

A: 0 B: 17 C: −9 D: 18 E: 1

" #
−1 2
Solution: (3, 1) cofactor = (−1)3+1 det = (1)(1 − 10) = −9.
5 −1

" #
−4 3
1 A24. Evaluate det .
mark 5 2

A: −19 B: −16 C: 12 D: 7 E: −23

" #
−4 3
Solution: det = (−4)(2) − (3)(5) = −8 − 15 = −23.
5 2

 
3 0 0
1 A25. Evaluate det 0 −1 0.
 
mark 0 0 5

A: −15 B: 7 C: 10 D: 0 E: −35

 
3 0 0
Solution: Since the matrix is diagonal we can quickly det 0 −1 0 = (3)(−1)(5) = −15.
 

0 0 5
 Page 10
 
2 2 2
1 A26. Evaluate det  5 2 3 .
 
mark −1 −1 −1

A: 6 B: −3 C: 3 D: 7 E: 0

Solution:
 Since the first row is −2 times the third row we can immediately conclude that
2 2 2
det  5 2 3  = 0.
 

−1 −1 −1

 
4 0 −14
−1 2 −1 5 
 
1 A27. Evaluate det 
2
.
mark  4 2 0 

7 −3 7 3

A: 0 B: −56 C: 314 D: −9 E: 21

Solution:
 Since the first
 and third columns are identical we can immediately conclude that
4 0 4 −1
−1 2 −1 5 
 
det 
2
 = 0.
 4 2 0 

7 −3 7 3

For questions A28 and A29 use the following information.

 
a b c
det d e f  = −6
 

g h i


d−a e−b f −c


1 A28. Evaluate det  2g 2h 2i .

 
mark a b c

A: 8 B: −6 C: 12 D: −12 E: 3
 Page 11

Solution:
     
a b c g h i d e f
d e f  d e f  g h i 
     
R1 ↔ R3 R1 ↔ R2
−−−−−−→ −−−−−−→
g h i a b c a b c
det = −6 det = 6 det = −6

  
d−a e−b f −c

d e f
2g 2h 2i R1 → R1 − R3  2g 2h 2i 
   
R2 → 2R2
−−−−−−→ −−−−−−−−−−→
a b c a b c
det = −12 det = −12


−h

b e
1 A29. Evaluate det  a d −g .
 
mark c + 3a f + 3d −i − 3g

1
A: −6 B: 12 C: 4 D: −18 E:
2

Solution:
    
a d −g

a b c a d g
d e f   b e h  b e −h
     
transpose C3 → −C3
−−−−−−→ −−−−−−−→
g h i c f i c f −i
det = −6 det = −6 det = 6

b e −h
 
−h

b e
a d −g  R3 → R3 + 3R2  a d −g 
   
R1 ↔ R2
−−−−−−→ −−−−−−−−−−−→
c f −i c + 3a f + 3d −i − 3g
det = −6 det = −6

1 A30. Suppose we are told
that det(A) = 2, det(B) = −5 and that both A and B are 2 × 2 matrices.
mark Simplify det A3 B −1 .

3 8 6
A: B: −10 C: − D: −40 E:
20 5 5

3 1 23 8
Solution: det A3 B −1 = det A3 det B −1 = det(A)




= =−
det(B) −5 5
 Page 12
 
0 0 0


1 A31. If A = −3 2 0  simplify det A − I .
 
mark 2 5 −3

A: 4 B: 0 C: −1 D: 5 E: not possible

    
−1

0 0
1 0 0 0 0 0
Solution: A − I = −3 2 0  − 0 1 0 = −3 1 0 . This is a lower triangular matrix,
     

2 5 −3 0 0 1 2 5 −4

−1 0

0
so we can quickly calculate its determinant, det −3 1 0  = (−1)(1)(−4) = 4.
 

2 5 −4

" #
−7 k
1 A32. For what value(s) of k is the matrix, invertible?
mark 3 4

28 28 28 3
A: all k 6= B: all k 6= 0 C: k = only D: all k 6= − E: k = only
3 3 3 28

Solution:
" #A matrix is invertible exactly when its determinant is nonzero.
−7 k
det = (−7)(4) − (3)(k) = −28 − 3k. So, we must have −28 − 3k 6= 0 or rather −28 6= 3k
3 4
28
which tells us k 6= − .
3
" #
3 b
1 A33. Suppose we know that det = 4. Find y in the unique solution to the system,
mark −2 d

3x + by = 5
−2x + dy = 6

A: y = −2 B: y = 4 C: y = 7 D: y = 19 E: y = 2

" #
3 5
det
−2 6


det A(2) 18 − −10 28
Solution: According to Cramer’s rule, y = = " #= = = 7.
det(A) 3 b 4 4
det
−2 d
 Page 13

4 −1 0


1 A34. Find the (2, 1) entry of Adj 2 2 3

 
mark 1 −3 5

A: −7 B: 5 C: −5 D: 7 E: 0


4 −1 0


Solution: The (2, 1) of the adjoint is the (1, 2) cofactor of the original matrix, 2 2 3. (1, 2)
 

" # 1 −3 5
2 3
cofactor = (−1)1+2 det = (−1)(10 − 3) = −7.
1 5

 
2 0 0


1 A35. If A = −1 −1 0 find det Adj(A) .
 
mark 6 0 3

1
A: −6 B: − C: −12 D: −216 E: 36
6

Solution: Since A is a 3 × 3 matrix we know det Adj(A) = det(A)3−1 = det(A) 2

. Since A is
2
lower triangular we can calculate, det(A) = (2)(−1)(3) = −6. Thus, det Adj(A) = (−6) = 36.


−2

1 1
1 A36. Suppose for some matrix A we are told that Adj(A) =  8 4 −2 and det(A) = 10, find the
 
mark −5 0 5
(3, 1) entry of A−1 .

1 4 1 1 1
A: − B: C: D: E: −
2 5 10 2 5

1
Solution: We know that A−1 = Adj(A). So the (3, 1) entry of A−1 will be equal to
det(A)
(3, 1) entry of Adj(A) −5 1
= =− .
det(A) 10 2
 Page 14

PART B (36 marks)

YOUR ANSWERS TO THE PROBLEMS IN THIS PART MUST BE PROPERLY

FILLED IN ON THE SCANTRON PROVIDED WITH YOUR EXAM.

2 B1. Determine the area of the parallelogram whose vertices are P (1, 2, 3), Q(5, 0, 3), R(6, 1, 4), and
marks S(2, 3, 4).

Solution: To find the area we’ll need two vectors representing nonparallel sides. The easiest way
to get such vectors is to just use three of the given points (it doesn’t matter which three). Let
−→ −→
~u = P Q = (5, 0, 3) − (1, 2, 3) = (4, −2, 0) and ~v = P R = (6, 1, 4) − (1, 2, 3) = (5, −1, 1). The area of
the parallelogram is given by,
p √ √
||~u × ~v || = ||(4, −2, 0) × (5, −1, 1)|| = ||(−2, −4, 6)|| = (−2)2 + (−4)2 + 62 = 4 + 16 + 36 = 56


−1 0

2
2 B2. Find det  3 2 1  by cofactor expanding along the 1st column.
 
marks 1 5 −2

Solution:

−1 0

2




det  3 2 1  = (−1) (1, 1) cofactor + (3) (2, 1) cofactor + (1) (3, 1) cofactor
 

1 5 −2
" # " # " #
2 1 0 2 0 2
= (−1)(−1)1+1 det + (3)(−1)2+1 det + (1)(−1)3+1 det
5 −2 5 −2 2 1
= (−1)(−4 − 5) + (−3)(0 − 10) + (1)(0 − 4)

= 9 + 30 − 4

= 35
 Page 15

3 B3. Determine the number of solutions to the system of linear equations,

marks
x + 3z = −1
2x + y + 7z = 5
3x + y + 10z = 2

Solution: First we’ll put our SLE into an augmented matrix,

1 0 3 −1
 

 2 1 7 5 
 

3 1 10 2
Let’s now begin to row reduce this matrix:
1 0 3 −1 1 0 3 −1 1 0 3 −1
     

 2 1 7 5  R2 → R2 − 2R1  0 1 1 7  R3 → R3 − 3R1  0 1 1 7 
     
−−−−−−−−−−−→ −−−−−−−−−−−→
3 1 10 2 3 1 10 2 0 1 1 5

1 0 3 −1
 

R3 → R3 − R2  0 1 1 7 
 
−−−−−−−−−−→
0 0 0 −2
At this point we can stop, despite not reaching RREF, since we can see by the third row that our
system will have no solutions.
 Page 16

3 B4. By using Cramer’s rule, find x in the unique solution to the system,
marks
2x + y − z = 1
x + 3y + z = −2
− y − 3z = 1

det A(1)
Solution: Since x is the first coordinate, Cramer’s rule tells us x = .
det(A)

2 1 −1


det(A) = det 1 3 1
 

0 −1 " −3 # " # " #

3 1 1 −1 1 −1
= (2)(1) det + (1)(−1) det + (0)(1) det
−1 −3 −1 −3 3 1
= (2)(−9 − −1) + (−1)(−3 − 1) + 0
= −16 + 4 + 0
= −12

−1

1 1


det A(1) = det −2 3 1
 

1 "−1 −3 # " # " #

3 1 1 −1 1 −1
= (1)(1) det + (−2)(−1) det + (1)(1) det
−1 −3 −1 −3 3 1
= (1)(−9 − −1) + (2)(−3 − 1) + (1)(1 − −3)
= −8 + −8 + 4
= −12
−12
So, by Cramer’s rule we conclude x = = 1.
−12
 Page 17
 
a b c 
6 4 10


5 1 5 and we’re told Adj(A) = 

 
4 B5. Suppose that A =  −30 −24 −30.

 
marks g h i 0 −4 −4

(a) Find det(A).

Solution: We know that AAdj(A) = det(A)I and as a result if we, for example, dot product
the second row of A with the second column of Adj(A) the result will be det(A). So
det(A) = (5, 1, 5) • (4, −24, −4) = 20 − 24 − 20 = −24.

(b) Find the inverse, A−1 .

 1
− 4 − 16 − 12
5 
6 4 10
 
1 1  
  5 5 

Solution: A−1 = Adj(A) = −30 −24 −30 = 1
det(A) −24  4 4 
  

0 −4 −4 1 1
0 6 6

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