MATHEMATICS FOR ENGINEERS

MATRICES
TUTORIAL 2 – MORE BASIC THEORY

This is the second of three tutorials on matrix theory designed for students studying engineering. It
is set at NQF Level 3 and 4

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Outline to a Solution of Simultaneous Equations with a Matrix

3. Determinants

4. Minors and Cofactors

5. Adjoint Matrix

6. Inverse Matrix

7. Solving Simultaneous Equations

7.1 Augmented Matrix
7.2 Solving With Inverse Matrices

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1. Introduction

In tutorial 1 on matrices you were introduced to some of the basic terms and operations that we can
do with them. In this tutorial we shall look at more advanced ideas and how they are used to solve
simultaneous equations.

2. Outline to a Solution of Simultaneous Equations with a Matrix

An important use of matrix theory is the solution of problems with more than two unknown
variables and because the method is based on strict rules, it is suitable for use in computer
programmes. Consider how three simultaneous equations are presented as a vector. The Matrix  is
called the Coefficient Matrix and it is formed from an array of numbers made from the coefficients
a11 a12 … The column vector is made from the coefficients b1, b2 … and the column Vector  is
made up from the variables x, y and z.

The column vector  is the product of matrix  and 

a11x + a12y + a13z = b1

a21x + a22y + a23z = b2
a31x + a32y + a33z = b3

We write this as 

Suppose that we had a matrix  such that  =  (The unit matrix). We could then state :

= 

This gives a numerical solution for . The problem is finding the matrix  such that  = This is
a matrix called the inverse matrix and we must understand the following work in order to find it.

3. Determinants

The determinant of a matrix is a single number that results from performing a specific operation on
the array. It will be used later to solve simultaneous equations. The determinant of a matrix  is
denoted as det  or ││. The rule for finding the determinant can only be applied to a square
matrix and the following is an explanation of it. For a single element array the determinant is the
element. A = [a11] ││= a 11

For a 2 2 array the determinant is found as follows.││= (a11 a22) - (a12 a21)

©D. J. Dunn www.freestudy.co.uk 2

 WORKED EXAMPLE No. 1

Calculate ││

SOLUTION

││= (2)(-2) – (3)(4) = -4 - 12 = -16

WORKED EXAMPLE No. 2

Find the determinant of a 2 2 unit matrix.

SOLUTION

││= (1)(1) – (0)(0) = 1

An important point to remember is that the determinant of all unit matrices is 1.

For larger square arrays, the rule for finding the determinant is more complicated and it is crucial to
understand the following work in order to do it.

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4. Minors and Cofactors

If we cross out one row and one column of a matrix and find the determinant of the remaining array,
we have the minor. The minor is designated  and the subscript is the number of the row and
column eliminated.

The cofactor is numerically the same as the minor but changes sign for
every position in the row or column and the change in sign is indicated by
the pattern shown. This is designated with a letter corresponding to the
elements so in this case the minor would be  and from the sign pattern
we find = 

Consider how we find the determinant of the following 3 x 3 matrix.

STEP 1

Put a line through row 1 and column 1 leaving the elements shown.

Find the determinant of the 2 2 array enclosed in the square. This is called
the MINOR of a11 and designated 11.

The COFACTOR is 11 = 

STEP 2

Put a line through row 1 and column 2 leaving the elements shown. Form
these into a 2 2 array and find the determinant. The result is the Minor
12. The COFACTOR is 12 = - 12

STEP 3

Put a line through row 1 and column 3 leaving the elements shown. Form
these into a 2 2 array and find the determinant. The result is the Minor 13.
The COFACTOR is 13 = 13

The determinant of the whole array is now found from :

││= a11 A11 + a12 A12 + a13 A13

For larger arrays the method is the same but the process is repeated until we are left with a 2 x 2
array. The cofactors take on the sign as indicated by the element position shown.

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 WORKED EXAMPLE No. 3

Find the determinant of A

SOLUTION

a11 = 2 A11 = -13

a12 = -2 A12 = -1

a13 = 4 A13 = -1

││= a11 A11 + a12 A12 + a13 A13 = (2) (-13) + (-2)(-1) + (4)(-1) = -20

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No. 1

Find the determinant of the following 3 3 matrices.

Answers ││= 4 ││= -38 ││= -11

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5. Adjoint Matrix

Another concept used in matrix methods is the Adjoint or Adjugate matrix. This has very useful
properties in the solution of problems. This is a matrix formed from all the cofactors of the original
matrix and then transposed. We designate this with ‘adj’

If we had 3 3 matrix designated A, the Adjoint is given as:

WORKED EXAMPLE No.4

Find the adjoint of the 3 x 3 matrix shown.

Go on to find the product of and adj 

SOLUTION

First find all the cofactors. Remember to use the pattern for the sign changes.

Now make a new matrix and transpose it to find the Adjoint.

Now multiply  by adj 

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An important point to emerge here is that  adj  always produces a square matrix with all
elements zero except the leading diagonal which has all the same elements.

Recall that:

 If a matrix is multiplied by a constant, all the elements are multiplied by a constant.

 A unit matrix is one with all elements zero except the leading diagonal in which the
elements are 1.

 The determinant of the unit matrix is 1.

It follows that the product of a constant (A) with the unit matrix is as shown.

The determinant of a matrix with all the leading elements A and all other elements zero, is A. Hence
if a unit matrix is multiplied by det A, the elements of the leading diagonal will all be det A

It also follows that A adj A = det A the unit matrix. i.e.

In the last example, the determinant of matrix A is clearly -3 and this could be verified by finding
det  by the usual method.

6. Inverse Matrix

We are on the last stage now and next we will be able to solve simultaneous equations. Suppose we
had two matrices  and  such that the product is the unit matrix, i.e.

 and it follows that 

Matrix  is the inverse of matrix  so we denote it  and replace  with this, so 

We have already used the relationship  adj ││

So equating we have  adj ││


     adj ││

The important result is  (adj ││

©D. J. Dunn www.freestudy.co.uk 7

 WORKED EXAMPLE No. 5

Find the inverse of A given

SOLUTION

First find all the cofactors.

Next find the adjoint of A

Next find the determinant of A ││= (1)(2) + (1)(0) + (1)(2) = 4

Now find the inverse of A  (adj ││

7. Solving Simultaneous Equations

You will find more useful examples on this at

http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/AllBrowsers/1314/AugmentedMatrix.asp

Consider the three equations x – 2y + 3z = 7

2x –y + z = 4
-3x + 2y - 2z = -10

A solution exists if we can manipulate all the coefficients to the form

1x + 0y + 0z = a
0x + 1y + 0z = b
0x + 0y + 1z = c

The matrix form would be as shown. It would follow that

x = a, y = b and z = c

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7.1 Augmented Matrix

If we write the matrix in this form it is called an augmented matrix. This

makes it easier for us to manipulate the figures and turn the coefficient
matrix into a unit matrix. Remember that we can do the following to the
simultaneous equations without changing the validity.

1) We can swap the order of the equations as written down without materially changing anything.
2) We can multiply any equation by a constant and the equality is maintained.
3) We can form new equations by adding a multiple of any one to another.

In the augmented matrix this means we can perform the same operations on the rows (not forgetting
that it apples to the fourth column as well). The symbol  means 'swap' and  means 'becomes'.

WORKED EXAMPLE No.6

Solve 3x - y = 14 and x + 3y = 1
SOLUTION

Write the augmented matrix

This method requires that we have a 1 as the first element. This can be done in this case by
swapping the rows.

Next we need to make the element below the 1 into a zero. This is achieved by multiplying row
1 by -3 and adding it to row 2 to form a new row 2. This is within the rules explained above.

Now we must make the last element into 1 by dividing the second row by -11

Now the last operation is to make the 3 into a 0 and this can be done by multiplying row 2 by -3
and adding it to row 1.

The solution is x = 4, y = -1

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 WORKED EXAMPLE No. 7
Solve 3x + y - 2z = 2
x - 2y + z = 3
2x – y - 3z = 3
SOLUTION

Write the augmented matrix and manipulate

3 1 22 1 2 1 3
R1  R 2
1 2 1 3 3 1 22

2 1  3 3 2 1  3 3

1 2 1 3 1 2 1 3
R 2  3R1  R 2
3 1 22 0 7 57
R3  2 R1  R3
2 1  3 3 0 3 53

1 2 1 3 1 1 2 1 3
R 2  R2
0 7 57 7 0 1  5 / 7 1
0 3 53  0 3 5 3

1 2 1 3 1 2 1 3
R 3  3R2  R3
0 1  5 / 7 1 0 1  5 / 7 1

0 3 5 3 0 0  20 / 7 0

1 2 1 3 R 2  5 R3  R2 1  2 0 3
7
0 1  5 / 7 1 0 1 0 1
R1  R3  R1
0 0 1 0  0 0 1 0

1 2 0 3 1 0 01
R1  2 R2  R1
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1

0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0

hence x = 1, y = -1 and z = 0

This method requires a bit of intuition so a method that uses strict rules is covered next.

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7.2 Solving With Inverse Matrices

We started the tutorial by saying if a matrix existed such that  = then the numerical solution
for  is 


The matrix  is the inverse of  so we have 

The next worked example uses the same material as the last worked example.

WORKED EXAMPLE No.8

Solve the x, y and z given the three simultaneous equations.

x+y+z=8
x – y – z = -4
x+y–z=6

SOLUTION

Create the following matrix.

Find the inverse of using the method outlined earlier.

Now solve 

Remember the multiplication rule and note we divide the result by 4

Row1 x column 1 = ¼{(2)(8) + (2)(-4) + (0)(6)} = ¼{16 - 8} = 2
Row2 x column 1 = ¼{(0)(8) + (-2)(-4) + (2)(6)} = ¼{20} = 5
Row3 x column 1 = ¼{(2)(8) + (0)(-4) + (-2)(6)} = ¼{20} = 1

The solution is x = 2, y = 5 and z = 1

These values may be substituted back into the original equations to check them out.

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 SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No. 2

Solve the following simultaneous equations

1. x+y+z=1
x–y–z=1
x + y – z = -3

2. x - 2y - 2z = 16
2x + 3y = 5
5x + 2y – 2z = 36

3. x + 2y + 3z = 1
2x + 3y – z = -3
x + 4y – 2z = -8

4. 2x – 3y = -9
2x + 3y = 15

5. 5x – 2y = 28
3x + 2y = 4

Answers are on the next page.

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 ANSWERS to SAE 2

1. x = 1, y = -2 z = 2

2. x = 10 y = -5 z = 2

3. x = 2 y = -2 z = 1

4. x = 1.5 y=4

5. x = 4 y = -4

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