MIDTERM SOLUTIONS – SECTION L1, MATH 2121, FALL 2023

Problem 1. (10 points)

Compute the determinant of the matrix
 
1 0 2
A= 0 x 0 .
y 0 4
Then find all values of x, y ∈ R such that A is invertible and compute a formula for A−1 .

Solution.

The determinant is det A = 1(4x − 0) − 0 + 2(0 − xy) = 4x − 2xy = 2x(2 − y) .

A is invertible when its determinant is nonzero, which happens when x 6= 0 and y 6= 2 .

 4 −2 
4−2y 0 4−2y
For these values of x and y we have A−1 =  0 1
x 0 .
−y 1
4−2y 0 4−2y

1
2 MIDTERM SOLUTIONS – SECTION L1, MATH 2121, FALL 2023

Problem 2. (10 points)

       
 3 1 1  3
Find all values of a, b ∈ R such that R-span  2  ,  0  ,  2  does not contain  1 .
a 0 −1 b
 

Solution.

We want to find a and b such that the matrix

 
1 1 3 3
A= 0 2 2 1 
0 −1 a b
has a pivot in the last column, as then it is the augmented matrix of an inconsistent linear system.
Notice that we rearranged the spanning vectors when forming A to make it easier to row reduce.
We row reduce A by
     
1 1 3 3 1 1 3 3 1 1 3 3
A= 0 2 2 1 → 0 1 1 .5  →  0 1 1 .5  .
0 −1 a b 0 −1 a b 0 0 a + 1 b + .5
The last matrix is in echelon form (though not reduced) so its pivot positions are the same as in A.

We see that the last column has a pivot precisely when a = −1 and b 6= −1/2 .
 MIDTERM SOLUTIONS – SECTION L1, MATH 2121, FALL 2023 3

Problem 3. (10 points)

 
x 1 2
Determine the possibilities for RREF if x and y are real numbers.
1 y 3
Clearly identify the values of x and y that give rise to each reduced echelon form.

Solution.

We start to row reduce the matrix as

     
x 1 2 1 y 3 1 y 3
→ → .
1 y 3 x 1 2 0 1 − xy 2 − 3x
If xy 6= 1 then we can continue row reducing
" #
2−3x 3−2y
1 0 3 − 1−xy
     
1 y 3 1 y 3 y 1 0 1−xy
→ 2−3x → 2−3x = 2−3x
0 1 − xy 2 − 3x 0 1 1−xy 0 1 1−xy 0 1 1−xy

where the last matrix is in RREF form.

If xy = 1 and x 6= 2/3 then we can continue row reducing
       
1 y 3 1 y 3 1 y 3 1 y 0
= → →
0 1 − xy 2 − 3x 0 0 2 − 3x 0 0 1 0 0 1
where the last matrix is in RREF form.
If xy = 1 and x = 2/3 then y = 3/2 and
   
1 y 3 1 3/2 3
=
0 1 − xy 2 − 3x 0 0 0
is in RREF form.
4 MIDTERM SOLUTIONS – SECTION L1, MATH 2121, FALL 2023

Problem 4. (10 points)

This question has two parts:
(a) What is the definition of a one-to-one linear function f : Rn → Rm ?
(b) Find the standard matrix of the unique linear function f : R2 → R2 with
       
2 2 2 −2
f = and f = .
3 3 1 −1
Is f one-to-one? Justify your answer.

Solution.

Solution.

(a) A one-to-one linear function f : Rn → Rm is a function with f (cv) = cf (v) and f (v+w) = f (v)+f (w)
for all c ∈ R and v, w ∈ Rn , such that for each y ∈ Rm there is at most one x ∈ Rn with f (x) = y.
The last property could be rephrased as: the standard matrix of f has a pivot position in every column.
   
2 2 2 −2
(b) If the standard matrix of f is A then A = so
3 1 3 −1
  −1       
2 −2 2 2 1 2 −2 1 −2 1 8 −8 −2 2
A= =− =− = .
3 −1 3 1 4 3 −1 −3 2 4 6 −8 −3/2 2
Since det A = −4 + 3 = −1 6= 0, the matrix A is invertible.
Therefore RREF(A) = I has a pivot in every column, so f is one-to-one .
 MIDTERM SOLUTIONS – SECTION L1, MATH 2121, FALL 2023 5

Problem 5. (10 points)

This question has two parts:
(a) Does there exist a 2 × 2 matrix A with Col A = Nul A?
Find an example or explain why none exists.
(b) Does there exist a 3 × 3 matrix A with Col A = Nul A?
Find an example or explain why none exists.

Solution.
   
1 −1 1
(a) Yes . The matrix A = has Col A = Nul A = R-span .
1 −1 1

(b) No . If A is 3 × 3 then dim Col A + dim Nul A = 3 so dim Col A and dim Nul A cannot be both odd or
both even, so dim Col A 6= dim Nul A which means that Col A 6= Nul A.
6 MIDTERM SOLUTIONS – SECTION L1, MATH 2121, FALL 2023

Problem 6. (10 points)

 
1 1 1 1 1
Define the matrix A =  0 1 3 1 −1 . Find a basis for Col A and a basis for Nul A.
2 0 −4 1 0

Solution.

We row reduce A as
   
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
A= 0 1 3 1 −1  →  0 1 3 1 −1 
2 0 −4 1 0 0 −2 −6 −1 −2
 
1 1 1 1 1
→  0 1 3 1 −1 
0 0 0 1 −4
   
1 0 −2 0 2 1 0 −2 0 2
→ 0 1 3 1 −1  →  0 1 3 0 3  = RREF(A).
0 0 0 1 −4 0 0 0 1 −4
     
1 1 1
Columns 1, 2, and 4 have pivots so a basis for Col A is  0  ,  1 , 1  .
2 0 1

The solutions to Ax = 0 are the same as RREF(A)x = 0, which can be rewritten as


x1 − 2x3 + 2x5 = 0

x2 + 3x3 + 3x5 = 0

x4 − 4x5 = 0.


This means that x ∈ Nul A if and only if

       
x1 2x3 − 2x5 2 −2
 x2   −3x3 − 3x5   −3   −3 
       
x=  x3  =  x3 1 0
   = x3   + x5  .
    
 x4   4x5   0   4 
x5 x5 0 1
   
2 −2
 −3   −3 
   
Therefore a basis for Nul A is 
 1 , 0  .
  
 0   4 
0 1