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Ch. 6 - Matrices and Determinants
Blitzer - College Algebra 8th Edition
Blitzer8th EditionCollege AlgebraISBN: 9780136970514Not the one you use?Change textbook
Chapter 7, Problem 17

Use the fact that if A=[abcd]A=\(\begin{bmatrix}\)a & b\\ c & d\(\end{bmatrix}\), then A1=1adbc[dbca]A^{-1}=\(\frac{1}{ad-bc}\]\begin{bmatrix}\)d & -b\\ -c & a\(\end{bmatrix}\) to find the inverse of each matrix, if possible. Check that AA1=I2AA^{-1} = I_2 and A1A=I2A^{-1}A = I_2.
A=[10251]A = \(\begin{bmatrix}\)10 & -2 \\-5 & 1\(\end{bmatrix}\)

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1
Identify the elements of the matrix \(A\) as \(a = 10\), \(b = -2\), \(c = -5\), and \(d = 1\).
Calculate the determinant of \(A\) using the formula \(ad - bc\), which means compute \(10 \times 1 - (-2) \times (-5)\).
Check if the determinant is non-zero. If it is zero, the inverse does not exist; if non-zero, proceed to find the inverse.
Use the formula for the inverse matrix: \(A^{-1} = \frac{1}{ad - bc} \begin{bmatrix} d & -b \\ -c & a \end{bmatrix}\), substituting the values of \(a\), \(b\), \(c\), and \(d\).
Verify the result by multiplying \(A\) and \(A^{-1}\) in both orders (\(AA^{-1}\) and \(A^{-1}A\)) to check if the product is the identity matrix \(I_2\).

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Matrix Inverse Formula for 2x2 Matrices

The inverse of a 2x2 matrix A = [[a, b], [c, d]] exists if and only if the determinant (ad - bc) is nonzero. The inverse is given by A^(-1) = (1/(ad - bc)) * [[d, -b], [-c, a]]. This formula allows us to find the inverse by swapping and negating elements and scaling by the reciprocal of the determinant.
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Determinant and Its Role in Invertibility

The determinant of a 2x2 matrix, calculated as ad - bc, determines whether the matrix is invertible. If the determinant is zero, the matrix has no inverse. A nonzero determinant ensures the matrix is invertible and the inverse can be computed using the formula.
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Verification of Matrix Inverse Using Identity Matrix

To confirm that a matrix B is the inverse of A, multiply A by B and B by A. Both products should yield the 2x2 identity matrix I_2 = [[1, 0], [0, 1]]. This verification step ensures the correctness of the computed inverse matrix.
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