Q.Find the value of the following: [24−23]
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🔒 Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Concept understanding — Determinant Evaluation Using Identities
Determinant Evaluation Using Identities
Expanding a 4×4 or 5×5 determinant term by term is painful and error-prone. The smarter route is to transform the determinant into an easy form using properties (the "identities") that change its value in a known, controlled way — then read the answer off a triangular matrix.
The geometric intuition
A determinant measures the signed "volume" of the box spanned by the rows in n-dimensional space. Sliding one row parallel to another doesn't change that volume; swapping two rows flips its sign; scaling a row scales the volume. The algebraic identities are just these facts translated into rules.
The three row (or column) operations
- Swap two rows: det→−det (sign flips).
- Scale a row by k: det→kdet (the factor comes out).
- Add a multiple of one row to a different row (Ri→Ri+λRj, i=j): det unchanged.
The identical rules hold for columns. There is also row-wise linearity: if a row is a sum Ri=Ri′+Ri′′, the determinant splits into the sum of two determinants with all other rows fixed.
Row-wise linearity is not det(A+B)=detA+detB — that is false. The splitting works one row at a time.
The strategy
- Use operation 3 to create zeros in a row or column (value unchanged).
- Factor out common factors with operation 2.
- Swap rows if needed to reach upper-triangular form (track the sign change).
- The determinant is then the product of the diagonal entries.
Worked example
det1472583610.
Apply R2→R2−4R1 and R3→R3−7R1 (no change), then R3→R3−2R2: …
The key idea is to evaluate a 2×2 determinant using the formula det=ad−bc.
Step 1: Identify the entries: a=2, b=−2, c=4, d=3.
Step 2: Apply the formula: …
The determinant of a 2×2 matrix [acbd] is ad−bc. Applying this to [24−23] gives 2⋅3−(−2)⋅4=6+8=14.
The determinant is a single number that captures key information about a matrix — for a 2×2 matrix, it tells you the area scaling factor of the linear transformation it represents. The formula is straightforward: multiply the top-left and bottom-right entries, then subtract the product of the top-right and bottom-left entries.
Let’s work through it:
-
Identify the entries.
For the matrix [24−23], we have:
- a=2 (top-left)
- b=−2 (top-right)
- c=4 (bottom-left)
- d=3 (bottom-right)
-
Apply the determinant formula.
The determinant is ad−bc. Substituting:
det=(2)(3)−(−2)(4)
- Compute carefully. First term: 2×3=6. Second term: (−2)×4=−8. But note the minus sign in front: ad−bc means we subtract bc, so: det=6−(−8)=6+8=14 …
Method: Evaluating a 2×2 Determinant
The baseline technique for any 2×2 determinant with mixed positive/negative entries.
Steps
Step 1: Identify the four entries, keeping their signs
Label acbd, reading each entry exactly as printed, including its sign.
Step 2: Apply the formula
acbd=ad−bc.
Step 3: Compute each product carefully, then subtract …
Showing the 12 most recent of 32 on this concept.
- AP EAPCET 2021Set eng-2021-08-23-FN1 markMCQQ.1−132103222022202120242023= (A) 8494−1611313 (B) 8494−1613312 (C) 8494−1613313 (D) 849416111313
›Reveal solutionSolution
Multiplying the given 3×3 matrix by itself, entry by entry using the row-times-column rule, produces 8494−1613313, matching option (C).
Concept and Intuition
Matrix multiplication of a square matrix A with itself (A×A=A2) is computed entry by entry: the (i,j) entry of the product is the dot product of row i of the first matrix with column j of the second matrix. Carrying this out carefully for all 9 entries of a 3×3 matrix gives the resulting product matrix.
Step-by-Step Solution
Let A=1−13210322. Compute A2=A⋅A entry by entry (row i of A dotted with column j of A):
- (1,1): 1(1)+2(−1)+3(3)=1−2+9=8
- (1,2): 1(2)+2(1)+3(0)=2+2+0=4
- (1,3): 1(3)+2(2)+3(2)=3+4+6=13
- (2,1): −1(1)+1(−1)+2(3)=−1−1+6=4
- (2,2): −1(2)+1(1)+2(0)=−2+1+0=−1
- (2,3): −1(3)+1(2)+2(2)=−3+2+4=3
- (3,1): 3(1)+0(−1)+2(3)=3+0+6=9
- (3,2): 3(2)+0(1)+2(0)=6+0+0=6
- (3,3): 3(3)+0(2)+2(2)=9+0+4=13
Assembling these gives A2=8494−1613313, which is an exact, entry-by-entry match with option (C). …
- AP EAPCET 2021Set eng-2021-08-19-AN1 markMCQQ.The value of b+cbcac+acaba+b is (A) abc (B) (a+b)(b+c)(c+a) (C) 4abc (D) (a−b)(b−c)(c−a)
›Reveal solutionSolution
This classic 3×3 determinant simplifies via row operations (adding all rows together makes every entry in one row equal to a+b+c) to the closed form 4abc, confirmed by direct numeric substitution.
Concept and Intuition
Many "nice" symmetric determinants like this one are best handled by first performing a row or column operation that reveals a common factor (here, adding all three rows makes every entry in the new row equal, exposing an (a+b+c) or similar factor), then simplifying the reduced 2×2 structure. When the algebra gets intricate, a quick numeric sanity check with simple values of a,b,c is an efficient way to confirm which answer choice matches.
Step-by-Step Solution
- The determinant is b+cbcac+acaba+b.
- Apply R1→R1+R2+R3: the new first row becomes (b+c+b+c, a+c+a+c, a+b+a+b)... more carefully, summing column-wise: column 1 sum =(b+c)+b+c=b+2c... to avoid an error-prone symbolic expansion, verify by direct numeric substitution instead (a clean, reliable check for this type of determinant).
- Numeric check: let a=1,b=2,c=3. The matrix becomes 523143123.
- Expand along Row 1: det=5(4⋅3−2⋅3)−1(2⋅3−2⋅3)+1(2⋅3−4⋅3)=5(12−6)−1(0)+1(6−12)=30−0−6=24. …
- AP EAPCET 2026Set eng-2026-05-12-AN1 markMCQQ.−a2abacab−b2bcacbc−c2= (A) a2b2c2 (B) 2a2b2c2 (C) 3a2b2c2 (D) 4a2b2c2
›Reveal solutionSolution
Factoring a, b, c out of the three rows reduces the determinant to a simpler ±1-coefficient determinant that evaluates to 4abc, giving a total of 4a2b2c2. Answer: (D).
Concept and Intuition
Each row of the given determinant has a common factor: row 1 is a⋅(−a,b,c), row 2 is b⋅(a,−b,c), row 3 is c⋅(a,b,−c). Pulling a common factor out of a row simply multiplies the determinant by that factor (a standard determinant property), so we can simplify before directly expanding the messier original 3×3 determinant.
Step-by-Step Solution
- Original determinant: −a2abacab−b2bcacbc−c2.
- Factor a from row 1, b from row 2, c from row 3:
=abc−aaab−bbcc−c
- Expand this reduced determinant along the first row: −a−bbc−c−baac−c+caa−bb …
- AP EAPCET 2025Set eng-2025-05-26-FN1 markMCQQ.If the inverse of −x0x14x1−4x7x0−2x is 20101−2701, then xx+1x+2x+1x+2x+3x+2x+3x+4= (A) 5x (B) x−5 (C) 5x−1 (D) x+5
›Reveal solutionSolution
This tests recognizing a determinant with AP-rows (always zero) and pinning down x from a matrix-inverse condition; the answer is whichever option numerically equals 0 at that x.
Concept and Intuition
A square matrix whose rows form an arithmetic progression (i.e. R1−2R2+R3=0) is always singular: its rows are linearly dependent, so its determinant is identically zero, no matter what parameter sits inside it. Spotting this saves a full cofactor expansion. The matrix-inverse condition is just the defining relation AA−1=I applied to one convenient entry.
Step-by-Step Solution
- Let A=−x0x14x1−4x7x0−2x and A−1=20101−2701.
- Using AA−1=I, multiply row 1 of A by column 1 of A−1: (−x)(2)+(14x)(0)+(7x)(1)=5x. This must equal the (1,1) entry of I, i.e. 1. So 5x=1⇒x=51. (Checking the other products confirms this value is consistent throughout the matrix.)
- Now look at D=xx+1x+2x+1x+2x+3x+2x+3x+4. Apply R1→R1−2R2+R3: each entry becomes x−2(x+1)+(x+2)=0, turning the first row into (0,0,0).
- A zero row forces D=0 for every value of x — this is an algebraic identity, independent of the specific x=1/5. …
- AP EAPCET 2022Set eng-2022-07-05-AN1 markMCQQ.If b and c are non zero real numbers, A=1bcb23c34 and B=0−b−cb0−2c20, then det(A+B)= (A) 3 (B) 1 (C) -1 (D) 0
›Reveal solutionSolution
Adding the symmetric A and skew-symmetric B entrywise cancels the off-diagonal b,c terms below the diagonal, leaving a matrix whose determinant is a fixed number independent of b,c: 3.
Concept and Intuition
A is symmetric and B is skew-symmetric (its transpose is its negative, with zero diagonal). Adding them entrywise, the upper-triangular parts of A+B pick up b+b=2b and c+c=2c, while the lower-triangular parts get b+(−b)=0 and c+(−c)=0 — so A+B becomes upper triangular in its first column, letting the determinant be computed by a clean cofactor expansion that never involves b or c.
Step-by-Step Solution
- A=1bcb23c34, B=0−b−cb0−2c20.
- Add entrywise: (A+B)11=1, (A+B)12=2b, (A+B)13=2c; (A+B)21=b−b=0, (A+B)22=2, (A+B)23=3+2=5; (A+B)31=c−c=0, (A+B)32=3−2=1, (A+B)33=4.
- So A+B=1002b212c54. …
- AP EAPCET 2024Set eng-2024-05-21-AN1 markMCQQ.a+b+2cccab+c+2aabbc+a+2b= (A) (a+b+c)3 (B) 2(a+b+c)3 (C) 3(a+b+c)3 (D) (a+b+c)
›Reveal solutionSolution
Writing each diagonal entry as s+(off-diagonal-like term) where s=a+b+c reveals the matrix as sI plus a rank-1 correction, whose determinant works out cleanly to 2(a+b+c)3 using the determinant lemma (or row operations).
Concept and Intuition
Many "cyclic-symmetric" determinants like this one simplify beautifully once you notice a+b+2c=(a+b+c)+c, etc. — subtracting off the common sum s=a+b+c from every diagonal entry turns the matrix into sI (a multiple of the identity) plus a very simple rank-1 matrix whose every row is identical. Determinants of sI+rank-1 matrices have a clean closed form.
Step-by-Step Solution
- Let s=a+b+c. Rewrite diagonal entries: a+b+2c=s+c, b+c+2a=s+a, c+a+2b=s+b.
- The matrix becomes:
M=s+cccas+aabbs+b
- Subtract sI: M−sI=cccaaabbb — every row is the same vector (c,a,b), so M−sI has rank 1: M−sI=1vT where 1=(1,1,1)T and v=(c,a,b)T.
- So M=sI+1vT. The determinant lemma (matrix determinant lemma) gives: det(sI+1vT)=s3+s2(vT1) …
- AP EAPCET 2023Set eng-2023-05-15-AN1 markMCQQ.If the cofactors of the elements 3, 7 and 6 of the matrix 1422−14376 are a,b and c respectively, then [a b c]142+[a b c]376= (A) −1 (B) 1 (C) 0 (D) 3
›Reveal solutionSolution
a,b,c turn out to be the cofactors of the matrix's third column, and the two
vectors being dotted with [a b c] are exactly its first and third columns. The
Laplace-expansion identity makes both dot products come out to (a multiple of) the
matrix's determinant, which here is 0 — so the sum is 0.
Concept and Intuition
For a 3×3 matrix A, the cofactor expansion identity says: if you take the
entries of any column of A and dot them with the cofactors of a matching column,
you get det(A); if you dot them with the cofactors of a different column, you get
0 (this is the algebraic content behind A⋅adj(A)=det(A)I). Recognising
that the two given vectors, (1,4,2)T and (3,7,6)T, are precisely columns 1 and 3
of the matrix — and that a,b,c are the cofactors of column 3 — turns this into a
one-line application of that identity instead of brute-force computation (though brute
force also works and is done below to double-check).
Step-by-Step Solution
- The matrix is M=1422−14376. The entries 3,7,6 sit at positions (1,3),(2,3),(3,3) — all in column 3. So a=C13, b=C23, c=C33.
- Compute C13 (delete row 1, col 3; sign (+1)1+3=+):
C13=+42−14=4(4)−(−1)(2)=16+2=18.
- Compute C23 (delete row 2, col 3; sign (−1)2+3=−):
C23=−1224=−(1⋅4−2⋅2)=−(0)=0.
- Compute C33 (delete row 3, col 3; sign (+1)3+3=+):
C33=+142−1=1(−1)−2(4)=−1−8=−9.
- So [a b c]=[18 0 −9].
- First dot product: [a b c]142=18(1)+0(4)+(−9)(2)=18−18=0. …
- AP EAPCET 2026Set eng-2026-05-13-FN1 markMCQQ.For a fixed positive integer n, if D=n!(n+1)!(n+2)!(n+1)!(n+2)!(n+3)!(n+2)!(n+3)!(n+4)!, then n!(n+1)!(n+2)!D= (A) −4 (B) −2 (C) 2 (D) 4
›Reveal solutionSolution
Taking the factorials common from each row collapses the determinant to a constant: n!(n+1)!(n+2)!D=2 — option (C).
Working. Factor n!, (n+1)!, (n+2)! from rows 1, 2, 3 respectively:
D=n!(n+1)!(n+2)!111n+1n+2n+3(n+1)(n+2)(n+2)(n+3)(n+3)(n+4)
Hence n!(n+1)!(n+2)!D equals that 3×3 determinant. Apply R2→R2−R1 and R3→R3−R1, using (n+2)(n+3)−(n+1)(n+2)=2(n+2) and (n+3)(n+4)−(n+1)(n+2)=4n+10: …
- AP EAPCET 2021Set eng-2021-08-25-AN1 markMCQQ.If the determinant cos2xsin2xcos2xsin2xcos2xcos2xcos2xcos2xcos2x is expanded in powers of cosx, then the constant term in the expansion is (A) 1 (B) −1 (C) 0 (D) 2
›Reveal solutionSolution
The constant term of a polynomial in cosx is exactly the value obtained by setting cosx=0. Answer: (A).
Concept and Intuition
If a determinant's entries are polynomials in c=cosx, expanding it produces a polynomial in c. Its constant term (the c0 coefficient) equals the value of the whole expression when c=0 — a shortcut that avoids expanding the full polynomial in cosx.
Step-by-Step Solution
- Write each entry in terms of c=cosx: cos2x=2c2−1, sin2x=1−c2, cos2x=c2.
- Set c=0: cos2x→−1, sin2x→1, cos2x→0.
- The matrix becomes −11−11−10−10−1. …
- AP EAPCET 2021Set eng-2021-08-23-AN1 markMCQQ.If x3+2x2+3x−2x3−x2−2x−1x2+2x+43x3−2x2+4x−2=ax6+bx5+cx4+dx3+ex2+fx+g, then a+b+c+d+e+f= (A) 23 (B) 25 (C) 21 (D) 20
›Reveal solutionSolution
Evaluating the determinant-polynomial at x=1 gives the sum of ALL coefficients (including the constant g); evaluating at x=0 isolates g alone. Subtracting removes g, leaving a+b+c+d+e+f=25.
Concept and Intuition
If P(x)=ax6+bx5+cx4+dx3+ex2+fx+g, a classic trick to get the sum of coefficients excluding the constant term is: P(1)=a+b+c+d+e+f+g gives the sum of all coefficients (since every power of 1 is 1), while P(0)=g isolates just the constant term. So P(1)−P(0)=a+b+c+d+e+f. Here P(x) is defined as the given 2×2 determinant, so we just need to evaluate that determinant at x=1 and x=0 directly — no need to expand the full degree-6 polynomial.
Step-by-Step Solution
- The determinant is x3+2x2+3x−2x3−x2−2x−1x2+2x+43x3−2x2+4x−2.
- At x=1: top-left =1+2+3−2=4; top-right =1+2+4=7; bottom-left =1−1−2−1=−3; bottom-right =3−2+4−2=3. Determinant =4(3)−7(−3)=12+21=33=P(1)=a+b+c+d+e+f+g. …
- AP EAPCET 2025Set eng-2025-05-23-FN1 markMCQQ.2311+131/31+1/231/91+1/431/271+…∞= (A) 0 (B) 21 (C) −21 (D) −1
›Reveal solutionSolution
Expand each 2×2 determinant, recognise two independent geometric series in the result, and sum them separately. Answer: (C).
Concept and Intuition
Every term in the sum is a 2×2 determinant with a fixed bottom row (31), so a3b1=a−3b splits linearly into an a-part and a b-part. Once each part is recognised as its own geometric progression, the infinite sum is just the difference of two standard geometric series sums, 1−rfirst term.
Step-by-Step Solution
- General term: an3bn1=an⋅1−bn⋅3=an−3bn.
- First-column values across the given terms: 2,1,21,41,… — a geometric sequence with first term 2 and ratio 21: an=2(21)n−1.
- Second-column values: 1,31,91,271,… — geometric with first term 1 and ratio 31: bn=(31)n−1. …
- AP EAPCET 2021Set eng-2021-08-20-FN1 markMCQQ.What is the value of aa−bb+cbb−cc+acc−aa+b=? (A) a3+b3+c3+3abc (B) a3+b3+c3−3abc (C) a3+b3+c3−6abc (D) a3+b3+c3+6abc
›Reveal solutionSolution
Direct cofactor expansion of the determinant shows all cross terms cancel, leaving the
classical identity a3+b3+c3−3abc.
Concept and Intuition
This is a disguised version of the well-known factorisation
a3+b3+c3−3abc=(a+b+c)(a2+b2+c2−ab−bc−ca), packaged as a determinant. Expanding carefully
term by term (rather than guessing) confirms which of the four sign variants is correct.
Step-by-Step Solution
- Expand along the first row: D=a[(b−c)(a+b)−(c−a)(c+a)]−b[(a−b)(a+b)−(c−a)(b+c)]+c[(a−b)(c+a)−(b−c)(b+c)].
- Compute each bracket:
- (b−c)(a+b)−(c−a)(c+a)=ab+b2−ac−bc−c2+a2
- (a−b)(a+b)−(c−a)(b+c)=a2−b2−bc−c2+ab+ac
- (a−b)(c+a)−(b−c)(b+c)=ac+a2−bc−ab−b2+c2
- Multiply through by a, −b, c respectively and add. All the mixed quadratic-times-linear terms (a2b,ab2,a2c,ac2,b2c,bc2) cancel in pairs, leaving only a3+b3+c3 from the cubic terms and −3abc from the three abc contributions (one from each bracket). …
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