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NCERT Exemplar · Q20

Q.If A=[35]A = \begin{bmatrix} 3 & 5 \end{bmatrix}, B=[73]B = \begin{bmatrix} 7 & 3 \end{bmatrix}, then find a non-zero matrix CC such that AC=BCAC = BC.

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The key idea is that AC=BCAC = BC is equivalent to (A−B)C=0(A-B)C = 0, so we need a non-zero matrix CC that lies in the nullspace of the row vector A−BA-B. For A=[35]A = \begin{bmatrix}3 & 5\end{bmatrix} and B=[73]B = \begin{bmatrix}7 & 3\end{bmatrix}, we get A−B=[−42]A-B = \begin{bmatrix}-4 & 2\end{bmatrix}, and one such non-zero CC is [12]\begin{bmatrix}1 \\ 2\end{bmatrix}.

We are given two row vectors AA and BB, each of size 1×21 \times 2. The equation AC=BCAC = BC is a matrix equation where CC must be a 2×12 \times 1 column vector (so that the multiplication is defined). The goal is to find a non-zero CC that satisfies this.

The natural first step is to bring everything to one side:

AC−BC=0⇒(A−B)C=0AC - BC = 0 \quad \Rightarrow \quad (A - B)C = 0

Here A−BA - B is a 1×21 \times 2 row vector, and CC is a 2×12 \times 1 column vector. So (A−B)C(A-B)C is a scalar (a 1×11 \times 1 matrix). The equation says: the dot product of the row vector A−BA-B with the column vector CC equals zero.

That is, we need a non-zero vector CC that is orthogonal (in the usual dot-product sense) to the vector A−BA-B. This is a classic linear algebra problem: find a non-zero vector in the nullspace of a 1×21 \times 2 matrix.

Let's compute A−BA - B:

A−B=[35]−[73]=[3−75−3]=[−42]A - B = \begin{bmatrix}3 & 5\end{bmatrix} - \begin{bmatrix}7 & 3\end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix}3-7 & 5-3\end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix}-4 & 2\end{bmatrix}

So the condition becomes:

[−42][xy]=0⇒−4x+2y=0\begin{bmatrix}-4 & 2\end{bmatrix} \begin{bmatrix}x \\ y\end{bmatrix} = 0 \quad \Rightarrow \quad -4x + 2y = 0

This is a single linear equation in two unknowns. It has infinitely many solutions. We just need one non-zero solution.

  1. From −4x+2y=0-4x + 2y = 0, we can solve for yy in terms of xx: 2y=4x⇒y=2x2y = 4x \Rightarrow y = 2x.
  2. Choose any non-zero value for xx. The simplest is x=1x = 1, which gives y=2y = 2. …

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