Determinants are useful properties of square matrices, but can involve a lot of computation. A 2×2
determinant is much easier to compute than the determinants of larger matrices, like 3×3 matrices. To
find a 2×2 determinant we use a simple formula that uses the entries of the 2×2 matrix. 2×2 determinants
can be used to find the area of a parallelogram and to determine invertibility of a 2×2 matrix.
If the determinant of a matrix is 0 then the matrix is singular and it does not have an inverse.
Before we can find the inverse of a matrix, we need to first learn how to get the determinant of a matrix.
.
Example:
Solution:
Example:
Solution:
(1 × x) − (4 × −2) = 5
x + 8 = 5
x = −3
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