280 Section 16, The Determinant Introduction We know that a non-zero vector x is an eigenvector ofan n x n matrix A if Ax = x for some scalar X. Note that this equation can be written as (A — M,,)x = 0. Until now, we were given tigenvelues of matrices and have used the eigenvalues to find the eigenvectors. In this section we will lean an algebraic technique to find the eigenvalues ourselves. We wll also be abl to justify why an nx n matrix as at most m eigenvalues A scalar ) is an eigenvalue of A if (A — MJ,)x — 0 has a non-trivial solution x, which happens if and only if A — AJ, is not invertible. In this section we will find a scalar whose value will tell us ‘when a matrix is invertible and when it isnot, and use tis salar to find the eigenvalues of a matrix Preview Activity 16. In this activity, we will ocus on 2 x 2matzes, tat A= [ ] bea a 2.x 2matrix. To see if A is invertible, we row reduce A by replacing row 2 with a-(row 2) —<-(row » fa 6 [5 aa] So the only way A can be reduced Ip is if ad—be # 0. We call this quantity ad—bc the determinant of A, and denote the determinant of A as det(A) or |A|. When det(A) 4 0, we know that At= ad — be ‘We now consider how we can use the determinant to find cigenvalues and other information about the invertibility of a matrix, () Let A= Find det(A) by hand. What does this mean about the matrix A? Can 1 24 you confirm this with other methods? 13 22 ‘equation Ax — 4x in the form (A — 4/;)x = 0. What must be true about A — 4/2 in order for 4 to be an eigenvalue of A? How does this relate to det(A — 42)? (2) One ofthe sigemvatues of A= [3 9 | 6.14, Recall that we can rei the man (3) Another eigenvalue of A= |} 3 1 22 for —1 to be an eigenvalue of A? How does this relate to det(A + 12)? Ja = 1. What must be true about A + [2 in order 32 2 6 as (A — Na)x = 0. The coefficient matrix of this last system has the form A — AIp (4) To find the eigenvalues of the matrix A = . we rewrite the equation Ax = Ax [°: . a] ‘The determinant of this matrix is a quadratic expression in . Since the eigenvalues will occur when the determinant is 0, we need to solve a quadratic equation, Find the resulting eigenvalues. (Note: One of the eigenvalues is 2.) (5) Can you explain why a 2 x 2 matrix can have at most two eigenvalues?