Maths for Engineers

and Scientists 4
The Inverse of a Matrix
If is a square matrix, then the inverse matrix
(if it exists) is denoted by and :
 , where is the identity matrix.

 Not all matrices have an inverse!

 To find the inverse of a 2 x 2
matrix, first find the determinant.
If the determinant = 0, the inverse
does not exist!
 Example 1. Verify that


 Let’s consider the system of equations in
matrix form

 Suppose further that , then is an matrix, is
an matrix and is an matrix.
 If the system has a unique solution,
 then Gaussian elimination will bring its

augmented matrix (A|b) to the form

 (A′|b′) = (|b′) where is the identity matrix

and b′ is the solution x = b′. On the other

hand, if we apply the inverse matrix to both
sides of our equation we obtain .
 This means that b′ = b. Solving the system
for different right-hand sides gives us
 information on the entries of the inverse

matrix .
 Example 2. Use Gaussian elimination to find

the inverse for the matrix


 The matrix inverse can be used to find the
solution of . It is if and only if .
 Not every square matrix has an inverse! If
 system of equations has a unique solution

then exists for its matrix of coefficients .

 Example 3. Find for
 .
 Example 4. Find the inverse of a matrix
