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Jennifer1990
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Homework Statement
I don't understand why the determinant of a matrix is equal to its transpose...how is this possible?
The determinant of a matrix is equal to its transpose because the determinant is a measure of how much a matrix scales the space it operates on. Since the transpose of a matrix is equivalent to rotating the matrix, it does not change the amount of scaling and thus the determinant remains the same.
Yes, let's take the 2x2 matrix [3 2; 5 4]. The determinant of this matrix is (3*4)-(2*5) = 2. If we take the transpose of this matrix, we get [3 5; 2 4]. The determinant of this transpose is also (3*4)-(2*5) = 2. So, we can see that the determinant of the matrix and its transpose are equal.
Yes, this concept holds true for all square matrices. For non-square matrices, the determinant is not defined. Additionally, the transpose of a non-square matrix may not even exist.
One of the properties of determinants is that the determinant of a product of matrices is equal to the product of their determinants. So, when we take the transpose of a matrix, we are essentially multiplying it by a rotation matrix, which does not affect the determinant. Therefore, the determinant of the original matrix and its transpose are equal.
This property is significant because it allows us to easily calculate the determinant of a matrix without having to find the cofactor expansion or use other methods. We can simply take the transpose of the matrix and use the determinant of the original matrix to get the same result. This can save time and effort in solving equations involving determinants.