Unit 5
Determinants II: Further Properties

Objectives

When you have completed this unit, you should be able to

1. use row reduction to evaluate the determinant of a square matrix.
2. state the way that an elementary operation on a square matrix changes the value of its determinant.
3. define the elementary matrices and use them in computations.
4. state and prove some simple properties of the determinant function.
5. compute the characteristic equation of a square matrix and define the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a square matrix.