PYQ Vault

MHT-CET Maths · Teaching notes

Determinants and Matrices — MHT-CET Maths

Determinants and Matrices is small, expensive and unusually reusable: about one question a paper, nearly half of them HARD, but the content is a short list of identities that are recalled rather than derived, and the vanishing-determinant test learned here reappears as concurrency, collinearity, coplanarity and the scalar triple product across four other chapters. The difficulty is not computation — a 2 × 2 inverse takes ten seconds — but recognition: which identity turns a question about A·adj(A), a matrix polynomial or a power of A into one line. Work the pages below in order; each identity is stated once, where it is first needed, and the later pages use it without re-deriving it. Every PYQ is tagged.

Every subtopic, worked example, formula and trap in one printable document — answers shown, ready to share.

Subtopic notes

PYQ weightage by concept

17 concepts · 49 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first

Determinants, Cofactors and the Adjoint Identities16 PYQs · 33%
ConceptPYQsShare
The Adjoint and A·adj(A) = |A|·I48%
A·adj(A) = AAᵀ: Two Equations From the Diagonal and Off-Diagonal48%
Determinants and Cofactors: Expansion Along a Row36%
|adj A| = |A|ⁿ⁻¹ and |kA| = kⁿ|A|36%
Determinant Equations: When Does |A| Vanish?24%
Inverse of a Matrix — Adjoint Formula, Products and Verification15 PYQs · 31%
ConceptPYQsShare
Invert an Expression: Compute A² − 5A or A + B First, Then Invert48%
Inverse of a 2 × 2 Matrix36%
Matrices with tan x Entries: |A| = sec²x and adj A = Aᵀ36%
Unknown Entries and A⁻¹ = A³: Use AA⁻¹ = I36%
(AB)⁻¹ = B⁻¹A⁻¹: Inverting Products and Recovering a Factor24%
Cayley–Hamilton, Matrix Polynomials and Powers10 PYQs · 20%
ConceptPYQsShare
A⁻¹ = αI + βA: Read α and β From the Theorem510%
A Factored Polynomial in A Gives A⁻¹ in One Line36%
Cayley–Hamilton for 2 × 2: A² − (tr A)A + |A|·I = 012%
Powers of a Matrix: Find the Cycle12%
Systems of Linear Equations and Symmetric, Skew-Symmetric Matrices8 PYQs · 16%
ConceptPYQsShare
Solving AX = B: Elimination, or X = A⁻¹B510%
Symmetric + Skew-Symmetric: The Unique Split, and Why Odd-Order Skew Is Singular24%
Homogeneous Systems: Non-Trivial Solutions Need |A| = 012%

Formula & revision sheet

17 formulas · 17 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet

Determinants, Cofactors and the Adjoint Identities

Formulas (5)

  • Determinants and Cofactors: Expansion Along a Row · Expansion and cofactors
    ∣A∣=∑jaijAij,Aij=(−1)i+jMij,∑jaijAkj=0 (k≠i)|A| = \sum_{j} a_{ij}A_{ij}, \qquad A_{ij} = (-1)^{i+j}M_{ij}, \qquad \sum_j a_{ij}A_{kj} = 0 \ (k \ne i)
  • The Adjoint and A·adj(A) = |A|·I · The adjoint identity
    A adj⁡A=∣A∣ Iadj⁡(abcd)=(d−b−ca)(adj⁡A)−1=A∣A∣A\,\operatorname{adj}A = |A|\,I \qquad \operatorname{adj}\begin{pmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{pmatrix} = \begin{pmatrix} d & -b \\ -c & a \end{pmatrix} \qquad (\operatorname{adj}A)^{-1} = \frac{A}{|A|}
  • |adj A| = |A|ⁿ⁻¹ and |kA| = kⁿ|A| · Determinant identities
    ∣adj⁡A∣=∣A∣n−1∣kA∣=kn∣A∣∣AB∣=∣A∣∣B∣∣A−1∣=1∣A∣|\operatorname{adj}A| = |A|^{n-1} \qquad |kA| = k^n|A| \qquad |AB| = |A||B| \qquad |A^{-1}| = \frac{1}{|A|}
  • A·adj(A) = AAᵀ: Two Equations From the Diagonal and Off-Diagonal · The AAᵀ condition
    A adj⁡A=AAT  ⟺  AAT=∣A∣ I  ⟺  (off-diagonal of AAT)=0 and (diagonal of AAT)=∣A∣A\,\operatorname{adj}A = AA^T \iff AA^T = |A|\,I \iff (\text{off-diagonal of } AA^T) = 0 \ \text{and}\ (\text{diagonal of } AA^T) = |A|
  • Determinant Equations: When Does |A| Vanish? · Vanishing determinant
    ∣A∣=0  ⟺  A singular  ⟺  A−1 does not exist1+ω+ω2=0, ω3=1|A| = 0 \iff A \text{ singular} \iff A^{-1} \text{ does not exist} \qquad 1 + \omega + \omega^2 = 0,\ \omega^3 = 1

Watch out for (5)

Inverse of a Matrix — Adjoint Formula, Products and Verification

Formulas (5)

Cayley–Hamilton, Matrix Polynomials and Powers

Formulas (4)

Systems of Linear Equations and Symmetric, Skew-Symmetric Matrices

Formulas (3)

Watch out for (3)