Which of the below condition is incorrect for the inverse of a matrix A?
Correct Answer :
A must be singular matrix
Solution :
The correct option is "A must be singular matrix".
Let us understand why this condition is incorrect for the inverse of a matrix to exist, by looking at the definition and properties of a matrix inverse.
For any square matrix A of order n, its inverse A-1 is defined such that:
where I is the identity matrix of the same order.
The formula to find the inverse of a matrix A is given by:
where (or ) is the determinant of matrix A, and is the adjoint of matrix A.
From this formula, we can analyze the conditions under which the inverse exists:
1. Square Matrix: The determinant and adjoint are only defined for square matrices. Thus, matrix A must be a square matrix. (This is a correct condition).
2. Non-zero Determinant: Since the determinant is in the denominator of the inverse formula, it must not be equal to zero () to prevent division by zero. A matrix with a non-zero determinant is called a non-singular matrix. Therefore, A must be a non-singular matrix. (This is a correct condition).
3. Adjoint Condition: For the inverse to be defined and non-zero, the adjoint of A must also not be a zero matrix, i.e., . (This is a correct condition).
Conversely, a singular matrix is defined as a matrix whose determinant is equal to zero (). If A is a singular matrix, then its inverse does not exist because division by zero is undefined. Therefore, the statement "A must be singular matrix" is incorrect for the existence of the inverse of a matrix.
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