Question Details

Which of the following is not a property of invertible matrices if A and B are matrices of the same order?

Options

A

(AB)⁻¹=A⁻¹ B⁻¹

B

(AA⁻¹)=(A⁻¹ A)=I

C

(AB)⁻¹=B⁻¹ A⁻¹

D

AB=BA=I

Correct Answer :

(AB)⁻¹=A⁻¹ B⁻¹

Solution :

The correct option is (AB)-1 = A-1 B-1.

To understand why this is the correct answer, let us analyze the properties of invertible matrices A and B of the same order.

First, let us recall the definition of the inverse of a matrix product. The inverse of the product of two invertible matrices A and B is given by the reversal law:
( A B ) 1 = B 1 A 1
This shows that the order of the matrices is reversed when taking the inverse of a product.

We can verify this reversal law by multiplying AB by B-1A-1:
( A B ) ( B 1 A 1 ) = A ( B B 1 ) A 1
Since BB-1=I (where I is the identity matrix), this simplifies to:
A I A 1 = A A 1 = I
Similarly, multiplying in the reverse order yields:
( B 1 A 1 ) ( A B ) = B 1 ( A 1 A ) B = B 1 I B = B 1 B = I
This confirms that (AB)-1=B-1A-1 is a valid property.

Consequently, the statement (AB)-1=A-1B-1 is generally not true because matrix multiplication is not commutative in general (i.e., ABBA).

Let us briefly review the other options to confirm their validity:
1. (AA-1) = (A-1 A) = I: This is the fundamental definition of a matrix inverse.
2. (AB)-1 = B-1 A-1: As proven above, this is the correct reversal law for the inverse of a matrix product.
3. AB = BA = I: If two matrices A and B are inverses of each other, then their product in either order results in the identity matrix I.

Therefore, the only statement that is not a property of invertible matrices is (AB)-1 = A-1 B-1.

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