Hint: Recall That A Is Invertible If and Only If A Series of Elementary Row Operations Can Bring It To The Identity Matrix.

Math 217: Proof of Multiplicative Property of Determinant
Professor Karen E. Smith (c)2015 UM Math Dept

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By-NC-SA 4.0 International License.
Two of the most important theorems about determinants are yet to be proved:
Theorem 1: If A and B are both n × n matrices, then det A det B = det(AB).
Theorem 2: A square matrix is invertible if and only if its determinant is non-zero.
A. The proof of Theorem 2.

1. Use the multiplicative property of determinants (Theorem 1) to give a one line proof
that if A is invertible, then det A 6= 0.
2. Recall the three types of elementary row operations on a matrix:
(a) Swap two rows;
(b) Multiply one row by a non-zero scalar
(c) Replace ’Row i’ by ’Row i plus a scalar multiple of Row j”.
Now, using the multilinearity and alternating properties of determinants, explain ex-
actly what happens to the determinant of a square matrix A under each type of elementary
operation.
3. Prove that if the determinant of A is non-zero, then A is invertible. [Hint: Recall that A is
invertible if and only if a series of elementary row operations can bring it to the identity matrix.]
Solution note:
1. Suppose A is invertible. Thus there exists an inverse matrix B such that AB = BA = In .

Take the determinant of both sides. Using Theorem 1, we have det(AB) = det A det B =
det In = 1. So we can not have det A = 0, as this would imply 0 = 1. QED.
2. Swapping two rows: determinant changes sign. Multiplying ONE row by c multiplies the
determinant by c. Replacing ”Row i” by ”Row i + c Row j” leaves the determinant unchanged,
since        
R1 R1 R1 R1
 R2   R2   R2   R2 
       
 ..   ..   ..   .. 

 . 

 . 
 
 . 
 
 . 
 
Ri + cRj   Ri   Rj   Ri 
det  = det + c det = det  ..  + 0.
       
..   ..   .. 

 . 


  .  
  .   . 
 
 Rj   Rj   Rj   Rj 
       
 ..   ..   ..   .. 
 .   .   .   . 
Rn Rn Rn Rn
Note that the last equality holds because two rows are the same in one of the matrices.
3. Suppose that A has determinant D. We do elementary row ops on A, and each step, the new
determinant is a NON-ZERO multiple of the previous (either −1 if we swap rows, or c if we
scaled a row by c, or 1 if we added a multiple of a row to another). So A has deteminant
D = 0 if and only if rref A also has determinant zero. So A is invertible if and only if D 6= 0.
B. The proof of Theorem 1.
1. Suppose that A and B are n × n upper triangular matrices. Verify the theorem in this case.
2. Prove that if A is not invertible, then neither is AB (without using Theorem 1 or 2, but
rather the definition of invertible).
3. Prove the theorem in the case A is not invertible.
4. Prove the Theorem in the case A is invertible. [Hint: Recall that each elementary row
operation is multiplication by an elementary matrix, so that an invertible matrix is a product
of elementary matrices. Now do induction on the number of elementary matrices in the
product.]
Solution note:
1. The product of upper triangle matrices is also upper triangular, and the diagonal entries are
the corresponding products. So the determinant of AB is the product of the diagonal entries
of A and B.
2. Suppose, on the contrary, that AB is invertible. Suppose C is the inverse (also n × n). That
means (AB)C = In . So A(BC) = In . Since A is n × n, this means that the n × n matrix BC
is the inverse of A. This contradicts A non-invertible.
3. Suppose A is not invertible. This means the determinant of A is zero. Similarly, AB is not
invertible, so its determinant is 0. Obviously, then det A det B = det AB.
4. Write A as a product of (say, ) t elementary matrices. We show by induction on t that

det A det B = det AB. Base case: Suppose A = E1 where E1 is an elementary matrix. Then
det E1 det B = det E1 B was checked in Problem A. Inductive step: Assume that if A0 is a
product of t − 1 elementary matrices, then det A0 det B = det(A0 B). We need to prove the
result for a EA0 where E is an elementary matrix. But we know how multlplying by E changes
the determinant from problem A, and it is the same on both sides, since (EA0 )B = E(AB).

Hint: Recall That A Is Invertible If and Only If A Series of Elementary Row Operations Can Bring It To The Identity Matrix.

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Math 217: Proof of Multiplicative Property of Determinant

Professor Karen E. Smith (c)2015 UM Math Dept

Theorem 1: If A and B are both n × n matrices, then det A det B = det(AB).

Theorem 2: A square matrix is invertible if and only if its determinant is non-zero.

A. The proof of Theorem 2.

1. Suppose A is invertible. Thus there exists an inverse matrix B such that AB = BA = In .

3. Prove the theorem in the case A is not invertible.

4. Write A as a product of (say, ) t elementary matrices. We show by induction on t that

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