Question

How to find the determinant of a 3x3 matrix?

A) Multiply the main diagonal and sum the products
B) Use the cross product method
C) Perform row reduction
D) Find the eigenvalues and multiply

Answer 1

To find the determinant of a 3x3 matrix, multiply the main diagonal and subtract the product of the opposite diagonal elements.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct method to find the determinant of a 3x3 matrix is to multiply the elements along the main diagonal (top-left to bottom-right) and subtract the product of the elements along the opposite diagonal (top-right to bottom-left). This can be represented by the formula:

determinant(A) = (a * e * i) + (b * f * g) + (c * d * h) - (c * e * g) - (b * d * i) - (a * f * h)

Here, a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, and i represent the elements of the 3x3 matrix.