Inverse of a Matrix using Minors, Cofactors and Adjugate https://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/matrix-inverse-minors-cofactors-adjugate.

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Note: also check out Matrix Inverse by Row Operations and the Matrix Calculator

We can calculate the Inverse of a Matrix by:

• Step 1: calculating the Matrix of Minors,

• Step 2: then turn that into the Matrix of Cofactors,

• Step 3: then the Adjugate, and

• Step 4: multiply that by 1/Determinant.

But it is best explained by working through an example!

Example: find the Inverse of A:

3 0 2
A= 2 0 -2
0 1 1

It needs 4 steps. It is all simple arithmetic but there is a lot of it, so try not to make
a mistake!

Step 1: Matrix of Minors

The first step is to create a "Matrix of Minors". This step has the most calculations.

For each element of the matrix:

• ignore the values on the current row and column

• calculate the determinant of the remaining values

Put those determinants into a matrix (the "Matrix of Minors")

Determinant

For a 2×2 matrix (2 rows and 2 columns) the determinant is easy: ad-bc

Think of a cross:

• Blue means positive (+ad),

• Red means negative (-bc)

(It gets harder for a 3×3 matrix, etc)

The Calculations

Here are the first two, and last two, calculations of the "Matrix of Minors" (notice
how I ignore the values in the current row and columns, and calculate the
determinant using the remaining values):

And here is the calculation for the whole matrix:

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Inverse of a Matrix using Minors, Cofactors and Adjugate https://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/matrix-inverse-minors-cofactors-adjugate.html

0×1 - (-2)×1 2×1 - (-2)×0 2×1 - 0×0 2 2 2

0×1 - 2×1 3×1 - 2×0 3×1 - 0×0 = -2 3 3
0×(-2) - 2×0 3×(-2) - 2×2 3×0 - 0×2 0 -10 0
Matrix of Minors

Step 2: Matrix of Cofactors

This is easy! Just apply a "checkerboard" of minuses to the "Matrix of Minors". In
other words, we need to change the sign of alternate cells, like this:

2 2 2 + - + 2 -2 2
-2 3 3 - + - +2 3 -3
0 -10 0 + - + 0 +10 0
Matrix of Minors Matrix of CoFactors

Step 3: Adjugate (also called Adjoint)

Now "Transpose" all elements of the previous matrix... in other words swap their
positions over the diagonal (the diagonal stays the same):

Step 4: Multiply by 1/Determinant

Now find the determinant of the original matrix. This isn't too hard, because we
already calculated the determinants of the smaller parts when we did "Matrix of
Minors".

ax b xc
x
e f − d f + d e
h i g i g h

Using:

Elements of top row: 3, 0, 2

Minors for top row: 2, 2, 2

We end up with this calculation:

Determinant = 3×2 − 0×2 + 2×2 = 10

Note: a small simplification is to multiply by the cofactors (which already have

the "+−+−" pattern), and then we just add each time:

Determinant = 3×2 + 0×( − 2) + 2×2 = 10

Your Turn: try this for any other row or column, you should also get 10.

Now we multiply the Adjugate by 1/Determinant to get:

2 2 0 0.2 0.2 0
-1
A = =
1
10 -2 3 10 -0.2 0.3 1
2 -3 0 0.2 -0.3 0
Adjugate Inverse

And we are done!

Compare this answer with the one we got on

Inverse of a Matrix using Elementary Row Operations . Is it the same? Which
method do you prefer?

Larger Matrices

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Inverse of a Matrix using Minors, Cofactors and Adjugate https://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/matrix-inverse-minors-cofactors-adjugate.html

It is exactly the same steps for larger matrices (such as a 4×4, 5×5, etc), but wow!
there is a lot of calculation involved.

For a 4×4 Matrix we have to calculate 16 3×3 determinants. So it is often easier to

use computers (such as the Matrix Calculator .)

Conclusion
• For each element, calculate the determinant of the values not on the row
or column, to make the Matrix of Minors
• Apply a checkerboard of minuses to make the Matrix of Cofactors
• Transpose to make the Adjugate
• Multiply by 1/Determinant to make the Inverse

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6

Question 7 Question 8 Question 9 Question 10

Copyright © 2022 Rod Pierce

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