Chapter 1: Linear Equations and Matrices 39

SECTION D Inverse and Transpose of a Matrix

By the end of this section you will be able to
transpose and prove properties of the matrix transpose
understand what is meant by the identity matrix
define the inverse matrix and prove properties of the inverse matrix


You should now be familiar with matrix operations such as addition, subtraction and
multiplication. What about division of matrices?
You cannot divide matrices, there is no such operation for matrices. However there
are other important operations of matrices such as transpose which is not relevant to
algebra of real numbers because it makes no change on real numbers.
D1 Transpose of a Matrix
What do you think transpose of a matrix means?
It is a new matrix which is made up by swapping over the rows and columns of the
given matrix. For example if
1 2
3 4
5 6

=



A

then the transpose of this matrix is

1 3 5
2 4 6



Row 1 becomes column 1, row 2 becomes column 2, etc. If A is the given matrix then
the transpose of A is denoted by . In the above case we have .
T
A
1 3 5
2 4 6
T

=


A
In general the entry (ith row and jth column) of matrix A is transposed to
ij
a
ji
a (jth
row and ith column) in . That is if
T
A
( )
ij
a = A then
( )
T
ji
a = A .

Example 14
Find for each of the following matrices:
T
A
(a) (b) (c)
1 2
3 4

=


A

9 2 3
7 2 9
6 1 5


=

A
1 3 4
7 9 0

=


A
(d) (e) (f) ( ) 1 2 3 = A
1
2
3


=



A
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1


=



A
What do you notice about your result to part (f)?
Solution
(a) Remember means that we interchange rows and columns:
T
A
1 3
2 4
T

=


A
(b) Similarly we have
9 7 6
2 2 1
3 9 5
T

Chapter 1: Linear Equations and Matrices 40

(c) We have
1 7
3 9
4 0
T

=



A

(d) What sort of matrix is ( ) 1 2 3 = A ?
It is a row matrix. Transposing this makes it a column matrix, that is
1
2
3
T


=

A
(e) What sort of matrix is ?
1
2
3


=



A
This is a column matrix and transposing makes it into a row matrix:
( ) 1 2 3
T
= A
(f) Transposing gives the same matrix, that is
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1

=



A

1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1
T


=



A
Transposing identity matrix (or multiples of the identity matrix) does not change.

Note that transposing a matrix of size m n (m columns by n rows) gives a matrix of
size (n columns by m rows). n m
James Sylvester alongside Arthur Cayley can claim to be the fathers of matrix theory.

James Sylvester was born to a London Jewish
family in l814. He went to school in London and
in 1837 he took the mathematical tripos exam
in Cambridge. He did not graduate until 1841
and even then from Trinity College, Dublin
rather than Cambridge because he refused to
take the oath of the Church of England.
In 1841, aged 27, he become professor of
mathematics at the University of Virginia,
USA, for six months. He resigned his post in
March 1842 because of the lenient attitude of
the university towards disruptive students.
He returned to England in 1843 and began to
study law and met Arthur Cayley who was also
a mathematics graduate studying law. Both
Cayley and Sylvester discussed mathematics
during their walks in the Courts of Lincolns
Inn in London.
Fig 8 James Sylvester 1814 to 1897.
Chapter 1: Linear Equations and Matrices 41

They made serious contribution to matrix theory during this time.
Eventually in 1855 Sylvester secured a post of professor of mathematics at the Royal
Military Academy at Woolwich, London.
In 1877 he returned to America to become professor of mathematics at the new John
Hopkins University. A year later he founded the American Journal of Mathematics, the
first mathematics journal in the USA.
In 1883 he returned to England to become professor of Geometry at Oxford University,
where he remained until his death in 1897.
D2 Properties of Matrix Transpose
Next we prove some of the results concerning the transpose of a matrix.
Theorem (1.12). Properties of Matrix Transpose.
Let A and B be matrices of appropriate size so that the following operations can be
carried out. We have the following properties:
(a)
( )
T
T
= A A
(b) ( ) where k is a scalar
T
T
k k = A A
(c) ( )
T
T T
+ = + A B A B
(d) ( )
T
T T
= AB B A
We only prove properties (a) and (c). You are asked to prove the remaining in
Exercise 1(d).
Proof of (a). What does
( )
T
T
= A A mean?
Means that the transpose of a transposed matrix is the matrix you started with.
Let then interchanging rows and columns gives
11 12 1
21 22 2
1 2
n
n
m m mn
a a a
a a a
a a a

=



A

11 21 1
12 22 2
21
12
1 2
Notice the entries have
swapped, that is is swapped
with ,
m
m T
n n mn
a a a
a a a
a
a
a a a





=






A

and transposing this yields
( )
11 12 1
21 22 2
1 2
n
T
n T
m m mn
a a a
a a a
a a a



= =

A A

. Hence we have our

result,
( )
T
T
= A A.

Proof of (c).
Let and then
11 12 1
21 22 2
1 2
n
n
m m mn
a a a
a a a
a a a



=



A

11 12 1
21 22 2
1 2
n
n
m m mn
b b b
b b b
b b b



=



B

Chapter 1: Linear Equations and Matrices 42

( )
11 12 1 11 12 1
21 22 2 21 22 2
1 2 1 2
11 11 12 12 1 1
21 21 22 22 2 2
1 1 2 2
Add
T
n n
T
n n
m m mn m m mn
T
n n
n n
m m m m mn mn
a a a b b b
a a a b b b
a a a b b b
a b a b a b
a b a b a b
a b a b a b



+ = +




+ + +

+ + +

=


+ + +

A B

11 11 21 21 1 1
12 12 22 22 2 2
1 1 2 2
11 21 1
ing the
corresponding
entries
Taking the Transpose,
that is interchanging
rows and columns
m m
m m
n n n n mn mn
m
a b a b a b
a b a b a b
a b a b a b
a a a





+ + +


+ + +


=





+ + +

=

11 21 1
12 22 2 12 22 2
1 2 1 2
T T
m
m m T T
n n mn n n mn
b b b
a a a b b b
a a a b b b
= =



+ = +



A B
A B

Hence we have our result ( ) .
T
T T
+ = + A B A B


Example 15
Let and
3 4 1
5 2 6

=


A
2 7 5
1 3 9

=

B . Determine
(a)
(
(b) ( ) (c) ( (d)
)
T
T
A ( ) 2 3
T
A B
T
)
T
T
+ A B
T
+ A B (e) ( )
T
AB
Solution
(a) By Theorem (1.12) property (a) we have .
( )
3 4 1
5 2 6
T
T

= =


A A
(b) Applying the same theorem property (b) we have
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 2 3 2 3
3 5 2 1
Transposed matrices
2 4 2 3 7 3
and
1 6 5 9
6 10 6 3 12 7
8 4 21 9 29 5
2 12 15 27 13 39
T T T T
=



=

= =




A B A B
A B

(c) We have
Chapter 1: Linear Equations and Matrices 43

( )
1 6
3 4 1 2 7 5 1 3 6
3 5
5 2 6 1 3 9 6 5 3
6 3
T T
T



+ = + = =

A B
(d) What is
T T
+ A B equal to?
By Theorem (1.12) property (c) we have
( )

By Part (c)
1 6
3 5
6 3
T
T T


+ = + =

A B A B
(e) What is ( equal to? )
T
AB
We cannot evaluate because we cannot evaluate AB. (Matrix multiplication ( )
T
AB
AB is impossible because the number of columns of matrix A does not equal the
number of rows of matrix B).

D3 Identity Matrix
What does the term identity matrix mean?
The identity matrix is a matrix denoted by I such that
(1.13) = = AI IA A for any matrix A
This is similar to real numbers where the number 1 is the identity element which
satisfies 1 1 x x x = = for any real number x.
What does the identity matrix look like?
It is a matrix with 1s along the main diagonal (top left to bottom right) and zeros
elsewhere.
For example are all identity matrices.
1 0 0 0
1 0 0
1 0 0 1 0 0
, 0 1 0 and
0 1 0 0 1 0
0 0 1
0 0 0 1

4
How can we distinguish between these?
We can denote the size in the subscript of I as respectively. Clearly
being the identity matrix, being the 3
2 3
, and I I I
2
I
2 2
3
I 3 identity matrix etc.
Is the identity matrix, I, a square matrix?
Yes the identity must be a square matrix.
How can we write the formal definition of the identity matrix?
We define it in terms of the Kronecker delta function
ij
which is defined as
(1.14)
1 if
0 if
ij
i j
i j

=
=

Definition (1.15). An identity matrix is a square matrix denoted by I and defined by
( )
ij
= I where
ij
is defined in (1.14) above.
What does definition (1.15) mean?
All the entries in the main diagonal of a matrix I are 1, that is

11 22 33 44
1 i i i i = = = = =
and all the other entries are zero.
The identity matrix I is a square matrix with 1s along the main diagonal and zeros
elsewhere.
Chapter 1: Linear Equations and Matrices 44

Evaluating the following matrix multiplication we have
1 2 1 0 1 2
3 4 0 1 3 4

=

1 0
0 1
a b a b
c d c d

=


where are real numbers. , , and a b c d
Note the different size identity matrices for the following order of matrix
multiplication:
1 0 0
1 4 7 1 4 7
0 1 0
3 6 9 3 6 9
0 0 1



=







1 0 1 4 7 1 4 7
0 1 3 6 9 3 6 9

=




This means that if then
1 4 7
3 6 9

=

A
3
= AI A but
2
= I A A. Generally if A is
not a square matrix then the identity matrix is of different size depending on pre
multiplying by matrix A or post multiplying by A.
What does pre-multiplying by A mean?
It means the Left Hand matrix in a matrix multiplication is A.
What does post-multiplying by A mean?
It means the Right Hand matrix in a matrix multiplication is A.
Next we state a property of the identity matrix.
Proposition (1.16). The transpose of the identity matrix does not change the matrix,
that is .
T
= I I
Proof. See Exercise 1(d).

D4 Inverse Matrix
Let x be a real number then the inverse of x is a real number
1
x

such that
( )
1
1 x x

=
1 is the identity element of real numbers.
What do you think inverse matrix means?
Given a square matrix A then the inverse of A is a (square) matrix B such that
= AB I
where I is the identity matrix defined above.
Compare this with the algebra of real numbers,
( )
1
1 x x

= .
Inverse matrix of A is denoted by
1
A where
1
= A B in the above case and
1
1

A
A
[Not Equal]
The inverse matrix is not equal to 1 over A or reciprocal of matrix A. Remember we
cannot divide matrices. Also not all matrices have inverses.

Definition (1.17). A square matrix A is said to be invertible or nonsingular if there is
a matrix B of the same size such that
= = AB BA I
Matrix B is called the (multiplicative) inverse of A and is generally denoted by .
1
A
Chapter 1: Linear Equations and Matrices 45

Normally we say A and B are inverses of each other.
Example 16
Show that matrices A and B are inverses of each other, where
3 7 5 7
and
2 5 2 3

= =

A B

Solution. What do we need to show?
Need to show that the matrix multiplications AB and BA gives the identity matrix I.
3 7 5 7 1 0
2 5 2 3 0 1

= =

AB I =
5 7 3 7 1 0
2 3 2 5 0 1

= =

BA I =
Therefore matrices A and B are inverses of each other.

Example 17
Show that matrix B is the inverse of matrix A given that
1 2 0 5 2 2
2 5 1 and 2 1 1
4 10 1 0 2 1


= =




A B

Solution. Similar to Example 16 apart from the size of the matrix is . Multiplying 3 3
the matrices we have
1 2 0 5 2 2 1 0 0
2 5 1 2 1 1 0 1 0
4 10 1 0 2 1 0 0 1


= =




AB I

Hence the matrix B is the inverse of matrix A because = AB I . You can also show
that A is the inverse matrix of B by proving BA is equal to I. Try it!

Example 18
Show that matrix A does not have an inverse, where
3 2
0 0

=


A
Solution. Let be any
a b
c d

=


B

2 2 matrix. If we multiply out AB we have

3 2 3 2 3 2
0 0 0 0
a b a c b d
c d
+ +
= =


AB

Whichever values of we choose we will never get a 1 in the bottom , , and a b c d
right hand corner of the matrix AB. That is for any we have , , and a b c d
3 2 3 2
0 0
a c b d + +
=

AB

Why do you think we need a 1 in the bottom Right Hand corner?
Remember for the matrix B to be an inverse of matrix A it must satisfy
1 0
0 1

=


AB
Hence the matrix A does not have an inverse.
We need
a 1 here.
Chapter 1: Linear Equations and Matrices 46

Definition (1.18). A square matrix A is said to be non invertible or singular if there
is no matrix B of the same size such that
= = AB BA I
We say the matrix A does not have a (multiplicative) inverse.

D5 Properties of the Inverse Matrix
In this subsection we discuss various properties of the inverse matrix.
Proposition (1.18). The inverse of a nonsingular (invertible) matrix is unique.
What does this proposition mean?
There is only one inverse matrix of an invertible matrix.
Proof. How can we prove this proposition?
We suppose there are two inverse matrices of a given invertible matrix A and then
show that these are equal. Lets nominate these inverse matrices as B and C and show
that . These matrices, B and C, satisfy = B C
and = = AB I AC I [Because B and C are inverses of A]
Since both, AB and AC, are equal to the identity matrix therefore we can equate these
= AB AC
Pre-multiply these matrices by the matrix B:
( ) ( )
( )

( )

[ ]
Since matrices and
are inverses of each other,
Remember and
= =
=

=

= =

=
= =
I I
B AB B AC
A B
BA B BA C
BA AB I
IB IC
B C IB B IC C =

Hence we have proven our result that the inverse matrix is unique.


Proposition (1.19). If A is a nonsingular (invertible) matrix then
1
A is nonsingular
(invertible) and
( )
1
1

= A A
Note that this proposition means that the inverse of the inverse matrix is the initial
given matrix.
Proof. Let then by definition of the inverse matrix (1.17) we know B is an
1
= B A
nonsingular (invertible) matrix because = BA I . Required to prove . Why?
1
= B A
Because . By the definition of the inverse matrix we have
1
= B A
1
= BB I and = BA I
Equating these we have
1
= BB BA
Pre-multiply both sides by gives:
1
B

( ) ( )
( ) ( )
[ ]
1 1 1
1 1 1
1 1
1
Remember
Because for a matrix

=
=
= =

= =
B BB B BA
B B B B B A
IB IA B B I
B A IX X X

Chapter 1: Linear Equations and Matrices 47

Hence which means
1
= B A
( )
1
1

= A A because
1
= B A . Hence we have our
result.


Proposition (1.20). Let A and B be nonsingular (invertible) matrices then AB is
nonsingular (invertible) and
( )
1
1

1
= AB B A
What does this proposition mean?
Means that the inverse of AB is equal to the inverse in reverse order that is the inverse
of B times the inverse of A.
Proof. The inverse of AB is given by ( )
1
AB . What do we need to show?
Required to prove is the inverse of AB, that is we need to show
1 1
B A
( )
1 1
= AB B A I and ( )
1 1
= B A AB I
Lets consider the first of these, ( )
1 1
AB B A :
( ) ( )
1 1 1 1
1 1

=

=
= = =
I
AB B A A BB A
AIA AA I

Similarly examining we have (
1 1
B A AB)
( ) ( )
1 1 1 1
1 1

=

=
= = =
I
B A AB B A A B
B IB B B I

Hence by definition of the inverse matrix (1.17) we conclude that
1 1
B A is the
inverse of AB which is denoted by ( )
1
AB . Since the inverse matrix is unique ( )
1
AB
therefore
( )
1
1

= AB B A
1

We have proven what was required.


Proposition (1.21). Let A be a nonsingular (invertible) matrix and be a nonzero k
scalar then is nonsingular (invertible) and ( )
1
k

A
( )
1
1
1
k
k

= A A
Proof. See Exercise 1(d).

Proposition (1.22). Let A be a nonsingular (invertible) matrix then the transpose of the
matrix, , is also nonsingular and
T
A
( ) ( )
1
1
T
T


= A A
What does this proposition mean?
For an invertible matrix you can change the order of the inverse and transpose of the
given matrix.
Proof.
Chapter 1: Linear Equations and Matrices 48

Similar to the proof of Proposition (1.20).
The inverse matrix of is given by
T
A
( )
1
T

A . Need to show that
( )
1
T

A is equal to
the inverse of that is we need to show that
T
A
( )
1
T
T
= A A I and
( )
1
T
T
= A A I
Examining
( )
1
T
T
A A we have
( ) ( ) ( )
1 1
1
Using
Remember
Remember
T T
T
T T
T
T

T

= =

= =

= =

A A AA Y X XY
I A
I I
A I
I

Similarly we have
( ) ( ) ( )
1 1
1
Using
Remember
Remember
T T
T
T T
T
T

T

= =

= =

= =

A A A A Y X XY
I A
I I
A I
I

Hence is the inverse matrix of . Since the inverse matrix is unique
( )
1
T

A
T
A
therefore
( ) ( )
1
1
T
T

= A A which is our result.

SUMMARY
The transpose of a matrix is defined by interchanging entries in the row and column,
that is the entry (ith row and jth column) of matrix A is transposed to
ij
a
ji
a (jth row
and ith column) in . The properties of the transpose matrices is given by
T
A
(a)
( )
T
T
= A A
(b) ( ) where k is a scalar
T
T
k k = A A
(c) ( )
T
T T
+ = + A B A B
(d) ( )
T
T T
= AB B A
The identity matrix is a square matrix with 1s along the main diagonal and zeros
elsewhere.
A square matrix A is said to be nonsingular or invertible if there is a matrix B of the
same size such that
= = AB BA I
Matrix B is called the (multiplicative) inverse of matrix A and is generally denoted by
1
A .
The inverse of a nonsingular (invertible) matrix is unique.
If A and B are nonsingular (invertible) matrices then
(1.19)
( )
1
1

= A A
(1.20) ( )
1
1 1

= AB B A
(1.22)
( ) ( )
1
1
T
T


= A A