Math 601 Solutions to Homework 6

1. Find the eigenvalues for each of the following matrices. For each eigen-
value, nd a basis of the corresponding eigenspace. Determine whether
the matrix is diagonalizable over the complex numbers.
(a) A
1
=
_
_
4 6 4
2 3 4
0 0 2
_
_
(b) A
2
=
_
_
0 2 2
1 3 1
0 0 2
_
_
(c) A
3
=
_
_
1 2 0
0 1 2
0 0 1
_
_
(d) A
4
=
_
_
1 7 4
1 1 4
1 3 6
_
_
Answer:
(a) The characteristic polynomial is:
det(I A) =

4 6 4
2 + 3 4
0 0 2

= ( 2)
_
( 4)( + 3) + 12
_
= ( 2)(
2
)
= ( 2)( 1)
The eigenvalues are = 0, = 1, and = 2
To nd a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue
= 0, we compute the nullspace of the matrix I A:
_
_
4 6 4
2 3 4
0 0 2
_
_

_
_
1 3/2 0
0 0 1
0 0 0
_
_
Thus, the equations for the nullspace are:
x
1
=
3
2
x
2
x
2
= x
2
x
3
= 0
1
Thus, a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue = 0
is
_
_
_
_
_
3
2
0
_
_
_
_
_
. (Any multiple of this vector is also a basis for the
eigenspace.)
To nd a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue
= 1, we compute the nullspace of the matrix I A:
_
_
3 6 4
2 4 4
0 0 1
_
_

_
_
1 2 0
0 0 1
0 0 0
_
_
Thus, the equations for the nullspace are:
x
1
= 2x
2
x
2
= x
2
x
3
= 0
Thus, a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue = 1
is
_
_
_
_
_
2
1
0
_
_
_
_
_
. (Any multiple of this vector is also a basis for the
eigenspace.)
To nd a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue
= 2, we compute the nullspace of the matrix I A:
_
_
2 6 4
2 5 4
0 0 0
_
_

_
_
1 0 2
0 1 0
0 0 0
_
_
Thus, the equations for the nullspace are:
x
1
= 2x
3
x
2
= 0
x
3
= x
3
Thus, a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue = 2
is
_
_
_
_
_
2
0
1
_
_
_
_
_
. (Any multiple of this vector is also a basis for the
eigenspace.)
Since there are three linearly independent eigenvectors:
Yes, the matrix is diagonalizable
2
(b) The characteristic polynomial is:
det(I A) =

2 2
1 3 1
0 0 2

= ( 2)
_
( 3) + 2
_
= ( 2)(
2
3 + 2)
= ( 2)
2
( 1)
The eigenvalues are = 1 and = 2 The eigenvalue = 2 is
a multiple root of the characteristic polynomial with algebraic
multiplicity 2.
To nd a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue
= 1, we compute the nullspace of the matrix I A:
_
_
1 2 2
1 2 1
0 0 1
_
_

_
_
1 2 0
0 0 1
0 0 0
_
_
Thus, the equations for the nullspace are:
x
1
= 2x
2
x
2
= x
2
x
3
= 0
Thus, a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue = 1
is
_
_
_
_
_
2
1
0
_
_
_
_
_
. (Any multiple of this vector is also a basis for the
eigenspace.)
To nd a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue
= 2, we compute the nullspace of the matrix I A:
_
_
2 2 2
1 1 1
0 0 0
_
_

_
_
1 1 1
0 0 0
0 0 0
_
_
Thus, the equations for the nullspace are:
x
1
= x
2
+ x
3
x
2
= x
2
x
3
= x
3
3
Thus, a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue = 2
is
_
_
_
_
_
1
1
0
_
_
,
_
_
1
0
1
_
_
_
_
_
. (Any 2 linearly independent vectors in the
span of these 2 vectors also form a basis for the eigenspace.) The
geometric multiplicity of the eigenvalue = 2 is 2, because the
dimension of the eigenspace is 2.
Since there are three linearly independent eigenvectors:
Yes, the matrix is diagonalizable
(c) The characteristic polynomial is:
det(I A) =

1 2 0
0 1 2
0 0 1

= ( 1)
3
There is one eigenvalue: = 1 This eigenvalue is a multiple root
of the characteristic polynomial, it has algebraic multiplicity 3.
To nd a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue
= 1, we compute the nullspace of the matrix I A:
_
_
0 2 0
0 0 2
0 0 0
_
_

_
_
0 1 0
0 0 1
0 0 0
_
_
Thus, the equations for the nullspace are:
x
1
= x
1
x
2
= 0
x
3
= 0
Thus, a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue = 1
is
_
_
_
_
_
1
0
0
_
_
_
_
_
. (Any multiple of this vector is also a basis for the
eigenspace.) The eigenvalue = 1 has geometric multiplicity 1,
since the dimension of the eigenspace is 1.
Since there is only 1 linearly independent eigenvector:
No, the matrix is not diagonalizable
4
(d) The characteristic polynomial is:
det(I A) =

1 7 4
1 1 4
1 3 6

= ( 1)

1 4
3 6

1 4
1 6

+ 4

1 1
1 3

= ( 1)(
2
7 + 18) 7( 2) + 4( 4)
= (
3
8
2
+ 25 18) + (7 + 14) + (4 16)
=
3
8
2
+ 22 20
= ( 2)(
2
6 + 10)
= ( 2)( (3 + i))( (3 i))
The eigenvalues are = 2, = 3 + i, and = 3 i
To nd a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue
= 2, we compute the nullspace of the matrix I A:
_
_
1 7 4
1 1 4
1 3 4
_
_

_
_
1 0 4
0 1 0
0 0 0
_
_
Thus, the equations for the nullspace are:
x
1
= 4x
3
x
2
= 0
x
3
= x
3
Thus, a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue = 2
is
_
_
_
_
_
4
0
1
_
_
_
_
_
. (Any multiple of this vector is also a basis for the
eigenspace.)
To nd a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue
= 3 + i, we compute the nullspace of the matrix I A:
_
_
2 + i 7 4
1 2 + i 4
1 3 3 + i
_
_

_
_
1 2 + i 4
2 + i 7 4
1 3 3 + i
_
_
(2 + i) row 1
+ row 1

_
_
1 2 + i 4
0 4 4i 4 4i
0 1 + i 1 + i
_
_

1
4

_
_
1 2 + i 4
0 1 i 1 i
0 1 + i 1 + i
_
_
+ row 2
5

_
_
1 2 + i 4
0 1 i 1 i
0 0 0
_
_
(1 i)
_
_
1 2 + i 4
0 1 i
0 0 0
_
_
(2 + i) row 2

_
_
1 0 3 + 2i
0 1 i
0 0 0
_
_
Thus, the equations for the nullspace are:
x
1
= (3 2i)x
3
x
2
= ix
3
x
3
= x
3
Thus, a basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue = 3 + i
is
_
_
_
_
_
3 2i
i
1
_
_
_
_
_
. (Any multiple of this vector is also a basis for
the eigenspace.)
A basis for the eigenspace corresponding to eigenvalue = 3i is
the conjugate of the above basis. Thus, a basis for the eigenspace
corresponding to eigenvalue = 3 i is
_
_
_
_
_
3 + 2i
i
1
_
_
_
_
_
. (Any
multiple of this vector is also a basis for the eigenspace.)
Since there are three linearly independent eigenvectors:
Yes, the matrix is diagonalizable
2. Solve the following system of dierential equations:
x

= x + 8y + 4x

2y

= 8x 11y + 4x

+ 8y

with initial conditions x(0) = 2, y(0) = 1, x

(0) = 4, and y

(0) = 7.
Answer: First, we need to change this into a system of rst order
dierential equations. Let x
1
= x, x
2
= x

, y
1
= y, and y
2
= y

. Then,
we have:
x

1
= x
2
y

1
= y
2
x

2
= x
1
+ 8y
1
+ 4x
2
2y
2
y

2
= 8x
1
11y
1
+ 4x
2
+ 8y
2
6
This is a system of the form Y

= AY where
A =
_

_
0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1
1 8 4 2
8 11 4 8
_

_
The eigenvalues of this matrix are
1
= 3,
2
= 5,
3
= 2 + i, and

4
= 2i, with corresponding eigenvectors v
1
=
_

_
1
1
3
3
_

_
, v
2
=
_

_
1
3
5
15
_

_
,
v
3
=
_

_
5
4 2i
10 + 5i
6 8i
_

_
, and v
4
=
_

_
5
4 + 2i
10 5i
6 + 8i
_

_
.
At this point, we can nish the problem 2 dierent ways. We can
write the general solution in terms of complex numbers, and then use
the initial conditions to solve for the constants (which will require row
reduction with complex numbers); or we can nd the general solution
in terms of real numbers, and then use the initial conditions to solve
for the constants.
Method 1: The general solutions are
_

_
x
1
y
1
x
2
y
2
_

_
= c
1
e
3t
_

_
1
1
3
3
_

_
+ c
2
e
5t
_

_
1
3
5
15
_

_
+ c
3
e
(2+i)t
_

_
5
4 2i
10 + 5i
6 8i
_

_
+ c
4
e
(2i)t
_

_
5
4 + 2i
10 5i
6 + 8i
_

_
The initial conditions tell us that
c
1
c
2
+ 5c
3
+ 5c
4
= 2
c
1
+ 3c
2
+ (4 2i)c
3
+ (4 + 2i)c
4
= 1
3c
1
5c
2
+ (10 + 5i)c
3
+ (10 5i)c
4
= 4
3c
1
+ 15c
2
+ (6 8i)c
3
+ (6 + 8i)c
4
= 7
Solving, we get c
1
= 2, c
2
= 1, c
3
=
1
2

1
2
i, and c
4
=
1
2
+
1
2
i. Thus,
the solution to the initial value problem is
x = 2e
3t
e
5t
+ 5
_
1
2

1
2
i
_
e
(2+i)t
+ 5
_
1
2
+
1
2
i
_
e
(2i)t
y = 2e
3t
+ 3e
5t
+ (4 2i)
_
1
2

1
2
i
_
e
(2+i)t
+ (4 + 2i)
_
1
2
+
1
2
i
_
e
(2i)t
This is equivalent to:
7
x = 2e
3t
e
5t
+
_
5
2

5
2
i
_
e
(2+i)t
+
_
5
2
+
5
2
i
_
e
(2i)t
y = 2e
3t
+ 3e
5t
+ (3 + i)e
(2+i)t
+ (3 i)e
(2i)t
Since e
(2+i)t
= e
2t
(cos t + i sin t) and e
(2i)t
= e
2t
(cos t i sin t), we can
simplify to get:
x = 2e
3t
e
5t
+ 5e
2t
cos t + 5e
2t
sin t
y = 2e
3t
+ 3e
5t
6e
2t
cos t 2e
2t
sin t
Method 2: Using the eigenvalue
3
= 2 + i, we get the solution:
e
(2+i)t
_

_
5
4 2i
10 + 5i
6 8i
_

_
= e
2t
(cos t + i sin t)
_

_
5
4 2i
10 + 5i
6 8i
_

_
= e
2t
_

_
5 cos t + i5 sin t
(4 cos t 2i cos t) + (4i sin t + 2 sin t)
(10 cos t + 5i cos t) + (10i sin t 5 sin t)
(6 cos t 8i cos t) + (6i sin t + 8 sin t)
_

_
= e
2t
_

_
5 cos t + i5 sin t
(4 cos t + 2 sin t) + i(2 cos t 4 sin t)
(10 cos t 5 sin t) + i(5 cos t + 10 sin t)
(6 cos t + 8 sin t) + i(8 cos t 6 sin t)
_

_
Separating into real and imaginary parts, we have
Re
_
_
_
_
e
(2+i)t
_

_
5
4 2i
10 + 5i
6 8i
_

_
_
_
_
_
= e
2t
_

_
5 cos t
4 cos t + 2 sin t
10 cos t 5 sin t
6 cos t + 8 sin t
_

_
Re
_
_
_
_
e
(2+i)t
_

_
5
4 2i
10 + 5i
6 8i
_

_
_
_
_
_
= e
2t
_

_
5 sin t
2 cos t 4 sin t
5 cos t + 10 sin t
8 cos t 6 sin t
_

_
8
Thus, the general solutions are
_

_
x
1
y
1
x
2
y
2
_

_
= c
1
e
3t
_

_
1
1
3
3
_

_
+ c
2
e
5t
_

_
1
3
5
15
_

_
+ c
3
e
2t
_

_
5 cos t
4 cos t + 2 sin t
10 cos t 5 sin t
6 cos t + 8 sin t
_

_
+c
4
e
2t
_

_
5 sin t
2 cos t 4 sin t
5 cos t + 10 sin t
8 cos t 6 sin t
_

_
The initial conditions tell us that
c
1
c
2
+ 5c
3
= 2
c
1
+ 3c
2
4c
3
2c
4
= 1
3c
1
5c
2
+ 10c
3
+ 5c
4
= 4
3c
1
+ 15c
2
6c
3
8c
4
= 7
Solving, we get c
1
= 2, c
2
= 1, c
3
= 1, and c
4
= 1. Thus, the solution
to the initial value problem is
x = 2e
3t
e
5t
+ 5e
2t
cos t + 5e
2t
sin t
y = 2e
3t
+ 3e
5t
6e
2t
cos t 2e
2t
sin t
Note 1: We give the answer for x and y, since those were the variables
we wanted to solve for initially.
Note 2: If we used dierent eigenvectors (multiples of the ones we
chose), the general solution would look dierent, but the nal answer
to the initial value problem would be the same.
3. For a matrix A, the exponential of A is the following matrix:
e
A
= I + A +
1
2
A
2
+
1
3!
A
3
+
1
4!
A
4
+ . . .
For each of the following matrices, compute the exponential of the
matrix.
(a) A
1
=
_
_
3 2 1
1 1 0
5 3 2
_
_
(b) A
2
=
_
0
0
_
9
(c) A
3
=
_
5 2
3 0
_
(Hint: Diagonalize the matrix.)
Answer:
(a) First, we compute some powers of the matrix A
1
:
A
2
1
=
_
_
3 2 1
1 1 0
5 3 2
_
_
_
_
3 2 1
1 1 0
5 3 2
_
_
=
_
_
2 1 1
2 1 1
2 1 1
_
_
A
3
1
=
_
_
2 1 1
2 1 1
2 1 1
_
_
_
_
3 2 1
1 1 0
5 3 2
_
_
=
_
_
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
_
_
We see that further powers of A
1
will all equal the zero matrix.
Thus,
e
A
1
= I + A
1
+
1
2
A
2
1
+
1
3!
A
3
1
+
1
4!
A
4
1
+ . . .
=
_
_
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1
_
_
+
_
_
3 2 1
1 1 0
5 3 2
_
_
+
1
2
_
_
2 1 1
2 1 1
2 1 1
_
_
=
_
_
1 3/2 1/2
0 3/2 1/2
4 5/2 5/2
_
_
(b) We will two dierent methods to compute e
A
2
.
Method 1: We compute some powers of the matrix A
2
:
A
2
2
=
_
0
0
_ _
0
0
_
=
_

2
0
0
2
_
A
3
2
=
_

2
0
0
2
_ _
0
0
_
=
_
0
3

3
0
_
A
4
2
=
_
0
3

3
0
_ _
0
0
_
=
_

4
0
0
4
_
A
5
2
=
_

4
0
0
4
_ _
0
0
_
=
_
0
5

5
0
_
At this point, we can see that there is a pattern. For even powers,
we have something of the form:
A
2n
2
=
_
(1)
n

2n
0
0 (1)
n

2n
_
10
For odd powers, we have something of the form:
A
2n+1
2
=
_
0 (1)
n

2n+1
(1)
n+1

2n+1
0
_
We can put the powers of A
2
that we have computed so far into
the formula for e
A
2
:
e
A
2
= I + A
2
+
1
2
A
2
2
+
1
3!
A
3
2
+
1
4!
A
4
2
+ . . .
=
_
1 0
0 1
_
+
_
0
0
_
+
1
2
_

2
0
0
2
_
+
1
3!
_
0
3

3
0
_
+
1
4!
_

4
0
0
4
_
+
1
5!
_
0
5

5
0
_
+ . . .
=
_

_
1

2
2
+

4
4!
. . .

3
3!
+

5
5!
. . .
+

3
3!


5
5!
+ . . . 1

2
2
+

4
4!
. . .
_

_
We recognize the entries of this matrix as the Taylor series for
cos , sin , and sin . Thus, we get
e
A
2
=
_
cos sin
sin cos
_
Method 2: We begin by diagonalizing the matrix A
2
. The eigen-
values for the matrix are
1
= i and
2
= i, with corre-
sponding eigenvectors v
1
=
_
1
i
_
and v
2
=
_
1
i
_
. In the basis
{v
1
, v
2
}, the linear transformation A
2
is represented by the diag-
onal matrix D =
_
i 0
0 i
_
. We can compute e
D
, and then
change back to the standard basis.
e
D
= I + D
2
+
1
2
D
2
2
+
1
3!
D
3
2
+
1
4!
D
4
2
+ . . .
=
_
1 0
0 1
_
+
_
i 0
0 i
_
+
1
2
_
(i)
2
0
0 (i)
2
_
+
1
3!
_
(i)
3
0
0 (i)
3
_
+
1
4!
_
(i)
4
0
0 (i)
4
_
+ . . .
=
_

_
1 + i +
1
2
(i)
2
+
1
3!
(i)
3
+ . . . 0
0 1 + (i) +
1
2
(i)
2
+ . . .
_

_
11
We can see that the diagonal entries are the Taylor series for e
x
with i and i plugged in for x. Thus,
e
D
=
_
e
i
0
0 e
i
_
Finally, we need to change back to the standard basis. We know
that
e
A
2
= Se
D
S
1
where S =
_
1 1
i i
_
. Thus, S
1
=
1
2i
_
i 1
i 1
_
=
_
1/2 i/2
1/2 i/2
_
.
Thus:
e
A
2
=
_
1 1
i i
_ _
e
i
0
0 e
i
_ _
1/2 i/2
1/2 i/2
_
=
_

_
e
i
+ e
i
2
ie
i
+ ie
i
2
ie
i
ie
i
2
e
i
+ e
i
2
_

_
Now, we can use the fact that e
i
= cos + i sin and e
i
=
cos i sin to see that:
e
i
+ e
i
2
= cos and
ie
i
+ ie
i
2
= sin
Thus:
e
A
2
=
_
cos sin
sin cos
_
(c) We begin by diagonalizing the matrix A
3
. The eigenvalues for the
matrix are
1
= 2 and
2
= 3, with corresponding eigenvectors
v
1
=
_
2
3
_
and v
2
=
_
1
1
_
. In the basis {v
1
, v
2
}, the linear trans-
formation A
3
is represented by the diagonal matrix D =
_
2 0
0 3
_
.
We can compute e
D
, and then change back to the standard basis.
e
D
= I + D
2
+
1
2
D
2
2
+
1
3!
D
3
2
+
1
4!
D
4
2
+ . . .
=
_
1 0
0 1
_
+
_
2 0
0 3
_
+
1
2
_
2
2
0
0 3
2
_
+
1
3!
_
2
3
0
0 3
3
_
+
1
4!
_
2
4
0
0 3
4
_
+ . . .
=
_

_
1 + 2 +
1
2
2
2
+
1
3!
2
3
+
1
4!
2
4
+ . . .
0 1 + 3 +
1
2
3
2
+
1
3!
3
3
+
1
4!
3
4
+ . . .
_

_
12
Using the Taylor Series for e
x
, we can see that the diagonal entries
e
2
and e
3
. Thus,
e
D
=
_
e
2
0
0 e
3
_
Finally, we need to change back to the standard basis. We know
that
e
A
3
= Se
D
S
1
where S =
_
2 1
3 1
_
. Thus, S
1
=
_
1 1
3 2
_
=
_
1 1
3 2
_
.
Thus:
e
A
3
=
_
2 1
3 1
_ _
e
2
0
0 e
3
_ _
1 1
3 2
_
=
_
2e
2
+ 3e
3
2e
2
2e
3
3e
2
+ 3e
3
3e
2
2e
3
_
4. Two masses are connected by a series of springs between two xed
points as shown in the following gure:
Assume that the springs all have spring constant k = 2.4 N/m and that
the masses have mass m
1
= 0.3 kg and m
2
= 0.8 kg. Let x
1
and x
2
represent the displacements of the respective masses.
(a) Set up a system of second-order dierential equations that de-
scribes the motion of this system.
(b) Solve the system given the initial conditions x
1
= 6, x
2
= 2 and
dx
1
dt
=
dx
2
dt
= 0 when t = 0.
Answer:
(a) We have the system:
m
1
x

1
= kx
1
k(x
1
x
2
)
m
2
x

2
= k(x
2
x
1
) k(x
2
)
Substituting the values for k, m
1
, and m
2
and simplifying, we get:
x

1
= 16x
1
+ 8x
2
x

2
= 3x
1
6x
2
13
(b) This is a system of the form X

= AX where
A =
_
16 8
3 6
_
The eigenvalues of this matrix are
1
= 18,
2
= 4 with cor-
responding eigenvectors v
1
=
_
4
1
_
and v
2
=
_
2
3
_
. We will
change to the basis {v
1
, v
2
}. Let the variables in the new basis be
u
1
and u
2
. Then, with respect to this basis, we have the system
of dierential equations:
u

1
= 18u
1
u

2
= 4u
2
Then, the solutions are
u
1
= c
1
cos(3

2 t) + c
2
sin(3

2 t)
u
2
= c
3
cos(2t) + c
4
sin(2t)
Changing back to the original basis, the solutions are
_
x
1
x
2
_
=
_
c
1
cos(3

2 t)+c
2
sin(3

2 t)
_
_
4
1
_
+
_
c
3
cos(2t)+c
4
sin(2t)
_
_
2
3
_
From the initial conditions x
1
= 6 and x
2
= 2 when t = 0, we get
4c
1
+ 2c
3
= 6
c
1
+ 3c
3
= 2
Solving, we get c
1
= 1 and c
3
= 1. From the initial conditions
dx
1
dt
= 0 and
dx
2
dt
= 0 when t = 0, we get
12

2c
2
+ 4c
4
= 0
3

2c
2
+ 6c
4
= 0
Solving, we get c
2
= 0 and c
4
= 0. Thus, the solution to the initial
value problem is
x
1
= 4 cos(3

2 t) + 2 cos(2t)
x
2
= cos(3

2 t) + 3 cos(2t)
14