Laplace Expansion - Examples

Examples

Consider the matrix

The determinant of this matrix can be computed by using the Laplace expansion along any one of its rows or columns. For instance, an expansion along the first row yields:

Laplace expansion along the second column yields the same result:

It is easy to verify that the result is correct: the matrix is singular because the sum of its first and third column is twice the second column, and hence its determinant is zero.

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