Exercise · ZW-COFACTOR-LAPLACE-EXPANSION-010 · ★★★ Advanced

Find the values of \(x\) for which \(\det\begin{pmatrix}x & 1 & 0 \\ 2 & x & 1 \\ 0 & 1 & x\end{pmatrix}=0\).

Choose one option.

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  • C. \(x=0,\ x=\pm\sqrt3\)

Explanation

Along the first row: \(x(x^2-1)-1\cdot(2x-0)=x^3-3x=x(x^2-3)\), which vanishes at \(x=0\) and \(x=\pm\sqrt3\).

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Review the concept: Cofactor and Laplace expansion

The minor \(M\) of an entry is the determinant of the submatrix left after deleting its row and column; the cofactor \(C\) is that minor with an alternating sign.

\[C_{ij}=(-1)^{i+j}M_{ij}\]

More practice problems: cofactor and laplace expansion

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