What exactly does a determinant of a Matrix mean?

Question

Don't just tell me the formula. Thanks.

Answer 1

M. Abuhelwa got it right. The determinant of a matrix is the amount that the volume (n-dimensional volume, that is) is multiplied by under the transformation defined by that matrix. The determinant is negative if there is an orientation reversal. Alternatively, it is the volume of the parallelopiped with one vertex at the origin, vertices at each of the column vectors, and completed out to give a full parallelopiped.

Answer 2

In algebra, a determinant is a function depending on n that associates a scalar det(A) to every n×n square matrix A. The fundamental geometric meaning of a determinant is as the scale factor for volume when A is regarded as a linear transformation. Determinants are important both in calculus, where they enter the substitution rule for several variables, and in multilinear algebra.

For a fixed positive integer n, there is a unique determinant function for the n×n matrices over any commutative ring R. In particular, this function exists when R is the field of real or complex numbers.

A determinant of A is also sometimes denoted by |A|, but this notation is ambiguous: it is also used to for certain matrix norms, and for the absolute value.

The 2*2 matrix A =
a b|
c d|
has determinant det (A) = ad - bc

The interpretation when the matrix has real number entries is that this gives the area of the parallelogram with vertices at (0,0), (a,c), (b,d), and (a + b, c + d), with a sign factor (which is −1 if A as a transformation matrix flips the unit square over).

Answer 3

The determinant of a matrix is very simply just the "value" of a matrix

Answer 4

Putting it simply, a Matrix is a block of numbers. This block of numbers (matrix) may be summarized by specific calculation as a single number called it's determinant.

Answer 5

Historically, determinants were considered before matrices. Originally, a determinant was defined as a property of a system of linear equations. The determinant "determines" whether the system has a unique solution (which occurs precisely if the determinant is non-zero). In this sense, two-by-two determinants were considered by Cardano at the end of the 16th century and larger ones by Leibniz about 100 years later. Following him Cramer (1750) added to the theory, treating the subject in relation to sets of equations. The recurrent law was first announced by Bezout (1764).

It was Vandermonde (1771) who first recognized determinants as independent functions. Laplace (1772) gave the general method of expanding a determinant in terms of its complementary minors: Vandermonde had already given a special case. Immediately following, Lagrange (1773) treated determinants of the second and third order. Lagrange was the first to apply determinants to questions outside elimination theory; he proved many special cases of general identities.

Gauss (1801) made the next advance. Like Lagrange, he made much use of determinants in the theory of numbers. He introduced the word determinants (Laplace had used resultant), though not in the present signification, but rather as applied to the discriminant of a quantic. Gauss also arrived at the notion of reciprocal (inverse) determinants, and came very near the multiplication theorem.

The next contributor of importance is Binet (1811, 1812), who formally stated the theorem relating to the product of two matrices of m columns and n rows, which for the special case of m = n reduces to the multiplication theorem. On the same day (Nov. 30, 1812) that Binet presented his paper to the Academy, Cauchy also presented one on the subject. (See Cauchy-Binet formula.) In this he used the word determinant in its present sense, summarized and simplified what was then known on the subject, improved the notation, and gave the multiplication theorem with a proof more satisfactory than Binet's. With him begins the theory in its generality.

The next important figure was Jacobi (from 1827). He early used the functional determinant which Sylvester later called the Jacobian, and in his memoirs in Crelle for 1841 he specially treats this subject, as well as the class of alternating functions which Sylvester has called alternants. About the time of Jacobi's last memoirs, Sylvester (1839) and Cayley began their work.

The study of special forms of determinants has been the natural result of the completion of the general theory. Axisymmetric determinants have been studied by Lebesgue, Hesse, and Sylvester; persymmetric determinants by Sylvester and Hankel; circulants by Catalan, Spottiswoode, Glaisher, and Scott; skew determinants and Pfaffians, in connection with the theory of orthogonal transformation, by Cayley; continuants by Sylvester; Wronskians (so called by Muir) by Christoffel and Frobenius; compound determinants by Sylvester, Reiss, and Picquet; Jacobians and Hessians by Sylvester; and symmetric gauche determinants by Trudi. Of the text-books on the subject Spottiswoode's was the first. In America, Hanus (1886) and Weld (1893) published treatises.
*** I copy this article from the link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinant

Answer 6

If you want more information, you could visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinant

Answer 7

the following links might help you

Answer 8

x = LAZY
y = DOING
z = HOMEWORK
x + y +z = LAZY DOING HOMEWORK
s = SLACKER
u = YOU
u + s = YOU SLACKER