Wize University Linear Algebra Textbook > Matrices
Matrix Inverse
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Matrix Inverse
A square matrix is said to be invertible (or non-singular) if there exists a matrix (called the inverse of ) such that:
Example
If , show that .
Analogy With Real Numbers
Consider the real number product .
is the multiplicative inverse of : it is the unique number that multiplies to get a product of .
Recall that is the matrix equivalent of the number for multiplication (since ).
Just like with real numbers, if we want to "cancel out" a matrix with multiplication, we multiply by its inverse: .
Properties of the Matrix Inverse
Let be invertible matrices and let .
- is unique

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Example: Matrix Inverse
Given the following matrices and :
A) Determine whether is the inverse of .
Multiply the matrices together, and if the product is the identity, then they are inverse:
So is indeed the inverse of ().
B) Is the inverse of ?
Yes, is also the inverse of :
Since , it follows that .
If is an invertible matrix and , find the first row of .
If is the inverse of the matrix, find the value of .