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If \( A = \begin{bmatrix} x & -y \\ y & x \end{bmatrix} \) and \( A + A' = 2I \), then \( x \) is equal to:

The correct answer is

1

Solving the Matrix Equation \( A + A' = 2I \)

We are given a matrix \( A \) and the equation \( A + A' = 2I \), where \( A' \) is the transpose of \( A \) and \( I \) is the identity matrix. We need to find the value of \( x \) using this information.

Understanding the Given Matrix and its Transpose

The given matrix is:

\[ A = \begin{bmatrix} x & -y \\ y & x \end{bmatrix} \]

The transpose of a matrix \( A \), denoted by \( A' \) or \( A^T \), is obtained by interchanging its rows and columns. For the given matrix \( A \), the first row becomes the first column and the second row becomes the second column.

So, the transpose \( A' \) is:

\[ A' = \begin{bmatrix} x & y \\ -y & x \end{bmatrix} \]

Understanding the Identity Matrix

The identity matrix \( I \) is a square matrix with ones on the main diagonal and zeros elsewhere. Since matrix \( A \) is a 2x2 matrix, the identity matrix \( I \) relevant here is the 2x2 identity matrix:

\[ I = \begin{bmatrix} 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 \end{bmatrix} \]

The equation involves \( 2I \), which means we multiply each element of the identity matrix by 2:

\[ 2I = 2 \times \begin{bmatrix} 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 2 \times 1 & 2 \times 0 \\ 2 \times 0 & 2 \times 1 \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 2 & 0 \\ 0 & 2 \end{bmatrix} \]

Setting up the Matrix Equation \( A + A' = 2I \)

Now we substitute the matrices \( A \), \( A' \), and \( 2I \) into the given equation:

\[ \begin{bmatrix} x & -y \\ y & x \end{bmatrix} + \begin{bmatrix} x & y \\ -y & x \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 2 & 0 \\ 0 & 2 \end{bmatrix} \]

Performing Matrix Addition

To add matrices, we add the corresponding elements:

\[ \begin{bmatrix} x + x & -y + y \\ y + (-y) & x + x \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 2x & 0 \\ 0 & 2x \end{bmatrix} \]

Equating the Matrices and Solving for x

Now we have the resulting sum matrix equal to \( 2I \):

\[ \begin{bmatrix} 2x & 0 \\ 0 & 2x \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 2 & 0 \\ 0 & 2 \end{bmatrix} \]

For two matrices to be equal, their corresponding elements must be equal. Comparing the elements, we get the following equations:

  • Top-left element: \( 2x = 2 \)
  • Top-right element: \( 0 = 0 \)
  • Bottom-left element: \( 0 = 0 \)
  • Bottom-right element: \( 2x = 2 \)

From the equations involving \( x \), we have:

\[ 2x = 2 \]

To find \( x \), we divide both sides by 2:

\[ x = \frac{2}{2} \] \[ x = 1 \]

The value of \( y \) is not needed to solve for \( x \), and the terms involving \( y \) correctly cancel out in the matrix addition, resulting in zero elements where expected in the identity matrix.

Final Answer

The value of \( x \) that satisfies the equation \( A + A' = 2I \) is 1.

Revision Table: Key Matrix Concepts

Concept Description Example (2x2)
Matrix Addition Adding corresponding elements of two matrices of the same size. \( \begin{bmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{bmatrix} + \begin{bmatrix} e & f \\ g & h \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} a+e & b+f \\ c+g & d+h \end{bmatrix} \)
Matrix Transpose (\( A' \) or \( A^T \)) Swapping rows and columns of a matrix. If \( A = \begin{bmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{bmatrix} \), then \( A' = \begin{bmatrix} a & c \\ b & d \end{bmatrix} \)
Scalar Multiplication Multiplying every element of a matrix by a scalar value. \( k \times \begin{bmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} ka & kb \\ kc & kd \end{bmatrix} \)
Identity Matrix (\( I \)) A square matrix with 1s on the main diagonal and 0s elsewhere. Acts like the number 1 in matrix multiplication. \( I_{2x2} = \begin{bmatrix} 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 \end{bmatrix} \)
Matrix Equality Two matrices are equal if they have the same size and all corresponding elements are equal. \( \begin{bmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} e & f \\ g & h \end{bmatrix} \) implies \( a=e, b=f, c=g, d=h \)

Additional Information: Properties of Matrix Transpose

The transpose operation has several useful properties in matrix algebra:

  • \( (A')' = A \) (The transpose of the transpose of a matrix is the original matrix).
  • \( (A + B)' = A' + B' \) (The transpose of a sum is the sum of the transposes, provided A and B have the same dimensions).
  • \( (kA)' = kA' \) (The transpose of a scalar multiple is the scalar multiple of the transpose).
  • \( (AB)' = B'A' \) (The transpose of a product is the product of the transposes in reverse order, provided the product AB is defined).
  • For an identity matrix \( I \), \( I' = I \).

In this problem, we used the definition of the transpose and matrix addition, along with the property of matrix equality to solve for the variable \( x \).

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