Question

What is the product of -4 and the matrix [8, -1, -5, 9]?

a) [-32, 4, 20, -36]
b) [32, -4, -20, 36]
c) [-32, -4, -20, -36]
d) [32, 4, 20, 36]

Answer 1

The product of -4 and the matrix [8, -1, -5, 9] is computed by multiplying -4 with each element of the matrix, resulting in [-32, 4, 20, -36], which matches option a.

Step-by-step explanation:

The product of a scalar and a matrix is found by multiplying the scalar with each element of the matrix individually. When we multiply -4 by the matrix [8, -1, -5, 9], we need to multiply -4 with each of these numbers separately:

• -4 × 8 = -32
• -4 × -1 = 4
• -4 × -5 = 20
• -4 × 9 = -36

Therefore, the product of -4 and the matrix [8, -1, -5, 9] is [-32, 4, 20, -36], which corresponds to option a.