Question

Calculate the determinant of this 2x2 matrix. Provide the numerical answer. |2 -1 | |4 -5|

Answer 1

Given the matrix

`\begin{bmatrix}{a} & {b} & {} \\ {c} & {d} & {}{}\end{bmatrix}`

its determinant is computed as follows:

ad - cb

In this case, the matrix is

`\begin{bmatrix}{2} & {-1} & \\ {4} & -5 & {}\end{bmatrix}`

and its determinant is

2(-5) - 4(-1) = -10 - (-4) = -10 + 4 = -6