JEE MAIN - Mathematics (2021 - 26th February Morning Shift - No. 3)

Let A be a symmetric matrix of order 2 with integer entries. If the sum of the diagonal elements of A2 is 1, then the possible number of such matrices is :
6
4
1
12

Explanation

Let $$A = \left[ {\matrix{ a & b \cr b & c \cr } } \right]$$

$${A^2} = \left[ {\matrix{ a & b \cr b & c \cr } } \right]\left[ {\matrix{ a & b \cr b & c \cr } } \right] = \left[ {\matrix{ {{a^2} + {b^2}} & {ab + bc} \cr {ab + bc} & {{c^2} + {b^2}} \cr } } \right]$$

$$ = {a^2} + 2{b^2} + {c^2} = 1$$

$$a = 1,b = 0,c = 0$$

$$a = 0,b = 0,c = 1$$

$$a = - 1,b = 0,c = 0$$

$$c = - 1,b = 0,a = 0$$

Comments (0)

Advertisement