Find the eigenvalues of a given matrix

blouqu6
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
1. The 3x3 Matrix A=[33, -12, -70; 0, 1, 0; 14, -6, -30] has three distinct eigenvalues, λ123.
Find each eigenvalue.2. det(A-λI)=0 where I denotes the appropriate identity matrix (3x3 in this case)3. Here's my attempt:

--> det([33, -12, -70; 0, 1, 0; 14, -6, -30]-λ[1, 0, 0; 0, 1, 0; 0, 0, 1])=0

--> det([33-λ, -12, -70; 0, 1-λ, 0; 14, -6, -30-λ]=0

--> -λ3+4λ2+7λ-10=0

And this is where I'm not exactly sure what to do. I don't believe I can effectively use grouping to solve for λ. Any help here would be appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
blouqu6 said:
1. The 3x3 Matrix A=[33, -12, -70; 0, 1, 0; 14, -6, -30] has three distinct eigenvalues, λ123.
Find each eigenvalue.2. det(A-λI)=0 where I denotes the appropriate identity matrix (3x3 in this case)3. Here's my attempt:

--> det([33, -12, -70; 0, 1, 0; 14, -6, -30]-λ[1, 0, 0; 0, 1, 0; 0, 0, 1])=0

--> det([33-λ, -12, -70; 0, 1-λ, 0; 14, -6, -30-λ]=0

--> -λ3+4λ2+7λ-10=0

And this is where I'm not exactly sure what to do. I don't believe I can effectively use grouping to solve for λ. Any help here would be appreciated.


The rational roots theorem. Any possible rational root must divide 10. Can you guess one? Once you find a root r, divide by λ-r. Now you have a quadratic.
 
Ahh yes

And that did it. Thanks man, I ended up with λ1=-2,λ2=1, and λ3=5, which is the correct answer. Really appreciate the help.
 
blouqu6 said:
And that did it. Thanks man, I ended up with λ1=-2,λ2=1, and λ3=5, which is the correct answer. Really appreciate the help.

You are welcome. If they give you a cubic to solve without using a computing device, it will likely have one easy root. If you find that you are home free.
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...

Similar threads

Back
Top