- #1
Fibo's Rabbit
- 8
- 0
Homework Statement
What proportion of 2x2 symmetric matrices with entries belonging to [0, 1] have a positive determinant?
Homework Equations
[itex]A^{T} = A[/itex]
If A = [[a, b], [c, d]] Then det(A) = ad - bc. But A is symmetric, so c = b. So det(A) = ad - b^2
So, in order for A to have a positive determinant, ad > b^2
The Attempt at a Solution
I have no idea where to start to get the exact solution. I already did a Monte Carlo simulation which gave the answer .444694. The back of the book gives the solution 4/9, which confirms my monte carlo simulation. How do I get about coming to that fraction for the exact solution?