Related Formula
A 2 × 2$2 \times 2$ matrix A = pmatrix a & b c & d pmatrix$A = \begin{pmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{pmatrix}$ is invertible if and only if its determinant is non-zero:
(A) = ad - bc ≠ 0$$\det(A) = ad - bc \neq 0$$
Step 1: Count Total Matrix Sample Space
Each of the 4 entry slots in the 2 × 2$2 \times 2$ matrix has 2 binary choices (0 or 1) :
Total Matrices = 2⁴ = 16$$\text{Total Matrices} = 2^4 = 16$$
Step 2: Count Favorable Non-Zero Determinant Matrices
Since elements are 0 or 1, the products ad$ad$ and bc$bc$ can only evaluate to 0 or 1.
For ad - bc ≠ 0$ad - bc \neq 0$, we have two distinct cases:
- Case I: ad = 1$ad = 1$ and bc = 0$bc = 0$ .
ad = 1 ⇒ a = 1, d = 1$ad = 1 \Rightarrow a = 1, d = 1$ (1 configuration).
bc = 0 ⇒ (b, c) in (0,0), (0,1), (1,0)$bc = 0 \Rightarrow (b, c) \in \{(0,0), (0,1), (1,0)\}$ (3 configurations).
Ways = 1 × 3 = 3 matrices$$\text{Ways} = 1 \times 3 = 3 \text{ matrices}$$
- Case II: ad = 0$ad = 0$ and bc = 1$bc = 1$ .
bc = 1 ⇒ b = 1, c = 1$bc = 1 \Rightarrow b = 1, c = 1$ (1 configuration).
ad = 0 ⇒ (a, d) in (0,0), (0,1), (1,0)$ad = 0 \Rightarrow (a, d) \in \{(0,0), (0,1), (1,0)\}$ (3 configurations).
Ways = 1 × 3 = 3 matrices$$\text{Ways} = 1 \times 3 = 3 \text{ matrices}$$
Total Favorable Matrices = 3 + 3 = 6$$\text{Total Favorable Matrices} = 3 + 3 = 6$$
Step 3: Calculate Probability
Divide the favorable count by the total sample size :
P(E) = (6)/(16) = (3)/(8)$$P(E) = \frac{6}{16} = \frac{3}{8}$$
Pattern Recognition
For low-order matrix configuration spaces with binary inputs, directly analyzing the product outcomes (1-0=1$1-0=1$ or 0-1=-1$0-1=-1$) prevents long manual lists of all 16 matrices.
Chapter Mix
Class 12 Mathematics: Probability
Class 12 Mathematics: Matrices and Determinants