NCERT Solutions for Exercise 4.4 Class 12 Maths Chapter 4 - Determinants

NCERT Solutions for Exercise 4.4 Class 12 Maths Chapter 4 - Determinants

Komal MiglaniUpdated on 25 Apr 2025, 08:41 AM IST

Suppose your friend asked you to expand a $3 \times 3$ determinant. You might think about which method to use: row or column? This is where the concept of expansion of determinants using minors and cofactors becomes important. In NCERT Class 12 Maths Chapter 4 - Determinants, Exercise 4.3 explains how to expand a determinant of order 3 by choosing any row or column. Minor of an element $a_{i j}$ of a determinant is the determinant obtained by deleting its $ i$th row and $ j$th column in which element $a_{i j}$ lies. Minor of an element $a_{i j}$ is denoted by $\mathrm{M}_{i j}$. Cofactor of an element $a_{i j}$, denoted by $\mathrm{A}_{i j}$ is defined by $\mathrm{A}_{i j}=(-1)^{i+j} \mathrm{M}_{i j}$, where $\mathrm{M}_{i j}$ is minor of $a_{i j}$. This article on the NCERT Solutions for Exercise 4.3 Class 12 Maths Chapter 4 offers clear and step-by-step solutions for the exercise problems to help the students understand the method and logic behind it. For syllabus, notes, and PDF, refer to this link: NCERT.

LiveCBSE Admit Card 2026 (OUT) LIVE: Class 10 and 12 theory exam hall ticket at parikshasangam.cbse.gov.inFeb 3, 2026 | 10:34 PM IST

The CBSE will hold the Class 12th 2026 examination from February 17 to April 10, 2026. The exam conducting authority has declared the CBSE Class 12 admit card for private candidates on the official website.

Read More

Class 12 Maths Chapter 4 Exercise 4.3 Solutions: Download PDF

Download PDF

Determinants Exercise: 4.3

Question 1 (i) Write Minors and Cofactors of the elements of following determinants:

$\small \begin{vmatrix}2 &-4 \\0 &3 \end{vmatrix}$

Answer:

GIven determinant: $\begin{vmatrix}2 &-4 \\0 &3 \end{vmatrix}$

Minor of element $a_{ij}$ is $M_{ij}$.

Therefore we have

$M_{11}$ = minor of element $a_{11}$ = 3

$M_{12}$ = minor of element $a_{12}$ = 0

$M_{21}$ = minor of element $a_{21}$ = -4

$M_{22}$ = minor of element $a_{22}$ = 2

and finding cofactors of $a_{ij}$ is $A_{ij}$ = $(-1)^{i+j}M_{ij}$.

Therefore, we have:

$A_{11} = (-1)^{1+1}M_{11} = (-1)^2(3) = 3$

$A_{12} = (-1)^{1+2}M_{12} = (-1)^3(0) = 0$

$A_{21} = (-1)^{2+1}M_{21} = (-1)^3(-4) = 4$

$A_{22} = (-1)^{2+2}M_{22} = (-1)^4(2) = 2$

Question 1 (ii) Write Minors and Cofactors of the elements of following determinants:

$\small \begin{vmatrix} a &c \\ b &d \end{vmatrix}$

Answer:

GIven determinant: $\begin{vmatrix} a &c \\ b &d \end{vmatrix}$

Minor of element $a_{ij}$ is $M_{ij}$.

Therefore we have

$M_{11}$ = minor of element $a_{11}$ = d

$M_{12}$ = minor of element $a_{12}$ = b

$M_{21}$ = minor of element $a_{21}$ = c

$M_{22}$ = minor of element $a_{22}$ = a

and finding cofactors of $a_{ij}$ is $A_{ij}$ = $(-1)^{i+j}M_{ij}$.

Therefore, we have:

$A_{11} = (-1)^{1+1}M_{11} = (-1)^2(d) = d$

$A_{12} = (-1)^{1+2}M_{12} = (-1)^3(b) = -b$

$A_{21} = (-1)^{2+1}M_{21} = (-1)^3(c) = -c$

$A_{22} = (-1)^{2+2}M_{22} = (-1)^4(a) = a$

Question 2 (i) Write Minors and Cofactors of the elements of following determinants:

$\small \begin{vmatrix} 1 & 0 &0 \\ 0 &1 &0 \\ 0 &0 &1 \end{vmatrix}$

Answer:

Given determinant : $\begin{vmatrix} 1 & 0 &0 \\ 0 &1 &0 \\ 0 &0 &1 \end{vmatrix}$

Finding Minors: by the definition,

$M_{11} =$ minor of $a_{11} = \begin{vmatrix} 1 &0 \\ 0 &1 \end{vmatrix} = 1$ $M_{12} =$ minor of $a_{12} = \begin{vmatrix} 0 &0 \\ 0 &1 \end{vmatrix} = 0$

$M_{13} =$ minor of $a_{13} = \begin{vmatrix} 0 &1 \\ 0 &0 \end{vmatrix} = 0$ $M_{21} =$ minor of $a_{21} = \begin{vmatrix} 0 &0 \\ 0 &1 \end{vmatrix} = 0$

$M_{22} =$ minor of $a_{22} = \begin{vmatrix} 1 &0 \\ 0 &1 \end{vmatrix} = 1$ $M_{23} =$ minor of $a_{23} = \begin{vmatrix} 1 &0 \\ 0 &0 \end{vmatrix} = 0$

$M_{31} =$ minor of $a_{31} = \begin{vmatrix} 0 &0 \\ 1 &0 \end{vmatrix} = 0$ $M_{32} =$ minor of $a_{32} = \begin{vmatrix} 1 &0 \\ 0 &0 \end{vmatrix} = 0$

$M_{33} =$ minor of $a_{33} = \begin{vmatrix} 1 &0 \\ 0 &1 \end{vmatrix} = 1$

Finding the cofactors:

$A_{11}=$ cofactor of $a_{11} = (-1)^{1+1}M_{11} = 1$

$A_{12}=$ cofactor of $a_{12} = (-1)^{1+2}M_{12} = 0$

$A_{13}=$ cofactor of $a_{13} = (-1)^{1+3}M_{13} = 0$

$A_{21}=$ cofactor of $a_{21} = (-1)^{2+1}M_{21} = 0$

$A_{22}=$ cofactor of $a_{22} = (-1)^{2+2}M_{22} = 1$

$A_{23}=$ cofactor of $a_{23} = (-1)^{2+3}M_{23} = 0$

$A_{31}=$ cofactor of $a_{31} = (-1)^{3+1}M_{31} = 0$

$A_{32}=$ cofactor of $a_{32} = (-1)^{3+2}M_{32} = 0$

$A_{33}=$ cofactor of $a_{33} = (-1)^{3+3}M_{33} = 1$.

Question:2(ii) Write Minors and Cofactors of the elements of following determinants:

$\small \begin{vmatrix} 1 &0 &4 \\ 3 & 5 &-1 \\ 0 &1 &2 \end{vmatrix}$

Answer:

Given determinant : $\begin{vmatrix} 1 &0 &4 \\ 3 & 5 &-1 \\ 0 &1 &2 \end{vmatrix}$

Finding Minors: by the definition,

$M_{11} =$ minor of $a_{11} = \begin{vmatrix} 5 &-1 \\ 1 &2 \end{vmatrix} = 11$ $M_{12} =$ minor of $a_{12} = \begin{vmatrix} 3 &-1 \\ 0 &2 \end{vmatrix} = 6$

$M_{13} =$ minor of $a_{13} = \begin{vmatrix} 3 &5 \\ 0 &1 \end{vmatrix} = 3$ $M_{21} =$ minor of $a_{21} = \begin{vmatrix} 0 &4 \\ 1 &2 \end{vmatrix} = -4$

$M_{22} =$ minor of $a_{22} = \begin{vmatrix} 1 &4 \\ 0 &2 \end{vmatrix} = 2$ $M_{23} =$ minor of $a_{23} = \begin{vmatrix} 1 &0 \\ 0 &1 \end{vmatrix} = 1$

$M_{31} =$ minor of $a_{31} = \begin{vmatrix} 0 &4 \\ 5 &-1 \end{vmatrix} = -20$

$M_{32} =$ minor of $a_{32} = \begin{vmatrix} 1 &4 \\ 3 &-1 \end{vmatrix} = -1-12=-13$

$M_{33} =$ minor of $a_{33} = \begin{vmatrix} 1 &0 \\ 3 &5 \end{vmatrix} = 5$

Finding the cofactors:

$A_{11}=$ cofactor of $a_{11} = (-1)^{1+1}M_{11} = 11$

$A_{12}=$ cofactor of $a_{12} = (-1)^{1+2}M_{12} = -6$

$A_{13}=$ cofactor of $a_{13} = (-1)^{1+3}M_{13} = 3$

$A_{21}=$ cofactor of $a_{21} = (-1)^{2+1}M_{21} = 4$

$A_{22}=$ cofactor of $a_{22} = (-1)^{2+2}M_{22} = 2$

$A_{23}=$ cofactor of $a_{23} = (-1)^{2+3}M_{23} = -1$

$A_{31}=$ cofactor of $a_{31} = (-1)^{3+1}M_{31} = -20$

$A_{32}=$ cofactor of $a_{32} = (-1)^{3+2}M_{32} = 13$

$A_{33}=$ cofactor of $a_{33} = (-1)^{3+3}M_{33} = 5$.

Question:3 Using Cofactors of elements of second row, evaluate .$\small \Delta =\begin{vmatrix} 5 &3 &8 \\ 2 & 0 & 1\\ 1 &2 &3 \end{vmatrix}$

Answer:

Given determinant : $\small \Delta =\begin{vmatrix} 5 &3 &8 \\ 2 & 0 & 1\\ 1 &2 &3 \end{vmatrix}$

First finding Minors of the second rows by the definition,

$M_{21} =$ minor of $a_{21} = \begin{vmatrix} 3 &8 \\ 2 &3 \end{vmatrix} =9-16 = -7$

$M_{22} =$ minor of $a_{22} = \begin{vmatrix} 5 &8 \\ 1 &3 \end{vmatrix} = 15-8=7$

$M_{23} =$ minor of $a_{23} = \begin{vmatrix} 5 &3 \\ 1 &2 \end{vmatrix} = 10-3 =7$

Finding the Cofactors of the second row:

$A_{21}=$ Cofactor of $a_{21} = (-1)^{2+1}M_{21} = 7$

$A_{22}=$ Cofactor of $a_{22} = (-1)^{2+2}M_{22} = 7$

$A_{23}=$ Cofactor of $a_{23} = (-1)^{2+3}M_{23} = -7$

Therefore we can calculate $\triangle$ by sum of the product of the elements of the second row with their corresponding cofactors.

Therefore we have,

$\triangle = a_{21}A_{21} + a_{22}A_{22} + a_{23}A_{23} = 2(7) +0(7) +1(-7) =14-7=7$

Question:4 Using Cofactors of elements of third column, evaluate $\small \Delta =\begin{vmatrix} 1 &x &yz \\ 1 &y &zx \\ 1 &z &xy \end{vmatrix}$

Answer:

Given determinant : $\small \Delta =\begin{vmatrix} 1 &x &yz \\ 1 &y &zx \\ 1 &z &xy \end{vmatrix}$

First finding Minors of the third column by the definition,

$M_{13} =$ minor of $a_{13} = \begin{vmatrix} 1 &y \\ 1 &z \end{vmatrix} =z-y$

$M_{23} =$ minor of $a_{23} = \begin{vmatrix} 1 &x \\ 1 &z \end{vmatrix} = z-x$

$M_{33} =$ minor of $a_{33} = \begin{vmatrix} 1 &x \\ 1 &y \end{vmatrix} =y-x$

Finding the Cofactors of the second row:

$A_{13}=$ Cofactor of $a_{13} = (-1)^{1+3}M_{13} = z-y$

$A_{23}=$ Cofactor of $a_{23} = (-1)^{2+3}M_{23} = x-z$

$A_{33}=$ Cofactor of $a_{33} = (-1)^{3+3}M_{33} = y-x$

Therefore we can calculate $\triangle$ by sum of the product of the elements of the third column with their corresponding cofactors.

Therefore we have,

$\triangle = a_{13}A_{13} + a_{23}A_{23} + a_{33}A_{33}$

$= (z-y)yz + (x-z)zx +(y-x)xy$

$=yz^2-y^2z + zx^2-xz^2 + xy^2-x^2y$

$=z(x^2-y^2) + z^2(y-x) +xy(y-x)$

$= (x-y) \left [ zx+zy-z^2-xy \right ]$

$=(x-y)\left [ z(x-z) +y(z-x) \right ]$

$= (x-y)(z-x)[-z+y]$

$= (x-y)(y-z)(z-x)$

Thus, we have value of $\triangle = (x-y)(y-z)(z-x)$.

Question 5: If $\Delta = \begin{vmatrix} a_{11} & a_{12} & a_{13} \\ a_{21} & a_{22} & a_{23} \\ a_{31} & a_{32} & a_{33} \end{vmatrix}$ and $A_{ij}$ is the cofactor of $a_{ij}$, then the value of $\Delta$ is given by:

(A) $a_{11}A_{31} + a_{12}A_{32} + a_{13}A_{33}$

(B) $a_{11}A_{11} + a_{12}A_{21} + a_{13}A_{31}$

(C) $a_{21}A_{11} + a_{22}A_{12} + a_{23}A_{13}$

(D) $a_{11}A_{11} + a_{21}A_{21} + a_{31}A_{31}$

Answer: (D) $a_{11}A_{11} + a_{21}A_{21} + a_{31}A_{31}$

By the definition itself, $\Delta$ is equal to the sum of the products of the elements of any row or column with their corresponding cofactors.


Also read,

Topics Covered in Chapter 4, Determinants: Exercise 4.3

Here are the main topics covered in NCERT Class 12 Chapter 4, Determinants: Exercise 4.3.

1. Determinant of Order 3 Using Expansion: A $3 \times 3$ determinant is expanded along a row or column using the formula:

$|A|=a_{11}\left(a_{22} a_{33}-a_{32} a_{23}\right)-a_{12}\left(a_{21} a_{33}-a_{31} a_{23}\right)+a_{13}\left(a_{21} a_{32}-a_{31} a_{22}\right)$

2. Minor of an Element: The minor of an element is the determinant of the $2 \times 2$ matrix that remains after deleting the row and column of that element.

3. Cofactor of an Element: The cofactor is the minor multiplied by $(-1)^{i+j}$, where $i$ is the row number and $j$ is the column number.

4. Expansion Along Row or Column: The determinant can be expanded using any row or column by multiplying each element by its corresponding cofactor and summing the results.

Also, read,

NCERT Solutions of Class 12 Subject Wise

Given below are some useful links for subject-wise NCERT solutions of class 12.

JEE Main Highest Scoring Chapters & Topics
Just Study 40% Syllabus and Score upto 100%
Download EBook
CBSE Class 12th Syllabus: Subjects & Chapters
Select your preferred subject to view the chapters

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Can I get CBSE Class 12 Maths previous years paper with solutions ?
A:

You can check here for CBSE Class 12 Maths previous years paper with solutions. The questions are based on the content of the NCERT syllabus. Refering to the previous year papers is helpful to understand the area from which more questions are asked.

Q: what is a singular matrix ?
A:

If the determinant of a square matrix A is zero, it is called a singular matrix.

Q: what is a non-singular matrix ?
A:

If the determinant of a square matrix A is not zero, it is called a non-singular matrix.

Q: Can I get CBSE Class 10 Maths previous years paper with solutions ?
Q: Does questions from miscellaneous exercises are asked in the CBSE board exams ?
A:

Most of the questions are not asked from miscellaneous exercises but sometimes a few questions are asked from the miscellaneous exercises too.

Q: Does miscellaneous exercises are important ?
A:

As most of the questions are not asked from miscellaneous exercises in the board exams, so it is not important from the board exam point of view but very important for competitive exams.

Q: Where can I get CBSE Class 12 previous years paper ?
Q: Does CBSE provides previous papers solutions ?
A:

No, CBSE doesn't provide previous papers solutions. Students can download the question papers and marking scheme from the CBSE website.

Articles
|
Upcoming School Exams
Ongoing Dates
Manipur board 12th Admit Card Date

17 Dec'25 - 20 Mar'26 (Online)

Ongoing Dates
Odisha CHSE Admit Card Date

19 Dec'25 - 25 Mar'26 (Online)

Ongoing Dates
CBSE Class 12th Exam Date

1 Jan'26 - 14 Feb'26 (Offline)

Certifications By Top Providers
Economic Evaluation for Health Technology Assessment
Via Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Chandigarh
Aspen Plus Simulation Software a Basic Course for Beginners
Via Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Yoga Practices 1
Via Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, Bangalore
Introduction to Biomedical Imaging
Via The University of Queensland, Brisbane
Brand Management
Via Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Edx
 1071 courses
Coursera
 816 courses
Udemy
 394 courses
Futurelearn
 264 courses
Explore Top Universities Across Globe

Questions related to CBSE Class 12th

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CBSE Class 12th ?

Hello

You will be able to download the CBSE Previous Year Board Question Papers from our official website, careers360, by using the link given below.

https://school.careers360.com/boards/cbse/cbse-previous-year-question-papers

I hope this information helps you.

Thank you.

Hello

You will be able to download the CBSE Pre-Board Class 12 Question Paper 2025-26 from our official website by using the link which is given below.

https://school.careers360.com/boards/cbse/cbse-pre-board-class-12-question-paper-2025-26

I hope this information helps you.

Thank you.

Hello,

Yes, it's completely fine to skip this year's 12th board exams and give them next year as a reporter or private candidate, allowing you to prepare better; the process involves contacting your current school or board to register as a private candidate or for improvement exams during the specified

HELLO,

Yes i am giving you the link below through which you will be able to download the Class 12th Maths Book PDF

Here is the link :- https://school.careers360.com/ncert/ncert-book-for-class-12-maths

Hope this will help you!

Hello,

Here is your Final Date Sheet Class 12 CBSE Board 2026 . I am providing you the link. Kindly open and check it out.

https://school.careers360.com/boards/cbse/cbse-class-12-date-sheet-2026

I hope it will help you. For any further query please let me know.

Thank you.