CBSE Class 12th Exam Date:17 Feb' 26 - 17 Feb' 26
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.
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 $a_{33} = (-1)^{3+3}M_{33} = 5$.
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,
$\triangle = a_{21}A_{21} + a_{22}A_{22} + a_{23}A_{23} = 2(7) +0(7) +1(-7) =14-7=7$
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,
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,
Given below are some useful links for subject-wise NCERT solutions of class 12.
Here are some links to subject-wise solutions for the NCERT exemplar class 12.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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.
If the determinant of a square matrix A is zero, it is called a singular matrix.
If the determinant of a square matrix A is not zero, it is called a non-singular matrix.
Here you will get CBSE Class 10 Maths previous years paper with solutions.
Most of the questions are not asked from miscellaneous exercises but sometimes a few questions are asked from the miscellaneous exercises too.
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.
Here you will get CBSE Class 12 previous years paper.
No, CBSE doesn't provide previous papers solutions. Students can download the question papers and marking scheme from the CBSE website.
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
No, it’s not true that GSEB (Gujarat Board) students get first preference in college admissions.
Your daughter can continue with CBSE, as all recognized boards CBSE, ICSE, and State Boards (like GSEB) which are equally accepted for college admissions across India.
However, state quota seats in Gujarat colleges (like medical or engineering) may give slight preference to GSEB students for state-level counselling, not for all courses.
So, keep her in CBSE unless she plans to apply only under Gujarat state quota. For national-level exams like JEE or NEET, CBSE is equally valid and widely preferred.
Hope it helps.
Hello,
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) releases the previous year's question papers for Class 12.
You can download these CBSE Class 12 previous year question papers from this link : CBSE Class 12 previous year question papers (http://CBSE%20Class%2012%20previous%20year%20question%20papers)
Hope it helps !
Hi dear candidate,
On our official website, you can download the class 12th practice question paper for all the commerce subjects (accountancy, economics, business studies and English) in PDF format with solutions as well.
Kindly refer to the link attached below to download:
CBSE Class 12 Accountancy Question Paper 2025
CBSE Class 12 Economics Sample Paper 2025-26 Out! Download 12th Economics SQP and MS PDF
CBSE Class 12 Business Studies Question Paper 2025
CBSE Class 12 English Sample Papers 2025-26 Out – Download PDF, Marking Scheme
BEST REGARDS
Hello,
Since you have passed 10th and 12th from Delhi and your residency is Delhi, but your domicile is UP, here’s how NEET counselling works:
1. Counselling Eligibility: For UP NEET counselling, your UP domicile makes you eligible, regardless of where your schooling was. You can participate in UP state counselling according to your NEET rank.
2. Delhi Counselling: For Delhi state quota, usually 10th/12th + residency matters. Since your school and residency are in Delhi, you might also be eligible for Delhi state quota, but it depends on specific state rules.
So, having a Delhi Aadhaar will not automatically reject you in UP counselling as long as you have a UP domicile certificate.
Hope you understand.
Hello,
You can access Free CBSE Mock tests from Careers360 app or website. You can get the mock test from this link : CBSE Class 12th Free Mock Tests
Hope it helps !
This ebook serves as a valuable study guide for NEET 2025 exam.
This e-book offers NEET PYQ and serves as an indispensable NEET study material.
As per latest syllabus. Physics formulas, equations, & laws of class 11 & 12th chapters
As per latest syllabus. Chemistry formulas, equations, & laws of class 11 & 12th chapters
As per latest 2024 syllabus. Study 40% syllabus and score upto 100% marks in JEE
As per latest syllabus. Maths formulas, equations, & theorems of class 11 & 12th chapters