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.
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.
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,
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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.
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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.
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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
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