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2x2 matrices from elements of a ring K

Source: Spanish Mathematical Olympiad 1972 P1

December 5, 2022
algebralinear algebraMatricesgroup theorygroup

Problem Statement

Let KK be a ring with unit and MM the set of 2×22 \times 2 matrices constituted with elements of KK. An addition and a multiplication are defined in MM in the usual way between arrays. It is requested to: a) Check that MM is a ring with unit and not commutative with respect to the laws of defined composition. b) Check that if KK is a commutative field, the elements ofM M that have inverse they are characterized by the condition adbc0ad - bc \ne 0. c) Prove that the subset of MM formed by the elements that have inverse is a multiplicative group.