The inverse of any matrix can be written explicitly as (1/det A) times the transpose of the cofactor matrix — and the proof is as elegant as the formula.
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The formula
State the general formula with the cofactor matrix, record that entry of holds the cofactor of , and check it on the case.
The verification
Reproduce both halves of the check, writing the diagonal entries as the cofactor expansion of along a row and the off-diagonal entries as determinants of matrices with two identical rows.
Cofactors as products of entries
Record that is built from products of entries while each cofactor is the determinant of an submatrix, and illustrate on a matrix.