Mathematics · Matrices

JEE Main 2026 — 28 January, Morning Shift — Question 15

Let A,B\mathrm{A}, \mathrm{B} and C be three 2×22 \times 2 matrices with real entries such that B=(I+A)−1\mathrm{B}=(\mathrm{I}+\mathrm{A})^{-1} and A+C=I\mathrm{A}+\mathrm{C}=\mathrm{I}. If BC=[1−5−12]\mathrm{BC}=\left[\begin{array}{cc}1 & -5\\ -1 & 2\end{array}\right] and CB[x1x2]=[12−6],\mathrm{CB}\left[\begin{array}{l}\mathrm{x}_{1}\\ \mathrm{x}_{2}\end{array}\right]=\left[\begin{array}{c}12 \\-6\end{array}\right], \quad then x1+x2x_{1}+x_{2} is

  1. Option A:

    2

  2. Option B:

    0

    Correct
  3. Option C:

    -2

  4. Option D:

    4

Answer: B

Step-by-step solution

B=(I+A)−1, A+C=I\mathrm{B} = (\mathrm{I} + \mathrm{A})^{-1},\ \mathrm{A} + \mathrm{C} = \mathrm{I}

⇒B(I+A)=(I+A)B=I\Rightarrow \mathrm{B}(\mathrm{I} + \mathrm{A}) = (\mathrm{I} + \mathrm{A})\mathrm{B} = \mathrm{I}

⇒B+BA=B+AB\Rightarrow \mathrm{B} + \mathrm{BA} = \mathrm{B} + \mathrm{AB}

⇒B+B(I−C)=B+(I−C)B\Rightarrow \mathrm{B} + \mathrm{B}(\mathrm{I} - \mathrm{C}) = \mathrm{B} + (\mathrm{I} - \mathrm{C})\mathrm{B}

⇒2B−BC=2B−CB\Rightarrow 2\mathrm{B} - \mathrm{BC} = 2\mathrm{B} - \mathrm{CB}

⇒BC=CB\Rightarrow \mathrm{BC} = \mathrm{CB}

∴CB[x1x2]=[1−5−12][x1x2]=[12−6]\therefore \mathrm{CB}\begin{bmatrix} x_1 \\ x_2 \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 1 & -5 \\ -1 & 2 \end{bmatrix} \begin{bmatrix} x_1 \\ x_2 \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 12 \\ -6 \end{bmatrix}

⇒[x1x2]=[1−5−12]−1[12−6]=−13[2511][12−6]\Rightarrow \begin{bmatrix} x_1 & x_2 \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 1 & -5 \\ -1 & 2 \end{bmatrix}^{-1} \begin{bmatrix} 12 \\ -6 \end{bmatrix} = -\frac{1}{3} \begin{bmatrix} 2 & 5 \\ 1 & 1 \end{bmatrix} \begin{bmatrix} 12 \\ -6 \end{bmatrix}

⇒[x1x2]=[2−2] ∴ x1+x2=0\Rightarrow \begin{bmatrix} x_1 & x_2 \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 2 & -2 \end{bmatrix} \ \therefore\ x_1 + x_2 = 0

Answer key and solution verified before publishing.

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Exam
JEE Main 2026
Subject
Mathematics
Chapter
Matrices
Topic
Inverse of a Matrix