QS-024 · Linear Algebra · Easy

NPTEL GATE DA MOCK | Week 1 - 58

How many orthogonal matrices of order $n$ exist that are made up of only zeros and ones? A. $n^2$ B. $2^n$ C. $n!$ D. $n$

How many orthogonal matrices of order $n$ exist that are made up of only zeros and ones? A. $n^2$ B. $2^n$ C. $n!$ D. $n$
Solution For an orthogonal matrix $A$, $$ A^TA=I. $$ Since $A$ contains only 0 and 1, each column must have exactly one 1. Also, no two columns can have their 1 in the same row. Thus, every row and every column contains exactly one 1. Such a matrix is a permutation matrix. The number of permutation matrices of order $n$ equals the number of permutations of $n$ elements: $$ n!=n(n-1)(n-2)\cdots1. $$ Therefore, n! ​

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