The Cayley-Menger type of this mathematical construct is used to find the volume of a simplex. Charles Dodgson developed a "condensation method" for calculating these values, which are invariant under a singularity transformation and are multiplied by negative one if two rows are interchanged. Cofactors and expansion by minors are used to calculate all but the simplest of these quantities, and a matrix for which this value is zero is called singular. For 10 points, name this value, which for a 2 x 2 matrix a, b; c, d is found by calculating a times d minus b times c.
The Cayley-Menger type of this mathematical construct is used to find the volume of a simplex. Charles Dodgson developed a "condensation method" for calculating these values, which are invariant under a singularity transformation and are multiplied by negative one if two rows are interchanged. Cofactors and expansion by minors are used to calculate all but the simplest of these quantities, and a matrix for which this value is zero is called singular. For 10 points, name this value, which for a 2 x 2 matrix a, b; c, d is found by calculating a times d minus b times c.
The Cayley-Menger type of this mathematical construct is used to find the volume of a simplex.
{determinants}