11.8. EXERCISES 215

38. Find the eigenvalues and an orthonormal basis of eigenvectors for A. Diagonalize Aby finding an orthogonal matrix U and a diagonal matrix D such that UT AU = D.

A =

1 1

6

√3√

2 16

√3√

6

16

√3√

2 32

112

√2√

6

16

√3√

6 112

√2√

6 12

Hint: The eigenvalues are 2,1,0.

39. Find the eigenvalues and an orthonormal basis of eigenvectors for the matrix



13

16

√3√

2 − 718

√3√

6

16

√3√

2 32 − 1

12

√2√

6

− 718

√3√

6 − 112

√2√

6 − 56

Hint: The eigenvalues are 1,2,−2.

40. Find the eigenvalues and an orthonormal basis of eigenvectors for the matrix

− 1

2 − 15

√6√

5 110

√5

− 15

√6√

5 75 − 1

5

√6

110

√5 − 1

5

√6 − 9

10

Hint: The eigenvalues are −1,2,−1 where −1 is listed twice because it has multi-plicity 2 as a zero of the characteristic equation.

41. Explain why a real matrix A is symmetric if and only if there exists an orthogonalmatrix U such that A =UT DU for D a diagonal matrix.

42. You are doing experiments and have obtained the ordered pairs,

(0,1) ,(1,2) ,(2,3.5) ,(3,4)

Find m and b such that y = mx+b approximates these four points as well as possible.Now do the same thing for y = ax2 + bx + c, finding a,b, and c to give the bestapproximation.

43. Suppose you have several ordered triples, (xi,yi,zi) . Describe how to find a polyno-mial,

z = a+bx+ cy+dxy+ ex2 + f y2