Peter Math on Instagram: "Matrix determinants are special scalar values associated with square matrices that reveal a lot about the matrix’s properties. At a basic level, the determinant tells us whether a matrix is invertible—if the determinant is zero, the matrix doesn’t have an inverse. But beyond that, it carries deep geometric meaning: for a 2×2 or 3×3 matrix, the determinant represents how much the matrix transforms space—how it stretches, shrinks, or flips it. Determinants are used across