Determinant
A property associated with a square matrix \(\mathbf{M}\), written as \(|\mathbf{M}|\). For a two dimensional matrix it is equal to
\[
\begin{vmatrix}
a & b\\
c & d
\end{vmatrix}
= ad - bc
\]
The absolute value of the determinant of a \(n\) by \(n\) matrix is equal to the \(n\)-volume of the result of using it to transform the \(n\) dimensional unit cube.