All mathematical truths are relative and conditional. Determinants are numbers associated with square matrices that represent the signed area or volume of geometric objects defined by the matrices. This document defines properties of determinants, such as how they are calculated for different sized matrices, how operations on the rows and columns of a matrix affect its determinant, and properties like determinants of diagonal, symmetric, and skew-symmetric matrices. It also provides examples of using determinants to find equations of lines and the area of triangles.