Introduction to Linear Algebra (Math 220, Section 2) Fall 2013

Brief Solutions to Practice Midterm Exam

1. (12) Consider the following system of linear equations.
3x1 + 4x2 + 0.3x3 = 3
x2 +
6x3 =
5
2x1 5x2 +
7x3 =
0
(a) Write the system as a matrix equation.

3
3
4 0.3 x1
0
1 6 x2 = 5 .
0
2 5 7
x3

(b) Write the system as a vector equation.

3
4
0.3
3

0 + x2
1 + x3 6 =
5 .
x1
2
5
7
0
(c) Write the augmented matrix for the system.

3
4 0.3 | 3
0
1 6 |
5
2 5 7 |
0

1
1 3 1
6

0
1 2 1 , and b =
5.
2. (16) Let A =
1 1
3 0
3
(a) Solve the system Ax = b, and write the solution in parametric vector form.

1
1 3 1 |
6
1

0
1 2 1 |
5 R3 + R1 0
1 1
3 0 | 3
0

1 0 1

R2 R3 0 1 2
0 0
0

1 3 1 | 6
1 0 1

1 2 1 | 5 R1 R2 0 1 2
0
0 1 | 3
0 0
0

x1 = 1 + x3
0 | 1
x = 2 + 2x3
0 | 2 = 2
x3 =
x3
1 | 3
x4 = 3


1
1
2
2

The parametric vector form of the solutions is x =
0 + s 1 , s R.
3
0
(b) Using the result from Part (a), write the solution to the homogeneous system Ax
the parametric vector form.

1
2

The parametric vector form of the solutions to Ax = 0 is x = s

1 , s R.
0

0 | 1
1 | 5
1 | 3

= 0 in

Math220 2 (Fall 2013) Solutions to Practice Midterm

3. (10) Let

1
2
0.5
u = 3 , v = 5 , and w = 2 .
1
7
5
It can shown that 3u v = 2w. Use this fact (and no row operations) to find a non-trivial
solution to the homogeneous system Ax = 0, where

2
1
0.5
3
2 .
A = 5
7 1 5
Notice that v
2w= 0, and hence a non-trivial solution to the homogeneous system is
+3u
1
x1
given by x = x2 = 3.
2
x3
4. (12) Construct a 3 3 matrix A with every entry non-zero such that the following vector b is
not in the span of the columns of A. Justify your answer.

8

b = 3
1
We need to create a matrix A such that the system Ax = b is inconsistent. One straightforward
way to do this task is to make an A with all three columns being b itself, and then change all
entries in one of the rows to a different number. For example, consider

8
8
8
8
8
8 |
8 8 8 8 |
8
A = 3 3 3 . Then [A | b] = 3 3 3 | 3 R2 + (3/2)R3 0 0 0 | 3/2 ,
2
2
2
2
2
2 |
1
2 2 2 |
1
showing that the system is inconsistent.
5. (12) Let




3
6
5
5

v1 = 1 , v2 = 2 , v3 = 2 , and v4 = 0 .
4
1
1
2
(a) Does {v1 , v2 , v3 , v4 } span R3 ? Why or why not?

3 6
5 5
1 2 2 0
1
2 2 0

1 2 2 0
5 5 R2 3R1 , R3 4R1 0 7
9 2 .
R1  R2 3 6
4 1
1 2
4 1
1 2
0
0 11 5
There is a pivot in every row, and hence {v1 , v2 , v3 , v4 } spans R3
(b) Does {v1 , v2 } span R3 ? Why or why not?
We need a pivot in every row, i.e., we need three pivots. With only two vectors, we can
have only two pivots at the best. Hence {v1 , v2 } does not span R3 .

Math220 2 (Fall 2013) Solutions to Practice Midterm

6. (11) Find the standard matrix of the linear transformation T : R2 R2 that first does
a horizontal shear transformation mapping e2 to e2 + 2e1 (leaving e1 unchanged), and then
reflects points through the vertical axis.



1 2
T (e1 ) = e1 , and T (e2 ) = e2 2e1 . Hence T (x) = Ax, where A =
.
0
1
7. (15) Consider the following system.
x1 + 3x2 = k
x1 hx2 = 2
Determine all the values of the parameters h and k for which each of the following statements
are true.




1 3 | k 1
3
|
k
R2 R1
.
1 h | 2
0 h 3 | 2 k
(a) The system has no solution.
We need the second row to be [0 0 | ] for the system to be inconsistent. Hence we need
h 3 = 0 and 2 k 6= 0. Thus, the system has no solution when h = 3, and k is any
real number other than 2.
(b) The system has a unique solution.
We need two pivots (and hence o free variables). Hence h 3 6= 0, and k can be any real
number.
(c) The system has many solutions.
We need a free variable. Hence, h 3 = 0, 2 k = 0, i.e., h = 3, k = 2.
8. (12) Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False. Justify your answer.

(a) A 3 3 matrix can have more than three echelon forms.

TRUE. We can have four echelon forms.

0 0
0
0 0
0
, and 0
0 , 0
0 , 0
0 .
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
(b) Let v1 and v2 be two vectors
inR2 that are not collinear (i.e., they do not lie along the

same line), and let A = v1 v2 . Then the system Ax = b cannot have infinitely many
solutions for any b.
TRUE. The columns are linearly independent, and hence there is a pivot in every column,
so there are no free variables.
(c) If a linear transformation is onto, then it cannot be one-to-one.
FALSE. It can be both 1-to-1 and onto at the same time, e.g., when A is a square matrix
with a pivot in each diagonal entry and hence has a pivot in each row and each column.
(d) If A is an m n matrix, the range of the matrix transformation x 7 Ax is Rm .
FALSE. The co-domain is Rm . The range can be a subset of Rm .