LINEAR SYSTEM OF EQUATIONS

Learning outcomes: by the end of this chapter

1. You should know,
a) What is a linear system of equations
b) What is a homogeneous system
c) How to represent a linear system in matrix form
d) What is a coefficient matrix
e) What is an augmented matrix
2. You should be able to solve a linear system of equations using:
a) Inverse matrix method
b) Cramers rule
c) Row operations:
i.
Gauss-elimination method (REF)
ii.
Gauss-Jordan method (RREF)
Definition of a Linear Equation in n Variables:
A linear equation in n variable n
x x x , , ,
2 1

has the form
b x a x a x a
n n
+ + +
2 2 1 1
,
where the coefficients
b a a a
n
, , , ,
2 1

are real numbers (usually known). The
number of
1
a
is the leading coefficient and
1
x
is the leading variable.
The collection of several linear equations is referred to as the system of linear
equations.
Definition of System of m Linear Equation in n Variables:
1
A system of m linear equations in n variables is a set of m equations,
each of which is linear in the same n variables:
m n mn m m
n n
n n
b x a x a x a
b x a x a x a
b x a x a x a
+ + +
+ + +
+ + +

2 2 1 1
2 2 2 22 1 21
1 1 2 12 1 11

where
, , 1 , , , 2 , 1 , , n j m i b a
i ij

are constants.
Example:1Consider the following system of linear equations:
6 7
8 3 2
3 , 4 2 5 2 3
4 3
3 1
3 2 1
3 2 1
3 2 1

+
+
+
x x
x x x
n m x x x
x x x
Example: 2 Which of the following are linear equations?
2
1 2 3
1 2 3
( ) 3 2 7 ( ) (sin ) 4 (log5) ( ) 2
3
1
( ) 2 4 ( ) sin 2 3 0 ( ) 4
x
a x y b x x x e c x y
d e y e x x x f x
y

+ + +
+ +


( ) and ( ) are linear equations. a b ( ), ( ), ( ), and ( ) are not linear. c d e f

Number of Solutions of a System of Linear Equations
Consider the following systems of linear equations
(a)
1
3
x y
x y

'
+

(b)
4
2
x y
x y
+

'
+

(c)
6 2 8
3 4
x y
x y
+

'

For a system of linear equations, precisely one of the following is true:

(a)
The system has exactly one solution.
(b)
The system has no solution.
(c)
The system has infinitely many solutions.
Consistent and Inconsistent
2
) sol
1 x y
3 x y +
2 x y +
4 x y +
A system of linear equations is called consistent if it has at least one solution
and inconsistent if it has no solution.
Equivalent
Two systems of linear equations are said to be equivalent if they have the same
set of solutions.

Back Substitution
Which of the following systems is easier to solve?
2 3 9
( ) 3 7 6 22
2 5 5 17
x y z
a x y z
x y z
+

+
'

2 3 9
( ) 3 5
2
x y z
b y z
z
+

+
'

System (b) is said to be in row-echelon form. To solve such a system, use a

procedure called back substitution.
Augmented Matrices and Coefficient Matrices
Consider the
m n
linear system
11 1 12 2 1 1
21 1 22 2 2 2
1 1 2 2

...
n n
n n
m m mn n m
a x a x a x b
a x a x a x b
a x a x a x b
+ + +
+ + +
+ + +
L
L
M
Let
[ ]
11 12 1 1 11 12 1 1
21 22 2 2 21 22 2 2
1 2 1 2
, , |
n n
n n
m m mn m m m mn m
a a a b a a a b
a a a b a a a b
A b B Ab
a a a b a a a b
_ _ _





, , ,
L K
L K
M M M M M M O M M
L K
A is called the coefficient matrix of the system.
B is called the augmented matrix of the system.
b is called the constant matrix of the system.
It is possible to write the system in the following matrix form
3
B X A
b
b
b

m
2
1
2
1
2 1
2 22 21
1 12 11
1
1
1
1
]
1

1
1
1
1
]
1

1
1
1
1
]
1

n mn m m
n
n
x
x
x
a a a
a a a
a a a
Example:
6 5y - 2
1 3

x
y x

B X A
6
1

y
x

5 2
1 3
1
]
1

1
]
1

1
]
1

Row-Equivalent
Two
m n
matrices are said to be row-equivalent if one can be obtained by the
other by a series of elementary row operations.
Now we are in the stage to tackle
the question.
How to solve a linear system AX =
B?
First: Row operations
The key to solve a system of linear equations is to transform the original
augmented matrix to some matrix with some properties via a few elementary
row operations. As a matter of fact, we can solve any system of linear equations
by transforming the associate augmented matrix to a matrix in some
form. The form is referred to as the reduced row echelon form.
Definition of elementary row operation:
There are 3 elementary row operations:
1. Interchange two rows
2. Multiply a row by some nonzero constant
4
Add a multiple of a row to another row
Definition of a matrix in reduced row echelon form:
A matrix in reduced row echelon form has the following properties:
1. All rows consisting entirely of 0 are at the bottom of the matrix.
2. For each nonzero row, the first entry is 1. The first entry is called a
leading 1.
3. For two successive nonzero rows, the leading 1 in the higher row
appears farther to the left than the leading 1 in the lower row.
4.
If a column contains a leading 1, then all other entries in that column
are 0.
Note: a matrix is in row echelon form as the matrix has the first 3
properties.
Example 3
And
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1

0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
are the matrices in reduced
row echelon form.
The matrix
1
1
1
1
]
1

0 0 0 0
2 1 0 0
5 2 1 0
4 3 2 1
is not in reduced row echelon form but in row echelon form since the matrix
has the first 3 properties and all the other entries above the leading 1 in the third
column are not 0. The matrix
1
1
1
1
]
1

0 0 0 0
2 2 1 0
5 2 1 0
4 3 0 1
are not in row echelon form (also not in reduced row echelon form) since the
5
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1

0
0
0
1
2
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
leading 1 in the second row is not in the left of the leading 1 in the third row
and all the other entries above the leading 1 in the third column are not 0.
Definition of elementary row operation:
There are 3 elementary row operations:
3. Interchange two rows
4. Multiply a row by some nonzero constant
5. Add a multiple of a row to another row.
1.1 Gauss-elimination method
(REF)
Step 1: Form augmented matrix
[ ] b A :

Step 2: Transform
[ ] b A :
to row echelon form matrix
[ ] D C :
using row
operations
Step 3: Solve the system corresponding to
[ ] D C :
, using back substitution
Example: Solve the following system of equations
3 - z - y 2 - x 3
1 y x
5 z 3 y - 2

+
+ x
using
Gauss elimination.
Sol.
1
1
1
]
1

3 : 1 2 3
1 : 0 1 1
5 : 3 1 2
1 1
R
2
1
R
1
1
1
]
1

3 : 1 2 3
1 : 0 1 1
2
5
:
2
3
2
1
1
R3 3R
R R
1 3
2 1 2


R
R
1
1
1
1
]
1

2 / 21 : 2 / 11 2 / 1 0
2
3
:
2
3
2
3
0
2
5
:
2
3
2
1
1

3 3
2 2
R 2
R
3
2

R
R

1
1
1
]
1

21 : 11 1 0
1 : 1 1 0
2
5
:
2
3
2
1
1
3 2 3
R R R

6
1
1
1
]
1

22 : 12 0 0
1 : 1 1 0
2
5
:
2
3
2
1
1
3 3
R
12
1
R

1
1
1
]
1

6
11
: 1 0 0
1 : 1 1 0
2
5
:
2
3
2
1
1
So, z = 11/6 , y = 5/6, x = 1/6
1.2 Gauss-Jordan Reduction
Method (RREF)
Step 1: Form augmented matrix
[ ] b A :

Step 2: Transform
[ ] b A :
to reduced row echelon form matrix
[ ] F H :
using
row operations
Step 3: for each nonzero row in
[ ] F H :
, solve the corresponding equations
Example: Solve the following linear system of equations
3 z - x 3
8 z y 2x
9 z 3 2y

+
+ + x
using
Gauss-Jordan reduction method
Sol.
1
1
1
]
1

3 : 1 0 3
8 : 1 1 2
9 : 3 2 1

3 1 3
2 1 2
R 3R -
R 2R

R
R
1
1
1
]
1

24 : 10 6 0
10 : 5 5 0
9 : 3 2 1
2 2
R
5
1
R
1
1
1
]
1

24 : 10 6 0
2 : 1 1 0
9 : 3 2 1

1 2 1
3 2 3
R 2R
R 6R

+
R
R

1
1
1
]
1

12 : 4 0 0
2 : 1 1 0
5 : 1 0 1
3 3
R
4
1
R

7
1
1
1
]
1

3 : 1 0 0
2 : 1 1 0
5 : 1 0 1

1 3 1
2 3 2
R R
R R


R
R
1
1
1
]
1

3 : 1 0 0
1 : 0 1 0
2 : 0 0 1
So, x = 2, y = -1, z = 3
1.3Using inverse matrix method
The Inverse of matrix A:
Definition: A square matrix A is said to be nonsingular (invertible) if there exist
a matrix B such that:
A
nxn
B
nxn
= B
nxn
A
nxn
= I
nxn
B is called the inverse of A and denoted by A
-1
so A A
-1
= A
-1
A = I
If B does not exist, then we say that A is singular (noninvertible) matrix
Example:
1
]
1

4 3
2 1
A
Nonsingular
1
]
1

4 2
2 1
A
Singular
Properties:
Let A be a nonsingular matrix, then:
1.
( A
-1
)
-1
= A
2.
( A
-1
)
T
= (A
T
)
-1
3.
(AB)
-1
= B
-1
A
-1
4.
(A
1
A
2
A
3
A
n
)
-1
= A
n
-1
A
n-1
-1
A
2
-1
A
1

How to find A
-1
?
Basically there are two methods
1. Row operation
2. Using determinant and adjoint matrix
8
Procedure of computing
1
A
using row operations
Let A be an nxn matrix
Step1: Form the
) 2 ( n n
matrix
[ ] I A|
Step2: Use elementary row operations to transform
[ ] I A|
to the form
[ ] B I |
Step3: If the form
[ ] B I |
is possible the
B A
1
otherwise A is singular.
Example: Use row operations to find the inverse of

10 1 - 1
4 5 2
3 2 1

1
1
1
]
1

A
If A is a nonsingular matrix, then A
-1
exist hence we can get the solution as

1
1
1 1
B A X
B A X I
B A A X A
-
-
-

Example: Using inverse matrix method, find the solution of system

5 2y 3x
1 y - 2
+
x


5
1

y
x

2 3
1 - 2
1
]
1

1
]
1

1
]
1

2 3
1 - 2
A
1
]
1

,
Finding the Inverse of a 2 X 2 matrix
Let
a b
A
c d
1

1
]
and suppose det(A) = ad cb 0. Then
1
A

exists and is
given by
1
1
d b
A
c a D

]
.
det (A) = 7 0. So, A
-1
exist
1
]
1

2 3 -
1 2

7
1
A
1 -


y
x

1
1

7
7

7
1

5
1

2 3 -
1 2

7
1
B A
1 -
1
]
1

1
]
1

1
]
1

1
]
1

1
]
1

X

9
So the solution is x = y = 1
Calculation of Inverse Matrix:
Example
To find the inverse of
1
1
1
]
1

5 3 1
5 3 2
2 1 1
A
, we can employ the procedure
introduced above.

1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
5
5
2
3
3
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
]
1

.


+
) 1 ( * 2 ) 2 ( ) 2 (
) 1 ( ) 3 ( ) 3 (
r r r
r r r


1
0
0
0
1
0
1
2
1
3
1
2
2
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
]
1

) 2 ( * 1 ) 2 ( r r


1
0
0
0
1
0
1
2
1
3
1
2
2
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
]
1

+
) 2 ( * 2 ) 3 ( ) 3 (
) 2 ( ) 1 ( ) 1 (
r r r
r r r


1
0
0
2
1
1
3
2
3
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
]
1

+
) 3 ( ) 2 ( ) 2 (
) 3 ( ) 1 ( ) 1 (
r r r
r r r


1
1
1
2
3
1
3
5
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
]
1

The inverse of A is
1
1
1
]
1

1 2 3
1 3 5
1 1 0
.
2. Using the adjoint
) ( A adj
of a matrix to calculate A
-1
As
0 ) det( A
, then
) det(
) (
1
A
A adj
A

.
Note: If
0 ) det( A
A is nonsingular
1.4 Using Cramers rule
This Method is to solve a linear system of equations AX = B, if A is nxn
matrix nonsingular matrix
Step 1: Find det (A). If det A = 0, then the method cant be applied
Step 2: If det (A) 0, then
(A) det
A det

i

i
x
10
where A
i
is the matrix obtained from A by replacing the i
th
column of A by B
If n 4 Cramers rule is computationally inefficient.
Example: Use Cramers rule to solve the system:
3 - z y - 2x -
4 z - 2y x
1 z - 3y 2x -
+
+
+
,

1 1 2
1 2 1
1 - 3 2 -

1
1
1
]
1

A

1
1
1
]
1

3 -
4
1
B


2 -
-1(3) (-1) 3 - (1) 2 -
4) (-1)(-1 2) - 3(1 - 1) - (2 2 -

+
+ +
2
A
A
x 4 - (2) (-1) 3(1) - ) 1(1
1 1 - 3 -
1 - 2 4
1 - 3 1
A
x
x
+
1
1
1
]
1

3
A
y 6 - (5) (-1) (-1) 1 - (1) 2 -
1 3 - 2 -
1 - 4 1
1 - 1 2 -
A
y
y
+
1
1
1
]
1

A
4
A
A
z 8 - 1(3) 3(5) - 2(-2) -
3 - 1 - 2 -
4 2 1
1 3 2 -
A
z
z
+
1
1
1
]
1

Hence the solution is x = 2, y = 3, z = 4

Determinants
Cofactor Expansion
This is an other method for evaluating the determinant of nxn matrix, where det
11

1 1 - 2 -
1 - 2 1
1 - 3 2 -

1
1
1
]
1

A
(A) is defined as:
A a A a ) det(
i2 i2 i1 i1 in
n
i
A a A + + +
where 1 i n expansion over the row i or
A a A a ) det(
2j 2j 1j 1j nj nj
A a A + + +
where 1 j n expansion over the column j
What is A
ij
?

A
ij
is the cofactor of a
ij
given by
A
ij
= (-1)
i+j
det (M
ij
), where M
ij
is the (n-1)x(n-1) submatrix of A obtained by
deleting the i
th
row and the j
th
column.
Whenever you want to use cofactor method choose the row or the column with
the highest number of zeroes
Example: Use cofactor method to evaluate the determinant of
1
1
1
]
1

7 3 2
5 0 1 -
3 2 1
A

A
21
= (-1)
2+1
det M
21

1
]
1

7 3
3 2

21
M
5 5 x (-1) A
1 2
21

+

A
23
= (-1)
2+3
det M
23

1
]
1

3 2
2 1

23
M

1 1 - x (-1) A
3 2
23

+

Since
0
22
a
no need to evaluate
0
22
A
and
10 1 5 5 1 - A a A det
23 23 21 21
+ + A a
Properties of Determinant
1.
det (AB ) = det A det B
2.
det (A
T
) = det (A)
12
3.
( )
1
1
A
1

A
A
4.
If r
i
= 0 or c
i
= 0 , then det(A) = 0


1 5 2
0 0 0
5 - 3 1

1
1
1
]
1

A
r
2
=0 So, A = 0
5.
if r
i
= r
j
or c
i
= c
j
, then det(A) = 0

1 - 5 1 -
2 2 2
1 3 1

1
1
1
]
1

A
c
1
= c
3
So, A =
0
6.
if we interchange : r
i
r
j
or c
i
c
j
then
) det( ) det( A A
New


7 1 5
2 1 - 1
2 1 3

1
1
1
]
1

A
r
3
r
1

2 1 3
2 1 - 1
7 1 5

1
1
1
]
1

B
if det A = c then
det B = - det (A) = - c
7.
if kr
i
r
i
or kc
i
c
i
, then det(A
New
) = kxdet(A

), ( k 0)


10 5 1 -
12 9 - 3
4 2 1

1
1
1
]
1

A
c
3
c
3

1
1
1
]
1

5 5 1 -
6 9 - 3
2 2 1
B
det (B) = (1/2)x det (A)
8.
if kr
j
+ r
i
r
i
or kc
j
+ c
j
c
j
, then det(A
New
) = det(A

)
Inverse of Matrix a Second Method
How can we use determinant to find the inverse of a matrix?
Definition: Let A be nxn nonsingular matrix. The inverse of A is given by:
13
(A) adj
(A) det
1

1

A
How to find adj (A)?

The adjoint of A , is the matrix whose (i, j )

th
element is the cofactor A
ji
of
a
ji
1
1
1
1
]
1

nn n n
n
n
A A A
A A A
A
A adj

2 1
2 22 12
1 21 11
A A
) (

A matrix is nonsingular if and only if det (A) 0.

If det A = 0, A
-1
does not exist and we say that A is singular
HW: Find the inverse of the matrix

1
1
1
]
1

2 1 7
6 5 4
2 1 - 3
A
Cofactor Expansion, Inverse Matrix And Determinants:
Definition of cofactor:
Let [ ]
ij
a A be
n n
matrix. The cofactor of
ij
a is defined as
( ) ) det( 1
ij
j i
ij
M A
+

,
where
ij
M is the
) 1 ( ) 1 ( n n
submatrix of A by deleting the ith row of
14
jth column o.f A
Definition of adjoint:
The
n n
matrix ) ( A adj , called the adjoint of A, is
T
nn n n
n
n
nn n n
n
n
A A A
A A A
A A A
A A A
A A A
A A A
A adj
1
1
1
1
]
1

1
1
1
1
]
1

2 1
2 22 21
1 12 11
2 1
2 22 12
1 21 11
) ( .
Important result:
n
I A A A adj A adj A ) det( ) ( ) (
and
15
) det(
) (
1
A
A adj
A

Example: Let
1
1
1
]
1

5 3 1
2 4 1
3 0 2
A
Then,
1
]
1

1
]
1

1
]
1

3 1
4 1
,
5 1
2 1
,
5 3
2 4
13 12 11
M M M ,
1
]
1

1
]
1

1
]
1

3 1
0 2
,
5 1
3 2
,
5 3
3 0
23 22 21
M M M ,
1
]
1

1
]
1

1
]
1

4 1
0 2
,
2 1
3 2
,
2 4
3 0
33 32 31
M M M
Thus,
( ) [ ]
( ) ( ) [ ]
( ) ( ) [ ]
( ) ( ) [ ]
( ) ( ) [ ]
( )
1 1
11
1 2 1 2
12
1 3 1 3
13
2 1 2 1
11
12
13
2 21
2 2 2 2
22
2 3
23
1
22
23
1 1 4 5 ( 2) ( 3) 14,
1 1 ( 1) 5 ( 2) 1 3
1 1 ( 1) ( 3) 4 1 1
1 1 0 5 ( 3) 3 9
1 1 2
det( )
det( )
det( )
det( )
det( )
de
5 3 1 7
1 t(
M
M
M
A
A
A
A
A
A
M
M
M
+
+ +
+ +
+ +
+ +
+






( ) [ ]
( ) ( ) [ ]
( ) ( ) [ ]
( ) ( ) [ ]
2 3
3 1 3 1
31
3 2 3 2
32
3 3 3 3
33
31
32
33
)
det( )
det( )
det
1 2 ( 3) 0 1 6
1 1 0 ( 2) 3 4 12
1 1 2 ( 2) 3 ( 1) 1
1 1 2 4 0 ( 1) 8 ( )
M
M
A
A
M A
+
+ +
+ +
+ +




1
1
1
]
1

1
1
1
]
1

8 6 1
1 7 3
12 9 14
) (
33 23 13
32 22 12
31 21 11
A A A
A A A
A A A
A adj
and
16
1
1
1
]
1

8 6 1
1 7 3
12 9 14
25
1
) det(
) (
1
A
A adj
A
.
Homework:
1
1
1
1
]
1

3 2 - 0 2
3 - 0 0 3
3 1 2 4 -
4 3 - 2 1
A Let
1. Evaluate det A
2.
Evaluate A
-1
using adj A
Use REF & RRFE to solve the following system:
5 - w 7 z 2 y 3 - x
-11 w 3 z - y x 2
3 - w 9 - z - y 5 x 2
3 w 5 - z 2 y
+ +
+ +
+
+ + x

Ex.6 Solve the following system by Gaussian-Jordan elimination.
2 8 10
2 2
7 17 7 1
y z
x y z
x y z
+
+
+ +
.
17
) sol
0 2 8 10 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
1 2 1 2 0 2 8 10 0 2 8 10
7 17 7 1 7 17 7 1 0 3 14 15
1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 0 2 1 0 0 12
0 2 8 10 0 1 4 5 0 1 0 5 0 1 0 5
0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0

_ _ _





, , ,

_ _ _ _




, , , ,
The
solution is
12, 5, 0. x y z
Ex.7 Find a condition on numbers a, b, and c such that the following
system is consistent. When that condition is satisfied, find all solutions.
3
2
3 7
x y z a
x y z b
x y z c
+ +
+
+
1 3 1 1 3 1 1 3 1
1 2 1 0 1 2 0 1 2
3 7 1 0 2 4 3 0 0 0 2
a a a
b b a a b
c c a c a b
_ _ _

+ +


+
, , ,
The
system is consistent

2 0 c a b + .When 2 0 c a b + , the last matrix

becomes
1 0 5 2 3
0 1 2
0 0 0 0
a b
a b
_

+


,
Let
z t
. The general solution is
5 (2 3 )
2 ( ) : arbitrary

x t a b
y t a b t
z t
+
+ +

Number of solutions of a non-homogeneous system of linear

equations
For a non-homogeneous system, precisely one of the following is
true.
(1) the system has a single (unique) solution;
(2) the system has more than one solution;
18
) sol
(3) the system has no solution at all.
Examples
I. Exactly one solution:
Solve for the following system:
3 3
8 2
9 3 2
3 1
3 2 1
3 2 1

+
+ +
x x
x x x
x x x
[Solution:]The Gauss-Jordan reduction is as follows:
Step 1: The augmented matrix is
1
1
1
]
1

3
8
9
1
1
3
0
1
2
3
2
1
.
Step 2:The matrix in reduced row echelon form is
1
1
1
]
1

3
1
2
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
Step 3: The solution is 3 , 1 , 2
3 2 1
x x x
II. Infinite number of solutions:
Solve for the following system:
1 5 3
0 2 4 2
2 1
3 2 1
+
+
x x
x x x
[Solution:]The Gauss-Jordan reduction is as follows:
Step 1: The augmented matrix is
1
]
1

1
0
0
2
5
4
3
2
Step 2: The matrix in reduced row echelon form is
19
1
]
1

1
2
3
5
1
0
0
1
Step 3: The linear system corresponding to the matrix in reduced row
echelon form is
1 3
2 5
3 2
3 1

+
x x
x x
The solutions are
1 3 2 3
2 5 , 1 3 x x x x +
3
x is free variable or parameter and let 3
, x t t R
therefore
R t t x t x t x + , , 3 1 , 5 2
3 2 1
III. No solution:
Solve for the following system:
6 2
1 7 5 3
5 4 2 2
4 3 1
4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1

+ + +
+ + +
x x x
x x x x
x x x x
[Solution:]The Gauss-Jordan reduction is as follows:
Step 1:The augmented matrix is
1
1
1
]
1

6
11
5
2
7
4
1
5
3
0
3
2
1
1
1
Step 2: The matrix in reduced row echelon form is
1
1
1
]
1

1
0
0
0
3
2
0
2
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
Step 3: The linear system corresponding to the matrix in reduced row
echelon form is
1 0
0 3 2
0 2
4 3 2
4 3 1

+ +

x x x
x x x
Since , 1 0 there is no solution
Example: Solve for the following linear system:
20

5 7 2 3
-11 3 2
-3 9 5 2
3 5 2
4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1
+ +
+ +
+
+ +
x x x x
x x x x
x x x x
x x x x
[Solution:] The Gauss-Jordan reduction is as follows:
Step 1: The augmented matrix is
1
1
1
1
]
1

5
11
3
3
7
3
9
5
2
1
1
2
3
1
5
1
1
2
2
1

Step 2:After elementary row operations, the matrix in reduced row

echelon form is
1
1
1
1
]
1

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

.
Step 3:The linear system corresponding to the matrix in reduced row
echelon form is

3
4
2
3

2
4
3
2

5
4
2
1



+
x x
x x
x x
The solutions are
1 4 2 4 3 4
5 2 , 2 3 , 3 2 x x x x x x + +
R t t x t x t x t x + + , , 2 3 , 3 2 , 2 5
4 3 2 1
Example: Find conditions on a such that the following system has no solution,
one solution, or infinitely many solutions.

1
( 2) 1
2 2 ( 2) 1
x ay z
x a y z
x y a z
+
+ +
+ +
21
) sol
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 2 1 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 2 2 0 0
2 2 2 1 0 2 2 1 0 0 1
1 1 1 1
Case1: 1 0 0 1 1
0 0 0 0
1 1 1
Case2: 1 0 1 0 0
0 0 1
1 0 1 1
(a) 0 0 1 0 0
0 0 0 1
a a a
a a a
a a a a
a
a
a
a
a
_ _ _





, , ,
_




,
_

,


1 1 1
(b) 0 0 1 0 0
1
0 0 1

a
a
a
_
_






,
,
1 : has infinitely many solutions.
0 : has no solutions.
1 and 0 : has exactly one solution.
a
a
a a

Rank of Matrix A
Definition: The dimension of row space of A is called
the row rank of A, the dimension of column
space of A is called the column rank of A
row rank of A= column rank of A
How to find it?
Step1:
C A
RREF

Step2: rank A = the number of non zero rows in C
Theorem:Let A be an m x n matrix. Then,
22
{
dim
dim
dim
rowspace
nullspace
rank A nullity A n +
1 2 3
142 43
Rank and Singularity
First:

Nonhomogeneous system

The rank of square matrix can be used to determine whether the matrix
is singular or nonsingular, as the following theorem.
Theorem: An
n n
matrix A is nonsingular iff rank A = n
Corollaries (1)If A is an
n n
matrix, then rank A = n iff
det( ) 0 A
.
(2)
Let be an
n n
matrix. The linear system Ax = b has a unique solution
for every 1 n matrix b Iff rank (A) = n.
(3)
rank (A) = n, A is nonsingular so A
-1
exist Ax = b
AA
-1
x = A
-1
b; x = A
-1

Ex.8 Find the rank of the matrix

1 1 1 4
2 1 3 0
3 4 8 20
A

_

,
.
1 1 1 4 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 4
2 1 3 0 0 1 5 8 0 1 5 8
3 4 8 20 0 1 5 8 0 0 0 0
A

_ _ _





, , ,
Hence 2 rankA .
23
) sol
Ex.9 Find the rank of the matrix
2
1 1 2
1 1 2 0
2 2 6 4
a
A a
a a
_





,
2 2 2
2 2
2 2
2
2
1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2
1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0
2 2 6 4 0 2 4 2 0 0 2 4
1 1 2 0
Case1: 0 0 0 1 2 2
0 0 0 0
1 1 2
Case2: 0 0 1 0
0 0 2 4
(a
a a a
A a a a a a
a a a a a a a
a rankA
a
a a
a a
_ _ _





, , ,
_




,
_





,
2
1 1 2 4
) 2 0 1 0 2 2
0 0 0 0
1 1 2
(b) 2 0 1 0 3
0 0 1 2
2 if 0 or 2
Hence
3 if 0 and 2
a rankA
a
a a rankA
a
a a
rankA
a a
_




,
_




+
,

'

(a)
Either or 1 1 rankA rankB r rankA rankB r .
(b)

{ } { } min , 1 , min , r rankB m n rankA m n +
.
24
) sol
(c)
If
m n <
then
r m n <
, hence either the system is inconsistent or it has
infinitely many solutions.
Ex.10:Find conditions on a such that the following system has no solution, one
solution, or infinitely many solutions.
1
( 2) 1
2 2 ( 2) 1
x ay z
x a y z
x y a z
+
+ +
+ +
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 2 1 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 2 2 0 0
2 2 2 1 0 2 2 1 0 0 1
1 1 1 1
Case1: 1 0 0 1 1
0 0 0 0
1 1 1
Case2: 1 0 1 0 0
0 0 1
1 0 1 1
(a) 0 0 1 0 0
0 0 0 1
a a a
a a a
a a a a
a
a
a
a
a
_ _ _





, , ,
_




,
_

,


1 1 1
(b) 0 0 1 0 0
1
0 0 1

a
a
a
_
_






,
,
1 : has infinitely many solutions.
0 : has no solutions.
1 and 0 : has exactly one solution.
a
a
a a

Theorem 3
Let be the coefficient matrix of an linear system.
The following statements are equivalent:
(a) The system has a unique solution.
(b)
(c) is row-equivalent to .
n
A n n
rankA n
A I

25
) sol
SECOND:
Homogeneous system
Theorem:
If A an
n n
matrix, the homogeneous system 0 Ax has a nontrivial solution
iff A is singular.
PROOF Suppose that A is nonsingular. Then A
-1
1 1
1
( ) 0
( ) 0
0
0
n
A Ax A
A A x
I x
x

Then the only solution to HS is x=0

1. The system Ax = 0 has a nontrivial solution:
a) If rank A < n
b) rank = n =1 det A = 0
c) det A 0 A
-1
does not exist (nontrivial)
Ax = 0 A
-1
Ax = 0 x = 0 (trivial)
6) The linear system B AX has a solution iff
] | [ B A rank rankA
7) The system B AX is inconsistent (no solution) iff B is not in the column space of A
Trivial Solution
Clearly,
1 2
... 0
n
x x x
is a solution to such a system, it is called the trivial
solution. Any solution in which at least one variable has a nonzero value is
called a nontrivial solution.
26
11 1 12 2 1
21 1 22 2 2
1 1 2 2
0
0

0
n n
n n
m m mn n
a x a x a x
a x a x a x
a x a x a x
+ + +

+ + +

'

+ + +

L
L
M
L
Ex.1Show that the following homogeneous system has nontrivial solutions.
1 2 3 4
1 2 4
1 2 3 4
2 0
2 2 0
3 2 0
x x x x
x x x
x x x x
+ +
+
+ + +
1 1 2 1 0 1 1 2 1 0 1 1 2 1 0
2 2 0 1 0 0 4 4 3 0 0 4 4 3 0
3 1 2 1 0 0 4 4 2 0 0 0 0 1 0
1 1 2 1 0
1 1 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
3
0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
4
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1 0

_ _ _





, , ,

_

_ _

, ,
,
Let
3
x t
. The general solution is
1 2 3 4
, , , 0 : x t x t x t x t arbitrary
.
By taking 0 t , we get a nontrivial solution.
Theorem 1:An
m n
homogeneous system is consistent. Moreover if
m n <
then
it has infinitely many solutions.
Theorem 2:Let A be the coefficient matrix of an
n n
homogeneous
system.The following statements are equivalent:
(a)
The system has only the trivial solution.
(b)
rankA n .
(c)
A is row-equivalent to
n
I
.
27
) sol