Chapter1 4

Linear Algebra and Its Applications
Fifth Edition
Chapter 1
Linear Equations
in Linear Algebra
Copyright © 2016, 2012, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Slide - 1
Section 1.4
The Matrix Equation A x = b
Matrix Equation Ax = b (1 of 5)
• Definition: If A is an m  n matrix, with columns a1 ,
, a n , and if x is in ، n , then the product of A and
x, denoted by Ax, is the linear combination of the
columns of A using the corresponding entries in x
as weights; that is,
 x1 
x 
Ax = a1 a 2 a n   2  = x1a1 + x2a 2 + ... + xna n .
 
x 
 n
• Note that Ax is defined only if the number of columns
of A equals the number of entries in x.
• Example 2: For v1 ,v 2 ,v 3 in m , write the linear
combination 3v1 − 5 v 2 + 7 v 3 as a matrix times a
vector.
• Solution: Place v1 ,v 2 ,v 3 into the columns of a matrix
A and place the weights 3, −5, and 7 into a vector x.
• That is,
 3
3 v1 − 5 v 2 + 7 v 3 =  v 1 v2 v 3   −5 = Ax.
 
 7 
• Now, write the system of linear equations as a
vector equation involving a linear combination of
vectors.
• For example, the following system
x1 + 2 x2 − x3 = 4
(1)
−5 x2 + 3 x3 = 1
is equivalent to
 1  2  −1  4 
x1   + x2   + x3   =   . (2)
0  −5  3  1
• As in the example, the linear combination on the left
side is a matrix times a vector, so that (2) becomes
 x1 
 1 2 −1    4 
0 −5 3  x2  =  1 . (3)
  x  
 3 
• Equation (3) has the form Ax = b. Such an equation

is called a matrix equation, to distinguish it from a
vector equation such as shown in (2).
Theorem 3
If A is an m  n matrix, with columns a1 ,, a n , and
if b is in n , then the matrix equation
Ax = b
has the same solution set as the vector equation
x1a1 + x1a 2 ++ xna n = b
which, in turn, has the same solution set as the
system of linear equations whose augmented matrix is
[a1 a 2  a n b]
Existence of Solutions
• The equation Ax = b has a solution if and only if b
is a linear combination of the columns of A.
Theorem 4
Let A be an m  n matrix. Then the following statements
are logically equivalent. That is, for a particular A, either
they are all true statements or they are all false.
a. For each b in m , the equation Ax = b has a solution.
b. Each b in m is a linear combination of the columns
of A.
c. The columns of A span m .
d. A has a pivot position in every row.
Computation of Ax (1 of 3)
 2 3 4
• Example 4: Compute Ax, where A =  −1 5 −3
 
 x1   6 −2 8
and x =  x2  .
 
 x3 
• Solution: From the definition,
 2 3 4   x1   2  3  4
 −1 5 −3  x  = x  −1 + x  5 + x  −3
  2 1  2   3  
 6 −2 8  x3   6   −2   8
 2 x1   3 x2   4 x3 
=  − x1  +  5 x2  +  −3 x3  (1)
     
 6 x1   −2 x2   8 x3 
 2 x1 + 3 x2 + 4 x3 
=  − x1 + 5 x2 − 3x3 
 
 6 x1 − 2 x2 + 8 x3 
• The first entry in the product Ax is a sum of
products (sometimes called a dot product), using
the first row of A and the entries in x.
 2 3 4   x1   2 x1 + 3 x2 + 4 x3 
• That is,   x  =  
  2  
   x3   
• Similarly, the second entry in Ax can be calculated
by multiplying the entries in the second row of A by the
corresponding entries in x and then summing the
resulting products.
   x1   
 −1 5 −3  x  =  − x + 5 x − 3 x 
  2  1 2 3

   x3   
Row-Vector Rule for Computing Ax
• Likewise, the third entry in Ax can be calculated
from the third row of A and the entries in x.
• If the product Ax is defined, then the ith entry in Ax
the sum of the products of corresponding entries
from row i of A and from the vector x.
• The matrix with 1’s on the diagonal and 0’s
elsewhere is called an identity matrix and is
denoted by I.
 1 0 0
• For example, 0 1 0  is an identity matrix.
 
0 0 1
Properties of the Matrix-Vector
Product Ax (1 of 4)
• Theorem 5: If A is an m  n matrix, u and v are
vectors in n , and c is a scalar, then
a. A(u + v ) = Au + Av;
b. A(cu) = c( Au).
• Proof: For simplicity, take n = 3, A = a1 a2 a3 ,
and u, v in 3 .
• For i = 1,2,3, let ui and vi be the ith entries in u and
v, respectively.
Product Ax (2 of 4)
Theorem 5
If A is an m  n matrix, u and v are vectors in n
,
and c is a scalar, then
a. A(u + v ) = Au + Av;
b. A(cu) = c( Au).
• Proof: For simplicity, take n = 3, A = a1 a 2 a 3 ,
and u, v in 3 .
• For i = 1,2,3, let ui and vi be the ith entries in u and
v, respectively.
Product Ax (3 of 4)
• To prove statement (a), compute A(u + v ) as a linear
combination of the columns of A using the entries in
u + v as weights.
 u1 + v1 
A(u + v ) = a1 a 2 a3  u2 + v2 
 
 u3 + v3 
Entries in u + v
= (u1 + v1 )a1 + (u2 + v2 )a 2 + (u3 + v3 )a3
Columns of A
= (u1a1 + u2a 2 + u3a3 ) + (v1a1 + v2a 2 + v3a3 )
= Au + Av
Product Ax (4 of 4)
• To prove statement (b), compute A(cu) as a linear
combination of the columns of A using the entries in
cu as weights.
 cu1 
A(cu) = a1 a 2 a3  cu2  = (cu1 )a1 + (cu2 )a 2 + (cu3 )a3
 
 cu3 
= c(u1a1 ) + c(u2a 2 ) + c(u3a3 )
= c(u1a1 + u2a 2 + u3a3 )
= c( Au)

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Linear Algebra and Its Applications

• Equation (3) has the form Ax = b. Such an equation

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