Chapter 1.

1
Course ✖ Linear Algebra
Linear equations and systems, matrix notation, solving a linear system, row
Memo/TL;DR operations, existence, uniqueness

Rollup Period 5

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Linear equations and systems

a1 x1 + a2 x2 + ... + an xn = b
where b and a1 , ..., an ∈ C, and known in advavance
🤖 An example of a linear algebraic equation is:
2x1 − 3x2 + 4x3 = 5
where x1 , x2 and x3 are variables, and 2, −3, 4 are constants.
a system of linear equations (or linear system) is a collection of linear equations

🤖Example (intersection of 2 lines)

Finding the intersection of two lines is a common problem in linear algebra. For
example, consider the following system of linear equations:
2x − y = 1
−x + 3y = 7
To find the intersection of these two lines, we can solve the system of equations. One
way to do this is to use elimination to eliminate one of the variables. For example, we
can multiply the first equation by 3 and add it to the second equation to get:
6x − 3y = 3
−x + 3y = 7

Chapter 1.1 1
 Adding these two equations gives:
5x = 10
So x = 2. Substituting this value back into the first equation gives:
2(2) − y = 1
So y = 3. Therefore, the intersection of these two lines is (2, 3).

a) no solution
b) 1 solution
c) infinitely many solutions

Tutorial
2 variables = 2d
Lines can:
a) be parallel -inconsistent
b) intersect -consistent, unique
c) be on top of each other -consistent free var.

Matrix notation
The system:
x1 − 2x2 + x3 = 0
2x2 − 8x3 = 8
5x1 − 5x3 = 10
can be written as a coefficient matrix:

⎡1 −2 1 ⎤
0 2 −8
⎣5 0 −5⎦
or an augmented matrix:

⎡1 −2 1 0⎤
0 2 −8 8
⎣5 0 −5 10⎦
A matrix that has m rows and n numbers is a size m × n matrix.

Chapter 1.1 2
 Solving a linear system

Example (Book - Example 1)

x1 − 2x2 + x3 = 0
2x2 − 8x3 = 8
5x1 − 5x3 = 10

⎡ 1 −2 1 0⎤
0 2 −8 8
⎣ 5 0 −5 10⎦

“Keep xn in the nth equation and eliminate it from the other equations.”
(1)For this we replace row 3 with:

−5x1 + 10x2 − 5x3 =0

5x1 − 5x3 = 10
10x2 − 10x3 = 10
making the system:

⎡ 1 −2 1 0⎤
0 2 −8 8
⎣ 0 10 −10 10⎦

(2)Then we divide equation 2 by 2, to make the coefficient of x2 1.

⎡ 1 −2 1 0⎤
0 1 −4 4
⎣ 0 10 −10 10⎦

Now eliminate x2 in equation 3:

Chapter 1.1 3
 −10x2 + 40x3 = −40
10x2 − 10x3 = 10
30x3 = −30
1
if we multiply the new row 3 by 30 we get:

⎡ 1 −2 1 0⎤
0 1 −4 4
⎣0 0 1 −1⎦
And now we just solve it

x3 = −1
x2 − 4x3 = 4 = x2 + 4
x2 = 0
x1 − 2x2 + x3 = 0
x1 − 1 = 0
x1 = 1
Elementary row operations

1) Replacement: Replace one row by the sum of itself an a multiple of another row (tagged
(1) in the example) → add/subtract
2) Interchange: Swap 2 rows

3) Scaling: Multiply row (tagged (2) in the example)

They can be applied to any matrix not only augmented matricies

Row equivalent

Two row equivalent matrices have a sequence of row operations that

transform one into the other

Operations are reversible

Chapter 1.1 4
 If 2 rows are swapped they can be swapped back etc

Existence and uniqueness

(also see linear systems → tutorial)

1.) Is the system consistent?

2.) If there is a solution is it unique?

Existence and Uniqueness Theorem

A linear system is consistent if and only if the rightmost column of the
augmented matrix is not a pivot column—that is, if and only if an
echelon form of the augmented matrix has no row of the form:

[0 ... 0 b] (with b nonzero)

If a linear system is consistent, then the solution set contains either

(i) a unique solution, when there are no free variables, or
(ii) infinitely many solutions, when there is at least one free variable.

“Proof” (Book p. 47)

Use (nonreduced) echelon form from Chapter 1.2,

Chapter 1.1 5
 Check

Sure, here are some questions to check your understanding:

1. What is a linear system?

A linear system is a system of linear equations

2. What is a matrix?

A matrix is a 2 dimensional way of storing values (numbers)

3. How can a system of linear equations be represented as a matrix?

Each equation is a row, and the coefficients are the columns. We call this a coefficient
matrix. Add the right side of each equation as a final column and it becomes an augmented
matrix.

4. What are elementary row operations?

Chapter 1.1 6
 Replacement, and scaling

5. What does it mean for two matrices to be row equivalent?

There is a sequence of row operations that transforms one matrix into the other one

6. What are the two questions to consider when determining the existence and uniqueness
of a solution to a linear system?

Is it consistent (i.e does it have a solution)? Is it unique (is there only one solution)?

Chapter 1.1 7