Linear Algebra

Department of Mathematics
SRM University-Andhra Pradesh
 UNIT I: Linear Equations, Matrices and determinants
Linear Equation: The equation
a1 x1 + a2 x2 + · · · + an xn = b
which expresses the real or complex quantity b in terms of the
unknowns x1 , x2 , . . . , xn and the real or complex constants
a1 , a2 , . . . , an is called a linear equation.

Systems of Linear Equations:

a11 x1 + a12 x2 + · · · + a1n xn = b1
a21 x1 + a22 x2 + · · · + a2n xn = b2
··· ··· ··· ··· ···
am1 x1 + am2 x2 + · · · + amn xn = bm
The above set of equations is called a system of m linear equations in
n unknowns.
 a11 x1 + a12 x2 + · · · + a1n xn = b1
a21 x1 + a22 x2 + · · · + a2n xn = b2
··· ··· ··· ··· ··· (1)
am1 x1 + am2 x2 + · · · + amn xn = bm

A solution to the linear system (1) is a sequence of n numbers

s1 , s2 , . . . , sn which satisfy each equation in (1).
If the linear system (1) has no solution, it is said to be inconsis-
tent; if it has a solution, it is called consistent.
If b1 = 0, b2 = 0, . . . , bn = 0, then (1) is called a homogeneous
system.
Note that x1 = x2 = · · · = xn = 0 is always a solution to a
homogeneous system; it is called the trivial solution. A solution
to a homogeneous system in which not all of x1 , x2 , . . . , xn are
zero is called a nontrivial solution.
Consider another system of r linear equations in n unknowns:

c11 x1 + c12 x2 + · · · + c1n xn = d1

c21 x1 + c22 x2 + · · · + c2n xn = d2
··· ··· ··· ··· ··· (2)
cr 1 x1 + cr 2 x2 + · · · + crn xn = dr
We say that (2) and (1) are equivalent if they both have exactly the
same solutions.

Example:
 Examples of various system of equations:

Inconsistent:

Consistent with unique solution:

Consistent with infinitely many solution:

Note: In the case of a linear system of two equations in two
unknowns, the linear system can have infinitely many solutions, a
unique solution, or no solution. These situations are illustrated in
following Figure:
Note: In the case of a linear system of three equations in three
unknowns, the linear system can have infinitely many solutions, a
unique solution, or no solution. In this case graphs are plane. Few
situations are illustrated in following Figure:
 System of Linear Equations and Matrices:

Consider the linear system of m equations in n unknowns

a11 x1 + a12 x2 + · · · + a1n xn = b1
a21 x1 + a22 x2 + · · · + a2n xn = b2
··· ··· ··· ··· ··· (3)
am1 x1 + am2 x2 + · · · + amn xn = bm
Now define the following matrices:
     
a11 a12 · · · a1n x1 b1
     
 a21 a22 · · · a2n  x2   b2 
     
A=  .. . .. .
, x =  ,
 ..  b=
 ..  .

 . .. . .. 
 .  . 
     
am1 am2 · · · amn xn bm

Then the above linear system can be written in matrix form as Ax = b.

 Coefficient matrix and augmented matrix
The matrix A is called the coefficient matrix of the linear system (3),
and the matrix
 .. 
 a 11 a 12 · · · a1n . b1 
 .. 
 21 a22 · · · a2n . b2 
a 
 . .. .. .. .. 
 . ..
 . . . . . . 

.
 
am1 am2 · · · amn .. bm

obtained by adjoining column b to A, is called the augmented matrix

of the linear system (3).
The augmented matrix of (3) is written as [A | b].
A homogeneous system can be written as Ax = 0 where A is the
coefficient matrix.
Example:
 Algebraic Properties of Matrix Operations
Properties of Matrix Addition:
Let A, B, and C be m × n matrices. Then
(a) A + B = B + A.
(b) A + (B + C) = (A + B) + C.
(c) There is a unique m × n matrix 0 such that
A+0=A

for any m × n matrix A. The matrix 0 is called the m × n zero matrix.

(d) For each m × n matrix A, there is a unique m × n matrix D such
that
A + D = O.
We shall write D as −A, so the above equation can be written as
A + (−A) = 0.
The matrix −A is called the negative of A. We also note that −A is
(−1)A.
Properties of Matrix Multiplication:
(a) If A, B and C are matrices of the appropriate sizes, then

A(BC) = (AB)C.
(b) If A, B and C are matrices of the appropriate sizes, then
(A + B)C = AC + BC.
(c) If A, B and C are matrices of the appropriate sizes, then

C(A + B) = CA + CB.
Properties of Scalar Multiplication:
If r and s are real numbers and A and B are matrices of the
appropriate sizes, then
(a) r (sA) = (rs)A.
(b) (r + s)A = rA + sA.
(c) r (A + B) = rA + rB.
(d) A(rB) = r (AB) = (rA)B.

Properties of Transpose:
If r is a scalar and A and B are matrices of the appropriate sizes, then
(a) (AT )T = A.
(b) (A + B)T = AT + B T .
(c) (AB)T = B T AT .
(d) (rA)T = rAT .
Differences between matrix multiplication and the multiplication
of real numbers:
(a) If a and b are real numbers, then ab = ba. However, this is not
always true for matrices.
Example:

(b) If a and b are real numbers, then ab = 0 can hold only if a or b is

zero. However, this is not true for matrices.
Example:
(c) If a, b and c are real numbers for which ab = ac and a 6= 0, it
follows that b = c. However, the cancellation law does not always
hold for matrices.
Example:

Reference
David Hill and Bernard Kolman, Elementary Linear Algebra with
Applications, 9th Edition | By Pearson 2019.