Chapter 1

Systems of Linear Equations

1.1 Solutions and Elementary Operations
1. (a) 2(19t 35) + 3(25 13t) + t = 5
5(19t 35) + 7(25 13t) 4t = 0
(b) 2 (2s + 12t + 13) + 5s + 9 (s 3t 3) + 3t = 1
(2s + 12t + 13) + 2s + 4 (s 3t 3) = 1
2. (a) x = t, y = 2 3t; x =
2
3

t
3
, y = t
(b) x = t, y =
1
3
(1 2t); x =
1
2
(1 3s), y = s
(c) x = s, y = 3s + 2t 5, z = t; x = s, y = t, z =
5
2

3s
2
+
t
2
(d) x = 1 + 2s 5t, y = s, z = t; x = q, y = p, z =
1
5
(1 p + 2q)
3. x = 5/2, y = t.
4. x =
1
4
(2s + 3), y = s, z = t.
5. (a) x = t (and b = 0) (b) x = b/a
6. These are given in 5.
7. (a)
_
1 3
2 1

5
1
_
(b)
_
1 2
0 1

0
1
_
(c)
_
_
_
1 1 1
1 0 1
2 1 0

2
1
0
_
_
_
(d)
_
_
_
1 1 0
0 1 1
1 0 1

1
0
2
_
_
_
8. (a) x y +6z = 0
y = 3
2x y = 1
(b) 2x y = 1
3x +2y +z = 0
y +z = 3
9. (a) x = 2, y = 1 (b) x = 3, y = 2
(c) x = 10, y = 7 (d) x = 17, y = 13
10. (a) x =
5
3
, y =
4
3
, z =
2
3
(b) x =
1
9
, y =
10
9
, z =
7
3
1
2 Chapter 1 Systems of Linear Equations
11. (a) x =
1
3
(2t + 5), y = t (b) No solution.
12. The augmented matrix reduces to
_

_
1 2 1
0 3 5
0 0 0
a
b 2a
c (2b 3a)
_

_ .
13. Zero parallel lines, one nonparallel lines, innitely many coincident lines.
14. x

= 5, y

= 1, so x = 23, y = 32.
15. The equations are: 2a + c = 1, a + 2b = 1, b + 2c = 3.
Solution: a =
1
9
, b =
5
9
, c =
11
9
.
16. 100 mg of the rst supplement and 160 mg of the second.
17. John gets $4.50 per hour, and Joe gets $5.20 per hour.
1.2 Gaussian Elimination
1. (a) No, Yes. (b) No, No. (c) No, Yes.
(d) No, Yes. (e) No, Yes. (f) No, No.
2. (a)
_
_
_
_
_
0 1 2 0 1 0 0
0 0 0 1 3 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 1 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 1
_
_
_
_
_
(b)
_
_
_
_
_
0 1 3 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 0 0 1
0 0 0 0 1 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 1 1
_
_
_
_
_
3. (a) x
1
= 1 2r 3s t, x
2
= r, x
3
= 2 + s t, x
4
= s, x
5
= t, x
6
= 3.
(b) x
1
= 2r 2s t + 1, x
2
= r, x
3
= 5s + 3t 1, x
4
= s, x
5
= 6t + 1, x
6
= t.
(c) x
1
= 1 3s 2t, x
2
= 1 + s t, x
3
= s, x
4
= t, x
5
= t.
(d) x
1
= 4s 5t 4, x
2
= 2s + t 2, x
3
= s, x
4
= 1, x
5
= t.
4. (a) x = 0, y =
1
2
(b) x =
1
7
, y =
3
7
(c) x = 4, y = 3 (d) x =
1
3
(t + 2), y = t
(e) No solution (f) No solution
5. (a) x = 17, y = 31, z = 20
(b) x = 15t 21, y = 11t 17, z = t
(c) x = 9 + 9t/5, y = 1 4t/5, z = t
(d) No solution (e) No solution
(f) x = 7, y = 9, z = 1 (g) x = 1 t, y = 1, z = t
(h) x = 4, y = 3 + 2t, z = t
6. (a) x
1
= 4/3 4t/3, x
2
= 1/3 + t/3, x
3
= t; R
3
= R
2
R
1
(b) x
1
= 2t + 8, x
2
= t 19, x
3
= t; R
3
= 5R
1
4R
2
7. (a) x
1
=
1
7
(2 s 26t), x
2
=
1
7
(1 + 3s + 22t), x
3
= s, x
4
= s.
Section 1.2 Gaussian Elimination 3
(b) x
1
= 0, x
2
= t, x
3
= 0, x
4
= t.
(c) x
1
= 4, x
2
= 3, x
3
= 0, x
4
= 0.
(d) x
1
= 1, x
2
= 1 t, x
3
= 1 + t, x
4
= t.
8. (a) If b = 2a, unique solution x =
b+10
b+2a
, y =
5a
b+2a
. If b = 2a : no solution if a = 5; if
a = 5 the solutions are x = 1 + 2t, y = t.
(b) If ab = 2, unique solution x =
25b
2ab
, y =
a+5
2ab
. If ab = 2 : no solution if a = 5; if
a = 5 the solutions are x = 1 +
2
5
t, y = t.
(c) If b = a, unique solution x =
3ba
a+b
, y =
4
a+b
. If b = a there is no solution.
(d) If a = 2, unique solution x =
1b
a2
, y =
ab2
a2
. If a = 2 : There is no solution if b = 1; if
b = 1 the solutions are x =
1
2
(1 t), y = t.
9. (a) If c = 2ab, no solution. If c = 2ab the solutions are x =
1
4
(a+bt), y =
1
4
(a3b+7t),
z = t.
(b) Unique solution x = 2a + b + 5c, y = 3a b 6c, z = 2a + b + 4c for any a, b, c.
(c) If a = 6, unique solution x =
2ab12
a6
, y =
2ab+12
a6
, z =
b
a6
. If a = 6 : no solution if
b = 0; if b = 0, the solutions are x = 2 t, y = 2 t, z = t.
(d) If abc = 1, unique solution x = 0, y = 0, z = 0; if abc = 1 the solutions are x = abt,
y = bt, z = t.
(e) If b = 1, no solution. If b = 1 the solutions are x =
1
4
(5 t), y =
1
4
(3 + 5t), z = t.
(f) If a = 1, solutions x = t, y = t, z = 1. If a = 0, there is no solution. If a = 1 and
a = 0, unique solution x =
a1
a
, y = 0, z =
1
a
.
10. (a) 2 (b) 1 (c) 2 (d) 3 (e) 2 (f) 1
11. (a) 3 (b) 2 (c) 2 (d) 3
(e) 2 if a = 0 or 1; 3 otherwise.
(f) 2 if a = 0 or 2; 3 otherwise.
12. (a) False. A =
_
1 0 1
0 1 1

1
1
_
(b) False. A =
_
_
_
1 0
0 1
0 0

1
1
0
_
_
_
(c) False. A =
_
1 1 0
0 0 1
_
.
(d) False. A =
_
_
_
1 0
0 1
0 0

1
0
0
_
_
_
(e) True. Here we have n = 4 variables, so there are n r = 4 r parameters by Theorem
2. But r 3 because there are 3 equations, so 4 r 1.
(f) True. A has 3 rows so there can be at most 3 leading 1s.
(g) False. A =
_
_
_
1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
0 0 0 0

1
1
1
_
_
_
4 Chapter 1 Systems of Linear Equations
(h) True. The sequence of row operations carrying C to row-echelon form (with 3 leading
1s) will also carry A to row-echelon form with 3 leading 1s, none of which is in column
5. So an equation 0x
1
+ + 0x
5
= b = 0 does not occur.
13.
_
_
_
b
i
+ c
i
c
i
+ a
i
a
i
+ b
i
_
_
_
_
_
_
2(a
i
+ b
i
+ c
i
)
c
i
+ a
i
a
i
+ b
i
_
_
_
_
_
_
b
i
c
i
+ a
i
a
i
+ b
i
_
_
_
_
_
_
b
i
c
i
+ a
i
a
i
_
_
_
_
_
_
b
i
c
i
a
i
_
_
_
_
_
_
a
i
b
i
c
i
_
_
_
14. (a) Since none of a, b and c are 0,
_
_
_
p 0 a
b 0 0
q c r
_
_
_
_
_
_
1 0 0
0 c r
0 0 a
_
_
_
_
_
_
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1
_
_
_.
(b) Since one of b a and c a is nonzero,
_
_
_
1 a b + c
1 b c + a
1 c a + b
_
_
_
_
_
_
1 a b + c
0 b a a b
0 c a a c
_
_
_
_
_
_
1 a b + c
0 1 1
0 0 0
_
_
_
_
_
_
1 0 b + c + a
0 1 1
0 0 0
_
_
_
15. There can be at most two leading variables so there is at least one non-leading variable.
16. (a) x
2
+ y
2
2x + 6y 15 = 0 (b) x
2
+ y
2
2x + 6y 6 = 0.
17. Nissans, $10 per day; Fords, $12 per day; Chevrolets, $13 per day.
18.
5
20
in A,
7
20
in B,
8
20
in C.
19. Since p
1
, p
2
, p
3
are distinct, the augmented matrix for the equation giving a, b and c reduces
as follows:
_
_
_
1 p
1
p
2
1
1 p
2
p
2
2
1 p
3
p
2
3

q
1
q
2
q
3
_
_
_
_
_
_
1 p
1
p
2
1
0 p
2
p
1
p
2
2
p
2
1
0 p
3
p
1
p
2
3
p
2
1

_
_
_

_
_
_
1 p
1
p
2
2
0 1 p
2
+ p
1
0 1 p
3
+ p
1

_
_
_
_
_
_
1 0
0 1
0 0 p
3
p
2

_
_
_
_
_
_
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1

_
_
_
Hence there is a unique solution.
20. (a) If the scores are x
1
, x
2
and x
3
, then
x
1
+ x
2
= t
1
x
1
+ x
3
= t
2
x
2
+ x
3
= t
3
are given with the totals t
1
, t
2
and t
3
known. The augmented matrix becomes
_
_
_
1 1 0
1 0 1
0 1 1

t
1
t
2
t
3
_
_
_
_
_
_
1 1 0
0 1 1
0 1 1

t
1
t
2
t
1
t
3
_
_
_
_
_
_
1 0 1
0 1 1
0 0 2

t
2
t
1
t
2
t
3
+ t
2
t
1
_
_
_
so the system has a unique solution.
Section 1.3 Homogeneous Equations 5
(b) With four players, the augmented matrix reduces as follows:
_
_
_
_
_
1 1 0 0
0 1 1 0
0 0 1 1
1 0 0 1

t
1
t
2
t
3
t
4
_
_
_
_
_

_
_
_
_
_
1 1 0 0
0 1 1 0
0 0 1 1
0 1 0 1

_
_
_
_
_

_
_
_
_
_
1 1 0 0
0 1 1 0
0 0 1 1
0 0 1 1

_
_
_
_
_

_
_
_
_
_
1 1 0 0
0 1 1 0
0 0 1 1
0 0 0 0

_
_
_
_
_
Hence there is either no solution, or a parameter (so innitely many solutions).
21. The equations are p +n+d = 17, p +5n+10d = 105. The solution is p = 5t 5, n = 22 9t,
d = 4t. Since p 0 and n 0, we have t 1, t 2. In addition, t must be a integer, so
t = 1 or t = 2. Hence p = 0, n = 13, d = 4, or p = 5, n = 4, d = 4.
1.3 Homogeneous Equations
1. (a) False. A =
_
1 0 1
0 1 1

0
0
_
(b) False. A =
_
1 0 1
0 1 1

0
0
_
(c) True. If a
1
x
1
+ a
2
x
2
+ + a
n
x
n
= b is any equation in the system, b = 0 because
x
1
= x
2
= = x
n
= 0 is a solution.
(d) False. A =
_
1 0 1
0 1 1

1
0
_
(e) False. The trivial solution always exists for a homogeneous system.
(f) False. A =
_
1 0
0 1

0
0
_
(g) False. A =
_
1 0 1
0 1 1

0
0
_
(h) False. A =
_

_
1 0
0 1
0 0

0
0
0
_

_
2. (a) a = 2, x = t, y = t, z = t (b) a = 3, x = 9t, y = 5t, z = t
(c) a = 1, x = 2t, y = t, z = t; or a = 0, x = t, y = t, z = 0.
(d) a = 1, x = t, y = t, z = 0; or a = 1, x = t, y = 0, z = t.
3. (a) No, the number of variables is not greater than the number of equations, so Theorem 1
does not apply.
(b) The system in (a) has nontrivial solutions.
4. (a) There are n r = 6 2 = 4 parameters by Theorem 2 1.2.
(b) There are n r = 6 1 = 5 parameters by Theorem 2 1.2.
(c) If R is the row-echelon form of A, then R also has a row of zeros. Since R has 4
rows, it can have at most 3 leading 1s. Hence r = rank A = 1, 2, or 3, so there are
n r = 6 r = 5, 4, or 3 parameters.
(d) Same as (c).
5. The equations ax + by + cz = 0 and a
1
x + b
1
y + c
1
z = 0 will have a nontrivial solution by
Theorem 1 1.3, and this corresponds to a point on the two planes other than the origin.
6. (a) Two points lead to two equations ax + by + c = 0 in the three variables a, b and c.
6 Chapter 1 Systems of Linear Equations
(b) Three points lead to three equations ax + by + cz + d = 0 in the variables a, b, c and d.
7. Insisting that the graph of a(x
2
+y
2
) +bx +cy +d = 0 passes through the three points gives
three linear equations in a, b, c, d. This has a nontrivial solution by Theorem 1, and a = 0
means the points all lie on the line bx + cy + d = 0, contrary to hypothesis. So a = 0, as
required.
8. The number of parameters is nr by Theorem 2 1.2, so there are nontrivial solutions if and
only if n r > 0.
1.4 An Application to Network Flow
1. (a) f
1
= f
3
+ f
5
10
f
2
= f
3
f
5
+ 60
f
3
= f
5
+ 50
(b) f
1
= 85 f
4
f
7
f
2
= 60 f
4
f
7
f
3
= 75 + f
4
+ f
6
f
4
= 40 f
6
+ f
7
2. (a) f
1
= 55 f
4
f
2
= 20 f
4
+ f
5
f
3
= 15 f
5
(b) f
5
= 15
25 f
4
30
3. (a) f
1
= 50 + f
5
f
2
= 20 + f
5
f
3
= 60 + f
5
f
4
= 35 + f
5
(b) The road CD.
1.5 An Application to Electrical Networks
1. I
1
=
40
11
, I
2
=
5
11
, I
3
=
45
11
.
2. I
1
=
1
5
, I
2
=
3
5
, I
3
=
4
5
.
3. I
1
= 2, I
2
= 2, I
3
= 0, I
4
= 0, I
5
=
3
4
, I
6
=
3
4
.
4. I
1
= 2, I
2
= 1, I
3
=
1
2
, I
4
=
3
2
, I
5
=
3
2
, I
6
=
1
2
.
5. I
1
=
1
5
(3x a), I
2
=
1
5
(1 2x), I
3
=
1
5
(x 8); x = 3V.
1.6 An Application to Chemical Reactions
1. CH
4
+ 2O
2
CO
2
+ 2H
2
O
2. 2NH
3
+ 3CuO N
2
+ 3Cu + 3H
2
O
3. 6CO
2
+ 6H
2
O C
6
H
12
O
6
+ 6O
2
4. 15Pb(N
3
)
2
+ 44Cr(MnO
4
)
2
22Cr
2
O
3
+ 88MnO
2
+ 5Pb
3
O
4
+ 90NO
Supplementary Exercises for Chapter 1 7
Supplementary Exercises for Chapter 1
1. (a) zero parallel planes; one no two planes parallel; innitely many coincident
planes, or all three meeting in a line.
(b) No. If the corresponding planes are parallel and distinct, there is no solution. Otherwise
they either coincide or have a whole common line of solutions.
2. (a) x
1
= 7
7
2
s + 3t, x
2
= 4 +
5
2
s 2t, x
3
= s, x
4
= t.
(b) x
1
=
1
10
(6s 6t + 16), x
2
=
1
10
(4s t + 1), x
3
= s, x
4
= t.
3. (a) If a
2
= 9, unique solution x =
a(4a+1)
7(a+3)
, y =
5(2a+11)
7(a+3)
, z =
1
a+3
. If a = 3, no solution. If
a = 3, the solutions are x =
1
7
(8 22t), y =
1
7
(10 + 25t), z = t.
(b) If a = 1 there is no solution. If a = 2, the solutions are x = 2 2t, y = t, z = t. If
a = 1 and a = 2 the unique solution is x =
85a
3(a1)
, y =
2a
3(a1)
, z =
a+2
3
.
4.
_
R
1
R
2
_

_
R
1
+ R
2
R
2
_

_
R
1
+ R
2
R
1
_

_
R
2
R
1
_

_
R
2
R
1
_
5. Either a or c is nonzero (as ad = bc), say a = 0. Then
_
a b
c d
_

_
1
b
a
0
adbc
a
_
. Since
ad bc = 0, this can be carried to
_
1 0
0 1
_
. The case c = 0 is similar.
6. Substitute x = 3, y = 1, z = 2 to get the equations a 2c = 3, 3b c = 7, 3a + 2b = 7.
This has the unique solution a = 1, b = 2, c = 1.
7. The Gaussian algorithm works even if some of the coecients and constants are not real. The
result is, x = 1, y = i, z = 2 i.
8. The (real) solution is x = 2, y = 3 t, z = t where t is a parameter. The given complex
solution occurs when t = 3 i is complex. If the real system has a unique solution, that
solution is real because the coecients and constants are all real.
9. (a) a = t + 8, b = t 3, c = t for t = 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
(b) t = 3, in (a).
10. x = 10, y = 6, z = 4.
11. (a) Let A denote the matrix. If there are no leading 1s, A =
_
0 0
0 0
_
. If there is one
leading 1, A =
_
1
0 0
_
or A =
_
0 1
0 0
_
. If there are two leading 1s, A =
_
1 0
0 1
_
.
(b)
_
0 0 0
0 0 0
_
,
_
0 0 1
0 0 0
_
,
_
0 1
0 0 0
_
,
_
1
0 0 0
_
,
_
0 1 0
0 0 1
_
,
_
1 0
0 0 1
_
,
_
1 0
0 1 0
_
.
(c)
_
_
_
1
0 0
0 0
_
_
_,
_
_
_
1 0
0 1
0 0
_
_
_,
_
_
_
0 1
0 0
0 0
_
_
_,
_
_
_
0 0
0 0
0 0
_
_
_.
8 Chapter 1 Systems of Linear Equations
12. 2 adults, 8 youths, 140 children.
13. x
2
= 4, xy = 2, y
2
= 1. Hence x = 2, y = 1, so xy = 2 gives x = 2 and y = 1, or
x = 2 and y = 1.
14. If there are m equations in n variables where n > m, and if rank A = r where A is the
augmented matrix, there are nr parameters by Theorem 2 1.2. So it suces to prove that
n > r. But n > m, and m r because the row-echelon form of A has m rows and r leading
1s.