Introduction to Systems of Linear Equations Linear Equations Recall that in two dimensions a line in a rectangular xy-coordinate system can be repre- sented by an equation of the form ax +by=c (a,bnot both 0) and in three dimensions a plane in a rectangular ryz-coordinate system can be repre- sented by an equation of the form ax+ by +ez=d (a,b,enotall 0) ‘These are examples of “linear equations,” the frst beinga linear equation in the variables .xand y and the second a linear equation in the variables x, y, and z. More generally, we define a inear equation in the n variables x4,.%3,...,p to be one that can be expressed in the form yxy Hagty $o+ + yt =D wo where ay, a2, ..., dy and b are constants, and the a’s are not all zero. In the special cases where n =2 or n= 3, we will often use variables without subscripts and write linear equations as aux + aay =b (ay,a; not both 0) Q axtaytaz=b (a, 8 In the special case where b = 0, Equation (1) has the form yxy Hayes Hoe ayy =O o Which is called a homogeneous linear equation in the variables x),.22,--. Xp.> EXAMPLE 1 Linear Equations Observe that a linear equation does not involve any products or roots of variables, All variables occur only to the first power and do not appear, for example, as arguments of trigonometric, logarithmic, or exponential functions. The following are linear equations: x43y=7 x — 2x, — Bay ty = 0 jx-y+32=-1 K++ $e Sl The following are not linear equations: xt3y2=4 3x $2y—4y sinx+y=0 Vai t2n+x3=1 EXAMPLE 2 A Linear System with One Solution Solve the linear system x-yel dty=6 > EXAMPLE 3 ALinear System with No Solutions Solve the linear system, xt ys4 Bx t3y =6 > EXAMPLE 4 A Linear System with Infinitely Many Solutions Solve the linear systemEXAMPLE 2 EXAMPLE 3 Solution We can eliminate x from the second equation by adding —2 times the first equation to the second. This yields the simplified system x-ysl By =4 From the second equation we obtain y = 4, and on substituting this value in the first equation we obtain x = | + y = 2. Thus, the system has the unique solution =: x=h, y= Geometrically, this means that the lines represented by the equations in the system intersect at the single point (2, 4). We leave it for you to check this by graphing the lines. Solution We can eliminate x from the second equation by adding —3 times the first equation to the second equation. This yields the simplified system xty=4 0=-6EXAMPLE 4 Solution We can eliminate x from the second equation by adding —4 times the first equation to the second. This yields the simplified system 4x -2y=1 0o=0 The second equation does not impose any restrictions on x and y and hence can be omitted, Thus, the solutions of the system are those values of x and y that satisfy the single equation 4x-2y=1 (s) Geometrically, this means the lines corresponding to the two equations in the original system coincide. One way to describe the solution set is to solve this equation for iL terms of y to obtain x = $+ ty and then assign an arbitrary value f (called a parameter) to y. This allows us to express the solution by the pair of equations (called parametric equations) x=ttin yer We can obtain specific numerical solutions from these equations by substituting numer- ical values for the parameter f. For example, t = 0 yields the solution (4,0), = 1 yields the solution (3, 1) , and t = —1 yields the solution (~1, —1) . You ean confirm that these are solutions by substituting their coordinates into the given equations.> EXAMPLE 5 A Linear System with Infinitely Many Solutions Solve the linear system x yt2z 2x —2y +42 > In each part of Exercises 7-8, find the augmented matrix for the linear system, (b) 6x = ae +385 Si 8 (2m +2 Bx; 2 + 4 6x tay — 4 =0> In Exercises 15-16, each linear system has infinitely many so- lutions. Use parametric equations to describe its solution set. 15. (a) 2x —3y 6x —9y 3 (b) om + 3x2 — 5 3x1 + 9x2 — 343 =x) -3n + 5 16. (a) 6x + 2x2 = -8 But om =—4