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Some Solved Problems 1

Problem 1. 2 Solve the following system by Gauss-Jordan elimination.

10y − 4z + w = 1
x + 4y − z + w = 2
3x + 2y + z + 2w = 5
−2x − 8y + 2z − 2w = −4
x − 6y + 3z = 1

Solution: The augmented matrix is

 
0 10 −4 1 1
 1 4 −1 1 2 
 
 3 2 1 2 5 
 
 −2 −8 2 −2 −4 
1 −6 3 0 1

We interchange the first row and the second row.

 
1 4 −1 1 2
 0 10 −4 1 1 
 
 3 2 1 2 5 
 
 −2 −8 2 −2 −4 
1 −6 3 0 1

Add −3 times the first row to the third row,

add 2 times the first row to the fourth row,
add −1 times the first row to the fifth row.
 
1 4 −1 1 2
 0 10 −4 1 1 
 
 0 −10 4 −1 −1 
 
 0 0 0 0 0 
0 −10 4 −1 −1
1
Multiply the second row by 10 .
 
1 4 −1 1 2
 0 4
1 − 10 1 1 
 10 10 
 0 −10 4 −1 −1 
 
 0 0 0 0 0 
0 −10 4 −1 −1
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This note may contain some errors, please let me know if you find some
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This problem is in our textbook, Page 20 Exercise 8(d)

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Add 10 times the second row to the third row,
add 10 times the second row to the third row.
 
1 4 −1 1 2
 0 1 −4 1 1 
 10 10 10 
 0 0 0 0 0 
 
 0 0 0 0 0 
0 0 0 0 0
Add −4 times the second row to the first row.
 6 6 16 
1 0 10 10 10
 0 1 −4 1 1 
 10 10 10 
 0 0 0 0 0 
 
 0 0 0 0 0 
0 0 0 0 0
The last matrix is in the reduced row-echelon form. The corresponding system of equations is
3 3 8
x + 5z + 5w = 5
2 1 1
y − 5z + 10 w = 10

Note that x and y are leading variables while z and w are free variables. Letting z = r and
w = s where r and s are arbitrary real numbers, we get
8 3 3
x = 5 − 5r − 5s
1 2 1
y = 10 + 5r − 10 s
z = r
w = s
Note that the system has infinetely many solutions.
Problem 2. Solve the following system by Gauss-Jordan elimination.
2x1 + 7x2 + 3x3 + x4 = 5
x1 + 3x2 + 5x3 − 2x4 = 3
x1 + 5x2 − 9x3 + 8x4 = 1
5x1 + 18x2 + 4x3 + 5x4 = 12

Solution: The augmented matrix is

 
2 7 3 1 5
 1 3 5 −2 3 
 
 1 5 −9 8 1 
5 18 4 5 12
Add −2 times the second row to the first row,
add −1 times the second row to the third row,
add −5 times the second row to the fourth row.
 
0 1 −7 5 −1
 1 3 5 −2 3 
 
 0 2 −14 10 −2 
0 3 −21 15 −3

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Interchange the first row and the second row.
 
1 3 5 −2 3
 0 1 −7 5 −1 
 
 0 2 −14 10 −2 
0 3 −21 15 −3

Add −2 times the second row to the third row,

add −3 times the second row to the fourth row.
 
1 3 5 −2 3
 0 1 −7 5 −1 
 
 0 0 0 0 0 
0 0 0 0 0

Add −3 times the second row to the first row.

 
1 0 26 −17 6
 0 1 −7 5 −1 
 
 0 0 0 0 0 
0 0 0 0 0

The last matrix is in the reduced row-echelon form. The corresponding system of equations is

x1 + 26x3 − 17x4 = 6
x2 − 7x3 + 5x4 = −1

Note that x1 and x2 are leading variables while x3 and x4 are free variables. Letting x3 = r
and x4 = s where r and s are arbitrary real numbers, we get

x1 = 6 − 26r + 17s
x2 = −1 + 7r − 5s
x3 = r
x4 = s

Note that the system has infinitely many solutions.

Problem 3. Solve the following system by Gauss-Jordan elimination.

2x1 − x2 + x3 − x4 = 3
4x1 − 2x2 − 2x3 + 3x4 = 2
2x1 − x2 + 5x3 − 6x4 = 1
2x1 − x2 − 3x3 + 4x4 = 5

Solution: The augmented matrix for the system is

 
2 −1 1 −1 3
 4 −2 −2 3 2 
 
 2 −1 5 −6 1 
2 −1 3 4 5

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Add −2 times the first row to the second row,
add −1 times the first row to the third row,
add −1 times the first row to the fourth row.
 
2 −1 1 −1 3
 0 0 −4 5 −4 
 
 0 0 4 −5 −2 
0 0 2 5 2

Add the second row to the third row.

 
2 −1 1 −1 3
 0 0 −4 5 −4 
 
 0 0 0 0 −6 
0 0 2 5 2
The linear equation that corresponds to the third row of the last matrix is

0x1 + 0x2 0 + 0x3 + 0x4 = −6 or 0 = −6.

Therefore, the system is inconsistent meaning that the system has no solution.

Problem 4. 3 For which values of a will the following system have no solutions? Exactly one
solution? Infinitely many solutions?

x + 2y − 3z = 4
3x − y + 5z = 2
4x + y + (a2 − 14)z = a + 2

Solution: The augmented matrix for the system is

 
1 2 −3 4
 3 −1 5 2 
4 1 (a2 − 14) (a + 2)
Add −3 times the first row to the second row,
add −4 times the first row to the fourth row.
 
1 2 −3 4
 0 −7 14 −10 
2
0 −7 (a − 2) (a − 14)
Add −1 times the second row to the third row.
 
1 2 −3 4
 0 −7 14 −10 
0 2
0 (a − 16) (a − 4)
Therefore if (a2 − 16) 6= 0 then all of x, y, and z are leading variables, implying that the system
in this case has exactly one solution. So, suppose now that (a2 − 16) = 0. Then, a = 4 or
a = −4. If a = 4 then the third row of the last matrix has zeros everywhere, implying that z is
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This problem is in our text book, Page 21 Exercise 17

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a free variable so that the system has infinitely many solutions. In the case a = −4 the third
of the last matrix becomes [0 0 0 − 8], and in that case the system has no solution because
the linear equation corresponding to the third row in this case is 0 = −8. To sum up,
a = −4 =⇒ the system has no solution,
a = 4 =⇒ the system has infinitely many solutions,
a 6= +4 and a 6= −4 =⇒ the system has exactly one solution.
Problem 5. Is there an inconsistent linear system that has more unknowns than equations?
If so, give an example of a such system. What can be said about such systems?

Solution: Yes there is. Consider the following system that has 3 unknowns and 2 equations.
x + y + z = 1
x + y + z = 2

It is clear that the system has no solution(indeed, if add −1 times the first equation to the
second equation, we get 0 = 1). So the system is inconsistent. (Geometrically, the above system
represents two different parallel planes in the xyz−space) Such systems (i.e., inconsistent linear
systems having more unknowns than equations) must be nonhomogeneous. Because we knew
(indeed, we study very soon) that any homogeneous system is consistent because they always
have the trivial solutions. Moreover, we also knew (or will know) that a homogeneous system
that has more unknowns than equations has infinitely many solutions. Here is a question for
you—What can be said about the solution set of a consistent nonhomogeneos linear system
having more unknowns than equations?
Problem 6. 4 Discuss the possible reduced row-echelon forms of
 
a b c
 d e f 
g h i

Solution: We are asked to write all possible reduced row-echelon forms of a 3 × 3 matrix.
They are  
1 0 0
 0 1 0 ,
0 0 1
     
1 0 ∗ 1 ∗ 0 0 1 0
 0 1 ∗ , 0 0 1 , 0 0 1 
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
     
1 ∗ ∗ 0 1 ∗ 0 0 1
 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 ,
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 
0 0 0
 0 0 0 ,
0 0 0
where in place of ∗ , we can put any real number.
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This problem is in our text book, Page 22 Exercise 29(a)

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Problem 7. 5 Solve the following system by Gauss-Jordan elimination.

3x1 − 2x2 − 5x3 + x4 − 3 = 0

2x1 − 3x2 + x3 + 5x4 + 3 = 0
x1 + 2x2 − 4x4 + 3 = 0
x1 − 1x2 − 4x3 + 9x4 − 22 = 0

Solution: The augmented matrix is

 
3 −2 −5 1 3
 2 −3 1 5 −3 
 
 1 2 0 −4 −3 
1 −1 −4 9 22

Interchange the first row and the fourth row.

 
1 −1 −4 9 22
 2 −3 1 5 −3 
 
 1 2 0 −4 −3 
3 −2 −5 1 3

Add −3 times the first row to the fourth row,

add −2 times the first row to the second row,
add −1 times the first row to the third row.
 
1 −1 −4 9 22
 0 −1 9 −13 −47 
 
 0 3 4 −13 −25 
0 1 7 −26 −63
Add 3 times the second row to the third row,
add the second row to the fourth row.
 
1 −1 −4 9 22
 0 −1 9 −13 −47 
 
 0 0 31 −52 −166 
0 0 16 −39 −110
Muliply the second row by −1,
1
multiply the third row by 31
 
1 −1 −4 9 22
 0 1 −9 13 47 
 
 0 0 52 166 
1 − 31 − 31
0 0 16 −39 −110

Add −16 times the third row to the fourth row. We calculate

52 832 − 1209 377 166 2656 − 3410 754 

(−16)(− ) − 39 = =− and (−16)(− ) − 110 = =−
32 31 31 31 31 31
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Solving this problem may require some patience!

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  
1 −1 −4 9 22
 0 1 −9 13 47 
 
 0 0 1 − 31 − 31 
52 166

0 0 0 − 377
31 − 754
31
31
Multiply the fourth row by − 377 .
 
1 −1 −4 9 22
 0 1 −9 13 47 
 
 0 0 52 166 
1 − 31 − 31
0 0 0 1 2
Add −9 times the fourth row to the first row,
add −13 times the fourth row to the second row,
add 52
31 times the fourth row to the third row.
   
1 −1 −4 0 4 1 −1 −4 0 4
 0 1 −9 0 21   0 1 −9 0 21 
 = 
 0 0 1 0 − 62   0 0 1 0 −2 
31
0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 2

Add 4 times the third row to the first row,

add 9 times the third row to the second row.
 
1 −1 0 0 −4
 0 1 0 0 3 
 
 0 0 1 0 −2 
0 0 0 1 2
Add the second row to the first row.
 
1 0 0 0 −1
 0 1 0 0 3 
 
 0 0 1 0 −2 
0 0 0 1 2
The last matrix is in the reduced row-echelon form. The corresponding system of equations is

x1 = −1, x2 = 3, x3 − 2, x4 = 2

which gives the solution of the system. Note that the system has a unique solution.

Problem 8. Find the value of c for which the following system is consistent and solve the
system for this value of c.
x + y = 2
x − y = 0
3x − y = c
 
1 1 2
Solution: The augmented matrix of the system is  1 −1 0  which can be reduced by
3 −1 c

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applying elementary row operations to the simpler matrix as follows:
   
1 1 2 1 1 2
−R1 + R2 → R2  −2R2 + R3 → R3 
0 −2 −2  0 1 1 
−3R1 + R3 → R3 ( −1
2 )R2
0 −4 c − 6 0 0 (c − 2)

Hence, from the third row we see that the system is inconsistent if c 6= 2. If c = 2 the system
is consistent and the last matrix becomes
   
1 1 2 1 0 1
 0 1 1  whose reduced row echelon form is  0 1 0 
0 0 0 0 0 0
Hence for c = 2 there is exactly one solution, namely x = 1, y = 1.

Problem 9. Show that the following system is consistent if and only if c = 2a − 3b and solve
the system in this case.
2x − y + 3z = a
3x + y − 5z = b
−5x − 5y + 21z = c
 
2 −1 3 a
Solution: The augmented matrix is  3 1 −5 b  We reduce it as follows:
−5 −5 21 c
   
2 −1 3 a 1 2 −8 b − a
−2R1 + R2 → R2
−R1 +R2 → R2  1 2 −8 b − a  R1 ↔ R2  2 −1 3 a 
5R1 + R3 → R3
−5 −5 21 c −5 −5 21 c

   
1 2 −8 b−a 1 2 −8 b−a
 0 −5 R2 + R3 → R3
19 −2b + 3a  −1
 0 1 −19
5
2b−3a
5

0 5 −19 5b − 5a + c 5 R2 0 0 0 3b − 2a + c

From the third row of the last matrix the system is inconsistent if and only if 3b − 2a + c 6= 0.
If 3b − 2a + c = 0, the system is consistent and the last matrix becomes
   
1 2 −8 b − a 1 0 −2 5
b+a
5
 0 1 −19 2b−3a  − 2R2 + R1 → R1  0 1 −19 2b−3a 
5 5 5 5
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Hence, x and y are leading variables while z is a free variable. Putting z = r for the free
variable z where r is an arbitrary real number, the solution of the system is
(b + a) 2 (2b − 3a) 19
x= + r, y = + r, z = r, r ∈ <.
5 5 5 5
Problem 10. Find the value of c for which the following system is consistent and solve the
system for this value of c.
x + y = 1
cx + y = c
(1 + c)x + 2y = 3

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  
1 1 1
Solution: The augmented matrix is  c 1 c  We reduce it as follows:
1+c 2 3
   
1 1 1 1 1 1
−cR1 + R2 → R2  0 1−c 0  − R2 + R3 → R3  0 1 − c 0 
−(1 + c)R1 + R3 → R3
0 1−c 2−c 0 0 2−c

From the third row of the last matrix we see that if c 6= 2 then the system is inconsistent. If
c = 2 then the last matrix becomes
   
1 1 1 1 0 1
 0 −1 0  R 2 + R 1 → R 1 
0 1 0 
(−1)R2
0 0 0 0 0 0

So, if c = 2 from the last matrix we read off the unique solution

x = 1, y = 0.

Problem 11. Find the values of a and b for which the following system is consistent. Also
find the solution when a = b = 2.
x + y − z + w = 1
ax + y + z + w = b
3x + 2y + aw = 1 + a
 
1 1 −1 1 1
Solution: The augmented matrix is  a 1 1 1 b  Using elementary row opera-
3 2 0 a 1+a
tions we simplify it as follows:
   
1 1 −1 1 1 1 1 −1 1 1
−aR1 + R2 → R2  (−1)R3 
0 1−a 1+a 1−a b−a  0 1 −3 3 − a 2 − a 
−3R1 + R3 → R3 R2 ↔ R3
0 −1 3 a−3 a−2 0 1−a 1+a 1−a b−a
 
1 1 −1 1 1
(a − 1)R2 + R3 → R3  0 1 −3 3−a 2−a 
2
0 0 4 − 2a (1 − a)(a − 2) −a + 2a + b − 2
1
CASE I: a 6= 2. Then 4 − 2a 6= 0 and if we apply the row operation ( 4−2a )R3 to the latest
matrix become  
1 1 −1 1 1
 0 1 −3 3 − a 2−a 
1−a −a2 +2a+b−2
0 0 1 2 4−2a
Hence, x, y, z are leading variables while w is free. Consequently, the system has infinitely
many solutions. And we can solve for x, y, z in terms of the free variable w.
CASE II: a = 2. Then the last matrix before the CASE I becomes
 
1 1 −1 1 1
 0 1 −3 1 0 
0 0 0 0 b−2

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Hence, it follows from the third row that there is no solution if b 6= 2. However if b = 2 the last
matrix becomes
   
1 1 −1 1 1 1 0 2 0 1
 0 1 −3 1 0  − R2 + R1 → R1  0 1 −3 1 0 
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hence x, y are leading variables while z, w are free variables. Letting z = r and w = s for the
free variables where r and s are arbitrary real numbers, the solution in the case a = 2 = b is
given by
x = 1 − 2r, y = 3r − s, z = r, w = s r, s ∈ <
Problem 12. 6 For which values of c does the following homogeneous system have a nontrivial
solutions?
x + (c − 3)y = 0
(c − 3)x + y = 0

Solution: The augmented matrix can be reduced as follows:

   
1 (c − 3) 0 1 (c − 3) 0
(3 − c)R1 + R2 → R2
(c − 3) 1 0 0 −c2 + 6c − 8 0
Hence if −c2 + 6c − 8 6= 0 then both of the variables x and y are leading variables so that the
only solution is the trivial solution x = 0, y = 0. On the other hand if −c2 + 6c − 8 = 0 then
y becomes a free variable so that there is infinitely many (in particular, nontrivial) solutions.
Noting that −c2 + 6c − 8 = −(c − 4)(c − 2), the answer of the problem is c = 2 and c = 4.
Problem 13. 7 Show that if ad − bc 6= 0 then the reduced row-echelon form of
   
a b 1 0
is
c d 0 1

Solution: We divide the solution in two cases: when a 6= 0 and when a = 0.

CASE I: a 6= 0. Then
     b
    
a b 1 1 ab 1 a
a 1 ab −b 1 0
( )R1 −cR1 +R2 → R2 ( )R2 ( )R2 +R1
c d a c d 0 ad−bc
a ad − bc 0 1 a 0 1

Case II: a = 0. Then from ad − bc 6= 0 we see that c 6= 0 and b 6= 0. In this case we have;
      1    
a b 0 b c d ( c )R1 1 dc −d 1 0
= R1 ↔ R2 ( )R2 + R1 → R1
c d c d 0 b ( 1b )R2 0 1 c 0 1
   
a b 1 0
Therefore in both cases, has reduced row-echelon form equal to
c d 0 1

——————————–
Some dictionary meanings of “echelon” are: a line of ships, soldiers, planes etc arranged in a
pattern that looks like a series of steps; a formation of troops, ships, airplanes, etc., in which
groups of soldiers or individual vehicles or craft are arranged in parallel lines, each to the right
or left of the one in front, so that the whole presents the appearance of steps.
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This problem is in our text book, Page 21 Exercise 22
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This problem is in our textbook, Page 22 Exercise 27(a)

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