Homework on Identifying Possible Dimensions of Solutions

Mathematics 314—Linear Algebra for Differential Equations

Dr. Peratt

Directions: For each of the following scenarios, determine: (1) the dimension of the space,
(2) the number of planes under consideration, (3) the dimension of each plane, and (4) the
possible dimensions of the solution.

1. 9 equations in 12 variables.

2. 9 equations in 9 variables.

3. 12 equations in 9 variables.

4. 3 equations in 5 variables.

5. A system of equations is put into an augmented matrix (an augmented matrix is the type of
matrix we used in class, with a vertical line to separate the coefficients from the constants),
which turns out to be 7 × 11 matrix.

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Homework on Identifying Possible Dimensions of Solutions—Solutions
Mathematics 314—Linear Algebra for Differential Equations
Dr. Peratt
April 2, 2019

Directions: For each of the following scenarios, determine: (1) the dimension of the space,
(2) the number of planes under consideration, (3) the dimension of each plane, and (4) the
possible dimensions of the solution.

1. 9 equations in 12 variables.

Answer: The space is 12-D, there are 9 planes under consideration, each plane is
11-D, and the possible dimensions of the solution are: 11-D, 10-D, . . . , 3-D, ∅.

2. 9 equations in 9 variables.

Answer: The space is 9-D, there are 9 planes under consideration, each plane is
8-D, and the possible dimensions of the solution are: 8-D, 7-D, . . . , 1-D, 0-D, ∅.

3. 12 equations in 9 variables.

Answer: The space is 9-D, there are 12 planes under consideration, each plane is
8-D, and the possible dimensions of the solution are: 8-D, 7-D, . . . , 1-D, 0-D, ∅.

4. 3 equations in 5 variables.

Answer: The space is 5-D, there are 3 planes under consideration, each plane is
4-D, and the possible dimensions of the solution are: 4-D, 3-D, 2-D, ∅.

5. A system of equations is put into an augmented matrix (an augmented matrix is the type of
matrix we used in class, with a vertical line to separate the coefficients from the constants),
which turns out to be 7 × 11 matrix.

Answer: Since there are 7 row, there are 7 equations. Since there are 11 columns,
there are 10 variables (since the last column corresponds to the right-hand sides of
the equations). Therefore, the space is 10-D, there are 7 planes under consideration,
each plane is 9-D, and the possible dimensions of the solution are: 9-D, 8-D, . . . ,
4-D, 3-D, ∅.