Appendix A

Solution of Simultaneous Equations Using Cramers Rule

In circuit analysis, we often encounter a set of simultaneous equations

having the form

a11 x1 + a12 x2 + + a1n xn = b1

a21 x1 + a22 x2 + + a2n xn = b2
.. .. .. (A.1)
. . .
an1 x1 + an2 x2 + + ann xn = bn

where there are n unknown x1 , x2 , . . . , xn to be determined. Equation

(A.1) can be written in matrix form as

a11 a12 ... a1n x1 b2
a a2n x2 b2

21 a22 ...
. .. .. .. = .. (A.2)
.. . ... . . .
an1 an2 . . . ann xn bn

This matrix equation can be put in a compact form as

AX = B (A.3)

where

a11 a12 a1n x1 b1
a a2n x b
21 a22 2 2
A= . .. .. , X = . , B = . (A.4)
.. . . .. ..
an1 an2 ann xn bn

A is a square (n n) matrix while X and B are column matrices.

There are several methods for solving Eq. (A.1) or (A.3). These
include substitution, Gaussian elimination, Cramers rule, and numerical
analysis. In many cases, Cramers rule can be used to solve the simul-
taneous equations we encounter in circuit analysis. Cramers rule states
that the solution to Eq. (A.1) or (A.3) is

1
x1 =

2
x2 =
 (A.5)
..
.
n
xn =


845

| | e-Text Main Menu | Textbook Table of Contents | Problem Solving Workbook Contents
 846 APPENDIX A Solution of Simultaneous Equations Using Cramers Rule

where the s are the determinants given by

   
a11 a12 a1n  b1 a12 a1n 
  
a  b a a2n 
 21 a22 a2n   2 22
= . . . , 1 =  . .. .. 
 .. .. .
.   .
 . . . 
an1 an2 ann  bn an2 ann 
.. ..
. . (A.6)
   
a11 b1 a1n  a11 a12 b1 
  
a  a b2 
 21 b2 a2n   21 a22
2 =  . . .  , . . . , n =  . .. .. 
 .. .. ..   .. . .
  
an1 bn ann  an1 an2 bn 
Notice that  is the determinant of matrix A and k is the determinant
of the matrix formed by replacing the kth column of A by B. It is evident
from Eq. (A.5) that Cramers rule applies only when  = 0. When
 = 0, the set of equations has no unique solution, because the equations
are linearly dependent.
The value of the determinant , for example, can be obtained by
expanding along the first row:
 
a11 a12 a13 a1n 
 
a21 a22 a23 a2n 
 
 
 = a31 a32 a33 a3n 
 . .. .. .. 
 ..
(A.7)
 . . . 
a a a a 
n1 n2 n3 nn

= a11 M11 a12 M12 + a13 M13 + + (1)1+n a1n M1n

where the minor Mij is an (n 1) (n 1) determinant of the matrix
formed by striking out the ith row and j th column. The value of  may
also be obtained by expanding along the first column:
 = a11 M11 a21 M21 + a31 M31 + + (1)n+1 an1 Mn1 (A.8)

We now specifically develop the formulas for calculating the deter-

minants of 2 2 and 3 3 matrices, because of their frequent occurrence
in this text. For a 2 2 matrix,
 
a 
 11 a12 
=  = a11 a22 a12 a21 (A.9)
a21 a22 

For a 3 3 matrix,
 
a11 a12 a13     
 a a23  a a13 
  2  22 3  12
 = a21 a22 a23  = a11 (1)   + a21 (1)  
  a32 a33  a32 a33 
a31 a32 a33 
 
a 
 12 a13  (A.10)
+ a31 (1)4  
a22 a23 

= a11 (a22 a33 a32 a23 ) a21 (a12 a33 a32 a13 )
+ a31 (a12 a23 a22 a13 )

| | e-Text Main Menu | Textbook Table of Contents | Problem Solving Workbook Contents

Back Forward Main Menu TOC Problem Solving Workbook Textbook Website Student OLC MHHE Website
 APPENDIX A Solution of Simultaneous Equations Using Cramers Rule 847

An alternative method of obtaining the determinant of a 3 3 matrix is

by repeating the first two rows and multiplying the terms diagonally as
follows.

a11 a12 a13

a21 a22 a23

= a31 a32 a33
a11 a12 a13
+
a21 a22 a23
+
+
= a11a22a33 + a21a32a13 + a31a12a23 a13a22a31 a23a32a11 a33a12a21

(A.11)
In summary:

The solution of linear simultaneous equations by Cramers rule boils down to nding
k
xk = , k = 1, 2, . . . , n (A.12)

where  is the determinant of matrix A and k is the determinant of the matrix
formed by replacing the kth column of A by B.

You may not find much need to use Cramers method described in
this appendix, in view of the availability of calculators, computers, and
software packages such as Matlab, which can be used easily to solve a
set of linear equations. But in case you need to solve the equations by One may use other methods, such as matrix in-
hand, the material covered in this appendix becomes useful. At any rate, version and elimination. Only Cramers method
it is important to know the mathematical basis of those calculators and is covered here, because of its simplicity and also
software packages. because of the availability of powerful calculators.

E X A M P L E A . 1
Solve the simultaneous equations

4x1 3x2 = 17, 3x1 + 5x2 = 21

Solution:
The given set of equations is cast in matrix form as

  
4 3 x1 17
=
3 5 x2 21

| | e-Text Main Menu | Textbook Table of Contents | Problem Solving Workbook Contents

Back Forward Main Menu TOC Problem Solving Workbook Textbook Website Student OLC MHHE Website
 848 APPENDIX A Solution of Simultaneous Equations Using Cramers Rule

The determinants are evaluated as

 
 4 3
=   = 4 5 (3)(3) = 11
3 5
 
 17 3
1 =   = 17 5 (3)(21) = 22
21 5
 
 4 17
2 =  = 4 (21) 17 (3) = 33
3 21
Hence,
1 22 2 33
x1 = = = 2, x2 = = = 3
 11  11

PRACTICE PROBLEM A.1

Find the solution to the following simultaneous equations:

3x1 x2 = 4, 6x1 + 18x2 = 16

Answer: x1 = 1.833, x2 = 1.5.

E X A M P L E A . 2
Determine x1 , x2 , and x3 for this set of simultaneous equations:

25x1 5x2 20x3 = 50

5x1 + 10x2 4x3 = 0
5x1 4x2 + 9x3 = 0
Solution:
In matrix form, the given set of equations becomes

25 5 20 x1 50
5 10 4 x2 = 0
5 4 9 x3 0

We apply Eq. (A.11) to find the determinants. This requires that we repeat
the first two rows of the matrix. Thus,

25 5 20
25 5 20 5 10 4

= 5 10 4 = 5 4 9
5 4 9 25 5 20 +
5 10 4 +
+
= 25(10)9 + (5)(4)(20) + (5)(5)(4)
(20)(10)(5) (4)(4)25 9(5)(5)
= 2250 400 100 1000 400 225 = 125

| | e-Text Main Menu | Textbook Table of Contents | Problem Solving Workbook Contents

Back Forward Main Menu TOC Problem Solving Workbook Textbook Website Student OLC MHHE Website
 APPENDIX A Solution of Simultaneous Equations Using Cramers Rule 849

Similarly,

50 5 20
50 5 20 0 10 4

1 = 0 10 4 = 0 4 9
0 4 9 50 5 20 +
0 10 4 +
+
= 4500 + 0 + 0 0 800 0 = 3700

25 50 20
25 50 20 5 0 4

2 = 5 0 4 = 5 0 9
5 0 9 25 50 20 +
5 0 4 +
+
= 0 + 0 + 1000 0 0 + 2250 = 3250

25 5 50
25 5 50 5 10 0

3 = 5 10 0 = 5 4 0
5 4 0 25 5 50 +
5 10 0 +
+
= 0 + 1000 + 0 + 2500 0 0 = 3500

Hence, we now find

1 3700
x1 = = = 29.6
 125
2 3250
x2 = = = 26
 125
2 3500
x3 = = = 28
 125

PRACTICE PROBLEM A.2

Obtain the solution of this set of simultaneous equations

3x1 x2 2x3 = 1
x1 + 6x2 3x3 = 0
2x1 3x2 + 6x3 = 6
Answer: x1 = 3 = x3 , x2 = 2.

| | e-Text Main Menu | Textbook Table of Contents | Problem Solving Workbook Contents

Back Forward Main Menu TOC Problem Solving Workbook Textbook Website Student OLC MHHE Website