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Solving Systems of Linear Equations Worksheet

This document discusses the history of solving systems of linear equations through three methods: graphically, algebraically, and using matrices. [1] Systems of equations have been solved graphically since ancient Babylonians in 300 BC. [2] Algebraic solving was developed by the Persian mathematician al-Khwarizmi in the 9th century by establishing rules for manipulating equations. [3] Matrices have roots in ancient Chinese counting boards but were more formally developed starting in the 17th century by mathematicians like Leibniz, Grassman, and Sylvester to provide an efficient way to represent and solve systems of equations.

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165 views

Solving Systems of Linear Equations Worksheet

This document discusses the history of solving systems of linear equations through three methods: graphically, algebraically, and using matrices. [1] Systems of equations have been solved graphically since ancient Babylonians in 300 BC. [2] Algebraic solving was developed by the Persian mathematician al-Khwarizmi in the 9th century by establishing rules for manipulating equations. [3] Matrices have roots in ancient Chinese counting boards but were more formally developed starting in the 17th century by mathematicians like Leibniz, Grassman, and Sylvester to provide an efficient way to represent and solve systems of equations.

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Solving Systems of Linear Equations

The History of Solving Systems of Equations Graphically


Systems of equations can be seen dated back to 300 BC with the Babylonians who recorded
some of their problems on clay tablets. One problem recorded states “There are two fields
whose total area is 1800 square yards. One produces grain at the rate of ⅔ of a bushel per
square yard while the other produces grain at the rate of ½ a bushel per square yard. If the total
yield is 1100 bushels, what is the size of each field?” (O’Connor & Robertson, 1996). With the
introduction of the Cartesian plane in 1637 by René Descartes (Nolan, 2017a) simple systems
of equations became easier to solve through graphing each line separately and finding the
solutions at their intersection. This method is effective for problems in which the number of
variables and the number of equations is the same (Nolan, 2017b). For more difficult problems,
we turn to algebraically solving systems of equations or using matrices to solve them.

Activity One: Solving Systems of Equations Graphically


Solve this word problem using a graph. You should write out some equations using information
from the problem and graph them to solve. Clearly label your graph with a scale on each axis,
label each axis, and label your graph.

Lucille and Martin are hosting a bake sale. Lucille is selling cupcakes for $2 each and Martin is
selling cookies for $1 each. At the end of the bake sale, Lucille and Martin had sold 20 items
between the two of them and made $30.

x = __________________________________ y = ___________________________________

Equations:
How many cupcakes did Lucille sell and how many cookies did Martin sell? Explain how looking
at the graph told you how many cupcakes Lucille sold and how many cookies Martin sold.

The History of Solving Systems of Equations Algebraically


Problems requiring systems of equations to solve them have been around for centuries, but we
haven’t always had the tools to solve these problems algebraically. To solve a system of
equations algebraically, we must first learn how to use algebra to manipulate individual
equations into telling us what we want them to. We can thank ​Abu Abdallah Muḥammad ibn
Mūsā al-Khwārizmī or al-Khwarizmi for short, for giving us the tools needed to algebraically
manipulate equations and use that knowledge to solve systems of equations. al-Khwarizmi is
best known for his published work The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and
Balancing written around 820 CE (Visos & Mosquera, 2019). This book outlines the rules of
algebra that we use today, studying topics such as combining like terms and balancing
equations (if you do something to one side of an equation you have to do it to the other). In
using these algebraic rules outlined by al-Khwarizmi, mathematicians were able to solve
systems of equations in a way that wasn’t graphically.

Activity Two: Solving Systems of Equations Algebraically


Solve the systems of equations algebraically. Show all your work.

1. 3x + 6y = − 6
5x − 2y = 14

2. 7x − 5y = 76
4x + y = 55
3. 2x + y = 4
x + y = 3

4. 3x + 5y = 11
6x + 4y = 16

5. Explain what the coordinate pair solution to each of these problems represents.
The History of Solving Systems of Equations with Matrices
Some of the earliest known examples of matrices come from the Chinese dating around
100-200 BC. The ancient Chinese used counting boards to do math on and subsequently
created some early examples of matrices through solving problems on their counting boards
(O’Connor & Robertson, 1996). While we do have these ancient examples of what appear to be
early use of matrices, the practice of using matrices how we do today wasn’t genuinely studied
until Leibniz in 1693 through his study of determinants. During this time, Leibniz was studying
the beginnings of what we call linear algebra, or the study of linear equations and systems.
Many great mathematicians work on the idea of a matrix for the years to come with the first
“study of matrix algebra'' coming from Herman Grassman in 1844. The term matrix wasn’t used
until the year 1848 when James Joseph Sylvester named them as such after the Latin word for
womb or “a place in which something is formed or produced” (Nolan, 2017b). In the years to
come, more mathematicians continued to study and work with matrices including Cramer,
Gauss, Laplace, and many more.

It wasn’t until the 1950s when Linear Algebra was introduced into graduate textbooks and the
1960s until it was introduced to senior high school classes (Nolan, 2017b). Matrices are
essential tools for modeling and simulating problems in numerous fields from computer science
to statistics to astronauts at NASA.

Activity Three: Solving Systems of Equations using Matrices


Solve the systems of equations using matrices. Remember the solution to a system of
equations with matrices takes the form X = A−1 B where X , A, and B are matrices. Show all of
your work and identify the matrices X , A, A−1 , and B clearly. State your answer to each problem
as a coordinate point.

1. 3y − 2x = 11
y = 9 − 2x
2. 3x + y = 9
− 3x + y = 3

3. − 6 = 3x + 6y
5x − 2y = 14

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