19/9/22, 20:10 Systems of Linear Equations: Attempt review

Dashboard / My courses / MATH 125 (LEC A1 B1 D1 E1 F1 Fall 2022) / Block 2 / Systems of Linear Equations

Started on Monday, 19 September 2022, 7:37 PM

State Finished
Completed on Monday, 19 September 2022, 8:10 PM
Time taken 32 mins 29 secs
Grade 47.00 out of 47.00 (100%)

Question 1

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Mark 9.00 out of 9.00

An introduction to the basic notions related to systems of linear equations is provided in the video Systems of linear equations 1.
A linear equation in the n variables x1 , x2 , … , xn is any equation that can be expressed in the form

a 1 x1 + a 2 x2 + ⋯ + a n xn = b,

where a 1 , a 2 , … , a n and b belong to R. We call the number a i the coefficient of the variable xi and b is the constant term of the equation.
A linear equation does not involve products of the variables like x1 x2 , or powers of those variables (e.g. x31 ), or any trigonometric, exponential or
logarithmic functions.

Identify which of the equations below are linear.

1. 3x1 − 2x2 + πx3 + 17x4 = 15 is linear 

2. 3x1 x2 + 6x3 = −4 is non linear 

3. 3x1 = 2x2 − 18 is linear 

4. cos(x1 ) + 3x2 = −3 is non linear 

5. x21 − x2 = 4 is non linear 

6. 3x1 − 2x3 = −6 is linear 

–
7. √ 2(x1 − 2x3 ) = 0 is linear 

8. √−−
x1 − x2 = 9 is non linear 

When a linear equation has only two or three variables we often denote the variables as x, y, and z instead of x1 , x2 , and x3 .
Note that a line written in the general form ax + by = c in R is a linear equation in two variables and a plane in R written in the general form
2 3

ax + by + cz = d is a linear equation in three variables.

When the constant term b of a linear equation is zero, we call the linear equation homogeneous. Which of the above equations is a
homogeneous linear equation? 7. 

Correct
Marks for this submission: 9.00/9.00.

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19/9/22, 20:10 Systems of Linear Equations: Attempt review

Question 2

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Mark 3.00 out of 3.00

A vector s = [s 1 , s 2 , … , s n ] is called a solution of the linear equation a 1 x1 + a 2 x2 + ⋯ + a n xn = b if it satisfies the equation, that is, if

a 1 s 1 + a 2 s 2 + ⋯ + a n s n = b.

Which of the following vectors is a solution of the linear equation 3x − 2y = 10 ? [0,-5] 

Which of the following vectors is a solution of the linear equation x1 + 4x2 − x3 + 2x4 = 0 ? [1,1,7,1] 

If s = [4, 2, a] is a solution of the linear equation x − 4y + 2z = 6 , then a =

 .

The set of all solutions of a two variable linear equation ax + by = c , where at least one of a or b is non-zero, forms a line in R2 , and the set of
all solutions of a three variable linear equation ax + by + cz = d, where at least one of a , b, or c is non-zero, forms a plane in R3 . The set of
all solutions to a linear equation in n variables with at least one non-zero coefficient forms a hyperplane in Rn .

Notice that

a 1 x1 + a 2 x2 + ⋯ + a n xn = a ⋅ s

for a = [a 1 , a 2 , … a n ] and x = [x1 , x2 , … xn ] . So the linear equation a 1 x1 + a 2 x2 + ⋯ + a n xn = b can be expressed as a ⋅ x = b. In

the homogeneous case, we have a ⋅ x = 0, so s is a solution of this homogeneous equation if and only if a ⊥ s , that is, exactly when the
vectors a and s are orthogonal.

Correct
Marks for this submission: 3.00/3.00.

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19/9/22, 20:10 Systems of Linear Equations: Attempt review

Question 3

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Mark 5.00 out of 5.00

Systems of Linear Equations

Definition: A system of linear equations (or simply a linear system) is a finite collection of linear equations in a fixed set of variables
x1 , x2 , … , xn . An arbitrary system of m linear equations in n variables can be written as

a 11 x1 + a 12 x2 + ⋯ + a 1n xn = b1

a 21 x1 + a 22 x2 + ⋯ + a 2n xn = b2

⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮

a m1 x1 + a m2 x2 + ⋯ + a mn xn = bm

The number a ij is the coefficient of the variable xj in equation i .

Example:

x1 − 2x2 + 3x3 + 6x4 = 4

−x1 + 2x2 − 9x3 − 5x4 = −3

–
√ 5x1 + 4x2 − 3x3 − 6x4 = −7

3x1 + 6x2 + 8x3 + 7x4 = 11

A linear system is called homogeneous if all constant terms are 0. For example,

−3x1 − 2x2 + 3x3 =


x1 + 7x2 − 4x3 =


6x1 + x3 =


−5x1 + 8x2 − x3 =


is a homogeneous system of equations. The coefficient of x2 in equation 3 of this system is
0

 .

Correct
Marks for this submission: 5.00/5.00.

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19/9/22, 20:10 Systems of Linear Equations: Attempt review

Question 4

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Mark 12.00 out of 12.00

A solution of a system of linear equations is a vector which is simultaneously a solution of every equation in the system.

Example: Consider the linear system

2x1 + 3x2 = 0

x1 − x2 = 1

is  a solution since both

5
[ ]
2
−
5

3 2
2( ) + 3( − ) =
5 5


and
3 2
− ( − ) =
5 5

−3
[ ] is not  a solution since
2

2(

-3

 ) + 3(

 ) =


but

-3

 −

 =

-5

 ≠  1

Exercise: Consider the linear system

4x − y − 2z = −1

x − 3y + 6z = −2

The vector [1,3,1]  is a solution of the system.

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19/9/22, 20:10 Systems of Linear Equations: Attempt review

Correct
Marks for this submission: 12.00/12.00.

Question 5

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Mark 7.00 out of 7.00

The notion of consistency of a linear system and the important fact from Q6 below are discussed in the short video Systems of linear equations
2.
Definitions:
A system of linear equations is called consistent if it has at least one solution.
A system of linear equations is called inconsistent if it has no solutions.

Example: The linear system\[\begin{aligned} 2x_1 + 3x_2 &= 0\\x_1 - x_2 &= 1 \end{aligned}\]

is a consistent system  since \(\begin{bmatrix}\frac{3}{5}\\ -\frac{2}{5}\end{bmatrix}\) is a solution.

The linear system

\[\begin{aligned} x_1 + x_2 &= 0\\ x_1 + x_2 &= 1 \end{aligned}\]

is an inconsistent system  since there is no vector \(\begin{bmatrix}s_1\\s_2\end{bmatrix}\) that satisfies both equations. Indeed, if \(s_1

+s_2 = 0\), then \(s_1 + s_2\) ≠  \(1\) and vice versa.

An example of an inconsistent linear equation which seems quite silly is \( 0x_1 + 0x_2 = 1\): the left-hand side is always 0, whatever are the
values of \( x_1\) and \( x_2\), so it can never equal 1. One may think that this is just an extreme, uninteresting case, but actually, a linear system is
inconsistent exactly when it contains, perhaps in a hidden form, a linear equation of the form \( 0x_1 + 0x_2 + \cdots + 0x_n = b\) where \( b\) is
non-zero. This will be explained later.

Example: A homogeneous system of linear equations is always consistent  since the zero vector is always  a solution of the
system. We call this the trivial solution. For example, the homogeneous linear system

\[\begin{aligned}x +5y &= 0\\ 2x - 12y &= 0\\ -3y &= 0\end{aligned}\]

is consistent  since [0,0]  is a solution.

Correct
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19/9/22, 20:10 Systems of Linear Equations: Attempt review

Question 6

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Definition: The set of all solutions of a system of linear equations is called the solution set of the system.

Important Fact: A system of linear equations has either

a) a unique solution (i.e., exactly one solution),
b) infinitely many solutions, or
c) no solutions.

Thus, a consistent system  has either a unique solution or infinitely many solutions.

Is it possible for a system of linear equations to have exactly 125 solutions? No 

Example: Suppose that \([1,2,3]\) is a solution of a homogeneous linear system in three variables. This system has
infinitely many solutions  . Why? We know that a homogeneous system of linear equations is a consistent system  since it
always has the trivial solution (the zero vector). So, since this system has a nontrivial solution, namely \([1,2,3]\), the system has at least two
solutions. By the important fact above, this means the system has infinitely many solutions  .

Correct
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19/9/22, 20:10 Systems of Linear Equations: Attempt review

Question 7

Correct

Mark 6.00 out of 6.00

Solving a system of linear equations has a geometric interpretation. This can be visualized in \(\mathbb{R}^2\) when the system has two
variables and in \(\mathbb{R}^3\) when the system has three variables. For more about this, you can watch the video Systems of linear equations
3.

Recall: If at least one of \(a\) or \(b\) is non-zero, then the solution set of a linear equation of the form \(ax+by = c\) is a line in \(\mathbb{R}^2\).

Example: In \(\mathbb{R}^2\), the solution set of a system of two equations in two variables can be understood as the intersection of two lines.
If the solution set of the first equation is the line \(\ell_1\) and the solution set of the second equation is the line \(\ell_2\), then the point \(
(s_1,s_2)\) is a solution of both equations exactly when it is on both lines, which means that it belongs to the intersection of \(\ell_1\) and \
(\ell_2\).

For each diagram below, indicate if the system is consistent or inconsistent and if it has a unique solution, infinitely many solutions, or no
solutions.

consistent system 

unique solution 

inconsistent system 

no solutions 

(Note: In this case, we say that the intersection of the two lines is empty.)

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19/9/22, 20:10 Systems of Linear Equations: Attempt review

consistent system 

infinitely many solutions 

Correct

Marks for this submission: 6.00/6.00.

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