Lecture 2
Lecture 2
Linear systems in two unknowns arise in connection with intersections of lines. For
example, consider the linear system
𝑎1 𝑥 + 𝑏1 𝑦 = 𝑐1
{
𝑎2 𝑥 + 𝑏2 𝑦 = 𝑐2
in which the graphs of the equations are lines in the 𝑥𝑦-plane. Each solution (𝑥, 𝑦)
of this system corresponds to a point of intersection of the lines, so there are three
possibilities:
2. The lines may intersect at only one point, in which case the system has
exactly one solution.
3. The lines may coincide, in which case there are infinitely many points of
intersection (the points on the common line) and consequently infinitely
many solutions.
EXAMPLE 1 A Linear System with One Solution:
Solution:
We want to eliminate x from the second equation by adding −2 times the first
equation to the second.
2𝑥 − 2𝑦 = 2
2𝑥 + 𝑦 = 6
- - -
---------------------------
−3𝑦 = −4
4
𝑦=
3
4
Put 𝑦 = in the first equation we obtain
3
4 7
𝑥 =1+𝑦 =1+ =
3 3
Thus, the system has the unique solution
7 4
𝑥= , 𝑦=
3 3
Geometrically, this means that the lines represented by the equations in the system
7 4
intersect at the single point ( , ) .
3 3
y
The same is true for a linear system of three equations in three unknowns
𝑎1 𝑥 + 𝑏1 𝑦 + 𝑐1 𝑧 = 𝑑1
{𝑎2 𝑥 + 𝑏2 𝑦 + 𝑐2 𝑧 = 𝑑2
𝑎3 𝑥 + 𝑏3 𝑦 + 𝑐3 𝑧 = 𝑑3
in which the graphs of the equations are planes. The solutions of the system, if
any, correspond to points where all three planes intersect, so again we see that
there are only three possibilities—no solutions, one solution, or infinitely many
solutions:
Important Note!
Every system of linear equations has zero, one, or infinitely many solutions.
There are no other possibilities.
EXAMPLE 4
𝑥 − 𝑦 + 2𝑧 = 5 → (1)
Automatically satisfy all three equations. Thus, it suffices to find the solutions of
(1). We can do this by first solving (1) for x in terms of y and z, then assigning
arbitrary values 𝑠 and 𝑡 (parameters) to these two variables and then expressing
the solution by the three parametric equations
𝑦 = 𝑡, 𝑧 = 𝑠 ⇒ 𝑥 = 5 + 𝑡 − 2𝑠
So (5 + 𝑡 − 2𝑠, 𝑡, 𝑠) is the solution of the above system.
2𝑥 + 4𝑦 + 6𝑧 = −12
a) { 2𝑥 − 3𝑦 − 4𝑧 = 15
3𝑥 + 4𝑦 + 5𝑧 = −8
𝑥+𝑦 =5
b) {
3𝑥 + 3𝑦 = 10
2𝑥 + 3𝑦 = 13
c) { 𝑥 − 2𝑦 = 3
5𝑥 + 2𝑦 = 27
2. In each part, find the solution set of the linear equation by using parameters
as necessary.
a) 7𝑥 − 5𝑦 = 3
b) −8𝑥1 + 2𝑥2 − 5𝑥3 + 6𝑥4 = 1
Work to do
Exercise 1.1 Q6-14