11.

4 Infinitely Many Solutions

Linear systems sometimes have infinitely many different solutions. For example, a
2 × 3 system such as
2x + 2y + 6z  14
2x − y + 3z  5
represents two planes in R3 .
Two planes usually intersect along a line, as shown in
Figure 1, and each point on this line is a solution to the linear system.
When a linear system has infinitely many solutions, it is possible to solve for some
a Figure 1: This 2 × 3 system has infinitely of the variables in terms of the others. For example, in the 2 × 3 system above, it is
many solutions. possible to solve for x and y in terms of z:
x  4 − 2z and y  3 − z.
Of course it would also be possible to In this case, we say that z is a free variable, meaning that it is free to take any value
solve for x and z in terms of y, or for y at all in a solution. Once the value of z is chosen, the two formulas above determine
and z in terms of x. Thus, it is our choice
which of the three variables serves as a the values of x and y. For example, if z  0, then x  4 and y  3, which gives
free variable. the solution (4, 3, 0) . Similarly, if z  1, then x  2 and y  2, which gives the
solution (2, 2, 1) .
We can use the free variable z to give a parametric equation for the solution set:
 x   4 − 2t 
 y    3 − t 
   
 z   t 

Since z is a free variable, we can set it equal to the parameter t and then give the
corresponding formulas for x and y. The result is a parametric equation for the line of
intersection of the two planes.
All of this depends on being able to solve for some of the variables in terms of
others. Fortunately, this is exactly what row reduction does for a system with infinitely
many solutions.

EXAMPLE 1
Find a parametric description of the solutions to the following linear system.

2x + 2y + 6z  14
2x − y + 3z  5

SOLUTION Here are the steps for row reducing the corresponding matrix:

 2 2 6 14   1 1 3 7   1 1 3 7 
     
→ →
 2 −1 3 5 
  2 −1 3 5 
  0 −3 −3 −9 


 1 1 3 7   1 0 2 4 
   
→ →
 0 1 1 3   0 1 1 3 
 

Note that there isn’t space for a third pivot, so this is as far as this matrix can be reduced. The
system of equations is now

x + 2z  4 and y+z  3

which we can write as

x  4 − 2z and y  3 − z.
 INFINITELY MANY SOLUTIONS 2

Thus the solution is

 x   4 − 2t 
 y    3 − t  .
   
 z   t 

Multiple Free Variables

It is possible for a linear system to have more than one free variable. For example,
consider the 2 × 4 system

x1 + 3x2 − 4x3 + 4x4  4

x1 + 4x2 − 7x3 + 6x4  3

We row reduce the corresponding matrix:

" # " # " #
1 3 −4 4 4 1 3 −4 4 4 1 0 5 −2 7
→ →
1 4 −7 6 3 0 1 −3 2 −1 0 1 −3 2 −1

This gives the equations

x1 + 5x3 − 2x4  7, x2 − 3x3 + 2x4  −1.

Each column without a pivot in the Essentially we have solved for x1 and x2 in terms of x3 and x4 . Indeed, we can rewrite
reduced matrix corresponds to a free these equations as
variable.

x1  7 − 5x3 + 2x4 , x2  −1 + 3x 3 − 2x 4 .

The result is that both x3 and x4 are free variables. If we want to parameterize the
solution set, we need two parameters, with one for x3 and one for x4 :
We always need one parameter for each
free variable.
 x1   7 − 5s + 2t 
 x2    −1 + 3s − 2t  .
   
 x3   s 
   
 x4   t 

Geometrically, this solution set is a plane in R4 .

In general, the number of free variables in a linear system is usually equal to the
number of variables minus the number of equations. In this case, four variables and
two equations led to two free variables.

EXAMPLE 2
Find a parametric description of the solutions to the following linear system.

−2x1 + 2x2 − 6x3 + 8x4 − 8x5  −2

−4x1 + x2 − 15x3 + 13x4 − 13x5  2
 INFINITELY MANY SOLUTIONS 3

SOLUTION This system has five variables and two equations, so we are expecting three free
variables. We row reduce the corresponding matrix:

 −2 2 −6 8 −8 −2   1 −1 3 −4 4 1 
   
→
 −4 1 −15 13 −13 2 
  −4 1 −15 13 −13 2 


 1 −1 3 −4 2 1   1 −1 3 −4 2 1 
   
→ →
 0 −3 −3 −3 3 6 
  0 1 1 1 −1 −2 


 1 0 4 −3 1 −1 
 
→
 0 1 1 1 −1 −2 


This gives us the equations

x1 + 4x 3 − 3x4 + x5  −1, x2 + x 3 + x4 − x5  −2.

Here x3 , x4 , and x5 are free variables. As you can see, we have solved for x1 and x2 in terms of x3 , x4 , and x5 . Thus the general
solution is
 x   −1 − 4s + 3t − u 
 1 
 −2 − s − t + u 
 
 x2 
This solution set is a three-dimensional  x3     .
s
flat in R5 .    
 x4   t 
 x5   u 

Redundant Equations
A linear system can have more free variables than expected if one of the equations is a
consequence of the others. For example, consider the 3 × 3 system

x + 9y − z  27
x − 8y + 16z  10
2x + y + 15z  37

Though a 3 × 3 system usually has a unique solution, in this system the third equation
is a consequence of the first two. Specifically, the third equation here is simply the
sum of the first two equations. As a result, any solution to the first two equations is
also a solution to the third equation, so there is a whole line of solutions, as shown in

a
Figure 2.
Figure 2: It is possible for three planes
to intersect along a line.
Redundant equations lead to rows of zeroes during row reduction. For example,
here is what happens if we row reduce the matrix for the 3 × 3 system above:

 1 9 −1 27   1 9 −1 27 
   
 1 −8 16 10  →  0 −17 17 −17 
 2 1 15 37   0 −17 17 −17 

 1 9 −1 27   1 0 8 18 
The first and third steps here each consist    
of two row operations.
→  0 1 −1 1  →  0 1 −1 1 
 0 −17 17 −17   0 0 0 0 
INFINITELY MANY SOLUTIONS 4

Because of the row of zeroes, only the first two columns have pivots, and therefore z is
a free variable. In fact, we have the equations

x + 8z  18, y−z  1

and thus
 x   18 − 8t 
 y    1 + t  .
   
 z   t 
In general, a redundant equation in a linear system is an equation that is a consequence
of the previous equations. A linear system with redundant equations behaves as
though the extra equations weren’t there. For example, the 3 × 3 system above has one
redundant equation, so it behaves more like a 2 × 3 system, with one free variable and
a line of solutions.

Columns Without Pivots

When row reducing a matrix, it is sometimes not possible to create a pivot in a certain
column. For example, consider the following linear system:

x + 3y + 2z  5
x + 3y + 3z  7

This system should have one free variable, so we are expecting to be able to solve for x
and y in terms of z. However, we quickly run into trouble if we try to row reduce:
" # " #
1 3 2 5 1 3 2 5
→
1 3 3 7 0 0 1 2

With a 0 in the desired position and no later rows to switch with, there is no way to
obtain a pivot immediately down and to the right of the first pivot.
The problem is that there is no way to solve these equations for x and y in terms
of z. Indeed, it follows from the original equations that z  2, so z can’t play the role of
a free variable for this system.
The standard solution to this problem is to treat the 1 in the third column as a pivot:
" # " #
1 3 2 5 1 3 0 1
→
0 0 1 2 0 0 1 2

This matrix is now considered reduced, and the corresponding equations are

x + 3y  1, z  2.

Now y is the free variable, with x  1 − 3y, so the solution is

 x   1 − 3t 
 y    t  .
   
 z   2 

As a general rule, if it is not possible to obtain a pivot in a certain column, simply

move on to the next column. After the row reduction is complete, whichever columns
don’t have pivots can serve as free variables for the resulting parametrization.
 INFINITELY MANY SOLUTIONS 5

EXAMPLE 3
Find a parametric description of the solutions to the following linear system.

−2x 1 + 4x2 + 2x3 − 8x4 + 4x5  −8

3x1 − 6x 2 − 2x3 + 11x4 − 7x5  13
x1 − 2x 2 − 5x3 + 8x4 + x5  −3

SOLUTION Here are the step in row reducing the associated matrix. Both the second and
fourth columns present problems during the reduction, so we end up with pivots in the first,
third, and fifth columns:

 −2 4 2 −8 4 −8 
 
 3 −6 −1 10 −8 14 

 1 −2 −5 8 1 −3 

 1 −2 −1 4 −2 4   1 −2 −1 4 −2 4 
   
→  3 −6 −1 10 −8 14  →  0 0 2 −2 −2 2 
 1 −2 −5 8 1  
−3   0 0 −4 4 3 −7 

 1 −2 −1 4 −2 4   1 −2 0 3 −3 5 
   
→  0 0 1 −1 −1 1  →  0 0 1 −1 −1 1 
 0 0 −4 4 3  
−7   0 0 0 0 −1 −3 

 1 −2 0 3 −3 5   1 −2 0 3 0 14 
   
→  0 0 1 −1 −1 1  →  0 0 1 −1 0 4 
 
 0 0 0 0 1 3   0 0 0 0 1 3 

The free variables are x2 and x4 , since these are the columns without pivots, and we have the
equations
x1 − 2x 2 + 3x4  14, x3 − x4  4, x5  3.
Thus the solution is
 x   14 + 2s − 3t 
 1   
 x2   s 
In this case, the solution set is a plane  x3     .
4+t
in R5 .    
 x4   t 
 x5   3 

EXERCISES

1–6 For each of the following reduced matrices, state which variables are free, and
find a parametric equation for the solution set to the corresponding linear system.
" # " #
1 0 4 0 1 0 2 1 4
1. 2.
0 1 1 3 0 1 −1 0 2
INFINITELY MANY SOLUTIONS 6

" #  1 0 0 −2 0 3 
1 0 0 −3 1 0  
3. 4.  0 1 0 0 1 5
0 1 2 0 0 5  
 0 0 1 1 −3 0 

" #  1 −1 2 0 −4 0 0 
1 3 0 −2 8  
5. 6.  0 0 0 1 3 0 −1
0 0 1 4 5  
 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 

7. Find a 2 × 4 linear system whose solution set is the plane

 x1   2 − s + 3t 
   
 x2    s 
 x3   1 − 4t 
   
 x4   t 

8. Find a parametric equation for the solution set to the following linear system:

2x + 6y − 2z  6
−2x − 3y + 8z  −15

9. The planes x + 3y + 6z  5 and 3x + 2y + 4z  8 intersect along a line L. Find a

parametric equation for L.

10. Describe the solution set to the following linear system:

−3x + 3y − 6z  −6
−x + 3y + 2z  4
−3x + 7y + 2z  6

11. The hyperplanes

x1 + x2 + 2x3 − 3x4 + x 5  4 and x1 + 2x2 + 2x3 − 6x4 + 3x5  8

intersect along a three-dimensional flat in R5 . Find a parametric equation for this

flat.

12–13 Row reduce the given matrix, skipping over columns without pivots, and find
a parametric equation for the solution set to the corresponding linear system.

" #  1 2 2 3 2 
−1 4 2 −1 −2  
12. 13.  2 4 4 6 4
2 −8 −7 −4 7  
 3 6 6 7 4 