Chapter 1

Systems of Linear Equations

1.1 Solutions and Elementary Operations

Practical problems in many fields of study—such as biology, business, chemistry, computer science, eco-
nomics, electronics, engineering, physics and the social sciences—can often be reduced to solving a sys-
tem of linear equations. Linear algebra arose from attempts to find systematic methods for solving these
systems, so it is natural to begin this book by studying linear equations.
If a, b, and c are real numbers, the graph of an equation of the form

ax + by = c

is a straight line (if a and b are not both zero), so such an equation is called a linear equation in the
variables x and y. However, it is often convenient to write the variables as x1 , x2 , . . . , xn , particularly
when more than two variables are involved. An equation of the form

a1 x1 + a2 x2 + · · · + an xn = b

is called a linear equation in the n variables x1 , x2 , . . . , xn . Here a1 , a2 , . . . , an denote real numbers

(called the coefficients of x1 , x2 , . . . , xn , respectively) and b is also a number (called the constant term
of the equation). A finite collection of linear equations in the variables x1 , x2 , . . . , xn is called a system of
linear equations in these variables. Hence,

2x1 − 3x2 + 5x3 = 7

is a linear equation; the coefficients of x1 , x2 , and x3 are 2, −3, and 5, and the constant term is 7. Note that
each variable in a linear equation occurs to the first power only.
Given a linear equation a1 x1 + a2 x2 + · · · + an xn = b, a sequence s1 , s2 , . . . , sn of n numbers is called
a solution to the equation if
a1 s 1 + a2 s 2 + · · · + an s n = b
that is, if the equation is satisfied when the substitutions x1 = s1 , x2 = s2 , . . . , xn = sn are made. A
sequence of numbers is called a solution to a system of equations if it is a solution to every equation in
the system.
For example, x = −2, y = 5, z = 0 and x = 0, y = 4, z = −1 are both solutions to the system

x+y+ z=3
2x + y + 3z = 1

A system may have no solution at all, or it may have a unique solution, or it may have an infinite family of
solutions. For instance, the system x + y = 2, x + y = 3 has no solution because the sum of two numbers
cannot be 2 and 3 simultaneously. A system that has no solution is called inconsistent; a system with at
least one solution is called consistent. The system in the following example has infinitely many solutions.

1
2 Systems of Linear Equations

Example 1.1.1
Show that, for arbitrary values of s and t,

x1 = t − s + 1
x2 = t + s + 2
x3 = s
x4 = t

is a solution to the system

x1 − 2x2 +3x3 +x4 = −3
2x1 − x2 +3x3 −x4 = 0

Solution. Simply substitute these values of x1 , x2 , x3 , and x4 in each equation.

x1 − 2x2 + 3x3 + x4 = (t − s + 1) − 2(t + s + 2) + 3s + t = −3

2x1 − x2 + 3x3 − x4 = 2(t − s + 1) − (t + s + 2) + 3s − t = 0

Because both equations are satisfied, it is a solution for all choices of s and t.

The quantities s and t in Example 1.1.1 are called parameters, and the set of solutions, described in
this way, is said to be given in parametric form and is called the general solution to the system. It turns
out that the solutions to every system of equations (if there are solutions) can be given in parametric form
(that is, the variables x1 , x2 , . . . are given in terms of new independent variables s, t, etc.). The following
example shows how this happens in the simplest systems where only one equation is present.

Example 1.1.2
Describe all solutions to 3x − y + 2z = 6 in parametric form.

Solution. Solving the equation for y in terms of x and z, we get y = 3x + 2z − 6. If s and t are
arbitrary then, setting x = s, z = t, we get solutions

x=s
y = 3s + 2t − 6 s and t arbitrary
z=t

Of course we could have solved for x: x = 13 (y − 2z + 6). Then, if we take y = p, z = q, the

solutions are represented as follows:

x = 13 (p − 2q + 6)
y = p p and q arbitrary
z = q

The same family of solutions can “look” quite different!

 Systems of Linear Equations
Systems of equations are used to model situations with two or more unknown values. There are many
situations that can be modeled with linear equations – even some that are technically nonlinear but
have good linear approximations under certain conditions!

Example:
A network of one-way streets is shown here*.

The following facts are known:

• 500 cars per hour enter at junction A

• 400 cars per hour exit from junction B

• 100 cars per hour exit from junction C

What equations would model this situation?

* SOURCE: EX 1.4.1 PG.27

Could we solve this using The Substitution Method? How about The Elimination Method?

Review: Solving Linear Systems

Substitution is an important general-use technique. Elimination is more efficient when it can be applied.
Matrix methods build upon these techniques.

Example:
Solve the following system of equations by substitution and by elimination. What do you notice?

3𝑥 − 𝑦 = 12
𝑥 + 2𝑦 = 4

COURSE NOTES FOR MATH 11044 LINEAR ALGEBRA AT SHERIDAN COLLEGE WRITTEN BY JACOB CHODORIWSKY
TEXTBOOK EXCERPTS FROM LINEAR ALGEBRA WITH APPLICATIONS BY W. KEITH NICHOLSON (LYRYX 2021, OER CC BY-NC-SA).
Matrix Methods and Elementary Row Operations
We can represent a system of equations using an augmented matrix:

3𝑥 − 𝑦 = 12 3 −1 12
+ , -
𝑥 + 2𝑦 = 4 1 2 4

Notice that the solution is 𝑥 = 4, 𝑦 = 0 regardless of which 1 2 4

~+ , - 𝑅 ↔ 𝑅#
equation comes first. This corresponds to swapping rows in a 3 −1 12 "
matrix, where 𝑅! denotes the 𝑖th row (numbering starts at 1).

Scaling an equation corresponds to scaling a row. We use the 1 2 4

~+ , - 𝑅 → 2𝑅#
→ arrow to denote that the second row is being replaced by 6 −2 24 #
twice itself.

Finally, we can add or subtract equations (likewise, rows). 7 0 28

~+ , - 𝑅 → 𝑅" + 𝑅#
6 −2 24 "

Notice that the previous two steps could be combined:

1 2 4
+ , - 𝑅 → 𝑅" + 2𝑅#
3 −1 12 "
7 0 28
~+ , -
6 −2 24

We could back-solve from here using substitution, or take row operations as far as they will go.

Back-Solving: Row Operations:

In summary, there are three elementary operations that can be applied to either a system of linear
equations or on a matrix representing such a system.

COURSE NOTES FOR MATH 11044 LINEAR ALGEBRA AT SHERIDAN COLLEGE WRITTEN BY JACOB CHODORIWSKY
TEXTBOOK EXCERPTS FROM LINEAR ALGEBRA WITH APPLICATIONS BY W. KEITH NICHOLSON (LYRYX 2021, OER CC BY-NC-SA).
Advantages of Matrix Methods
The previous problem could be easily solved using methods from high school.

What if we had 3 or more variables? What if we had 3 or more equations?

Example:
Solve the following linear system its matrix representation and elementary row operations.

𝑥 + 4𝑦 − 𝑧 = 0
2𝑥 − 𝑦 + 𝑧 = 3
−3𝑥 + 2𝑦 =7

You should get a solution of 𝑥 = −1, 𝑦 = 2, 𝑧 = 7 which corresponds to the point (−1,2,7) in 3D space.
This is the intersection of the three planes whose equations were given. Lines and planes will be
discussed in detail in week 3.

What if the planes didn’t intersect? What if they intersected in a line?

Review: Number of Solutions to a Linear System

A linear system can have a unique solution, no solution, or infinitely many solutions.

SOURCE: FIG. 1.1.1 PG.3

COURSE NOTES FOR MATH 11044 LINEAR ALGEBRA AT SHERIDAN COLLEGE WRITTEN BY JACOB CHODORIWSKY
TEXTBOOK EXCERPTS FROM LINEAR ALGEBRA WITH APPLICATIONS BY W. KEITH NICHOLSON (LYRYX 2021, OER CC BY-NC-SA).
A system of equations with at least one solution is called consistent.

A system of equations with no solution is called inconsistent.

When there are infinitely many solutions, we use parameter(s) to represent the input variable(s).

Example:
𝑥 − 2𝑦 =3
𝑦+𝑧 =5
We have 3 variables but only 2 equations, which means:

Try:

Let 𝑧 = 𝑡 ∈ ℝ, and isolate 𝑦 in equation 2.

The substitute 𝑦 into equation 1.

A solution, given in parametric form, is:

𝑥=
𝑦=

We can verify our solution by substitution:

𝑥 − 2𝑦 = 3 𝑦+𝑧 =5

Since 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧 all depend on one parameter, the solution is a 1D object i.e. a line in 3D space.

What would change if we assigned a different variable to the parameter 𝑡?

Homework
• Read textbook section 1.1.
• Solve exercises 1.1 #1-15, 18-20.

COURSE NOTES FOR MATH 11044 LINEAR ALGEBRA AT SHERIDAN COLLEGE WRITTEN BY JACOB CHODORIWSKY
TEXTBOOK EXCERPTS FROM LINEAR ALGEBRA WITH APPLICATIONS BY W. KEITH NICHOLSON (LYRYX 2021, OER CC BY-NC-SA).