Math E-21b – Spring 2019 – Homework #1

Problems due in class on Thurs, Feb 7 or online by Sat, Feb 9, 11:59pm EST:
Section 1.1:
 x − 2y = 2 
11. Find all solutions of the linear system   . Represent your solutions graphically, as intersections
3 x + 5 y =
17 
of lines in the xy-plane.
 x + 4y + z = 0
 
16. Find all solutions of the linear system  4 x + 13 y + 7 z =
0  . Describe your solution in terms of intersecting
7 x + 22 y + 13 z =
0 

planes. You need not sketch these planes.
Note: In understanding the relationship between linear equations and the geometry of planes in R3, it is helpful to understand the
dot product, a topic covered in Math E-21a. There’s a brief summary of vectors, the dot product and the cross product in
Appendix A of the Bretscher text, but it’s best to consult any standard multivariable calculus text for a more complete treatment
of these topics. A supplement is posted on the course website. We can also go over this in more detail outside of class.

 x + 2y = a
17. Find all solutions of the linear system   , where a and b are arbitrary constants.
3 x + 5 y =
b

 x + y− z= −2 
 
25. Consider the linear system 3 x − 5 y + 13 z =
18  , where k is an arbitrary number.
 x − 2 y + 5z =k 

a. For which value(s) of k does this system have one or infinitely many solutions?
b. For each value of k you found in part a, how many solutions does the system have?
c. Find all solutions for each value of k.
29. Find the polynomial of degree 2 [a polynomial of the form f (t ) =a + bt + ct 2 ] whose graph goes through
the points (1, −1) , (2,3) , and (3,13) . Sketch the graph of this polynomial.
Section 1.2:
In exercise 9 and 11, find all solutions of the equations with paper and pencil using Gauss-Jordan elimination,
i.e. row reduction. Show all your work.
 x1 + 2 x3 + 4 x4 =
−8 
 x4 + 2 x5 − x6 =
2 
   x2 − 3 x3 − x4 = 6 
9.  x1 + 2 x2 + x5 − x6 =0 . 11.  
x + 2x + 2x   3 x1 + 4 x2 − 6 x3 + 8 x4 =0 
 1 − x5 + x6 =2
2 3
 − x2 + 3 x3 + 4 x4 =−12 

20. We say that two n × m matrices in reduced row-echelon form are of the same type if they contain the same
number of leading 1’s in the same positions. For example,
1 2 0  1 3 0 
 0 0 1  and 0 0 1 
   
are of the same type. How many types of 2 × 2 matrices in reduced row-echelon form are there? Explain.
21. How many types of 3 × 2 matrices in reduced row-echelon form are there? (See Exercise 20.) Explain.
22. How many types of 2 × 3 matrices in reduced row-echelon form are there? (See Exercise 20.) Explain.
30. Find the polynomial of degree 3 [a polynomial of the form f (t ) =a + bt + ct 2 + dt 3 ] whose graph goes
through the points (0,1) , (1, 0) , (−1, 0) , and (2, −15) . Sketch the graph of this cubic.
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42. The accompanying sketch represents a maze of
one-way streets in a city in the United States.
The traffic volume through certain blocks
during an hour has been measured. Suppose
that the vehicles leaving the area during this
hour were exactly the same as those entering it.

What can you say about the traffic volume

at the four locations indicated by a question
mark? Can you figure out exactly how much
traffic there was on each block? If not, describe
one possible scenario. For each of the four
locations, find the highest and lowest possible
traffic volume.

70. “A rooster is worth five coins, a hen three coins, and 3 chicks one coin. With 100 coins we buy 100 of them.
How many roosters, hens, and chicks can we buy?”
(From the Mathematical Manual by Zhang Qiujian, Chapter 3, Problem 38; 5th century A.D.)
Commentary: This famous Hundred Fowl Problem has reappeared in countless variations in Indian, Arabic,
and European texts; it has remained popular to this day.

Section 1.3:
22. Consider a linear system of three equations with three unknowns. We are told that the system has a unique
solution. What does the reduced row-echelon form of the coefficient matrix look like? Explain your answer.
23. Consider a linear system of four equations with three unknowns. We are told that the system has a unique
solution. What does the reduced row-echelon form of the coefficient matrix look like? Explain your answer.
47. A linear system of the form Ax = 0 is called homogeneous. [Matrices and vectors are indicated in bold.]
Justify the following facts:
a. All homogeneous systems are consistent.
b. A homogeneous system with fewer equations than unknowns has infinitely many solutions.
c. If x1 and x 2 are solutions of the homogeneous system Ax = 0 , then x1 + x 2 is a solution as well.
d. If x is a solution of the homogeneous system Ax = 0 and if k is an arbitrary constant, then k x is a
solution as well.
48. Consider a solution x1 of the linear system Ax = b . Justify the facts stated in parts (a) and (b):
a. If x h is a solution of the system Ax = 0 , then x1 + x h is a solution of the system Ax = b .
b. If x 2 is another solution of the system Ax = b , then x 2 − x1 is a solution of the system Ax = 0 .
c. Now suppose A is a 2 × 2 matrix. A solution vector x1 of the system Ax = b is shown in the
accompanying figure. We are told that the solutions of the system Ax = 0 form the line shown in the
sketch. Draw the line consisting of all solutions of the system Ax = b .
If you are puzzled by the generality of this
problem, think about an example first:
1 2   3 1
= A =  , b   ,= and x1   .
3 6  9  1

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 Additional practice problems for those interested in economics (not to be turned in):

Section 1.1:
20. The Russian-born U.S. economist and Nobel laureate Wassily
Leontief (1906-1999) was interested in the following question:
What output should each of the industries in an economy
produce to satisfy the total demand for all products? Here, we
consider a very simple example of input-output analysis, an
economy with only two industries, A and B. Assume that the
consumer demand for their products is, respectively, 1000 and
780, in millions of dollars per year.
What outputs a and b (in millions of dollars per year) should
the two industries generate to satisfy the demand?
You may be tempted to say 1000 and 780, respectively, but
things are not quite as simple as that. We have to take into
account the interindustry demand as well. Let us say that
industry A produces electricity. Of course, producing almost any
product will require electric power. Suppose that industry B
needs 10¢ worth of electricity for each $1 of output B produces
and that industry A needs 20¢ worth of B’s products for each $1
of output A produces. Find the outputs a and b needed to satisfy
both consumer and interindustry demand.
21. Find the outputs a and b needed to satisfy the consumer and
interindustry demands given in the following figure (see
Exercise 20.):

Section 1.2:
37. For some background on this exercise, see Exercise 1.1.20.
Consider an economy with three industries, I1, I2, I3. What
outputs x1, x2, and x3 should they produce to satisfy both
consumer demand and interindustry demand? The demands
put on the three industries are shown in the accompanying
figure.

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38. If we consider more than three industries in an input-output model, it is cumbersome to represent all the
demands in a diagram as in Exercise 37. Suppose we have industries I1, I2,…, In with outputs x1, x2, …, xn.
 x1   b1 
x  b 
The output vector is x =  2
. The consumer demand vector is b =  2  , where bi is the consumer demand
 
   
 xn  bn 
on industry Ii.
 a1 j 
a 
The demand vector for industry Ij is v j =   where aij is the demand industry Ij puts on industry Ii, for
2j

  
 
 anj 
each $1 of output industry Ij produces. For example, a32 = 0.5 means that industry I2 needs 50¢ worth of
products from industry I3 for each $1 of goods I2 produces. The coefficient aii need not be 0: Producing a
product may require goods or services from the same industry.
a. Find the four demand vectors for the economy in Exercise 37.
b. What is the meaning in economic terms of x j v j ?

c. What is the meaning in economic terms of x1 v1 + x2 v 2 +  + xn v n + b ?

d. What is the meaning in economic terms of the equation x1 v1 + x2 v 2 +  + xn v n + b =x?

39. Consider the economy of Israel in 1958. [Ref.: W. Leontief: Input-Output Economics, Oxford University
Press, 1966.] The three industries considered here are
I1 : agriculture;
I 2 : manufacturing;
I 3 : energy.
Outputs and demands are measured in millions of Israeli pounds, the currency of Israel at that time.
13.2   0.293  0   0 
We are = 
told that b =   =
17.6  , v1 0.014   =   
 , v 2 0.207  , v 3 0.017  .
 1.8  0.044   0.01   0.216 

a. Why do the first components of v2 and v3 equal 0?

b. Find the outputs x1, x2, and x3 required to satisfy demand.
Chapter 1 True/False Questions (not to be turned in)

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