1. interchange rows 1 and 2.

The system and the corresponding augmented matrix become

x1 + 2x2 + 3x3 + 5x4 + 7x5 = 8
x2 + 3x3 + 2x4 + 2x5 = 1
2x1 + 4x2 + 6x3 + 9x4 + 15x5 = 2
⎛⎝
123578
013221
2 4 6 9 15 2
⎞⎠
.
The next step is to eliminate the 2 in the first column. We
2. add -2 times row 1 to row 3.
This yields
x1 + 2x2 + 3x3 + 5x4 + 7x5 = 8
x2 + 3x3 + 2x4 + 2x5 = 1
-x4 + x5 = -14
⎛⎝
123578
013221
0 0 0 -1 1 -14
⎞⎠
.
(3.15)
This is in row echelon form, ready for back-solving.
296 CHAPTER 7 Matrix Algebra
We have to solve the system of equations associated with the augmented matrix in (3.15). First we notice
that there are pivots in the first, second, and fourth
columns. We can use the method of back-solving to solve for the corresponding
variables x1, x2, and x4 in terms of the variables x3 and x5. In doing so, we can assign arbitrary values to x3
and x5, which means that these are free variables. Notice
that there are no pivots in columns 3 and 5, which correspond to the free variables
x3 and x5. Hence we start by assigning x3 = s and x5 = t. Then the last row in
(3.15) is used to solve for x4,
x4 = 14 + x5 = 14 + t.
Solving the second row in (3.15) for x2, we get
x2 = 1 - 3x3 - 2x4 - 2x5
= 1 - 3s - 2(14 + t) - 2t
= -27 - 3s - 4t.
Finally we use the first row to solve for x1:
x1 = 8 - 2x2 - 3x3 - 5x4 - 7x5
= 8 - 2(-27 - 3s - 4t) - 3s - 5(14 + t) - 7t
= -8 + 3s - 4t.
Consequently, our solution is
x=
⎛⎜⎜⎜⎝
x1
x2
x3
x4
x5
⎞⎟⎟⎟⎠
=
⎛⎜⎜⎜⎝
-8 + 3s - 4t
-27 - 3s - 4t
s
14 + t
t
⎞⎟⎟⎟⎠
=
⎛⎜⎜⎜⎝
-8
-27
0
14
0
⎞⎟⎟⎟⎠
+s
⎛⎜⎜⎜⎝
3
-3
100
⎞⎟⎟⎟⎠
+t
⎛⎜⎜⎜⎝
-4
-4
011
⎞⎟⎟⎟⎠
,
(3.16)
where s and t are arbitrary numbers. ●
One solution is the vector p = (-8, -27, 0, 14, 0)T , as we see from (3.16)
when s and t are both 0. Any other point in the solution set is obtained from this
point by adding an arbitrary linear combination of the vectors v1 = (3, -3, 1, 0, 0)T
and v2 = (-4, -4, 0, 1, 1)T . Since v1 and v2 are not multiples of each other, there
are two different directions we can move in the solution set. Looking back at Definition 2.17, we see that
(3.16) is a parametric equation for a plane in R5. Notice
that the solution set can be described as long and flat. It is also thin, since there are
relatively few points in R5 that are solutions to the system.
Pivot variables and free variables
We should probably say a little more about the process of back-solvin