38 MATHEMATICS tion procedure as 2 method of finding solutions. Attention now turns toward relating the outcome of steps in elimination to the number of solutions, and to the method of writing unlimited solutions. It will be convenient to separate the examples into three categories: number of equations equals number of variables, more equations than variables, and fewer equations than variables. Number of Equations Equals Number of Variables Systems in this category can be described as n by n systems. ‘The general approach to the solution is to form n — 1 linear com- binations of pairs of equations, each linear combination eliminating the same variable, making sure that every given equation is used in at least one of the linear combinations. The outcome of these elimi- nations is an n—1 by n—1 system. The reduction procedure is repeated as many times as is necessary to learn the nature of the solution of the system. Consider the following example: a: 2+ y- 2=2 @: c+%+ 2=1 ai 8z— yt 2=9 Two linear combinations, each eliminating x, carry us from the given 3 by 3 to the following 2 by 2: ec —3y—82=0 a — 2 es —7y— 2-6 4 —3e A linear combination of the last two equations leads to eet y= 18 4 — Bee The last statement says that y must be —1. We now backtrack (substitute) to find x and z: Setting y to —1 in ey (or e,) yields z= 1, Finally, putting y= —1 and z= 1 into é» (or e; or ¢g) leads tor=2. The solution of the system is the point (2, —1, 1). The reader should check this solution by showing that the number triplet satis- fies every one of the original three equations. The system has ex- actly one solution. Geometrically, we have the case of three planes which have a single point in common. Consider next the system ei r+yt z= 4 ex: Bx — y + Te = 25 ee: We —yt3e= 8 oogle iSYSTEMS OF LINEAR EQUATIONS 39 ‘Two linear combinations, eliminating y, lead to eq: 6x + 82 = 29 ate es: Be+42=17 ae A linear combination of the last two equations leads to ec 0F0=-5 4-2 ‘The last line is a contradiction. Zero cannot equal —5. We conclude that the system has no solutions. The argument here is that the solution of the system must satisfy the linear combinations. If a linear combination leads to & false statement, the system can have no solutions. The first example of the section had a single solution, the second no solution, Let us turn next to a system which has an un- limited number of solutions and learn how to write the general solution in arbitrary variable terminology. atyt+ z= 4 Se—y tT = 2 Qr—y+3r= 8 Proceeding in the usual manner, we find: 6r+8= 2% ater Be+42=12 ee A linear combination of the last equations yields e:0 +0 = 0 es — Les ‘The appearance of the true statement, zero equals zero, in a solu- tion means simply that this linear combination arose from two equivalent equations. Looking back at eq: Ox + 82 = 24 es: Br + 42 = 12 we see that e, could be divided by 2 and then would be identical to es. Any number pair satisfying one of these equations will satisfy the other. Moreover, any solution of the original system must satisfy these last equations. Solving (either) one for 2 yields 12 — 3x mee BT frome To repeat, any solution of the original system requires that z be re- lated to x according to the last equation. Google snueRerOr40 MATHEMATICS Returning to ¢;, or any of the original equations, and replacing 2 by 12 — 3r we obtain es etyt =4 ag intog Solving the last equation for y leads to 4-2 aya 4t from e Both z and y have now been expressed in terms of z, and we state the general solution of the system as follows: x arbitrary 4-2 r= The system under discussion has an unlimited number of solu- tions. For every number ¢ arbitrarily assigned, we can find from the general solution the corresponding y and z such that the number triplet will satisfy all three original equations. For example, if we arbitrarily let x be zero, then from the general solution: wi2-0_ z zi 3 The number triplet (0, 1, 8) is checked next: a: @)+() + @)= 4 @: 5(0) — (1) + 73) = 20 a: 200) — 1) +3@) = 8 ‘The reader may verify for practice that if z is assigned the value 2, the corresponding number triplet is (2, 0.5, 1.5), and this triplet sat- isfies all three original equations. The tactics of the lest exemple are worth reviewing. First, ob- servation of the true statement, zero equals zero, directed attention to the equations from which the statement arose. One of these equa~ tions was solved for z in terms of x. This automatically relegates x to the role of arbitrary variable, and we seck to express y also inSYSTEMS OF LINEAR EQUATIONS 41 terms of the same arbitrary variable, To do so, we return to one of the original equations and replace z by its « equivalent, leaving an expression which can be solved for y in terms of 2. More than One Variable Arbitrary. The following two ex- amples provide practice with arbitrary variables and, at the same time, make clear that more than one variable may prove to be arbi- trary in a general solution. a: wt a +32= 4 @: w— s+24y+ 2= -2 ea: —2w+ 2—By—-82= 1 ey: wt Qe yt 4e= 7 ‘The attack on the 4 by 4 system starts by reducing it to a 3 by 3; thus: es: Qw + 2y + 42 = 2 ete Bw +3y+@=3 ae er: wt ytR=1 w—-e% The next step would be to eliminate another variable, reducing the 3 by 3 to a 2 by 2. However, every linear combination which elimi- nates a variable will lead to zero equals zero. We solve (any) one of the three equations for one variable, say w: ex: w=l—y—% frome; The last statement automatically makes y and z arbitrary variables, so z must be expressed in terms of y and z, Returning to the original equations and selecting, say, the first, we have @: (I—y— 2) +24+32=4 — esintoe, Solving the last equation for x yields e=y-—2t+3 ‘The general solution, therefore, can be written as v, 2 arbitrary z= y— 2t3 w=-y-%+1 The next example shows the introduction of an arbitrary vari- able during the backtracking process. Qw + x + 2y + 32 w+ e+ yt bz w— 2+ y—2% ww — rtdyt z : Google ween ce cea42 MATHEMATICS In this case the linear combinations chosen eliminate two variables: es: —bt-—Tz= 8 e — 2en be +Te= -8 er — e 52+ Tz = -8 4 — 3es Any linear combination of a pair of the last three equations which eliminates a variable leads to zero equals zero. Solving any of the three for x, we find er —%-8 et t= from ez Here, z has been delegated the role of an arbitrary variable. e: 20+ HS toy 4 32=4 — eintons wo Hoe by The last equation makes y arbitrary along with z. The solution of the system is y, 2 arbitrary 12-8 It may be helpful to think of a solution stated in general form a8 a set of formulas for finding specific solutions to the system of equations. In the present ease, for example, if we are asked what the solution of the system is when y = 2 and z= 6, we can compute quickly from the formulas of the genersl solution that z must be —10 and w must be —4. The reader may verify that (—4, —10, 2, 6) satisfies every one of the original equations. In summary, the general approach to the solution of an n by n system is to form n — 1 linear combinations of pairs of equations, each linear combination eliminating the same variable, making sure that every equation at hand is used in at least one of the linear com- binations. The outcome of these eliminations is an n— 1 by n—1 system, The reduction process is repeated until a contradiction is encountered (no solutions), or until zero equals zero is encountered (general solution required). If neither of the last two circumstances arises, the reduction will lead ultimately to a unique specific solu- tion. The reader may wish to follow through the next examples be- fore trying the problem set. Google sAARSTEY OF IGE