Module 5.

More on the Augmented Matrix

Linear Algebra

Nonlinear Systems – In this section we will take a quick look at solving nonlinear systems of
equations. A nonlinear system of equations is a system in which at least one of the equations is
not linear, i.e. has degree of two or more. Note as well that the discussion here does not cover
all the possible solution methods for nonlinear systems. Solving nonlinear systems is often a
much more involved process than solving linear systems.

In this section we are going to be looking at non-linear systems of equations. A non-linear system
of equations is a system in which at least one of the variables has an exponent other than 1
and/or there is a product of variables in one of the equations.

To solve these systems we will use either the substitution method or elimination method that we
first looked at when we solved systems of linear equations. The main difference is that we may
end up getting complex solutions in addition to real solutions. Just as we saw in solving systems
of two equations the real solutions will represent the coordinates of the points where the graphs
of the two functions intersect.

Learning Outcomes

After completing this module, you should be able to:

1. Solve non-linear system of equation.

Learning Content

Let’s work some examples.

Example 1 Solve the following system of equations.

𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 = 10
2𝑥 + 𝑦 = 1

Solution In linear systems we had the choice of using either method on any given system. With
non-linear systems that will not always be the case. In the first equation both of the variables
are squared and in the second equation both of the variables are to the first power. In other
words, there is no way that we can use elimination here and so we are must use substitution.
Luckily that isn’t too bad to do for this system since we can easily solve the second equation for
y and substitute this into the first equation.

𝑦 = 1 − 2𝑥
 𝑥 2 + (1 − 2𝑥)2 = 10

This is a quadratic equation that we can solve.

x 2 + 1 − 4x + 4x 2 = 10
5x 2 − 4x − 9 = 0
9
(𝑥 + 1)(5𝑥 − 9) → 𝑥 = −1, 𝑥=
5

So, we have two values of x. Now, we need to determine the values of y and we are going to
have to be careful to not make a common mistake here. We determine the values of y by
plugging x into our substitution.

𝑥 = −1 → 𝑦 = 1 − 2(−1) = 3
9 9 13
𝑥= → 𝑦 = 1 − 2( ) = −
5 5 5
Now, we only have two solutions here. Do not just start mixing and matching all possible values
of x and y into solutions. We get 𝑦 = 3 as a solution ONLY if 𝑥 = −1 and so the first solution is,
𝑥 = −1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦 = 3.
13 9 9 13
Likewise, we only get 𝑦 = − 0𝑁𝐿𝑌 𝑖𝑓 𝑥 = 5 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑥 = 5 , 𝑦 = − 5 .
5

So, we have two solutions. Now, as noted at the start of this section these two solutions will
represent the points of intersection of these two curves. Since the first equation is a circle and
the second equation is a line have two intersection points is definitely possible. Here is a sketch
of the two equations as a verification of this.
Example 2 Solve the following system of equations.
𝑥 2 − 2𝑦 2 = 2
𝑥𝑦 = 2
Solution:

Okay, in this case we have a hyperbola (the first equation, although it isn’t in standard form) and
a rational function (the second equation if we solved for y). As with the first example we can’t
use elimination on this system so we will have to use substitution.

The best way is to solve the second equation for either x or y. Either one will give us pretty much
the same work so we’ll solve for y since that is probably the one that will make the equation look
more like those that we’ve looked at in the past. In other words, the new equation will be in
terms of x and that is the variable that we are used to seeing in equations.

2
𝑦=
𝑥

2
2 2
𝑥 − 2( ) = 2
𝑥
2
4
𝑥 −2 2 =2
𝑥

8
𝑥2 − =2
𝑥2

The first step towards solving this equation will be to multiply the whole thing by x2 to clear out
the denominators.

𝑥 4 − 8 = 2𝑥 2
𝑥 4 − 2𝑥 2 − 8 = 0

Now, this is quadratic in form and we know how to solve those kinds of equations. If we define,

𝑢 = 𝑥2 → 𝑢2 = (𝑥 2 )2 = 𝑥 4

and the equation can be written as,

𝑢2 − 2𝑢 − 8 = 0
(𝑢 − 4)(𝑢 + 2) = 0 → 𝑢 = −2, 𝑢 = 4
In terms of x this means that we have the following,
𝑥2 = 4 → 𝑥 = ∓2
2
𝑥 = −2 → 𝑥 = ∓√2𝑖
So, we have four possible values of x and two of them are complex. To determine the values of
y we can plug these into our substitution.

2
𝑥=2 → 𝑦= =1
2

2
𝑥 = −2 → 𝑦= = −1
−2

2 2 𝑖 2𝑖 2𝑖
𝑥 = √2𝑖 → 𝑦=− = ° = =−
√2𝑖 √2𝑖 𝑖 √2𝑖 2 √2

2 2𝑖 2𝑖 2𝑖
𝑥 = √2𝑖 → 𝑦=− =− ° =− =
√2𝑖 √2𝑖 𝑖 √2𝑖 2 √2

For the complex solutions, notice that we made sure the i was in the numerator. The for solutions
are then,
2𝑖
𝑥 = 2, 𝑦 = 1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 = −2, 𝑦 = −1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 = √2𝑖 , 𝑦 = − 𝑎𝑛𝑑
√2
2𝑖
𝑥 = −√2𝑖, 𝑦 =
√2

Two of the solutions are real and so represent intersection points of the graphs of these two
equations. The other two are complex solutions and while solutions will not represent
intersection points of the curves.

For reference purposes, here is a sketch of the two curves.

Note that there are only two intersection points of these two graphs as suggested by the two real
solutions. Complex solutions never represent intersections of two curves.

Example 3 Solve the following system of equations.

2𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 = 24
𝑥 2 − 𝑦 2 = −12

Solution

This time we have an ellipse and a hyperbola. Neither one are in standard form however.

In the first two examples we’ve used the substitution method to solve the system and we can
use that here as well. Let’s notice however, that if we just add the two equations we will
eliminate the y’s from the system so we’ll do it that way.

2𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 = 24
𝑥 2 − 𝑦 2 = −12
3𝑥 2 = 12
This is easy enough to solve for x.
3𝑥 2 = 12
2
𝑥 =4 → 𝑥 = ∓12

To determine the value(s) of the y’s we can substitute these into either of the equations. We
will use the first since there won’t be any minus signs to worry about.
𝑥=2
2(2)2 + 𝑦 2 = 24
8 + 𝑦 2 = 24
𝑦 2 = 16 → 𝑦 = ∓4

𝑥 = −2
2(−2)2 + 𝑦 2 = 24
8 + 𝑦 2 = 24
𝑦 2 = 16 → 𝑦 = ∓4

Note that for this system, unlike the previous examples, each value of x actually gave two possible
values of y. That means that there are in fact four solutions. They are,

(2,4), (2, −4), (−2,4), (−2, −4)

This also means that there should be four intersection points to the two curves. Here is a sketch
for verification.

Teaching and Learning Activities

Find the solution to each of the following system of equations.

1. 𝑦 = 𝑥 2 + 6𝑥 − 8
𝑦 = 4𝑥 + 7
 2. 𝑦 = 1 − 3𝑥
𝑥2
+ 𝑦2 = 1
4

Learning Resources
The following resources on You Tube will help you enhance your understanding in solving linear
system with two variables.

a. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nonlinear+systems+of+equation+aug
mented+matrix
b. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnsrmpc7Avk

Flexible Teaching and Learning Modalities

Online (synchronous)
Google Meet/ Zoom/ SEDI

Remote
Module 1. More on the Augmented Matrix

Assessment Tasks

Find the solution to each of the following system of equations.

1. 𝑥𝑦 = 4
𝑥2 𝑦2
+ =1
4 25

2. 𝑦 = 1 − 2𝑥 2
𝑦2
𝑥2 − =1
9

References:

Bernard Kolman & David R. Hill. Introductory Linear Algebra with Applications. 7th Edition
Steven J. Leon. Linear Algebra with Applications Eighth Edition
Jörg Liesen Volker Mehrmann. Linear Algebra