Linear Algebra for Undergraduates

Dr. Krishnendra Shekhawat

BITS PILANI
Department of Mathematics
lecturesks@gmail.com

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Chapter 1

1 Introduction to System of Linear Equations

2 Reduced Row Echelon Form (RREF)
3 Solving System of Linear Equations using RREF
4 Rank of a Matrix
5 Inverse of a Matrix using RREF

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

 Rank of a Matrix

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Leading and Free variables

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Leading and Free variables

Consider the linear system AX = b in n variables and

m equations.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Leading and Free variables

Consider the linear system AX = b in n variables and

m equations. Let B be a matrix which is REF of the
augmented matrix corresponding to the given
system.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Leading and Free variables

Consider the linear system AX = b in n variables and

m equations. Let B be a matrix which is REF of the
augmented matrix corresponding to the given
system.
The variables corresponding to the pivot columns in
the first n columns of B are called the leading (or
basic) variables.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Leading and Free variables

Consider the linear system AX = b in n variables and

m equations. Let B be a matrix which is REF of the
augmented matrix corresponding to the given
system.
The variables corresponding to the pivot columns in
the first n columns of B are called the leading (or
basic) variables. The remaining variables are called
free variables.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Q: Does free variables always implies infinite number of
solutions?

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Q: Does free variables always implies infinite number of
solutions?
Theorem. A system of linear equations has zero, one
or infinitely many solutions.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Q: Does free variables always implies infinite number of
solutions?
Theorem. A system of linear equations has zero, one
or infinitely many solutions. There are no other
possibilities

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Q: Does free variables always implies infinite number of
solutions?
Theorem. A system of linear equations has zero, one
or infinitely many solutions. There are no other
possibilities (Why not finite number of solutions,
other than zero and one).

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Q: Does free variables always implies infinite number of
solutions?
Theorem. A system of linear equations has zero, one
or infinitely many solutions. There are no other
possibilities (Why not finite number of solutions,
other than zero and one).
Q: How to define linear combination of two solutions for
non-Homogeneous system?

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Q: Does free variables always implies infinite number of
solutions?
Theorem. A system of linear equations has zero, one
or infinitely many solutions. There are no other
possibilities (Why not finite number of solutions,
other than zero and one).
Q: How to define linear combination of two solutions for
non-Homogeneous system?

Sol. λx1 + (1 − λ)x2, λ ∈ R.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra
Rank of a Matrix (rank(A)) :

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Rank of a Matrix (rank(A)) : the number of nonzero
rows in a row echelon form of the matrix A.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Rank of a Matrix (rank(A)) : the number of nonzero
rows in a row echelon form of the matrix A.
Q: Determine the rank of matrix
 
1 2 1
A = 2 3 1
 
1 1 0
 

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Rank of a Matrix (rank(A)) : the number of nonzero
rows in a row echelon form of the matrix A.
Q: Determine the rank of matrix
 
1 2 1
A = 2 3 1
 
1 1 0
 
 
1 2 1
REF(A) = 0 1 1
 
0 0 0
 

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Theorem: Let Ax = b be a system of equations with n
variables.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Theorem: Let Ax = b be a system of equations with n
variables.
1 if rank(A) = rank([A b]) = n, then the system
Ax = b has a unique solution.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Theorem: Let Ax = b be a system of equations with n
variables.
1 if rank(A) = rank([A b]) = n, then the system
Ax = b has a unique solution.
2 if rank(A) = rank([A b]) < n, then the system
Ax = b has infinitely many solutions.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Theorem: Let Ax = b be a system of equations with n
variables.
1 if rank(A) = rank([A b]) = n, then the system
Ax = b has a unique solution.
2 if rank(A) = rank([A b]) < n, then the system
Ax = b has infinitely many solutions.
3 If rank(A) , rank([A b]), then the system Ax = b is
inconsistent.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Example. For what values of a ∈ R, the following system
of equations has (i) no solution (ii) a unique solution or
infinitely many solutions
x + 2y + z = 2
2x − 2y + 3z = 1
x + 2y − az = a.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Example. For what values of a ∈ R, the following system
of equations has (i) no solution (ii) a unique solution or
infinitely many solutions
x + 2y + z = 2
2x − 2y + 3z = 1
x + 2y − az = a.

Sol. No solution for a = −1 and unique solution for

a , −1.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Exercise For what values of a ∈ R, the following system
of equations has (i) no solution (ii) a unique solution or
infinitely many solutions
x + y + 7z = −7
2x + 3y + 17z = 11
x + 2y + (a2 + 1)z = 6a.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Exercise For what values of a ∈ R, the following system
of equations has (i) no solution (ii) a unique solution or
infinitely many solutions
x + y + 7z = −7
2x + 3y + 17z = 11
x + 2y + (a2 + 1)z = 6a.

Sol. No solution for a = −3, infinitely many solutions for

a = 3, unique solution for a , −3 and a , 3.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Exercise For what values of a, b ∈ R, the following
system of equations has (i) no solution (ii) a unique
solution or infinitely many solutions
x − 2y − z + 3w = a
−2x + 4y + 5z − 5w = 3
3x − 6y − 6z + bw = 2.

Sol. No solution for b = 8, a , 5, infinitely many

solutions for b = 8, a = 5 or b , 8, a ∈ R, unique solution
does not exist.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Theorem. If a homogeneous linear system has n
unknowns, and if the reduced row echelon form of its
augmented matrix has r nonzero rows, then the system
has n − r free variables.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

Theorem. If a homogeneous linear system has n
unknowns, and if the reduced row echelon form of its
augmented matrix has r nonzero rows, then the system
has n − r free variables.

Theorem. A homogeneous linear system with more

unknowns than equations has infinitely many solutions.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

About Next Class

In the next class, we will discuss a method to compute

the inverse of a matrix using RREF, if exists.

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra

 Thank You
Write me at lecturesks@gmail.com

Krishnendra Shekhawat BITS PILANI Linear Algebra