NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SMA1102

FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED MATHEMATICS

SMA1102 LINEAR ALGEBRA

AUGUST 2024 assignment

Time : 3 hours

This paper contains TWO sections. Attempt ALL questions from Section A and any
THREE questions from Section B

SECTION A

Attempt ALL questions from this section [40 MARKS]

A1. Define the following;
(a) unit vector, [2]
(b) rank of a matrix, [2]
(c) subspace of a vector space . [2]

A2. (a) Find equation of the line that passes through the points A(5, 3, −2) and
B(−7, 5, −2) giving your answer in symmetric form. [3]
(b) State and prove the Lagrange’s identity. [5]

A3. Check whether the following vectors p = 3î+2ĵ−k̂, q = −4î+3ĵ+2k̂ and r = 2î+ĵ−2k̂
are coplanar . [4]

A4. Given that  

1 4 1
V = x + 1 2x x
x 3x − 2 2x
find the values of x such that V is a singular matrix. [5]

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A5. (a) Given that

   
2 3   3x − y 29
1 4
X = −4 2 , Y = , Z =  −8 z − 1 ,
−2 7
1 4 −7 4x + y

find the values of x, y and z if XY = Z. [5]

(b) Given that A, B and C are n × n matrices such that AB = In and CA = In ,
Show that B=C. [2]

A6. (a) Determine whether the following vectors

v1 = (1, 1, 2), v2 = (1, 0, 1), v3 = (2, 1, 3).

span R3 . [3]
3
(b) Show that the following vectors in R are linearly dependent:

(1, −2, 1), (2, 1, −1), (7, −4, 1).

[3]
(c) Prove that if S = {v1 , v2 , · · · , vn } is a basis for a vector space V, then every
vector v in V can be expressed in the form v = c1 v1 + c2 v2 + · · · + cn vn in exactly
one way. [4]

SECTION B

Answer any THREE questions from this section [60 MARKS]

B7. (a) Solve the following system of equations using :

x + 2y − 3z = 3
2x − y − z = 11
3x + 2y + z = −5

(i) the Gauss-Jordan elimination method [5]

(ii) the inverse method [5]

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(b) Consider the following system of equations,

w + x + 2y = a,
x + y + 2z = 0,
w + x + 3y + 3z = 0,
2x + 5y + bz = 3.

(i) find the values of a and b for which the system has a unique solution, [5]
(ii) and find the point(s) (a, b) such that the system has at least two solutions. [5]

B8. (a) The plane

Π : r · (2î + 2ĵ − 3k̂) = −11
intersect with the line

L : x = 3 − t, y = 2 + t, z = 1 − 3t.

(i) Find the acute angle to the nearest degree between Π and L. [3]
(ii) Find the point of intersection of the plane Π and the line L. [4]
(b) Find the perpendicular distance between the planes

x + y + z = 1, x + y + z = −1.

[3]
(c) Given two skew lines, r1 = p1 + λq1 and r2 = p2 + µq2 . Show that the shortest
perpendicular distance d between r1 and r2 is

(p1 − p2 ) · (q1 × q2 )
d= .
|q1 × q2 |
[5]
(d) Given P1 (x1 , y1 , z1 ) is a point on the plane ax + by + cz + d = 0 and n̂ is the
normal vector to the plane. If P2 (x2 , y2 , z2 ) is any point not on the plane, show
that the shortest distance D from the point P2 to a plane is given by

|ax2 + by2 + cz2 + d|

D= √
a2 + b 2 + c 2
[5]

B9. (a) Express v = 3u2 + 5u − 5 in P (u) as a linear combination of the vectors

p1 = u2 + 2u + 1, p2 = 2u2 + 5u + 4, p3 = u2 + 3u + 6. [6]
(b) Give the definition of the span of n̂ vectors. [2]
(c) What is the dimension of the space spanned by the vectors v1 = (1, −2, 0),
v2 = (−1, −2, 1) and v3 = (−3, 2, 2) [6].

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(d) Let V = R2 and define addition and scalar multiplication operations as follows;
If u = (u1 , u2 ) and v = (v1 , v2 ), then define u + v = (u1 + v1 + 1, u2 + v2 + 1) and
if k is any scalar, then define ku = (ku1 , u2 ). Show that V is not a vector space
with the stated operations. [6]

B10. (a) Consider the equation y ′′ + y ′ − 12y = 0. Verify that y1 = e3t and y2 = e−4t are
solutions and hence find the solution satisfying y(0) = 1, y ′ (0) = 2. [4]

END OF QUESTION PAPER

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