Section 1 4

1 Linear Equations
in Linear Algebra
1.4
THE MATRIX EQUATION
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

MATRIX EQUATION
 Definition: If A is an m  n matrix, with columns a1,
…, an, and if x is in , then the product of A and x,
denoted by Ax, is the linear combination of the
columns of A using the corresponding entries in x
as weights; that is,
 x1 
x 
Ax  a1 a 2  a n    x1a1  x2a 2  ...  xn a n.
 2
 
x 
 n
 Ax is defined only if the number of columns of A
equals the number of entries in x.
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Slide 1.4- 2
MATRIX EQUATION Ax  b
2*3
3*1
2*1
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1.4- 3

MATRIX EQUATION
 Example 2: For v1, v2, v3 in , write the linear

combination as a matrix times a
vector.
 Solution: Place v1, v2, v3 into the columns of a matrix
A and place the weights 3, 5 , and 7 into a vector x.
 That is,
MATRIX EQUATION
 Now, write the system of linear equations as a vector

equation involving a linear combination of vectors.
 For example, the following system
x1  2 x2  x3  4 ----(1)
5 x2  3 x3  1
is equivalent to
 1  2  1  4 . ----(2)
x1    x2    x3     
0  5  3  1
MATRIX EQUATION
 As in the given example (1), the linear combination

on the left side is a matrix times a vector, so that (2)
becomes
 x1 
 1 2 1    4 
0 5 3  x2    1. ----(3)
  x  
 3 
 Equation (3) has the form . Such an equation

is called a matrix equation.
MATRIX EQUATION
 Theorem 3: If A is an m  n matrix, with columns a1,

…, an, and if b is in , then the matrix equation
has the same solution set as the vector equation

,
which, in turn, has the same solution set as the system
of linear equations whose augmented matrix is
a1 a2  an b .
EXISTENCE OF SOLUTIONS
 The equation Ax = b has a solution if and only if b
is a linear combination of the columns of A.
 A harder existence problem is to determine whether

the equation Ax = b is consistent for all possible b.


Cont…

Cont…
 The third entry in column 4 equals b1-1/2b2 + b3.

 The equation Ax = b is not consistent for every b
because some choices of b can make b1-1/2b2 + b3
nonzero.
 So, the system is not consistent for all possible values

THEOREM 4

COMPUTATION OF Ax
 2 3 4
 Example 4: Compute Ax, where A   1 5 3 
 
 6 2 8
and .
 Solution: From the definition,

 2 3 4   x1   2  3  4
 1 5 3  x   x  1  x  5  x  3
  2 1  2   3  
 6 2 8  x3   6   2   8
COMPUTATION OF Ax
 2 x1   3 x2   4 x3 
    
  x1  5 x2  3x3 ---(1) 
     
 6 x1   2 x2   8 x3 
 2 x1  3 x2  4 x3 
   x1  5 x2  3 x3 
 
 6 x1  2 x2  8 x3  .
 The first entry in the product Ax is a sum of products
(a dot product), using the first row of A and the
entries in x.
COMPUTATION OF Ax
 2 3 4   x1   2 x1  3 x2  4 x3 
 That is,   x    .
  2  
   x3   
 Similarly, the second entry in Ax can be calculated by
multiplying the entries in the second row of A by the
corresponding entries in x and then summing the
resulting products.
   x1   
 1 5 3  x     x  5 x  3 x 
  2  1 2 3

   x3   
ROW-VECTOR RULE FOR COMPUTING Ax
 Likewise, the third entry in Ax can be calculated from

the third row of A and the entries in x.
 If the product Ax is defined, then the ith entry in Ax is
the sum of the products of corresponding entries from
row i of A and from the vector x.

ROW-VECTOR RULE FOR COMPUTING Ax
 The matrix with 1’s on the diagonal and 0’s elsewhere

is called an identity matrix and is denoted by I.
 1 0 0
 For example,  0 1 0  is an identity matrix.
 
0 0 1
 Ix = x for every x inR3.

PROPERTIES OF THE MATRIX-VECTOR PRODUCT
Ax
 Theorem 5: If A is an m  n matrix, u and v are

vectors in , and c is a scalar, then
a. A(u  v )  Au  Av ,
b. .
 Proof: For simplicity, take n  3, A  a1 a 2 a3 ,
and u, v in .
 For i  1, 2,3, let ui and vi be the ith entries in u and
v, respectively.
Ax
 To prove statement (a), compute as a linear
combination of the columns of A using the entries in
u  v as weights.
Entries in u  v
Columns of A
Ax
 To prove statement (b), compute as a linear

combination of the columns of A using the entries in cu as
weights.
1.4 EXERCISES
Show that the equation Ax = b does not have a solution for

all possible b, and describe the set of all b for which
Ax = b does have a solution.
Solution:
 The equation Ax = b is not consistent when 3b1 + b2 is
nonzero.
 The set of b for which the equation is consistent is a line
through the origin—the set of all points (b1, b2) satisfying
b2 = 3b1

Cont…
17) How many rows of A contain a pivot position? Does

the equation Ax = b have a solution for each b in ?
Solution:
 Only three rows contain a pivot position. The
equation Ax = b does not have a solution for each b
in , by Theorem 4.

Con…
Does {v1, v2, v3} span ? Why or why not?
Solution:
 The matrix [v1 v2 v3] does not have a pivot in each
row, so the columns of the matrix do not span , by
Theorem 4. That is, {v1, v2, v3} does not span .

Cont…
 It can be shown that 3u – 5v - w = 0. Use this fact (and no

row operations) to find x1 and x2 that satisfy the equation
Solution:
x1 = 3 and x2 = -5

Section 1 4

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Section 1 4

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1 Linear Equations

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1.4- 3

 Example 2: For v1, v2, v3 in , write the linear

 Now, write the system of linear equations as a vector

 As in the given example (1), the linear combination

 Equation (3) has the form . Such an equation

 Theorem 3: If A is an m  n matrix, with columns a1,

has the same solution set as the vector equation

 A harder existence problem is to determine whether

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1.4- 8

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1.4- 9

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1.4- 10

 The third entry in column 4 equals b1-1/2b2 + b3.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1.4- 11

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1.4- 12

 Solution: From the definition,

 Likewise, the third entry in Ax can be calculated from

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1.4- 16

 The matrix with 1’s on the diagonal and 0’s elsewhere

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1.4- 17

 Theorem 5: If A is an m  n matrix, u and v are

 To prove statement (b), compute as a linear

Show that the equation Ax = b does not have a solution for

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1.4- 21

17) How many rows of A contain a pivot position? Does

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1.4- 22

Does {v1, v2, v3} span ? Why or why not?

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1.4- 23

 It can be shown that 3u – 5v - w = 0. Use this fact (and no

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