Math 341 Solutions to problems from 1.5 2.

Determine if the following system has a nontrivial solution: x1 2x2 3x3 = 0 2x1 3x2 4x3 = 0 2x1 4x2 + 9x3 = 0

Solution. Look at the coecient matrix: 1 1 2 3 2 3 4 0 2 4 9 0

2 3 -7 10 15 0

Since every column of the coecient matrix is a pivot column, the system has no free variables, so it is impossible for a nontrivial solution to exist. [Indeed, a homogeneous system has a nontrivial solution if and only if the system has more than one solution, which occurs exactly when the system has a free variable.] 1 2 3 6 5 0 0 0 0 1 4 6 12. Describe all solutions of Ax = 0 in parametric vector form where A 0 0 0 0 0 1 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 Solution. First, lets reduce to RREF: 1 2 3 0 0 0 A 0 0 0 0 0 0

6 1 0 0

5 0 1 2 4 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

3 0 0 0

0 29 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

The same row operations which reduce A to the given matrix with reduce the augmented matrix [ A 0 ] to the given matrix with extra column of zeros on the right. Hence the solution set of Ax = 0 is the solution set of x1 = 2x2 3x3 29x5 x2 free x1 2x2 + 3x3 + 29x5 = 0 x3 free x4 + 4 x5 = 0 x4 = 4x5 x6 = 0 x5 free x6 = 0 2x2 3x3 29x5 2 3 29 1 0 0 x2 0 1 0 x3 = = x2 0 + x3 0 + x5 4 . Letting r = x2 , s = x3 , 4 x 5 0 1 0 x5 0 0 0 0

x1 x2 x3 Thus, x = x4 x5 x6

and t = x5 denote the parameters, the solution set in parametric vector form is 2 3 29 1 0 0 0 1 0 x = r + s + t (r, s, t R). 0 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 18. Describe the solutions of the given system in parametric vector form, and provide a geometric comparison with the solution set of the corresponding homogeneous system. x1 + 2x2 3x3 = 5 2x1 + x2 3x3 = 13 x1 + x2 = 8 Solution. 0 3 3 3 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 7 1 2 3 5 2 1 3 13 0 3 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 8 1 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 8 1 7 + x3 7 x1 x3 = 7 x = 1 + x3 = 1 + x3 1 x2 x3 = 1 1 x3 0 7 1 Parametric vector form of the solution set: x = 1 + t 1 (t R). Thus, the solution set of 1 0 7 1 the give system is a line through 1 parallel to 1, whereas the solution set of the corresponding 1 0 1 1 homogenous system is x = t 1 (t R), i.e. the line through the origin parallel to 1. 1 1 x1 = 7 + x3 x2 = 1 + x3 x3 free 19. The parametric equation of the line though 22. The line through p = of that line is x= Another one is x= 0 3 +s 3 5 (s R). 3 3 +t 2 5 (t R). 2 5 2 5 parallel to is x = +t 0 3 0 3 (t R).

3 0 3 and q = is parallel to q p = . Hence a parametric equation 2 3 5

In fact, there are innitely many parametric equations for this (or any) line.

23. True or false: a. A homogeneous equation is always consistent. Solution. True. The homogeneous equation Ax = 0 always has the trivial solution x = 0. c. The homogeneous equation Ax = 0 has the trivial solution if and only if the equation has at least one free variable. Solution. False. The existence of a free variable guarantees a nontrivial solution. All homogenous equations have the trivial solution, regardless of free variables. d. The equation x = p + tv describes a line through v parallel to p. Solution. False. x = p + tv describes the line through p parallel to v. 29. Suppose A is a 4 4 matrix withe three pivot positions. (a) Since A has 3 pivots, there cannot be a pivot in each of the 4 columns of A, which implies that the homogenous equation Ax = 0 has a nontrivial solution. (b) Since A has 3 pivots, there cannot be a pivot in each of the 4 rows of A, which implies that Ax = b cannot be consistent for every possible b (by Theorem 4). 32. If b = 0, can the solution set of Ax = b be a plane through the origin? Explain. Solution. No. If the solution set contains x = 0, then b = A0 = 0. Hence, if b = 0 then the solution set cannot pass through the origin. 2 34. Construct a 3 3 nonzero matrix A such that the vector 1 is a solution of Ax = 0. 1 Solution. Any 3 3 matrix such that the entries of each row [ a b c ] satisfy 2a b + c = 0, and not all entries in the matrix are zero will work. For example 0 1 1 5 6 2 . 0 0 0 3 2 36. Given A = 6 4 , nd one nontrivial solution of Ax = 0 by inspection. 12 8 Solution. Since twice the rst column is negative three times the second, one nontrivial solution is 2 2 x= . All other nontrivial solutions are nonzero scalar multiples of . 3 3