Denitions of Linear Algebra Terms

In order to learn and understand mathematics, it is necessary to understand

the meanings of the terms (vocabulary words) that are used. This document
contains denitions of some of the important terms used in linear algebra.
All of these denitions should be memorized (and not just memorized but
understood). In addition to the denitions that are given here, we also include
statements of some of the most important results (theorems) of linear algebra.
The proofs of these theorems are not included here but will be given in class.
There will be a question on each of the exams that asks you to state
some denitions. It will be required that you state these denitions very
precisely in order to receive credit for the exam question. (Seemingly very
small things such as writing the word or instead of the word and, for
example, can render a denition incorrect.) The denitions given here are
organized according to the section number in which they appear in David
Lays textbook.
Here is a suggestion for how to study linear algebra (and other subjects
in higher level mathematics):
1. Carefully read a section in the textbook and also read your class notes.
Pay attention to denitions of terms and examples and try to under-
stand each concept along the way as you read it. You dont have to
memorize all of the denitions upon rst reading. You will memorize
them gradually as you work the homework problems.
2. Work on the homework problems. As you work on the homework prob-
lems, you should nd that you will need to continuously refer back to
the denitions and to the examples given in the textbook. (This is
how you will naturally come to memorize the denitions.) You will
nd that you have to spend a considerable amount of time working on
homework. When you are done, you will probably have read through
the section and your course notes several times and you will probably
have memorized the denitions. (There are some very good TrueFalse
questions among the homework problems that are good tests of your
understanding of the basic terms and concepts. Such TrueFalse ques-
tions will also appear on the exams given in this course.)
3. Test yourself. After you are satised that you have a good under-
standing of the concepts and that can apply those concepts in solving
1
problems, try to write out the denitions without referring to your book
or notes. You might then also try to work some of the supplementary
problems that appear at the end of each chapter of the textbook.
4. One other tip is that it is a good idea to read a section in the textbook
and perhaps even get started on working on the homework problems
before we go over that section in class. This will better prepare you to
take notes and ask questions when we do go over the material in class.
It will alert you to certain aspects of the material that you might not
quite understand upon rst reading and you can then ask questions
about those particular aspects during class.
1.1: Systems of Linear Equations
Denition 1 A linear equation in the variables x
1
; x
2
; : : : ; x
n
is an equa-
tion of the form
a
1
x
1
+ a
2
x
2
+ : : : + a
n
x
n
= b
where a
1
; a
2
; : : : ; a
n
and b are real or complex numbers (that are often given
in advance).
Example 2
4x + 4y 7z + 8w = 8
is a linear equation in the variables x; y; z; and w.
3x + 5y
2
= 6
is not a linear equation (because of the appearance of y
2
).
Denition 3 Suppose that m and n are positive integers. A system of
linear equations in the variables x
1
; x
2
; : : : ; x
n
is a set of equations of the
form
a
11
x
1
+ a
12
x
2
+ : : : + a
1n
x
n
= b
1
a
21
x
1
+ a
22
x
2
+ : : : + a
2n
x
n
= b
2
.
.
.
a
m1
x
1
+ a
m2
x
2
+ : : : + a
mn
x
n
= b
m
2
where a
ij
(i = 1; : : : ; m, j = 1; : : : n) and b
i
(i = 1; : : : ; m) are real or complex
numbers (that are often given in advance). This system of linear equations
is said to consist of m equations with n unknowns.
Example 4
2x
1
+ 2x
2
5x
3
+ 4x
4
2x
5
= 4
4x
1
+ x
2
5x
4
= 1
3x
1
2x
2
+ 4x
4
2x
5
= 4
is a system of three linear equations in ve unknowns. (The unknowns or
variables of the system are x
1
; x
2
; x
3
; x
4
; and x
5
.)
Denition 5 A solution of the linear system
a
11
x
1
+ a
12
x
2
+ : : : + a
1n
x
n
= b
1
a
21
x
1
+ a
22
x
2
+ : : : + a
2n
x
n
= b
2
.
.
.
a
m1
x
1
+ a
m2
x
2
+ : : : + a
mn
x
n
= b
m
is an ordered ntuple of numbers (s
1
; s
2
; : : : ; s
n
) such that all of the equations
in the system are true when the substitution x
1
= s
1
; x
2
= s
2
; : : : ; x
n
= s
n
is
made.
Example 6 The 5tuple
_
0; 1;
12
5
; 0; 3
_
is a solution of the linear system
2x
1
+ 2x
2
5x
3
+ 4x
4
2x
5
= 4
4x
1
+ x
2
5x
4
= 1
3x
1
2x
2
+ 4x
4
2x
5
= 4
because all equations in the system are true when we make the substitutions
x
1
= 0
x
2
= 1
x
3
=
12
5
x
4
= 0
x
5
= 3.
The 5tuple
_
1; 3;
3
5
; 0;
1
2
_
is also a solution of the system (as the reader can
check).
3
Denition 7 The solution set of a system of linear equations is the set of
all solutions of the system.
Denition 8 Two linear systems are said to be equivalent to each other if
they have the same solution set.
Denition 9 A linear system is said to be consistent if it has at least one
solution and is otherwise said to be inconsistent.
Example 10 The linear system
2x
1
+ 2x
2
5x
3
+ 4x
4
2x
5
= 4
4x
1
+ x
2
5x
4
= 1
3x
1
2x
2
+ 4x
4
2x
5
= 4
is consistent because it has at least one solution. (It in fact has innitely
many solutions.) However, the linear system
x + 2y = 5
x + 2y = 9
is obviously inconsistent.
Denition 11 Suppose that m and n are positive integers. An mn matrix
is a rectangular array of numbers with m rows and n columns. Matrices are
usually denoted by capital letters. If m = 1 or n = 1, then the matrix is
referred to as a vector. In particular, if m = 1, then the matrix is a row
vector of dimension n, and if n = 1 then the matrix is a column vector of
dimension m. Vectors are usually denoted by lower case boldface letters or
(when handwritten) as lower case letters with arrows above them.
Example 12
A =
_

_
8 10 6 8
5 7 6 6
0 5 10 1
1 3 10 5
4 8 1 10
_

_
is a 5 4 matrix.
r =

r =
_
2 3 1 9 8

4
is a row vector of dimension 5.
c =

c =
_
_
4
5
10
_
_
is a column vector of dimension 3.
Remark 13 If A is an m n matrix whose columns are made up of the
column vectors c
1
; c
2
; : : : ; c
n
, then A can be written as
A = [c
1
c
2
c
n
] .
Likewise, if A is made up of the row vectors r
1
; r
2
; : : : ; r
m
, then A can be
written as
A =
_

_
r
1
r
2
.
.
.
r
m
_

_
.
Example 14 The 5 4 matrix
A =
_

_
8 10 6 8
5 7 6 6
0 5 10 1
1 3 10 5
4 8 1 10
_

_
can be written as
A = [c
1
c
2
c
3
c
4
]
where
c
1
=
_

_
8
5
0
1
4
_

_
, c
2
=
_

_
10
7
5
3
8
_

_
, c
3
=
_

_
6
6
10
10
1
_

_
, c
4
=
_

_
8
6
1
5
10
_

_
5
or can be written as
A =
_

_
r
1
r
2
r
3
r
4
r
5
_

_
where
r
1
=
_
8 10 6 8

r
2
=
_
5 7 6 6

r
3
=
_
0 5 10 1

r
4
=
_
1 3 10 5

r
5
=
_
4 8 1 10

.
Denition 15 For a given linear system of equations
a
11
x
1
+ a
12
x
2
+ : : : + a
1n
x
n
= b
1
a
21
x
1
+ a
22
x
2
+ : : : + a
2n
x
n
= b
2
.
.
.
a
m1
x
1
+ a
m2
x
2
+ : : : + a
mn
x
n
= b
m
,
the mn matrix
A =
_

_
a
11
a
12
a
1n
a
21
a
22
a
2n
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
a
m1
a
m2
a
mn
_

_
is called the coecient matrix of the system and the m(n + 1) matrix
[A b] =
_

_
a
11
a
12
a
1n
b
1
a
21
a
22
a
2n
b
2
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
a
m1
a
m2
a
mn
b
m
_

_
is called the augmented matrix of the system.
6
Example 16 The coecient matrix of the linear system
2x
1
+ 2x
2
5x
3
+ 4x
4
2x
5
= 4
4x
1
+ x
2
5x
4
= 1
3x
1
2x
2
+ 4x
4
2x
5
= 4
is
A =
_
_
2 2 5 4 2
4 1 0 5 0
3 2 0 4 2
_
_
and the augmented matrix of this system is
[A b] =
_
_
2 2 5 4 2 4
4 1 0 5 0 1
3 2 0 4 2 4
_
_
.
Denition 17 An elementary row operation is performed on a matrix
by changing the matrix in one of the following ways:
1. Interchange: Interchange two rows of the matrix. If rows i and j are
interchanged, then we use the notation r
i
r
j
.
2. Scaling: Multiply all entries in a single row by a nonzero constant,
k. If the ith row is multiplied by k, then we use the notation k r
i
r
i
.
3. Replacement: Replace a row with the sum of itself and a nonzero
multiple of another row. If the ith row is replaced with the sum of itself
and k times the jth row, then we use the notation r
i
+ k r
j
r
i
.
Example 18 Here are some examples of elementary row operations per-
formed on the matrix
A =
_
_
2 5 7 7
7 4 8 2
8 7 8 2
_
_
.
1. Interchange rows 1 and 3:
_
_
2 5 7 7
7 4 8 2
8 7 8 2
_
_
r
1
!r
3

_
_
8 7 8 2
7 4 8 2
2 5 7 7
_
_
7
2. Scale row 1 by a factor of 5.
_
_
2 5 7 7
7 4 8 2
8 7 8 2
_
_
5r
1
!r
1

_
_
10 25 35 35
7 4 8 2
8 7 8 2
_
_
3. Replace row 2 with the sum of itself and 2 times row 3.
_
_
2 5 7 7
7 4 8 2
8 7 8 2
_
_
r
2
+2r
3
!r
2

_
_
2 5 7 7
9 18 8 2
8 7 8 2
_
_
Denition 19 An mn matrix, A, is said to be row equivalent (or simply
equivalent) to an m n matrix, B, if A can be transformed into B by a
series of elementary row operations. If A is equivalent to B, then we write
A ~ B.
Example 20 As can be seen by studying the previous example
_
_
2 5 7 7
7 4 8 2
8 7 8 2
_
_
~
_
_
8 7 8 2
7 4 8 2
2 5 7 7
_
_
,
_
_
2 5 7 7
7 4 8 2
8 7 8 2
_
_
~
_
_
10 25 35 35
7 4 8 2
8 7 8 2
_
_
,
and
_
_
2 5 7 7
7 4 8 2
8 7 8 2
_
_
~
_
_
2 5 7 7
9 18 8 2
8 7 8 2
_
_
.
Example 21 The sequence of row operations
_
_
3 6
1 6
7 1
_
_
2r
1
!r
1

_
_
6 12
1 6
7 1
_
_
4r
3
!r
3

_
_
6 12
1 6
28 4
_
_
r
1
!r
3

_
_
28 4
1 6
6 12
_
_
shows that
_
_
3 6
1 6
7 1
_
_
~
_
_
28 4
1 6
6 12
_
_
.
8
Remark 22 (optional) Row equivalence of matrices is an example of what
is called an equivalence relation. An equivalence relation on a nonempty
set of objects, X, is a relation, ~, that is reexive, symmetric, and transitive.
The reexive property is the property that x ~ x for all x X. The
symmetric property is the property that if x X and y X with x ~ y,
then y ~ x. The transitive property is the property that if x X, y X,
and z X with x ~ y and y ~ z, then x ~ z. If we take X to be the set
of all mn matrices, then row equivalence is an equivalence relation on X
because
1. A ~ A for all A X.
2. If A X and B X and A ~ B, then B ~ A.
3. If A X, B X, and C X and A ~ B and B ~ C, then A ~ C.
1.2: Row Reduction and Echelon Forms
Denition 23 The leading entry in a row of a matrix is the rst (from
the left) nonzero entry in that row.
Example 24 For the matrix
_

_
0 1 4 8
0 0 4 3
5 0 0 10
0 0 0 1
9 7 2 8
_

_
,
the leading entry in row 1 is 1, the leading entry in row 2 is 4, the leading
entry in row 3 is 5, the leading entry in row 4 is 1, and the leading entry
in row 5 is 9. (Note that if a matrix happens to have a row consisting of all
zeros, then that row does not have a leading entry.)
Denition 25 A zero row of a matrix is a row consisting entirely of zeros.
A nonzero row is a row that is not a zero row.
Denition 26 An echelon form matrix is a matrix for which
1. No zero row has a nonzero row below it.
9
2. Each leading entry is in a column to the right of the leading entry in
the row above it.
3. All entries in the same column and below any leading entry are zeros.
Denition 27 A reduced echelon form matrix is an echelon form matrix
which also has the properties:
4. The leading entry in each nonzero row is 1.
5. Each leading 1 is the only nonzero entry in its column.
Example 28 The matrix
_

_
6 4 10
1 2 10
4 4 2
0 10 1
_

_
is not an echelon form matrix.
The matrix
_
0 0 0 4 8
0 0 0 0 3
_
is an echelon form matrix but not a reduced echelon form matrix.
The matrix
_

_
0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
_

_
is a reduced echelon form matrix.
Theorem 29 (Uniqueness of the Reduced Echelon Form) Each ma-
trix, A, is equivalent to one and only one reduced echelon form matrix. This
unique matrix is denoted by rref(A).
Example 30 For
A =
_

_
6 4 10
1 2 10
4 4 2
0 10 1
_

_
;
10
we can see (after some work) that
rref (A) =
_

_
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1
0 0 0
_

_
.
For
A =
_
0 0 0 4 8
0 0 0 0 3
_
,
we have
rref (A) =
_
0 0 0 1 0
0 0 0 0 1
_
.
For
A =
_

_
0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
_

_
,
we have
rref (A) =
_

_
0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
_

_
.
Denition 31 A pivot position in a matrix, A, is a position in A that
corresponds to a rowleading 1 in rref(A). A pivot column of A is column
of A that contains a pivot position.
Example 32 By studying the preceding example, we can see that the pivot
columns of
A =
_

_
6 4 10
1 2 10
4 4 2
0 10 1
_

_
are columns 1, 2, and 3. (Thus all columns of A are pivot columns).
11
The pivot columns of
A =
_
0 0 0 4 8
0 0 0 0 3
_
are columns 4 and 5.
The pivot columns of
A =
_

_
0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
_

_
are columns 3 and 4.
Denition 33 Let A be the coecient matrix of the linear system of equa-
tions
a
11
x
1
+ a
12
x
2
+ : : : + a
1n
x
n
= b
1
a
21
x
1
+ a
22
x
2
+ : : : + a
2n
x
n
= b
2
.
.
.
a
m1
x
1
+ a
m2
x
2
+ : : : + a
mn
x
n
= b
m
.
Each variable that corresponds to a pivot column of A is called a basic vari-
able and the other variables are called free variables.
Example 34 The coecient matrix of the linear system
2x
1
+ 2x
2
5x
3
+ 4x
4
2x
5
= 4
4x
1
+ x
2
5x
4
= 1
3x
1
2x
2
+ 4x
4
2x
5
= 4
is
A =
_
_
2 2 5 4 2
4 1 0 5 0
3 2 0 4 2
_
_
.
Since
rref (A) =
_
_
1 0 0
6
5
2
5
0 1 0
1
5
8
5
0 0 1
2
5
6
5
_
_
,
12
we see that the pivot columns of A are columns 1, 2, and 3. Thus the basic
variables of this linear system are x
1
, x
2
; and x
3
. The free variables are x
4
and x
5
.
Theorem 35 (Existence and Uniqueness Theorem) A linear system of
equations is consistent if and only if the rightmost column of the augmented
matrix for the system is not a pivot column. If a linear system is consistent,
then the solution set of the linear system contains either a unique solution
(when there are no free variables), or innitely many solutions (when
there is at least one free variable).
Example 36 The augmented matrix of the system
2x
1
+ 2x
2
5x
3
+ 4x
4
2x
5
= 4
4x
1
+ x
2
5x
4
= 1
3x
1
2x
2
+ 4x
4
2x
5
= 4
is
[A b] =
_
_
2 2 5 4 2 4
4 1 0 5 0 1
3 2 0 4 2 4
_
_
.
Since
rref ([A b]) =
_
_
1 0 0
6
5
2
5
6
5
0 1 0
1
5
8
5
19
5
0 0 1
2
5
6
5
6
5
_
_
,
we see that the rightmost column of [A b] is not a pivot column. This means
that the system is consistent. Furthermore, since the system does have free
variables, there are innitely many solutions to the system.
Here is a general procedure for determining whether a given linear sys-
tem of equations is consistent or not and, if it is consistent, whether it has
innitely many solutions or a unique solution:
1. Compute rref([A b]) to determine whether or not the rightmost col-
umn of [A b] is a pivot column. If the rightmost of [A b] is a pivot
column, then the system is inconsistent.
13
2. Assuming that the rightmost column of [A b] is not a pivot column,
take a look at rref(A). (This requires no extra computation.) If all
columns of A are pivot columns, then the linear system has a unique
solution. If not all columns of A are pivot columns, then the system
has innitely many solutions.
1.3: Vector Equations
Denition 37 Suppose that
u =
_

_
u
1
u
2
.
.
.
u
n
_

_
and v =
_

_
v
1
v
2
.
.
.
v
n
_

_
are column vectors of dimension n. We dene the sum of u and v to be the
vector
u +v =
_

_
u
1
+ v
1
u
2
+ v
2
.
.
.
u
n
+ v
n
_

_
.
Denition 38 Suppose that
u =
_

_
u
1
u
2
.
.
.
u
n
_

_
is a column vectors of dimension n and suppose that c is a real number (also
called a scalar). We dene the scalar multiple cu to be
cu =
_

_
cu
1
cu
2
.
.
.
cu
n
_

_
.
14
Denition 39 The symbol R
n
denotes the set of all ordered ntuples of num-
bers. The symbol V
n
denotes the set of all column vectors of dimension n.
(The textbook author does not make this distinction. He uses R
n
to denote
both things. However, there really is a dierence. Elements of R
n
should
be regarded as points whereas elements of V
n
are matrices with one column.)
If x = (x
1
; x
2
; : : : ; x
n
) is a point in R
n
, then the position vector of x is the
vector
x =
_

_
x
1
x
2
.
.
.
x
n
_

_
.
Example 40 x = (1; 2) is a point in R
2
. The position vector of this point
(which is an element of V
2
) is
x =
_
1
2
_
.
Denition 41 Suppose that u
1
; u
2
; : : : ; u
n
are vectors in V
m
. (Note that
this is a set of n vectors, each of which has dimension m). Also suppose that
c
1
; c
2
; : : : ; c
n
are scalars. Then the vector
c
1
u
1
+ c
2
u
2
+ + c
n
u
n
is called a linear combination of the vectors u
1
; u
2
; : : : ; u
n
.
Example 42 Suppose that
u
1
=
_
1
2
_
, u
2
=
_
0
5
_
, u
3
=
_
1
4
_
.
Then the vector
4u
1
2u
2
+ 3u
3
= 4
_
1
2
_
2
_
0
5
_
+ 3
_
1
4
_
=
_
7
30
_
is a linear combination of u
1
,u
2
, and u
3
.
Denition 43 Suppose that u
1
; u
2
; : : : ; u
n
are vectors in V
m
. The span of
this set of vectors, denoted by Spanu
1
; u
2
; : : : ; u
n
, is the set of all vectors
that are linear combinations of the vectors u
1
; u
2
; : : : ; u
n
. Formally,
Spanu
1
; u
2
; : : : ; u
n

= v V
m
[ there exist scalars c
1
; c
2
; : : : ; c
n
such that v = c
1
u
1
+ c
2
u
2
+ + c
n
u
n
.
15
Denition 44 The zero vector in V
m
is the vector
0
m
=
_

_
0
0
.
.
.
0
_

_
.
Remark 45 If u
1
; u
2
; : : : ; u
n
is any set of vectors in V
m
, then 0
m
Spanu
1
; u
2
; : : : ; u
n

because
0
m
= 0u
1
+ 0u
2
+ + 0u
n
.
Denition 46 A vector equation in the variables x
1
, x
2
,. . . ,x
n
is an equa-
tion of the form
x
1
a
1
+ x
2
a
2
+ + x
n
a
n
= b
where a
1
,a
2
,. . . ,a
n
and b are vectors in V
m
(which are usually known before-
hand). An ordered ntuple (s
1
; s
2
; : : : ; s
n
) is called a solution of this vector
equation if the equation is satised when we set x
1
= s
1
, x
2
= s
2
,. . . , x
n
= s
n
.
The solution set of the vector equation is the set of all of its solutions.
Example 47 An example of a vector equation is
x
1
_
1
2
_
+ x
2
_
0
5
_
+ x
3
_
1
4
_
=
_
4
2
_
.
The ordered triple (x
1
; x
2
; x
3
) = (9; 4=5; 5) is a solution of this vector equa-
tion because
9
_
1
2
_
+
4
5
_
0
5
_
+ 5
_
1
4
_
=
_
4
2
_
.
Remark 48 The vector equation
x
1
a
1
+ x
2
a
2
+ + x
n
a
n
= b
is consistent if and only if b Spana
1
; a
2
; : : : ; a
n
.
Remark 49 The vector equation
x
1
a
1
+ x
2
a
2
+ + x
n
a
n
= b
16
where
a
1
=
_

_
a
11
a
21
.
.
.
a
m1
_

_
, a
2
=
_

_
a
12
a
22
.
.
.
a
m2
_

_
, . . . ,a
n
=
_

_
a
1n
a
2n
.
.
.
a
mn
_

_
and
b =
_

_
b
1
b
2
.
.
.
b
m
_

_
is equivalent to the system of linear equations
a
11
x
1
+ a
12
x
2
+ : : : + a
1n
x
n
= b
1
a
21
x
1
+ a
22
x
2
+ : : : + a
2n
x
n
= b
2
.
.
.
a
m1
x
1
+ a
m2
x
2
+ : : : + a
mn
x
n
= b
m
.
This means that the vector equation and the system have the same solution
sets. Each can be solved (or determined to be inconsistent) by rowreducing
the augmented matrix
_
a
1
a
2
a
n
b

.
Example 50 Let us solve the vector equation
x
1
_
1
2
_
+ x
2
_
0
5
_
+ x
3
_
1
4
_
=
_
4
2
_
.
This equation is equivalent to the linear system
x
1
+ x
3
= 4
2x
1
5x
2
+ 4x
3
= 2.
Since
[A b] =
_
1 0 1 4
2 5 4 2
_
and
rref ([A b]) =
_
1 0 1 4
0 1
2
5

6
5
_
,
17
we see that the vector equation is consistent (because the rightmost column of
[A b] is not a pivot column) and that it in fact has innitely many solutions
(because not all columns of A are pivot columns). We also see that the general
solution is
x
1
= 4 x
3
x
2
=
6
5
+
2
5
x
3
x
3
= free.
Note that if we set x
3
= 5, then we get the particular solution
x
1
= 9
x
2
=
4
5
x
3
= 5
that was identied in an earlier example.
1.4: The Matrix Equation Ax = b
Denition 51 For a matrix of size mn,
A =
_
a
1
a
2
a
n

=
_

_
a
11
a
12
a
1n
a
21
a
22
a
2n
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
a
m1
a
m2
a
mn
_

_
,
and a vector of dimension n,
x =
_

_
x
1
x
2
.
.
.
x
n
_

_
,
we dene the product Ax to be
Ax = x
1
a
1
+ x
2
a
2
+ + x
n
a
n
.
18
Example 52 Suppose
A =
_
2 3 4
4 3 3
_
and
x =
_
_
4
1
0
_
_
.
Then
Ax = 4
_
2
4
_
1
_
3
3
_
+ 0
_
4
3
_
=
_
11
19
_
.
Denition 53 Suppose that
A =
_
a
1
a
2
a
n

=
_

_
a
11
a
12
a
1n
a
21
a
22
a
2n
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
a
m1
a
m2
a
mn
_

_
is an mn matrix and that
b =
_

_
b
1
b
2
.
.
.
b
m
_

_
V
m
.
Then
Ax = b
is called a matrix equation. Generally, A and b are known beforehand and
the problem is to solve for the unknown vector x V
n
.
Remark 54 The system of linear equations
a
11
x
1
+ a
12
x
2
+ : : : + a
1n
x
n
= b
1
a
21
x
1
+ a
22
x
2
+ : : : + a
2n
x
n
= b
2
.
.
.
a
m1
x
1
+ a
m2
x
2
+ : : : + a
mn
x
n
= b
m
,
19
the vector equation
x
1
a
1
+ x
2
a
2
+ + x
n
a
n
= b,
and the matrix equation
Ax = b
are all equivalent to each other! The only subtle dierence is that solutions
of the system and of the vector equation are ordered ntuples
(x
1
; x
2
; : : : ; x
n
) = (s
1
; s
2
; : : : ; s
n
) R
n
;
whereas solutions of the matrix equation are the corresponding vectors
_

_
x
1
x
2
.
.
.
x
n
_

_
=
_

_
s
1
s
2
.
.
.
s
n
_

_
V
n
.
1.5: Solution Sets of Linear Systems
Denition 55 A homogeneous linear system is one of the form
Ax = 0
m
where A is an mn matrix.
A nonhomogeneous linear system is a linear system that is not ho-
mogeneous.
Remark 56 Homogenous systems are consistent! Thats because they have
the solution x = 0
n
.
Denition 57 The solution x = 0
n
is called the trivial solution of the
homogeneous system Ax = 0
m
. A nontrivial solution of the homogeneous
system Ax = 0
m
is a solution x V
n
such that x ,= 0
n
.
Example 58 The system
5x + 2y 3z + w = 0
3x + y 5z + w = 0
x 3y 5z + 5w = 0
is homogeneous. A nontrivial solution of this system (as the reader can
check) is (x; y; z; w) = (18; 34; 1; 25).
20
Theorem 59 If every column of A is a pivot column, then the homogeneous
system Ax = 0
m
has only the trivial solution. If not every column of A is
a pivot column, then the homogeneous system Ax = 0
m
has innitely many
nontrivial solutions (in addition to the trivial solution).
Example 60 The system given in the preceding example has coecient ma-
trix
A =
_
_
5 2 3 1
3 1 5 1
1 3 5 5
_
_
.
Without doing any computations, we can see that it is not possible that every
column of A can be a pivot column. (Why?) Therefore the homogeneous
system Ax = 0
m
has innitely many nontrivial solutions.
Theorem 61 Suppose that A is an mn matrix and suppose that b V
m
.
Also suppose that v V
n
is a solution of the homogeneous system Ax = 0
m
and that w V
n
is a solution of the system Ax = b. Then v + w is also a
solution of Ax = b.
21