Page 1 of 14

The Augmented Matrix of a Linear System

We can write a system of linear equations as a matrix, called the
augmented matrix of the system, by writing only the coefficients and
constants that appear in the equations. The matrix containing only the
coefficients of the systemis called the coefficient matrix of the system.
Here are someexamples.

Coefficient
Linear System Augmented Matrix
Matrix

Notice that a missing variable in an equation corresponds to a

zero entry in the augmented matrix.
Practice.
Write the augmented matrix of the following systems of linear
equations:

i.)

ii.)

iii.)

Elementary Row Operations

The basic method for solving a linear system is to perform
algebraic operations onthe system that do not alter the solution set
and that produce a succession of increasingly simpler systems, until a
point is reached where it can be ascertained whether the system is
 Page 2 of 14

consistent, and if so, what its solutions are.In matrix terminology

these operations correspond to elementary row operations.An
elementary row operation on an augmented matrix produces a new
augmentedmatrix corresponding to a new (but equivalent) system of
linear equations. Two matrices aresaid to be row-equivalent if one can
be obtained from the other by a finite sequence ofelementary row
operations.
Elementary row operations
1. Add a multiple of one row to another.
2. Multiply a row by a nonzero constant.
3. Interchange two rows.
Note that performing any of these operations on the augmented
matrix of a system does not change its solution. We use the following
notation to describe the elementary row operations:
Notation Description

Change the row by adding times row to

it, and then put the result back in row .

Multiply the row by .

Interchange the and rows.

Although elementary row operations are simple to perform, they

involve a lot ofarithmetic. Because it is easy to make a mistake, you
should get in the habit of noting the elementary row operation
performed in each step so that it is easier to check your work.
Examples.
(i.) Interchange the first and second rows.
New Row-Equivalent
Original Matrix Notation
Matrix

(ii.) Multiply the first row by to produce a new first row.

New Row-Equivalent
Original Matrix Notation
Matrix
 Page 3 of 14

(iii.) Add times the first row to the third row to produce a
new third row.
New Row-Equivalent
Original Matrix Notation
Matrix

Row-Echelon Form (REF)and Reduced Row-Echelon Form

(RREF) of a Matrix
A matrix is in row-echelon form if it satisfies the following conditions:
1. The first nonzero number in each row (reading from left to right)
is 1. This is called the leading entry.
2. The leading entry in each row is to the right of the leading entry
in the row immediately above it.
3. All rows consisting entirely of zeros are at the bottom of the
matrix.
A matrix is in reduced row-echelon form if it is in row-echelon form
and also satisfies the following condition:
4. Every number above and below each leading entry is a 0.

In the following matrices, the first one is not in row-echelon

form. The second one is in row-echelon form, and the third one is in
reduced row-echelon form. The entries in red are the leading entries.
Not in row-echelon Reduced row-echelon
Row-echelon form
form form
 Page 4 of 14

Leading entries do Leading entries

Leading entries have 0’s
not shift to the right shift to the right in
above and below them
in successive rows. successive rows.

Gaussian Elimination
Once an augmented matrix is in row-echelon form,
we can solve the corresponding linear system
using back substitution. This technique is called
Gaussian Elimination, in honor of the German
mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss(1777-1855).

Solving a System Using Gaussian Elimination

1. Augmented Matrix. Write the augmented matrix of the system.
2. Row-echelon Form. Use elementary row operations to change
the augmented matrix to row-echelon form.
3. Back-substitution. Write the new system of equations that
corresponds to the row-echelon form of the augmented matrix
and solve by back-substitution.

Example. Solve the system of linear equations using Gaussian

elimination.
 Page 5 of 14

Gauss-Jordan Elimination
If we put the augmented matrix of a linear
system in reduced-row echelon form, then we
don’t need to back-substitute to solve the
system. We can immediately arrive at the
solution by using the Gauss-Jordan Elimination,
named after Carl Friedrich Gauss and German
geodesist Wilhelm Jordan (1842-1899).

Example. Solve the system of linear equations using Gauss-Jordan

elimination.
 Page 6 of 14

The Solutions of a Linear System in Row-Echelon Form

Suppose the augmented matrix of a system of linear equations
has been transformed by Gaussian elimination into row-echelon form.
Then exactly one of the following is true:
1. One solution. If each variable in the row-echelon form is a
leading variable, then the system has exactly one solution, which
we find using back-substitution or Gauss-Jordan elimination.
(consistent and independent system)
2. No solution. If the row-echelon form contains a row that
represents the equation , where is not zero, then the
system has no solution. (inconsistent system)
3. Infinitely many solutions. If the variables in the row-echelon
form are not all leading variables and if the system is not
consistent, then it has infinitely many solutions. We solve the
 Page 7 of 14

system by putting the matrix in reduced row-echelon form and

then expressing the leading variables in terms of the nonleading
variables. The nonleading variables may take on any real
numbers as their values. (dependent system)

The matrices below, all in row-echelon form, illustrate the three

cases described above.
One solution No solution Infinitely many solutions

Each variable is a Last equation says is a not a leading

leading variable variable

Example 1.A System with One Solution

Solve the system of linear equations using Gauss-Jordan elimination.

Example 2.A System with No Solution

Solve the system.
 Page 8 of 14

Example 3.A System with Infinitely Many Solutions

Find the complete solution of the system.

Homogeneous System of Linear Equations

A system of linear equations is said to be homogeneous if the
constant terms are all zero; that is, the system has the form

Every homogeneous system of linear equations is consistent

because all such systems have as a solution.

 Page 9 of 14

This solution is called the trivial solution; if there are other solutions,
they are called nontrivial solutions.
Because a homogeneous linear system always has the trivial
solution, there are only two possibilities for its solutions:
1. The system has only the trivial solution.
2. The system has infinitely many solutions in addition to the trivial
solution.
In the special case of a homogeneous linear system of two
equations in two unknowns, say

( not both zero)

( not both zero)

the graphs of the equations are lines
through the origin, and the trivial
solution correspondsto the point of
intersection at the origin(see figure).

Example 4.Homogeneous System of Linear Equations

Solve the system of linear equations.

Example 5.Homogeneous System of Linear Equations

Solve the system of linear equations using Gauss-Jordan eliminations.
 Page 10 of 14

Example 4 and 5 illustrates two important points about

homogeneous systems of linear equations.
1. Elementary row operations do not alter columns of zeros in a
matrix, so the reduced row echelon form of the augmented matrix
for a homogeneous linear system has a final column of zeros. This
implies that the linear system corresponding to the reduced row
echelon form is homogeneous, just like the original system.
2. You began with two equations in three variables and discovered
that the system has an infinite number of solutions. In general, a
homogeneous system with fewer equations than variables has an
infinite number of solutions.
EXERCISES
Concepts
1. If a system of linear equations has infinitely many solutions, then
the system is called __________________________. If a system of
 Page 11 of 14

linear equations has no solution, then the system is called

___________________________.
2. Write the augmented matrix of the following system of linear
equations.

2.1

2.2

Find the solution of the following systems of linear equations using

Gaussian elimination or Gauss-Jordan elimination.

3.
 Page 12 of 14

4.

5.
 Page 13 of 14

6.

7.
 Page 14 of 14

8.

9.