Question: Given a system of linear equations a x 1 </msub> + a

Leland Morrow

Leland Morrow

Answered question

2022-06-09

Question: Given a system of linear equations
a x 1 + a x 2 + a x 3 = 2 x 1 + a x 2 + a x 3 = 0 2 x 1 + 3 x 2 + a x 3 = 1
For what 2 values of a will the system's augmented matrix have less than 3 pivots?
I'm not looking for an answer to the question, but I'm currently using trial and error to try and form a row 0000, and was wondering if there's some conceptual understating I'm missing that would point to a more logical strategy for finding a?

Answer & Explanation

gaiageoucm5p

gaiageoucm5p

Beginner2022-06-10Added 20 answers

Use algebra, and perhaps expansion by minors, to find the determinant of the matrix of coefficients
[ a a a 1 a a 2 3 a ]
I believe you get a cubic polynomial. Set the resulting expression equal to zero and solve for a. Check each of those solutions to see if the resulting original equations have zero solutions or infinitely many solutions.

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