1.

6 Further Results on Systems of Equations and Invertibility 59

1.6
FURTHER RESULTS ON SYSTEMS
OF EQUATIONS AND INVERTIBILITY
In this section we shall establish more results about systems of linear equations
and invertibility of matrices. Our work will lead to a new method for solving n
equations in n unknowns.
A Basic Theorem In Section 1.1 we made the statement (based on Figure
1.1.1) that every linear system has either no solutions, one solution, or innitely many
solutions. We are now in a position to prove this fundamental result.
Theorem 1.6.1
Every system of linear equations has either no solutions, exactly one solution, or
innitely many solutions.
Proof. If Ax = b is a system of linear equations, exactly one of the following is true:
(a) the system has no solutions, (b) the system has exactly one solution, or (c) the system
has more than one solution. The proof will be complete if we can show that the system
has innitely many solutions in case (c).
Assume that Ax = b has more than one solution, and let x
0
= x
1
x
2
, where x
1
and x
2
are any two distinct solutions. Because x
1
and x
2
are distinct, the matrix x
0
is
nonzero; moreover,
Ax
0
= A(x
1
x
2
) = Ax
1
Ax
2
= b b = 0
If we now let k be any scalar, then
A(x
1
+ kx
0
) = Ax
1
+ A(kx
0
) = Ax
1
+ k(Ax
0
)
= b + k0 = b + 0 = b
But this says that x
1
+ kx
0
is a solution of Ax = b. Since x
0
is nonzero and there are
innitely many choices for k, the system Ax = b has innitely many solutions.
Solving Linear Systems by Matrix Inversion Thus far, we
have studied two methods for solving linear systems: Gaussian elimination and Gauss
Jordan elimination. The following theorem provides a new method for solving certain
linear systems.
Theorem 1.6.2
If Ais an invertible nn matrix, then for each n1 matrix b, the systemof equations
Ax = b has exactly one solution, namely, x = A
1
b.
Proof. Since A(A
1
b) = b, it follows that x = A
1
b is a solution of Ax = b. To show
that this is the only solution, we will assume that x
0
is an arbitrary solution and then
show that x
0
must be the solution A
1
b.
If x
0
is any solution, then Ax
0
= b. Multiplying both sides by A
1
, we obtain
x
0
= A
1
b.
60 Chapter 1 / Systems of Linear Equations and Matrices
EXAMPLE 1 Solution of a Linear SystemUsing A
1
Consider the system of linear equations
x
1
+ 2x
2
+ 3x
3
= 5
2x
1
+ 5x
2
+ 3x
3
= 3
x
1
+ 8x
3
= 17
In matrix form this system can be written as Ax = b, where
A =

1 2 3
2 5 3
1 0 8

, x =

x
1
x
2
x
3

, b =

5
3
17

In Example 4 of the preceding section we showed that A is invertible and

A
1
=

40 16 9
13 5 3
5 2 1

By Theorem 1.6.2 the solution of the system is

x = A
1
b =

40 16 9
13 5 3
5 2 1

5
3
17

1
1
2

or x
1
= 1, x
2
= 1, x
3
= 2.
REMARK. Note that the method of Example 1 applies only when the system has as many
equations as unknowns and the coefcient matrix is invertible.
Linear Systems with a Common Coefficient Matrix
Frequently, one is concerned with solving a sequence of systems
Ax = b
1
, Ax = b
2
, Ax = b
3
, . . . , Ax = b
k
each of which has the same square coefcient matrix A. If A is invertible, then the
solutions
x
1
= A
1
b
1
, x
2
= A
1
b
2
, x
3
= A
1
b
3
, . . . , x
k
= A
1
b
k
can be obtained with one matrix inversion and k matrix multiplications. However, a
more efcient method is to form the matrix
[A | b
1
| b
2
| | b
k
] (1)
in which the coefcient matrix A is augmented by all k of the matrices b
1
, b
2
, . . . , b
k
.
By reducing (1) to reduced row-echelon form we can solve all k systems at once by
GaussJordan elimination. This method has the added advantage that it applies even
when A is not invertible.
EXAMPLE 2 Solving Two Linear Systems at Once
Solve the systems
(a) x
1
+ 2x
2
+ 3x
3
= 4
2x
1
+ 5x
2
+ 3x
3
= 5
x
1
+ 8x
3
= 9
(b) x
1
+ 2x
2
+ 3x
3
= 1
2x
1
+ 5x
2
+ 3x
3
= 6
x
1
+ 8x
3
= 6
1.6 Further Results on Systems of Equations and Invertibility 61
Solution.
The two systems have the same coefcient matrix. If we augment this coefcient matrix
with the columns of constants on the right sides of these systems, we obtain

1 2 3 4 1
2 5 3 5 6
1 0 8 9 6

Reducing this matrix to reduced row-echelon form yields (verify)

1 0 0 1 2
0 1 0 0 1
0 0 1 1 1

It follows from the last two columns that the solution of system (a) is x
1
= 1, x
2
= 0,
x
3
= 1 and of system (b) is x
1
= 2, x
2
= 1, x
3
= 1.
Properties of Invertible Matrices Up to now, to show that an
n n matrix A is invertible, it has been necessary to nd an n n matrix B such
that
AB = I and BA = I
The next theoremshows that if we produce an nn matrix B satisfying either condition,
then the other condition holds automatically.
Theorem 1.6.3
Let A be a square matrix.
(a) If B is a square matrix satisfying BA = I, then B = A
1
.
(b) If B is a square matrix satisfying AB = I, then B = A
1
.
We shall prove part (a) and leave part (b) as an exercise.
Proof (a). Assume that BA = I. If we can show that A is invertible, the proof can be
completed by multiplying BA = I on both sides by A
1
to obtain
BAA
1
= IA
1
or BI = IA
1
or B = A
1
To show that A is invertible, it sufces to show that the system Ax = 0 has only the
trivial solution (see Theorem1.5.3). Let x
0
be any solution of this system. If we multiply
both sides of Ax
0
= 0 on the left by B, we obtain BAx
0
= B0 or Ix
0
= 0 or x
0
= 0.
Thus, the system of equations Ax = 0 has only the trivial solution.
We are now in a position to add two more statements that are equivalent to the four
given in Theorem 1.5.3.
Theorem 1.6.4 Equivalent Statements
If A is an n n matrix, then the following are equivalent.
(a) A is invertible.
(b) Ax = 0 has only the trivial solution.
(c) The reduced row-echelon form of A is I
n
.
(d) A is expressible as a product of elementary matrices.
(e) Ax = b is consistent for every n 1 matrix b.
( f ) Ax = b has exactly one solution for every n 1 matrix b.
62 Chapter 1 / Systems of Linear Equations and Matrices
Proof. Since we proved in Theorem 1.5.3 that (a), (b), (c), and (d ) are equivalent, it will
be sufcient to prove that (a) ( f ) (e) (a).
(a) (f ). This was already proved in Theorem 1.6.2.
(f ) (e). This is self-evident: If Ax = b has exactly one solution for every n 1
matrix b, then Ax = b is consistent for every n 1 matrix b.
(e) (a). If the systemAx = bis consistent for every n1 matrix b, then in particular,
the systems
Ax =

1
0
0
.
.
.
0

, Ax =

0
1
0
.
.
.
0

, . . . , Ax =

0
0
0
.
.
.
1

are consistent. Let x

1
, x
2
, . . . , x
n
be solutions of the respective systems, and let us form
an n n matrix C having these solutions as columns. Thus, C has the form
C = [x
1
| x
2
| | x
n
]
As discussed in Section 1.3, the successive columns of the product AC will be
Ax
1
, Ax
2
, . . . , Ax
n
Thus,
AC = [Ax
1
| Ax
2
| | Ax
n
] =

1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 0
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
0 0 1

= I
By part (b) of Theorem 1.6.3 it follows that C = A
1
. Thus, A is invertible.
We know from earlier work that invertible matrix factors produce an invertible
product. The following theorem, which will be proved later, looks at the converse: It
shows that if the product of square matrices is invertible, then the factors themselves
must be invertible.
Theorem 1.6.5
Let A and B be square matrices of the same size. If AB is invertible, then A and B
must also be invertible.
In our later work the following fundamental problemwill occur frequently in various
contexts.
A Fundamental Problem. Let A be a xed m n matrix. Find all m 1 matrices b
such that the system of equations Ax = b is consistent.
If A is an invertible matrix, Theorem 1.6.2 completely solves this problem by as-
serting that for every m 1 matrix b, the linear system Ax = b has the unique solution
x = A
1
b. If A is not square, or if A is square but not invertible, then Theorem 1.6.2
does not apply. In these cases the matrix b must usually satisfy certain conditions in
1.6 Further Results on Systems of Equations and Invertibility 63
order for Ax = b to be consistent. The following example illustrates howthe elimination
methods of Section 1.2 can be used to determine such conditions.
EXAMPLE 3 Determining Consistency by Elimination
What conditions must b
1
, b
2
, and b
3
satisfy in order for the system of equations
x
1
+ x
2
+ 2x
3
= b
1
x
1
+ x
3
= b
2
2x
1
+ x
2
+ 3x
3
= b
3
to be consistent?
Solution.
The augmented matrix is

1 1 2 b
1
1 0 1 b
2
2 1 3 b
3

which can be reduced to row-echelon form as follows.

1 1 2 b
1
0 1 1 b
2
b
1
0 1 1 b
3
2b
1

1 times the rst row was added

to the second and 2 times the
rst row was added to the third.

1 1 2 b
1
0 1 1 b
1
b
2
0 1 1 b
3
2b
1

The second row was

multiplied by 1.

1 1 2 b
1
0 1 1 b
1
b
2
0 0 0 b
3
b
2
b
1

The second row was added

to the third.
It is now evident from the third row in the matrix that the system has a solution if and
only if b
1
, b
2
, and b
3
satisfy the condition
b
3
b
2
b
1
= 0 or b
3
= b
1
+ b
2
To express this condition another way, Ax = b is consistent if and only if b is a matrix
of the form
b =

b
1
b
2
b
1
+ b
2

where b
1
and b
2
are arbitrary.
EXAMPLE 4 Determining Consistency by Elimination
What conditions must b
1
, b
2
, and b
3
satisfy in order for the system of equations
x
1
+ 2x
2
+ 3x
3
= b
1
2x
1
+ 5x
2
+ 3x
3
= b
2
x
1
+ 8x
3
= b
3
to be consistent?
64 Chapter 1 / Systems of Linear Equations and Matrices
Solution.
The augmented matrix is

1 2 3 b
1
2 5 3 b
2
1 0 8 b
3

Reducing this to reduced row-echelon form yields (verify)

1 0 0 40b
1
+ 16b
2
+ 9b
3
0 1 0 13b
1
5b
2
3b
3
0 0 1 5b
1
2b
2
b
3

(2)
In this case there are no restrictions on b
1
, b
2
, and b
3
; that is, the given system Ax = b
has the unique solution
x
1
= 40b
1
+ 16b
2
+ 9b
3
, x
2
= 13b
1
5b
2
3b
3
, x
3
= 5b
1
2b
2
b
3
(3)
for all b.
REMARK. Because the system Ax = b in the preceding example is consistent for all b,
it follows from Theorem 1.6.4 that A is invertible. We leave it for the reader to verify
that the formulas in (3) can also be obtained by calculating x = A
1
b.
Exercise Set 1.6
In Exercises 18 solve the system by inverting the coefcient matrix and using Theorem 1.6.2.
1. x
1
+ x
2
= 2
5x
1
+ 6x
2
= 9
2. 4x
1
3x
2
= 3
2x
1
5x
2
= 9
3. x
1
+ 3x
2
+ x
3
= 4
2x
1
+ 2x
2
+ x
3
= 1
2x
1
+ 3x
2
+ x
3
= 3
4. 5x
1
+ 3x
2
+ 2x
3
= 4
3x
1
+ 3x
2
+ 2x
3
= 2
x
2
+ x
3
= 5
5. x + y + z = 5
x + y 4z = 10
4x + y + z = 0
6. x 2y 3z = 0
w + x + 4y + 4z = 7
w + 3x + 7y + 9z = 4
w 2x 4y 6z = 6
7. 3x
1
+ 5x
2
= b
1
x
1
+ 2x
2
= b
2
8. x
1
+ 2x
2
+ 3x
3
= b
1
2x
1
+ 5x
2
+ 5x
3
= b
2
3x
1
+ 5x
2
+ 8x
3
= b
3
9. Solve the following general system by inverting the coefcient matrix and using Theo-
rem 1.6.2.
x
1
+ 2x
2
+ x
3
= b
1
x
1
x
2
+ x
3
= b
2
x
1
+ x
2
= b
3
Use the resulting formulas to nd the solution if
(a) b
1
= 1, b
2
= 3, b
3
= 4 (b) b
1
= 5, b
2
= 0, b
3
= 0 (c) b
1
= 1, b
2
= 1, b
3
= 3
10. Solve the three systems in Exercise 9 using the method of Example 2.
1.6 Further Results on Systems of Equations and Invertibility 65
In Exercises 1114 use the method of Example 2 to solve the systems in all parts simultaneously.
11. x
1
5x
2
= b
1
3x
1
+ 2x
2
= b
2
(a) b
1
= 1, b
2
= 4
(b) b
1
= 2, b
2
= 5
12. x
1
+ 4x
2
+ x
3
= b
1
x
1
+ 9x
2
2x
3
= b
2
6x
1
+ 4x
2
8x
3
= b
3
(a) b
1
= 0, b
2
= 1, b
3
= 0
(b) b
1
= 3, b
2
= 4, b
3
= 5
13. 4x
1
7x
2
= b
1
x
1
+ 2x
2
= b
2
(a) b
1
= 0, b
2
= 1
(b) b
1
= 4, b
2
= 6
(c) b
1
= 1, b
2
= 3
(d) b
1
= 5, b
2
= 1
14. x
1
+ 3x
2
+ 5x
3
= b
1
x
1
2x
2
= b
2
2x
1
+ 5x
2
+ 4x
3
= b
3
(a) b
1
= 1, b
2
= 0, b
3
= 1
(b) b
1
= 0, b
2
= 1, b
3
= 1
(c) b
1
= 1, b
2
= 1, b
3
= 0
15. The method of Example 2 can be used for linear systems with innitely many solutions. Use
that method to solve the systems in both parts at the same time.
(a) x
1
2x
2
+ x
3
= 2
2x
1
5x
2
+ x
3
= 1
3x
1
7x
2
+ 2x
3
= 1
(b) x
1
2x
2
+ x
3
= 1
2x
1
5x
2
+ x
3
= 1
3x
1
7x
2
+ 2x
3
= 0
In Exercises 1619 nd conditions that bs must satisfy for the system to be consistent.
16. 6x
1
4x
2
= b
1
3x
1
2x
2
= b
2
17. x
1
2x
2
+ 5x
3
= b
1
4x
1
5x
2
+ 8x
3
= b
2
3x
1
+ 3x
2
3x
3
= b
3
18. x
1
2x
2
x
3
= b
1
4x
1
+ 5x
2
+ 2x
3
= b
2
4x
1
+ 7x
2
+ 4x
3
= b
3
19. x
1
x
2
+ 3x
3
+ 2x
1
= b
1
2x
1
+ x
2
+ 5x
3
+ x
1
= b
2
3x
1
+ 2x
2
+ 2x
3
x
1
= b
3
4x
1
3x
2
+ x
3
+ 3x
1
= b
4
20. Consider the matrices
A =

2 1 2
2 2 2
3 1 1

and x =

x
1
x
2
x
3

(a) Show that the equation Ax = x can be rewritten as (A I)x = 0 and use this result to
solve Ax = x for x.
(b) Solve Ax = 4x.
21. Solve the following matrix equation for X.

1 1 1
2 3 0
0 2 1

X =

2 1 5 7 8
4 0 3 0 1
3 5 7 2 1

22. In each part determine whether the homogeneous system has a nontrivial solution (without
using pencil and paper); then state whether the given matrix is invertible.
(a) 2x
1
+ x
2
3x
3
+ x
4
= 0
5x
2
+ 4x
3
+ 3x
4
= 0
x
3
+ 2x
4
= 0
3x
4
= 0

2 1 3 1
0 5 4 3
0 0 1 2
0 0 0 3

(b) 5x
1
+ x
2
+ 4x
3
+ x
4
= 0
2x
3
x
4
= 0
x
3
+ x
4
= 0
7x
4
= 0

5 1 4 1
0 0 2 1
0 0 1 1
0 0 0 7

66 Chapter 1 / Systems of Linear Equations and Matrices

23. Let Ax = 0 be a homogeneous system of n linear equations in n unknowns that has only the
trivial solution. Show that if k is any positive integer, then the system A
k
x = 0 also has only
the trivial solution.
24. Let Ax = 0 be a homogeneous system of n linear equations in n unknowns, and let Q be
an invertible n n matrix. Show that Ax = 0 has just the trivial solution if and only if
(QA)x = 0 has just the trivial solution.
25. Let Ax = b be any consistent system of linear equations, and let x
1
be a xed solution. Show
that every solution to the systemcan be written in the formx = x
1
+x
0
, where x
0
is a solution
to Ax = 0. Show also that every matrix of this form is a solution.
26. Use part (a) of Theorem 1.6.3 to prove part (b).
Discussion and Discovery
27. (a) If A is an n n matrix and if b is an n 1 matrix, what conditions would you impose
to ensure that the equation x = Ax + b has a unique solution for x?
(b) Assuming that your conditions are satised, nd a formula for the solution in terms of
an appropriate inverse.
28. Suppose that A is an invertible n n matrix. Must the system of equations Ax = x have a
unique solution? Explain your reasoning.
29. Is it possible to have AB = I without B being the inverse of A? Explain your reasoning.
30. Create a theorem by rewriting Theorem 1.6.5 in contrapositive form (see Exercise 34 of
Section 1.4).
1.7
DIAGONAL, TRIANGULAR, AND
SYMMETRIC MATRICES
In this section we shall consider certain classes of matrices that have special
forms. The matrices that we study in this section are among the most important
kinds of matrices encountered in linear algebra and will arise in many different
settings throughout the text.
Diagonal Matrices A square matrix in which all the entries off the main
diagonal are zero is called a diagonal matrix. Here are some examples.

2 0
0 5

1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1

6 0 0 0
0 4 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 8

A general n n diagonal matrix D can be written as

D =

d
1
0 0
0 d
2
0
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
0 0 d
n

(1)
A diagonal matrix is invertible if and only if all of its diagonal entries are nonzero; in