Engineering Mathematics
Linear Algebra
GATE 2014
Hard
Consider the following system of equations: 3x+2y=1, 4x+7z=1, x+y+z=3, x−2y+7z=0. What is the number of solutions for this system?
1
Explanation
The first three equations uniquely determine x=−11/5, y=19/5, z=7/5 (solve y from eq.1, substitute into eq.3 to get z in terms of x, then substitute both into eq.2). Checking the fourth equation with these values: −11/5 − 2(19/5) + 7(7/5) = (−11−38+49)/5 = 0, exactly matching its right-hand side — so the fourth equation is consistent with (not independent of) the first three, and the system has exactly 1 solution.
Source: GATE CS 2014 (Session 1) (2014)
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