Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/ia/paper-1/5b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 ia Paper 1 5B Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be the augmented matrix of the linear system. Consistency means that is in the column space of , equivalently . For a consistent system, choosing one solution gives every solution as . The rank-nullity theorem therefore gives the complete classification:
- Unique: , equivalently .
- Infinitely many: .
- None: .
For the given equations, subtracting the first from the second and the second from the third givesIf , then and the first equation gives . If , the first reduced equation is , so the system is inconsistent. ThusThese conclusions can also be checked from , but the row differences exhibit the inconsistency directly.
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