Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-year-1-of-the-computer-science-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/digital-systems-linear-algebra-introduction-to-formal-proof-resit/4/a/solution
Past exam of the year 1 of the computer science course of the University of Oxford 2015 Digital systems, linear algebra, introduction to formal proof (resit) 4 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Source gap / TODO: the original printed page 4, confirmed visually, omits the unknown vector. It literally equates a matrix with a vector, so it does not define a well-formed system of linear equations. The following answer is conditional on the usual intended interpretation ; the missing factor is not present in the source.
Under that interpretation, the rows satisfy . Applying this linear relation to the right-hand side gives the necessary consistency conditionIt is sufficient too: the upper-left minor has determinant , so the first two rows are linearly independent. The third row is , and imposes precisely the condition already found. ThereforeFor completeness, setting givesand direct substitution satisfies all three linear equations exactly for those two values of . An unconditional answer to the malformed printed equality awaits a source correction.
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