Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2012 / Paper 1 / 11 / a / Solution

Collecting the coefficients gives the coefficient matrixA square homogeneous linear system has a nonzero solution precisely when its matrix is a singular matrix. Expanding the determinant down the first column,Hence the necessary and sufficient condition is $a=0$ or $b=c$ or $b=-c$. A zero determinant gives a nontrivial kernel of a linear map; otherwise multiplication by the matrix inverse would force the zero solution.