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In linear algebra, Cramer's rule is an explicit formula for the solution of a system of linear equations with as many equations as unknowns, valid whenever the system has a unique solution. It expresses the solution in terms of the determinants of the (square) coefficient matrix and of matrices obtained from it by replacing one column by the ...
(Indeed, large determinants are most easily computed using row reduction.) Further, Cramer's rule has very poor numerical properties, making it unsuitable for solving even small systems reliably, unless the operations are performed in rational arithmetic with unbounded precision. [citation needed]
Cramer's rule is a closed-form expression, in terms of determinants, of the solution of a system of n linear equations in n unknowns. Cramer's rule is useful for reasoning about the solution, but, except for n = 2 or 3, it is rarely used for computing a solution, since Gaussian elimination is a faster algorithm.
Determinants can be used to solve linear systems using Cramer's rule, where the division of the determinants of two related square matrices equates to the value of each of the system's variables. [12]
For example, to solve a system of n equations for n unknowns by performing row operations on the matrix until it is in echelon form, and then solving for each unknown in reverse order, requires n(n + 1)/2 divisions, (2n 3 + 3n 2 − 5n)/6 multiplications, and (2n 3 + 3n 2 − 5n)/6 subtractions, [10] for a total of approximately 2n 3 /3 operations.
Consider the system of equations x + y + 2z = 3, x + y + z = 1, 2x + 2y + 2z = 2.. The coefficient matrix is = [], and the augmented matrix is (|) = [].Since both of these have the same rank, namely 2, there exists at least one solution; and since their rank is less than the number of unknowns, the latter being 3, there are infinitely many solutions.
By the Rouché–Capelli theorem, the system of equations is inconsistent, meaning it has no solutions, if the rank of the augmented matrix (the coefficient matrix augmented with an additional column consisting of the vector b) is greater than the rank of the coefficient matrix. If, on the other hand, the ranks of these two matrices are equal ...
In mathematics, variation of parameters, also known as variation of constants, is a general method to solve inhomogeneous linear ordinary differential equations.. For first-order inhomogeneous linear differential equations it is usually possible to find solutions via integrating factors or undetermined coefficients with considerably less effort, although those methods leverage heuristics that ...