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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 ...
To describe a set with an infinite number of solutions, typically some of the variables are designated as free (or independent, or as parameters), meaning that they are allowed to take any value, while the remaining variables are dependent on the values of the free variables. For example, consider the following system:
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.
An example of a degenerate case, in which n(n + 3) / 2 points on the curve are not sufficient to determine the curve uniquely, was provided by Cramer as part of Cramer's paradox. Let the degree be n = 3, and let nine points be all combinations of x = −1, 0, 1 and y = −1, 0, 1.
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.
Cramer's rule on the other hand needs to make no decisions at all (all that matters is that the denominator is nonzero, which is the condition for a unique solution to exist in the first place) and can be applied to such a system. That is exactly why the rule is of theoretical importance.
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.
The Cramér–Rao bound is stated in this section for several increasingly general cases, beginning with the case in which the parameter is a scalar and its estimator is unbiased.