1 Solving a system of two equations using the inverse matrix

If we have one linear equation

a x = b

in which the unknown is x and a and b are constants and a 0 then x = b a = a 1 b .

What happens if we have more than one equation and more than one unknown? In this Section we copy the algebraic solution x = a 1 b used for a single equation to solve a system of linear equations. As we shall see, this will be a very natural way of solving the system if it is first written in matrix form.

Consider the system

2 x 1 + 3 x 2 = 5 x 1 2 x 2 = 1 .

In matrix form this becomes

2 3 1 2 x 1 x 2 = 5 1 which is of the form A X = B .

If A 1 exists then the solution is

X = A 1 B . (compare the solution x = a 1 b above)

Task!

Given the matrix A = 2 3 1 2 find its determinant. What does this tell you about A 1 ?

A = 2 × ( 2 ) 1 × 3 = 7

since A 0 then A 1 exists.

Now find A 1

A 1 = 1 ( 7 ) 2 3 1 2 = 1 7 2 3 1 2

Task!

Solve the system A X = B where A = 2 3 1 2 and B is   5 1 .

X = A 1 B = 1 7 2 3 1 2 5 1 = 1 7 7 7 = 1 1 . Hence x 1 = 1 , x 2 = 1.

Task!

Use the inverse matrix method to solve

2 x 1 + 3 x 2 = 3

5 x 1 + 4 x 2 = 11

A X = B is 2 3 5 4 x 1 x 2 = 3 11

A = 2 × 4 3 × 5 = 7   and   A 1 = 1 7 4 3 5 2

Using X = A 1 B :

X = x 1 x 2 = 1 7 4 3 5 2 3 11 = 1 7 4 × 3 3 × 11 5 × 3 + 2 × 11 = 1 7 21 7 = 3 1

So x 1 = 3 , x 2 = 1