Reduced Row Echelon Form

Definition

Reduced row echelon form is a special matrix form that is obtained by performing elementary row operations on a system of linear equations. It is a simplified and organized representation of the system, where the leading entry in each row is a 1, and all other entries in that column are 0, with the rows arranged in a specific order.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. The reduced row echelon form of a matrix is unique and independent of the order in which the elementary row operations are performed.
2. The reduced row echelon form provides valuable information about the solutions of the system of linear equations, such as the number of free variables and the existence and uniqueness of the solution.
3. Reduced row echelon form is an essential step in the Gaussian elimination method, which is used to solve systems of linear equations with three or more variables.
4. The leading 1's in the reduced row echelon form correspond to the basic variables, while the free variables are represented by the columns without a leading 1.
5. Reduced row echelon form can be used to determine the rank of a matrix, which is the number of linearly independent rows or columns in the matrix.

Review Questions

• Explain how the reduced row echelon form of a matrix is obtained and its significance in solving systems of linear equations.
  • The reduced row echelon form of a matrix is obtained by performing a series of elementary row operations, such as row addition, row scaling, and row swapping, on the augmented matrix of a system of linear equations. This process transforms the matrix into a simplified form where the leading entry in each row is a 1, and all other entries in that column are 0. The reduced row echelon form provides valuable information about the solutions of the system, including the number of free variables and the existence and uniqueness of the solution. It is a crucial step in the Gaussian elimination method, which is used to solve systems of linear equations with three or more variables.
• Describe the relationship between the reduced row echelon form of a matrix and the rank of the matrix.
  • The reduced row echelon form of a matrix is closely related to the rank of the matrix, which is the number of linearly independent rows or columns in the matrix. The number of non-zero rows in the reduced row echelon form of a matrix is equal to the rank of the matrix. This is because the elementary row operations used to obtain the reduced row echelon form do not change the rank of the matrix. The reduced row echelon form provides a convenient way to determine the rank of a matrix, as the number of leading 1's in the matrix corresponds to the rank.
• Analyze the significance of the leading 1's and free variables in the reduced row echelon form of a matrix, and explain how this information can be used to understand the solutions of the corresponding system of linear equations.
  • The leading 1's in the reduced row echelon form of a matrix correspond to the basic variables in the system of linear equations, while the columns without a leading 1 represent the free variables. This information is crucial for understanding the solutions of the system. The number of free variables indicates the number of parameters that can be chosen arbitrarily to obtain a solution, while the basic variables are determined by the system. The reduced row echelon form also reveals the existence and uniqueness of the solution: if there is a unique solution, the matrix will have a full rank, and the number of leading 1's will be equal to the number of variables. If the matrix has a reduced rank, the system will have either no solution or infinitely many solutions, depending on the values of the free variables.

Related terms

Elementary Row Operations: The basic operations that can be performed on the rows of a matrix, such as row addition, row scaling, and row swapping, to transform the matrix into a different but equivalent form.

Augmented Matrix: A matrix that combines the coefficient matrix of a system of linear equations with the constant terms on the right-hand side, allowing for efficient manipulation and solving of the system.

Gaussian Elimination: A method for solving systems of linear equations by performing a series of elementary row operations to transform the augmented matrix into reduced row echelon form.