Algebra 60 - Parametric Equations with Gauss-Jordan Elimination

This chapter introduces the concept of “pivot columns” and shows how they can be used to determine whether a system of linear equations has a single unique solution, no solutions, or infinitely many solutions, simply by looking at the positions of the pivot columns within the reduced row echelon form matrix. If the system has infinitely many solutions, we then see how a set of parametric equations can be easily produced from that matrix. This chapter also examines how the solution set of a system of linear equations forms a subspace of lower dimensionality than the system itself.