Physics I / Systems of Linear Equations and Gaussian Elimination
Practice question · Multiple choice

While solving a linear system you reach the row   0    0      5\;0\;\;0\;\;|\;\,5. What has the algebra just told you?

Hints
  1. Translate the row back into an equation about the unknowns.
  2. It reads 0x+0y=50x + 0y = 5. Can any choice of x,yx, y arrange that?
Show the answer

D. The system is inconsistent

Why

The row asserts 0=50 = 5, a contradiction, so the original equations demand the impossible (geometrically: parallel lines that never meet). Elimination doesn’t just find solutions; it delivers verdicts about whether solutions exist at all.

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