Matrix Form
1. The problem is to express a system or equation in matrix form.
2. Matrix form typically means writing a system of linear equations as $AX = B$, where $A$ is the coefficient matrix, $X$ is the column vector of variables, and $B$ is the constants vector.
3. For example, if you have the system:
$$\begin{cases} 2x + 3y = 5 \\ 4x - y = 1 \end{cases}$$
4. The coefficient matrix $A$ is:
$$A = \begin{bmatrix} 2 & 3 \\ 4 & -1 \end{bmatrix}$$
5. The variable vector $X$ is:
$$X = \begin{bmatrix} x \\ y \end{bmatrix}$$
6. The constants vector $B$ is:
$$B = \begin{bmatrix} 5 \\ 1 \end{bmatrix}$$
7. So the matrix form is:
$$AX = B$$
$$\begin{bmatrix} 2 & 3 \\ 4 & -1 \end{bmatrix} \begin{bmatrix} x \\ y \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 5 \\ 1 \end{bmatrix}$$
8. This form is useful for solving systems using matrix operations like inverse or row reduction.