KMA002 - Applied

Mathematics Foundation
Linear Algebra

Overview of the lecture

- Linear equations
- Linear graphs
Next lecture:
- Systems of linear equations
- Simultaneous equations
Next week: Matrices
2

Linear equations
A linear equation is an algebraic equation in which
each term is either a constant or the product of a
constant and a single variable.
The following are examples of linear equations:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
3

Example 1
There are 70 students registered in three
algebra classes. There are twice as many
students in the 10AM class as the 8AM class
and there are 10 more students in the 12:00
class than in the 8:00 class. How many students
are in each class?
Let be the number of students in 8A.M. class
We can re-write the above question as
TOTAL
10AM class

8AM class

12PM class

Exercise 2.
The sum of three consecutive integers is 69.
What is the largest integer?

Linear Function
A linear function is a relationship between and in
which each term is either a constant or the product
of a constant and a single variable.
The following are examples of linear functions:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)

Linear function
The general form of a linear function is
,
where and are both constants.
The values of and can be zero. This was the case
on the previous slide
(iv) , here .
(v) , here .

Linear function produce graphs that are straight

lines.

Linear function
Linear function may also be written in the following
form:
Examples:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
()These examples can be re-arranged in the form
8

Exercise 3.
Re-arrange
the following relations to write them in the

form What are the values of and ?

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

Cartesian or plane
A Cartesian coordinate system is a system that specifies
each point uniquely in a plane by a pair of numerical
coordinates .
The axis of a Cartesian system are at right angle to one
another, the axis is horizontal and the axis is vertical.
Where they cross over is the origin,
or zero for both axis.
A point is plotted
units across horizontally (in direction)
3 units up (in direction)

Exercise 4
Plot the following points on the plane
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

Linear graphs
An equation gives us a linear relationship between
and points.
For any given value , we calculate the
corresponding value for . This creates the ordered
pair we can plot on the plane.
Note that in we can also write it as , are the values.

12

Example 5
Lets find some ordered pairs described by this
linear function and plot them on the Cartesian plane

13

Exercise 6
Graph
the function .

14

Exercise 7
Graph
the function

15

Linear graphs
As
weve seen in the previous slides relations of the
form
result in a straight line graphs when plotted on the
plane. This is why they are called linear functions.
The graph cuts the axis when This is called the
intercept.
The graph cuts the axis when . This is called the
intercept.
16

Exercise 8
Graph
the function , by finding the and intercepts.

17

Exercise 9
Graph
the function , by finding the and intercepts.

18

Linear Functions

Did you notice anything special about and ?

If , . is the intercept!
If , , has increased by
If , has increased by another
If , has increased by another , etc
is the slope of the line,
19

Slope
Lets
look at two points on the line ( and . Then

and
We see from the second equation that , which we can
substitute into the first equation:
Subtract from both sides:
Collect like terms:
Divide by :
20

Example 10
Considering points and determine the slope of
the line plotted.

22

Linear graphs
If linear graphs have the same slope then they are
parallel to each other.
For example, the graphs of the lines and are parallel
to each other as their slopes are .
Linear graphs are perpendicular (at right angles) to
one another if the product of their slopes is equal to
.
For example, the graphs of the lines and are
perpendicular to each other, because

23

Exercise 11
Which of the following functions are
perpendicular to each other:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.

24

Linear graphs
To
determine the equation of a straight line we need
two pieces of information. Either
I. The slope of the line and one point that lies on
the line, or
II. Two points and that lie on the line

25

Linear graphs
I.

If we know the slope and one point that lies on

the line

Then we can substitute the point into the general

equation of the line to find the value of :
Therefore .

26

Example 12
What
is the equation of the line passing through the

point with slope ?

,

The line required is

OR,
27

Linear graphs
Determine
the equation of the line if we know

II. Two points and that lie on the line

Recall that and
We can use these to derive
However, it is much easier to evaluate first, then use
method 1.

28

Example 13
Find equation of a line which passes through
points and .
The slope is
The equation of the line is:

Exercise 13
What
is the equation of the line passing through the

point with slope ?

30

Exercise 14
What
is the equation of the line passing through the

points and ?

31

Exercise 15
What
is the equation of the line passing through the

point and parallel to ?

32

Exercise 16
What
is the equation of the line passing through the

point and perpendicular to ?

33