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Let A be a 5 x 3 matrix. If $$b = a_1 + a_2 = a_2 + a_3$$

then what can you conclude about the number of solutions of the linear system Ax = b? Explain.

I'm not sure about this question. All I know is that if b can be written as a combination of column vectors a, then the linear system is consistent. I am not sure what this says about the number of solutions, however.

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    So, wait a second - are you using $a_j$ as notation for Column $j$ of the matrix $A$? If so, can you edit that information into the question? Without *some* explanation of what these $a_i$ are, the question makes no sense.2012-09-30
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    The question doesn't specify, but because this is a problem about linear combination, I assumed that the a's are column vectors. I wrote the question exactly as it is written in the book.2012-09-30
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    What book? What page? Can you put up a scan somewhere, and link to it?2012-09-30

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