GATE EC 2018 Set 1 — Question 32
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Engineering Mathematics → Linear Algebra → Determinants
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Question
Consider matrix and vector . The number of distinct real values of for which the equation has infinitely many solutions is _______.
Correct answer
2 to 2
Solution
For the system of linear equations to have infinitely many solutions, the matrix must be singular, which means its determinant must be zero.
Given , the determinant is calculated as:Setting the determinant to zero to find the values of :This yields two distinct real roots: and .
Thus, there are 2 distinct real values of for which the equation has infinitely many solutions.
Given , the determinant is calculated as:Setting the determinant to zero to find the values of :This yields two distinct real roots: and .
Thus, there are 2 distinct real values of for which the equation has infinitely many solutions.
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