Silo - Tips - Gauss and Gauss Jordan Elimination Methods For Solving System of Linear Equations Comparisons and Applications
Silo - Tips - Gauss and Gauss Jordan Elimination Methods For Solving System of Linear Equations Comparisons and Applications
Journal of Science and Science Education, Ondo Vol. 3(1), pp. 97 – 105, 19th November, 2012.
Available online at http://www.josseo.org
ISSN 0795135-3 ©2012
Abstract: This paper examines the comparisons between the Gauss and Gauss-
Jordan methods for solving system of linear equations. Various terminologies were
discussed, some problems were considered in conjunction with the afore-mentioned
methods used in solving system of linear equations. It was noted very remarkably
from the solved problems that both Gaussian and Gauss-Jordan methods gave the
same answers. Equally, when the same system is pivoted or partially pivoted, same
answers are readily obtained. This necessarily implies that, since the same system
of linear equations is rearranged leading to its matrix form to be transformed as
the rows’ element obviously changed, the resultant solutions are still the same. The
paper also explicitly reveals that the Gauss/Gaussian and Gauss-Jordan
elimination methods could be applied to different systems of linear equations
arising in fields of study like Physics, Business, Economics, Chemistry, etc.
second part writes the original matrix as the of 2 x 2, 3 x 3, 4 x 4 and 5 x 5 matrices and
product of a uniquely determined invertible matrix applied them to solve equations but not system of
and a uniquely determined reduced row echelon linear equation.
matrix. In the 1730‟s, Maclaurin wrote Treatise of
The Gauss – Jordan method is a modification Algebra although it was not published until 1748,
of the Gaussian elimination. It is named after Carl two years after his death. It contains the first
Friedrich Gauss and Wilhelm Jordan because it is published results on determinant proving
a variation of Gaussian elimination as Jordan Crammer‟s rule for 2 x 2 and 3 x 3 systems and
described in 1887 while Gaussian elimination indicating how the 4 x 4 case would work.
places zeros below each pivot in the matrix Crammer gave the general rule for nxn systems in
starting with the top row and working downwards, a paper introduction to the analysis of algebraic
Gauss – Jordan elimination method goes a step curves (1750). It arose out of a desire to find the
further by placing zeroes above and below each equation of a plane curve passing through a
pivot. Every matrix has a reduced row echelon number of given points.
form and Gauss – Jordan elimination is In 1764, Bezout gave methods of calculating
guaranteed to find it. determinants, as did Vandermonde in 1771. In
The paper aims at investigating the methods of 1772, Laplace claimed that the method introduced
solving system of linear equations using Gauss by Crammer and Bezout were impractical and in a
and Gauss – Jordan elimination methods, compare paper where he studied the orbits of the inner
and contrast the two methods and at finding out planets, he discussed the solution of system of
application of the methods to other fields of study. linear equation without actually calculating it by
using determinants. Rather surprising Laplace
LITERATURE REVIEW used the word „resultant‟ for what we now call the
It is not surprising that the beginning of determinant. Surprisingly since it is the same
matrices and determinants should arise through word as used by Leibniz yet Laplace must have
the study of linear systems. The Babylonians been unaware of Leibniz‟s work. Laplace gave the
studied problems that led to simultaneous linear expansion of a determinant that is now named
equations and some of these are preserved in clay after him.
tablet that survive. The Chinese between 200BC Jacques strum gave a generalization of eigen
and 100BC came much closer to matrices than the value problem in the context of solving system of
Babylonians. Indeed, it is fair to say that the text ordinary differential equations. In fact the concept
nine chapters on the Mathematics Art written of an eigen value appeared 80 years earlier again
during the Han Dynasty give the first known in work on systems if linear differential equations
example of matrix methods. by O‟ Alembert studying the motion of a string
Cardan, in Art Magna (1545), gives a rule for with mass attached to it at various points.
solving a system of two linear equations which he The first to use term „matrix‟ was Sylvester in
called regular de modo and which is called mother 1850. Sylvester defined a matrix to be an oblong
of rules. This rule gives what essentially is arrangement of terms and saw it as something that
Crammer‟s rule for solving a 2 x 2 system. The led to various determinants from square arrays
idea of a determinant appeared in Japan and contained within it. After living America and
Europe at almost exactly same time although Seki returning to England in 1851, Sylvester became a
in Japan certainly published first. In 1683, Seki Lawyer and met Cayley, a fellow lawyer who
wrote method of solving the dissimulated problem shared his interest in mathematics. Cayley quickly
that contains matrix methods written as tables in saw the significance of matrix concept and by
exactly the Chinese methods describe above were 1853 Cayley had published a note giving for the
constructed. Without having any word that first time, the inverse of matrix.
corresponds to „determinant‟, Seki still introduced Frobenius, in 1878, wrote an important work
determinants and gave general methods for on matrices on linear substitutions and linear
calculating them based on examples. Using his forms although he seemed unaware of Cayley‟s
„determinant‟, Seki was able to find determinants work. Frobenius in his paper dealt with co-
Adenegan and Aluko 99
efficient of forms and does not use the term Gauss-Jordan elimination in print was in
matrix. However, he proved important results on handbook or geodesy written by Wilhelm-Jordan.
canonical matrices as representatives of In matrix analysis and linear algebra, Carl
equivalence classes of matrices. He cites D.Meyor (2000), writes “Although there has been
Kronecker and Weierstrass as having considered some confusion as to which Jordan should receive
special cases of his results in 1874 and 1868 credit for this algorithm, it is seems clear that the
respectively. Frobenius also proved the general method was in fact introduced by a geodesist
result that a matrix satisfies its characteristic named Wilhelm Jordan (1842-1899) and not by
equation. This 1878 paper by Frobenius also the more well known mathematician Marie
contained the definition of rank of a matrix that he Ennemond Camille Jordan (1838-1992), whose
used in his work on canonical forms and the name is often mistakenly associated with the
definition of orthogonal matrices. technique, but who is otherwise correctly credited
The method of Gaussian elimination appears with other important topic in matrix analysis, the
in chapter eight, rectangular Array of the Chinese Jordan Canonical form being the most notable”.
mathematics text, Jiuzhang Suanshu of the nine Having identified the right Jordan is not the end of
chapters on the Mathematical Art. Its use is the problem, for A.S. Household writes, in the
illustrated in eighteen problems with two to five theory of matrices in numerical analysis (1964, P.
equations. The first reference to the book by this 141) “The Gauss-Jordan method, so called seems
title is dated to 179BC but parts of it were written to have been described first by Clasen (1888)
as approximately 150BC. It was commenced on since it can be regarded as a modification of
by Liu Hui in the 3rd century. The method of Gaussian elimination, the name Gauss is properly
Europe stems from the notes of Isaac Newton. In applied, but that of Jordan seems to be due to an
1670, he wrote that all algebra books known to error, since the method was described only in the
him lacked a lesson for solving simultaneously third edition of his Hanbuch der Vermes
equation which Newton then supplied. Sungskunde, prepared after his death”. These
Cambridge University eventually published claims were examined by S.C. Althoen and R.
the notes as Arithmetical University in 1707 long Mcluaghlin (1987). American Mathematical
after Newton left academic life. The notes were monthly, 94, 130-142. They concluded that
widely initiated, which made (what is now called) Household was correct about Clasen and his 1888
Gaussian elimination a standard lesson in algebra publication but mistaken about Jordan who was
textbooks by the end of the 18th century. Carl very much alive when the third edition of his book
Frederick Gauss in 1810 devised a notation for appeared in 1888. They added that the “germ of
symmetric elimination that was adopted in the the idea” was already present in the second edition
19th century by professional hand computers to of 1877 (This entry was contributed by John
solve the normal equations of least squares Aldrich).
problems. The process of Gaussian elimination has two
Gauss developed Gaussian elimination around parts. The first part (forward elimination) reduces
1880 and used it to solve least squares problems a given system to either triangular or echelon
in celestial computations and later in computation form, or results in a degenerated equation with no
to measure the earth and its surface (the branch of solution, indicating the system has no solution.
applied mathematics) concerned with measuring This is accomplished through the use of
or determining the shape of the earth or with elementary row operations. The second step uses
locating exactly points on the earth‟s surface is back substitution to find the solution of system of
called geodesy. Even though, Gauss‟s name is linear equation.
associated with this technique for successively Stated equivalently for matrices, the first part
eliminating variables from systems of linear reduces a matrix to row echelon form using
equations. For years, Gaussian elimination was elementary row operations while the second
considered part of the development of the reduces it to reduced row echelon form. Another
geodesy, not mathematics. The first appearance of point of view which turns out to be very useful to
analyze the algorithm is that Gaussian elimination
100 Journal of Science and Science Education, Ondo
a11 a12 a13 b1 The same example and others can also be
2 considered using the Gaussian elimination method
0 a22 a23 2 b2 2 without pivoting (as directly solved above) and
3
a33 b3 with partial pivoting by considering the magnitude
3
0 0
For an illustration, using the steps above, solve the of the elements in the first column i.e. 3 2 1 ,
system changing their row‟s position according to
x1 2 x2 3x3 3 magnitude, we will still obtain the same answer.
2 x1 x2 x3 11
GAUSS-JORDAN ELIMINATION
3x1 2 x2 x3 5 Gauss-Jordan elimination is a modification of
This can be written as, Gaussian elimination. Again we are transforming
1 2 3 x1 3 the coefficient matrix into another matrix that is
much easier to solve and the system represented
2 1 1 x2 11 by the new augmented matrix has the same
3 2 1 x 5
3 solution set as the original system of linear
The augmented matrix becomes equations. In Gauss-Jordan elimination, the goal is
1 2 3 3 transform the coefficient matrix into a diagonal
matrix and the zeros are introduced into the matrix
2 1 1 11 one column at a time. We work to eliminate the
3 2 1 5
elements both above and below the diagonal
2 elements of a given column in one passes through
Now subtract times the first row from the the matrix. The general procedure for Gauss-
1
Jordan elimination can be summarized in the
3
second row and times the first row from the following steps:
1 i. Write the augmented matrix for a system of
third row which gives; linear equation
1 2 3 3 ii. Use elementary row operation on the
0 5 5 5
augmented matrix [A/b] to the transform A
0 4 10 14 into diagonal form. If a zero is located on the
diagonal. Switch the rows until a non-zero is
4 4 in that place. If you are unable to do so, stop;
Now subtract , i.e. times the second row
5 5 the system has either infinite or no solution.
from the third row. Then we have iii. By dividing the diagonal elements and a
1 2 3 3 right-hand side‟s element in each row by the
diagonal elements in the row, make each
0 5 5 5 diagonal elements equal to one.
0 0 6 18
Given a system of equation 4 x 4 matrix of the
Note that as a result of these steps, the matrix of form:
coefficient of x has been reduced to a triangular a11 a12 a13 a14 x1 b1
matrix.
a21 a22 a23 a24 x2 b2
Finally, we detach the right-hand column back to a31 a32 a33 a34 x3 b3
its original position:
1 2 3 x1 3 a41 a42 a43 a44 x4 b4
Step 1: Write the above as augmented matrix, we
0 5 5 x2 5 have
0 0 6 x 18
3
Then by „back substitution‟, starting from the
bottom row we get:
x1 2; x2 4; x3 3
102 Journal of Science and Science Education, Ondo
1 0 1 5
a33 a34 b33
3 3
0 0
a433 a443 b43
0 5 5 5
0 0 0 0 6 18
Step 4: Eliminate x3 from the 1st, 2ndand 4th
Eliminate x3 from 1 and 2nd equation by
st
equations by subtracting multiples
subtracting multiple
a a a
3 3 3
m13 133 , m23 233 , m43 433 of row 3 from a 1 a 5
a33 a33 a33 m13 13 , and m23 23 of row 3 from
a33 6 a33 6
row 1, 2 and 4 producing row 1 and row 3.
a11 4 0 0 a14 b1
4 4
1 0 0 2
0 a22 a24 b2 0 5 0 20
4 4 4
0
0 0 6 18
0 0 a333 a343 b33
0 0 0 a44 4 b4 4
From which we finally solve for x1 , x2 , x3 and x4
from the resulting simultaneous equations from
above.
For the purpose of comparison, let us solve the
problem given in (3.1) using Gauss-Jordan
elimination method. i.e.
Adenegan and Aluko 103
same answers. This necessarily implies that since Anderson, J.P. (1982): Mathematical Analysis and
the system of linear equations still remains the Applications to Business and Economics, 3rd Ed.
same despite that the equations are re-arranged PEP New York.
leading to its matrix form to be transformed as the Anton, H. (2005): ElementaryLinear Algebra
rows‟ elements obviously changed, the resultant (Application Version – 9th Edition) Willey
International, London.
solutions are still the same. The importance of http://www.purplemath.com/./systlin6.htm (2010).
Gauss and Gauss-Jordan elimination method can http://www.matrixanalysis.com/downloadchapter.html
not be over emphasized due to its relevance to (2007).
different field of studies (pure Science i.e. Ilori, S.A; Akinyele O. (1986): Elementary Abstract
Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics etc. and Linear Algebra, Ibadan University Press,
social science i.e. Economics, Geography, Ibadan.
Business Education etc.). Mayor, C.D. (2001): Engineering Mathematics 5th Ed.
Anthony Rowe Ltd. Chippenhem, Wiltshire.
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Adeola. T.A. (2009): An Investigation into Solution of Algebra – ISBN 0-07-99012-3.
System of Linear Equations, anUnpublished Webber, J.P. (1982): Mathematical Analysis 4th Ed;
Project Work, Adeyemi College of Education. Harpir Institute; London
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