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Exercise 1050Linear algebra › Matrices and linear systemsL1Added 3 Nov 2026

Cramer's rule

#Cramer's rule#determinant#linear system

Statement

Solve using Cramer's rule:
{2x+y=5x+3y=10\begin{cases} 2x + y = 5 \\ x + 3y = 10 \end{cases}

Hint

For a system AX=BAX = B with det⁡A≠0\det A \neq 0, the solution is xi=det⁡Ai/det⁡Ax_i = \det A_i / \det A, where AiA_i is AA with column ii replaced by BB.

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Solution

Determinant.
det⁡A=∣2113∣=6−1=5.\det A = \begin{vmatrix} 2 & 1 \\ 1 & 3 \end{vmatrix} = 6 - 1 = 5.

Determinants A1A_1 and A2A_2.
det⁡A1=∣51103∣=15−10=5,det⁡A2=∣25110∣=20−5=15.\det A_1 = \begin{vmatrix} 5 & 1 \\ 10 & 3 \end{vmatrix} = 15 - 10 = 5, \qquad \det A_2 = \begin{vmatrix} 2 & 5 \\ 1 & 10 \end{vmatrix} = 20 - 5 = 15.

Solution.
x=det⁡A1det⁡A=55=1,y=det⁡A2det⁡A=155=3.x = \frac{\det A_1}{\det A} = \frac{5}{5} = 1, \qquad y = \frac{\det A_2}{\det A} = \frac{15}{5} = 3.

Verification. 2⋅1+3=52\cdot1+3=5 and 1+3⋅3=101+3\cdot3=10. Correct.