Main content
Course: Algebra (all content) > Unit 5
Lesson 3: Equivalent systems of equations and the elimination method- Systems of equations with elimination: King's cupcakes
- Systems of equations with elimination: x-4y=-18 & -x+3y=11
- Systems of equations with elimination
- Systems of equations with elimination: potato chips
- Systems of equations with elimination (and manipulation)
- Systems of equations with elimination challenge
- Why can we subtract one equation from the other in a system of equations?
- Worked example: equivalent systems of equations
- Worked example: non-equivalent systems of equations
- Reasoning with systems of equations
- Solving systems of equations by elimination (old)
- Elimination method review (systems of linear equations)
- Equivalent systems of equations review
© 2024 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
Equivalent systems of equations review
Two systems of equations are equivalent if they have the same solution(s). This article reviews how to tell if two systems are equivalent.
Systems of equations that have the same solution are called equivalent systems.
Given a system of two equations, we can produce an equivalent system by replacing one equation by the sum of the two equations, or by replacing an equation by a multiple of itself.
In contrast, we can be sure that two systems of equations are not equivalent if we know that a solution of the one is not a solution of the other.
Note: This idea of equivalent systems of equations pops up again in linear algebra. However, the examples and explanations in this article are geared to a high school algebra 1 class.
Example 1
We're given two systems of equations and asked if they're equivalent.
System A | System B |
---|---|
If we multiply the second equation in System B by , we get:
Replacing the second equation of System B with this new equation, we get an equivalent system:
Whoa! Look at that! This system is the same as System A, which means system A is equivalent to System B.
Want to learn more about equivalent systems of equations? Check out this video.
Example 2
We're given two systems of equations and asked if they're equivalent.
System A | System B |
---|---|
Interestingly, if we sum the equations in System A, we get:
Replacing the first equation in System A with this new equation, we get a system that's equivalent to System A:
Lo and behold! This is System B, which means that System A is equivalent to System B.
Example 3
We're given two systems and asked to prove that they aren't equivalent by finding a solution of one that is not a solution of the other.
System A | System B |
---|---|
Notice how the coefficients for and in the second equations of both systems are the same. However, the constant terms in the two equations are different!
Whichever pair of values for and that makes System A true will make System B false, and vice versa.
For example, , is a solution to the second equation in System A, but it's not a solution to the second equation in System B.
System A and System B are not equivalent.
Want to learn more about non-equivalent systems of equations? Check out this video
Want to join the conversation?
No posts yet.