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Rank of a Matrix
The rank of a matrix , denoted , is the number of leading 1s in the RREF of the matrix.
Example
Given ,
- 2
- 3
Full rank
A matrix has full rank if every column or every row of the RREF of the matrix contains a leading 1.
Note:
Example
Find the maximum rank of the matrix .
has size so .
In this case, if has full rank, each row must contain a leading 1 (not every column, since the rank can be at most 2).
Types of Solutions
A system of linear equations may be:
- Inconsistent (no solution)
- Consistent (one solution, or infinitely many solutions)
No Solutions
In the RREF of , there is a leading entry in the augmented column:
Exactly One Solution
There is a unique solution .
In the RREF of :
- There is no leading entry in the augmented column
- every column of the coefficient matrix (left) has a leading 1
Infinitely Many Solutions
There are infinitely many solutions .
In the RREF of :
- There is no leading entry in the augmented column
- There is at least one column without a leading 1
This results in an -parameter family of solutions where .

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Example: Rank of a Matrix
- Find the ranks of the following matrices and state the number of solutions.
- which is full rank because has only 2 columns.
- (there is no leading 1 in the augmented column)
- because this represents a system of equations with 2 unknowns (2 columns)
Since , this system has a unique solution.
This matrix is already in RREF.
- which is not full rank.
- because this represents a system of equations with 3 unknowns (3 columns)
Since , this system has infinitely many solutions.
In particular, since , there is a 1-parameter family of solutions.
- Suppose is a matrix with and . How many solutions are there for the linear system with coefficient matrix and constant vector ?
- (read from the size of )
Since , this system has no solutions.
That's because, in RREF, the augmented column must contain a leading 1: .
This means that the sum of 0 times every variable equals 1, i.e. , which is impossible.
In the reduced row echelon form of the coefficient matrix that corresponds to a system of linear equations with 6 equations in 9 unknowns, the maximum number of leading 1s is .
Determine the number of solutions for the system of linear equations with 5 equations and 5 unknowns, given:
The rank of is 5 and the rank of is 5.