System of Linear Equations - General Form

General Form

A general system of m linear equations with n unknowns can be written as

\begin{alignat}{7} a_{11} x_1 &&\; + \;&& a_{12} x_2 &&\; + \cdots + \;&& a_{1n} x_n &&\; = \;&&& b_1 \\ a_{21} x_1 &&\; + \;&& a_{22} x_2 &&\; + \cdots + \;&& a_{2n} x_n &&\; = \;&&& b_2 \\ \vdots\;\;\; && && \vdots\;\;\; && && \vdots\;\;\; && &&& \;\vdots \\ a_{m1} x_1 &&\; + \;&& a_{m2} x_2 &&\; + \cdots + \;&& a_{mn} x_n &&\; = \;&&& b_m. \\ \end{alignat}

Here are the unknowns, are the coefficients of the system, and are the constant terms.

Often the coefficients and unknowns are real or complex numbers, but integers and rational numbers are also seen, as are polynomials and elements of an abstract algebraic structure.

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