A matrix is written with ( ) or [ ] brackets. Do not confuse a matrix with a determinant which uses vertical bars | |. A matrix is a pattern of numbers; a determinant gives us a single number. The size of a matrix is written: rows × columns. A 3 × 3 matrix. A matrix with the same number of rows and columns is called a square matrix. The elements in a matrix A are denoted by aij, where i is the row number and j is the column number. A matrix which is simultaneously upper and lower triangular is diagonal. The identity matrix is the only matrix which is both upper and lower unitriangular. The determinant of a triangular matrix equals the product of the diagonal entries. Since for any triangular matrix A the matrix xI − A, whose determinant is the characteristic polynomial of A, is also triangular, the diagonal entries of A in fact give the multiset of eigenvalues of A. The variable L is commonly used for lower triangular matrix, standing for lower/left, while the variable U or R is commonly used for upper triangular matrix, standing for upper/right.
the rref(A) comes out to be the same as the upper triangular matrix.
#3.
You found rref(a) =
1 2 0 1
0 0 1 2
0 0 0 0
Thus, the augmented matrix of the homogeneous system is:
1 2 0 1 0
0 0 1 2 0
0 0 0 0 0
So, if we use w, x, y, and z as our variables, the system is:
w + 2x + z = 0
y + 2z = 0
So, w and y are fixed variables, and x and z are free variables.
w = -2x - z
x
y = -2z
z
The solutions to this can therefore be expressed as a linear combination (which I'll write horizontally, just because it's too difficult to express vertically).
[ w x y z ] = [-2 1 0 0]x + [-1 0 -2 1]z
So:
-2
1
0
0
and
-1
0
-2
1
form the basis of the null space.
Why are we able to assume the system is homogeneous...? Sorry if this is an obvious answer but I haven't dabbled in matrices except for the occasional eigenvector/value here and there :x

