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A system of equations has an infinite set of solutions when the equations define the same line, such that for ax + by = c, the values for two equations is a1/a2 + b1/b2 = c1/c2.
Equations where a variable drops out completely, e.g.
3x - y = 6x -2y
there are either an infinite number of solutions, or no solution at all.
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When you solve equation describe how you know when there will be a infinite solutions?
If the solution contains one variable which has not been fixed then there are infinitely many solution.
How do you know how many solutions a quadratic equation will have?
A quadratic equation has the formAx2 + Bx + C = 0,where A, B, and C are numbers and x is a variable. Since the polynomial here has degree 2 (the highest exponent of x), it either has 0, 1, 2, or infinitely many solutions.The infinitely many solutions only happens when A, B, and C are all equal to zero. Otherwise, we can find the number of solutions by examining the discriminant, which in this case is the quantity B2 - 4AC. If the discriminant is negative, there are no (real) solutions. If the discriminant equals zero, we have what is called a "repeated root" and there is exactly one (real) solution. Otherwise, if the discriminant is positive, there are two distinct (real) solutions.
How do you know when an equation has infinitely many solutions?
When trying to solve an equation and you end up with the exact same number on both sides , like 10=10 then the equation has infinitely many solutions. If you end up with 2 different number on both side of the equation, like 3=5 then the equation has no solution. If there is a variable on one side and a number on the other, then there is one solution, e.g. x=4. In the equation 10=10 there is no variable such as x or y that we are trying to find the solution for. The equation x=x might be said to have an infinite number of solutions, because you can choose any value you like for x. More often you would say that "x is indeterminate". So if your equation always turns out to be satisfied for any x you choose, then there is an infinity of solutions and the equation does not represent anything useful. Or, for example, it may have a result such as "true for all even numbers", and you may not be aware in advance that this might happen. Or another example might be sin(x)=0 which has solutions for all values for those x which are integer multiples of 180 degrees. The only way is to solve the equation and see what appears.
How would you know that your equation has no solutions without actually solving it?
It really depends on the type of equation. Sometimes you can know, from experience with similar equations. But in many cases, you have to actually do the work of trying to solve the equation.
How would you know that your equation has infinite solutions without actually solving it?
In some cases, a knowledge of the function in question helps. For example, when you have multiple equations, if you have more equations than variables you will usually have infinite solutions. Another example is that certain functions are known to be periodic, for instance the trigonometric functions - so an equation such as sin(x) = 1/2 may have infinite solution, due to the periodicity.
