Three pictures, and only three
Two lines in the plane can meet once, never, or everywhere.
For $\;a_1x+b_1y=c_1\;$ and $\;a_2x+b_2y=c_2$:
- Exactly one solution: the lines have different slopes. Test: $a_1b_2-a_2b_1\neq0$.
- No solution: same slope, different intercepts — distinct parallel lines. Test: $a_1b_2-a_2b_1=0$, while $a_1c_2-a_2c_1$ and $b_1c_2-b_2c_1$ are not both $0$.
- Infinitely many solutions: the two equations describe the same line, i.e.\ one is a nonzero multiple of the other.
“Infinitely many solutions” is the strongest statement of the three: it forces every coefficient and the constant to scale by one common factor. Matching the $x$- and $y$-coefficients is only half the job.
Đọc theo cách này, và đừng bao giờ gộp hai câu hỏi làm một:
- Hệ số quyết định hai đường có song song không.
- Hằng số quyết định giữa vô nghiệm (song song mà lệch) và vô số nghiệm (trùng nhau).
Học sinh mất điểm ở chủ đề này gần như luôn vì làm xong bước 1 rồi khoanh.
The safest way to write the condition
Ratios look natural but break when a coefficient is $0$. Multiply through instead.
- Parallel or coincident: $a_1b_2=a_2b_1$.
- Coincident (infinitely many): $a_1b_2=a_2b_1$ and $a_1c_2=a_2c_1$ and $b_1c_2=b_2c_1$.
- No solution: $a_1b_2=a_2b_1$ and at least one of the other two equalities fails.
There is a faster habit for the “infinitely many” case: find the number that scales one whole equation into the other, then apply it to every term including the constant.
For what value of the constant $c$ does the system $\;2x+5y=8\;$ and $\;6x+15y=c\;$ have infinitely many solutions?
The second equation's $x$-coefficient is $3$ times the first, and so is its $y$-coefficient. So the whole second equation must be $3$ times the first: $6x+15y=24$.
Hence $\boxed{c=24}$. For every other $c$ the system has no solution.
For what value of the constant $k$ does the system $\;3x+6y=12\;$ and $\;4x+ky=9\;$ have no solution?
Same slope requires $3k=6\cdot4=24$, so $k=8$.
Now confirm the system really has no solution rather than infinitely many. With $k=8$ the system is $3x+6y=12$ and $4x+8y=9$, i.e.\ $x+2y=4$ and $x+2y=\tfrac94$ — contradictory.
Answer: $\boxed{k=8}$.
Cho hệ số tỉ lệ xong là kết luận “vô nghiệm” ngay. Phải kiểm hằng số: nếu nó cũng tỉ lệ theo đúng hệ số ấy thì đáp án là vô số nghiệm — ngược hẳn. Một dòng kiểm tra, và nó là dòng quyết định điểm.
Rewriting before comparing
If the two equations are written in different forms, put them in the same form first. Do not try to compare $y=4x+7$ with $2y=ax+14$ term by term.
The system $\;y=4x+7\;$ and $\;2y=ax+14\;$ has infinitely many solutions. What is $a$?
Divide the second equation by $2$: $y=\tfrac{a}{2}x+7$. The constants already agree, so the slopes must agree too: $\tfrac{a}{2}=4$, giving $\boxed{a=8}$.
Equivalently, doubling the first equation gives $2y=8x+14$, which matches term for term.
The system $\;ax+by=10\;$ and $\;3x+4y=5\;$ has infinitely many solutions, where $a$ and $b$ are constants. What is $a+b$?
The constants tell you the scale factor immediately: $10=2\cdot5$, so the first equation must be $2$ times the second.
Therefore $a=2\cdot3=6$ and $b=2\cdot4=8$, so $a+b=\boxed{14}$.
Mẹo nhanh nhất cho dạng “vô số nghiệm”: tìm hệ số nhân biến phương trình này thành phương trình kia. Hệ số nhân đó thường lộ ra ở cặp số dễ nhất — có khi ở hằng số, có khi ở hệ số của $x$. Tìm được rồi thì áp cho toàn bộ các số còn lại. Không cần lập tỉ lệ nào cả.
The system $\;12x+15y=24\;$ and $\;4x+5y=c\;$ has no solution. What values can $c$ take?
Divide the first equation by $3$: $4x+5y=8$. The two left sides are now identical, so the lines are parallel no matter what $c$ is.
They coincide when $c=8$ and are distinct otherwise. So no solution occurs for $\boxed{c\neq 8}$, and $c=8$ is the single value that must be excluded.
For how many values of the constant $k$ does the system $\;y=\tfrac32x-4\;$ and $\;3x-2y=k\;$ have exactly one solution?
Rewrite the second equation: $2y=3x-k$, so $y=\tfrac32x-\tfrac{k}{2}$.
Both lines have slope $\tfrac32$ for every $k$, so they are never allowed to cross once. The system has infinitely many solutions when $\tfrac{k}{2}=4$, i.e.\ $k=8$, and no solution otherwise.
Answer: $\boxed{0}$ values of $k$.
Đề hỏi “for how many values” mà bạn đi tìm giá trị rồi ghi $8$ — sai câu hỏi. Ở dạng này luôn tự hỏi lại: đề cần một con số, một tập giá trị, hay số lượng giá trị?
When the parameter sits in both coefficients
If the unknown constant appears in more than one place, the slope condition becomes a quadratic and can produce two candidates. Each candidate must be tested separately, because one of them often lands on “infinitely many” instead of “no solution”.
The system $\;kx+3y=6\;$ and $\;4x+(k-1)y=8\;$ has no solution. What is the sum of all possible values of $k$?
Parallel condition: $k(k-1)=3\cdot4=12$, so $k^2-k-12=0$ and $(k-4)(k+3)=0$, giving $k=4$ or $k=-3$.
Test $k=4$: the system is $4x+3y=6$ and $4x+3y=8$ — parallel and distinct, no solution.
Test $k=-3$: the system is $-3x+3y=6$, i.e.\ $-x+y=2$, and $4x-4y=8$, i.e.\ $x-y=2$, i.e.\ $-x+y=-2$ — parallel and distinct, no solution.
Both survive, so the sum is $4+(-3)=\boxed{1}$.
For what value of the constant $k$ does the system $\;x+ky=2\;$ and $\;kx+4y=k+2\;$ have infinitely many solutions?
Parallel condition: $1\cdot4-k\cdot k=0$, so $k^2=4$ and $k=2$ or $k=-2$. Now test each.
$k=2$: the system is $x+2y=2$ and $2x+4y=4$. The second is exactly twice the first — infinitely many solutions.
$k=-2$: the system is $x-2y=2$ and $-2x+4y=0$, i.e.\ $x-2y=0$. Same left side, different constant — no solution.
Only one candidate survives: $\boxed{k=2}$.
Bài vừa rồi là khuôn mẫu đáng thuộc: điều kiện hệ số ra hai giá trị, nhưng điều kiện hằng số chỉ giữ lại một. Ai giải phương trình bậc hai rồi ghi cả hai giá trị — hoặc ghi tổng của chúng — đều mất điểm. Luôn thay từng giá trị ngược vào hệ ban đầu.
Chia hai vế cho tham số để lập tỉ lệ. Nếu tham số bằng $0$ thì phép chia đó không hợp lệ, và trường hợp $0$ lại chính là trường hợp đề nhắm tới. Dùng dạng nhân chéo $a_1b_2=a_2b_1$, không bao giờ có mẫu số.
Must-be-true, in reverse
Some questions give the conclusion and ask for the condition. The work is identical, only the direction changes.
- “has no solution” $\;\rightarrow\;$ slopes equal, constants not proportional.
- “has infinitely many solutions” $\;\rightarrow\;$ one equation is a multiple of the other.
- “has exactly one solution” $\;\rightarrow\;$ slopes different.
- “has at least one solution” $\;\rightarrow\;$ everything except the no-solution case.
The system $\;ax+3y=6\;$ and $\;2x+by=5\;$ has no solution, where $a$ and $b$ are nonzero constants. Which relation must hold between $a$ and $b$?
Equal slopes: $ab=3\cdot2=6$.
That alone would also permit the coincident case, so we must exclude it: coincidence would need $5a=2\cdot6=12$, i.e.\ $a=\tfrac{12}{5}$.
So the conditions are $\boxed{ab=6 \text{ and } a\neq\tfrac{12}{5}}$.