Find k if the following system of equations has a unique solution? 2x + (k-1)y = 6 3x+(2k+1)y=9 find k if the following system of equations has infinitely many solutions? kx+3y=k-3 12x+ky=k I have tried these problems but I'm lost I do understand what a unique and infinite is just don't understand how to do the problem? ------------------------------------------------------------ "Unique" means "one and only one". "infinite" means there is no end to the number of possible solutions I disagree with your teacher. For instance, in the first equation, I think your teacher thinks that if the term in y, namely (k-1)y = 0, then k will equal 1 and thus the equation will become: 2x + (1-1)y = 6 2x + 0y = 6 x = 3 And x will have a unique VALUE 3. However, having a unique VALUE for x does NOT MEAN that there is a unique SOLUTION to an equation which contains two variables. SOLUTIONS to such equations are ordered pairs of numbers of the form (x,y), such as (3,6), and NOT just single numbers like 3. So even if k = 1, the equation 2x + 0y = 6 will not have a unique solution because (x,y) = (3,6), (3,4), (3,-7), (3,1), (3,9999), (3,0), (3,3.1416), (3,-73.617), are all solutions and there are infinitely many more ordered pairs with first coordinate 3 are also solutions. If I had to guess what your teacher wants for the first two, I'd guess he/she wants you to set the coefficient of y equal to 0, so it would be k=1 for the first one. For the second one, 3x + (2k + 1)y = 9 you'd set 2k + 1 = 0 2k = -1 k = -1/2 However, this is only a guess as to what your teacher is thinking. But your teacher is thinking incorrectly. As far as the rest of them, k could be chosen as any number at all, and there would be an infinite number of solutions. For the third equation kx + 3y = k-3 For instance if we arbitrarily choose k = 4 kx + 3y = k-3 4x + 3y = 4-3 4x + 3y = 1 There are infinitely many solutions, such as (x,y) = (1,-1) (-5,7), (-2,3), (4,-5), (7,-9), and infinitely many more. But if we arbitrarily choose k = -7 kx + 3y = k-3 -7x + 3y = -7-3 -7x + 3y = -10 there are also infinitely many solutions. For instance (x,y) = (1,-1), (-2,-8), (4,6), (7,13), (-5,-15), and infinitely many more. No matter what value we choose for k, there will be infinitely many solutions. So your teacher could NOT ask you to find "the one and only one value of k which will cause the equation to have infinitely many solutions. Because there ISN'T JUST ONE!! The same is true for the last one: 12x + ky = k If we arbitrarily choose k = -29.7 12x + ky = k 12x + (-29.7)y = -29.7 12x - 29.7y = -29.7 then we have these solutions: (x,y) = (0,1), (-5, -1.02), (42, 17.97), (-49,-18.8) and infinitely many more. So you can tell your teacher that at least one other mathematics teacher claims that this assignment is flawed. ;-) But please don't be arrogant or rude to him/her! Edwin