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The other freaky thing
that can happen is that the two lines can be lying right
on top of each other -- they are the same line.
Let's graph these two lines:
So, what the heck does this mean
for our answer? Every single
(x, y)
point that appears in one line appears in the other. So, every
x
and y
combination that works in one equation, works in the other equation.
And how many points are in a line? That's right, baby, there's
an infinite number of them! So how many points that work in
one line work in the other? An infinite number.
You
should write something like this for your answer:
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These
are the same line, so there are
an infinite number of solutions. |
How is this little critter going
to announce itself to you?
When you're solving by elimination
or substitution... you'll be going along... and you'll
get this:
A true statement, but not very
helpful unless you know what you're doing -- and you do!
TRY IT:
Solve by either
elimination or substitution. Then, check your
answer by graphing:
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