Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

DR. M. Koorapetse

August 14, 2025

University of Botswana
Department of Mathematics

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

Systems of Linear Equations with Two Variables

Substitution Method
Example
Solve the following equations
1. 3x ´ 2y “ 4 2. 3x ` 2y “ 20
y “ 12 ´ 2x x ` 4y “ 10
Solutions
1. using substitution method we have
3x ´ 2p12 ´ 2xq “ 3x ` 4x ´ 24 “ 7x ´ 24 “ 4 ñ 7x “ 28
ñ x “ 287 “ 4, y “ 12 ´ 2p4q “ 4
2. first make x the subject, x “ 10 ´ 4y then substituting
3p10 ´ 4y q ` 2y “ 30 ´ 10y “ 20, ñ y “ 1 and x “ 6

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

Elimination Method

Example
Solve the following equations
1. 3x ´ 2y “ 4
2x ` 2y “ 6
adding the two equations we get 5x “ 10, ñ x “ 2. substituting x in
any of the two equations we have 3p2q ´ 2y “ 4, ñ y “ 1.

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

Equations with three unknowns
Example
Solve the following system
2x ` 3y ` z “ 6 (1)
x ` 4y ` 3z “ 12 (2)
3x ` y ` 2z “ 10 (3)
Solution
to eliminate z, multiply equation p1q by 3
6x ` 9y ` 3z “ 18 (4)
x ` 4y ` 3z “ 12 (5)
p4q ´ p5q
5x ` 5y “ 6 (6)
p1q ˆ 2 ´ p3q
4x ` 6y ` 2z “ 12 (7)
3x ` y ` 2z “ 10 (8)

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

p7q ´ p8q

x ` 5y “ 2 (9)

x ` 5y “ 2 (10)
5x ` 5y “ 6 (11)

p11q ´ p10q give us x “ 1 and substituting x in p10q gives us y “ 0.2.

now substituting x and y in p1q we get z “ 3.4.

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

MATRICES
WHAT IS A MATRIX?
The table shows the marks obtained by Jabu, Mpho, Thulani and Kgosi
in tests marked out of 10.
MATH ACCOUNTS ENGLISH
JABU 8 5 6
MPHO 7 3 5
THULANI 6 4 5
KGOSI 9 2 8
We can show these results without names
¨ ˛
8 5 6
˚ 7 3 5 ‹
˚ ‹
˝ 6 4 5 ‚
9 2 8
Such an arrangement of numbers is called a matrix (plural matrices).
The matrix stores the information from the table. The position of each
number in the matrix is important. We describe the matrix above as a 4
by 3 matrix since it has four rows and three columns. This is called the
order of the matrix.
DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences
Types of Matrices

1. A Square Matrix has the same number of rows and columns. e.g.
a 2 by 2, 3 by 3, etc.
2. A Rectangular Matrix has the different number of rows and
columns. e.g. a 4 by 3, 5 by 2 etc.
3. A Row Matrix consists of a single row. e.g. a 1 by 3, 1 by 7, etc.
4. A Column matrix consists of a single column. e.g. a 3 by 1, 5 by 1,
etc.

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

Transpose of a matrix

‚ The transpose of matrix is constructed by interchanging the rows

and columns.
‚ The first row of the original matrix becomes the first column of the
transpose, the ˆ
second row˙ becomes the second column and so on.
a b
i.e. given A “ then its transpose is given by
ˆ ˙c d
a c
AT “
b d
Example
Find the transpose of ¨the following ˛matrices
ˆ ˙ ´3 ´2
7 9
1. 2. ˝ 1 5 ‚
5 8
6 9
Solutions
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
7 5 ´3 1 6
1. 2.
9 8 ´2 5 9

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

EQUAL MATRICES

Two matrices are equal when they are of the same order and the
numbers in corresponding positions are equal.
Example 17
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
m 3 5 p
1. If “ , find the values of m, n, p and q.
4 n q 4
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
2a 7 6 7
2. If “ , find the values of a and b.
5 3b 5 12
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
7 ` x ´ 2z 3
´7 ´6
3. If “ 9 , find the values of x, y and
´4 4y ´4 ´ 10
z.
Solution
1. m “ 5, n “ 4, p “ 3 and q “ 4
2. a “ 3 and b “ 4
9
3. x “ ´14, y “ ´ 40 and z “ 9

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION OF MATRICES
Matrices can be added only when they are of the same order. To
add matrices, we add the numbers in the corresponding positions
Example 18
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
2 5 3 4
1. Workout `
1 6 0 7
¨ ˛ ¨ ˛
2 1 4 3
2. Workout ˝ 3 5 ‚` ˝ 1 6 ‚
0 7 6 5
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
2 ´3 4 B 6 2
3. Find the missing values ` “
A 0 5 ´2 3 C
Solutions
ˆ ˙
5 9
1.
1 13
¨ ˛
6 4
2. ˝ 4 11 ‚
6 12
3. A “ ´2, B “ 5 and C “ ´2.

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

SCALAR MULTIPLICATION
A scalar is a number that multiplies the matrix.
Example 19
ˆ ˙
3 1
1. Workout 2
0 4
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
5 2 ´3 4
2. Given that A “ and B “ , find the single
1 3 1 ´5
matrix for
a. 3A ` 2B
b. 2A ´ 3B
SOLUTIONS
ˆ ˙
6 2
1.
0 8
ˆ ˙
9 14
2. a.
ˆ 5 ´1 ˙
19 ´8
b.
´1 21

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

MATRIX MULTIPLICATION

Multiplication of matrices is done by multiplying a ROW by a

COLUMN.
Example 20
1. Workout the following
¨ ˛
` ˘ 6
a. 3 2 1 ˝ 5 ‚
¨ 11 ˛
` ˘ 5 6
b. 3 2 1 ˝ 4 5 ‚
ˆ ˙ˆ 10 11˙
1 3 2 1 0
c.
2 1 1 2 4
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
´2 1 2 1
2. Given that A “ ,B“ and
ˆ ˙ 3 0 ´1 3
1 ´2
C“ , find ApB ` C q.
2 ´1

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

Cont...

3. Find the missing values

ˆ ˙ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
3 0 y z 6 ´3
a. “
ˆ 2 x ˙ ˆ4 0 ˙ ˆ8 w ˙
´2 3 2 q 5 13
b. “
1 p 3 5 ´1 r
Solutions
1. a. `39 ˘
b. ˆ 33 39 ˙
5 7 12
c.
5 4 4
ˆ ˙
´5 4
2.
9 ´3
3. a. w “ ´2, x “ 1, y “ 2 and z “ ´1
b. p “ ´1, q “ 1 and r “ ´4

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

THE IDENTITY (OR UNIT) MATRIX

A unit matrix is one in which the elements in the leading diagonal (top
left corner to bottom right corner) are ones and the other elements are
zeros. It is denoted by I . ˆ ˙
1 0
Thus for a 2 by 2 matrix I “ .
ˆ ˙ 0 1
1 2
If A “
3ˆ 4 ˙ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
1 2 1 0 1 2
then AI “ “
ˆ 3 4˙ ˆ 0 1˙ ˆ 3 4˙
1 0 1 2 1 2
and IA “ “ .
0 1 3 4 3 4
Hence AI “ IA “ A.

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

DETERMINANT OF A MATRIX

ˆ ˙
a b
The determinant of a matrix A “ is defined to be
c d
detpAq “ ad ´ bc. Example 21
Find the determinant of each of the following matrices
ˆ ˙
1 3
1.
2 4
ˆ ˙
1 2
2.
3 6
Solution
1. -2
2. 0.
Wheredet “ 0, the matrix is said to be a singular matrix.

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

INVERSE OF A MATRIX

The inverse of a matrix A is the matrix which when multiplied with the
´1
matrix
ˆ A results˙in an identityˆmatrix. It ˙is denoted by A . Consider
4 ´3 ´5 3
A“ and A´1 “ .
7 ´5 ˆ ˙ˆ ´7 4˙ ˆ ˙
´1 4 ´3 ´5 3 1 0
Then AA “ “
ˆ 7 ´5˙ ˆ ´7 4˙ ˆ 0 1˙
´5 3 4 ´3 1 0
and A´1 A “ “
´7 4 7 ´5 0 1
´1 ´1
Hence, we have AA “ A A “ I provided the determinant is not zero.
A´1 exists
ˆ only˙if |A| ‰ 0.
a b
If A “ ,
c d ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
d ´b d ´b
then A´1 “ det1 A 1
“ ad´bc
´c a ´c a

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

cont...
Example 22
1. Find the inverse of the following matrices
ˆ ˙
4 3
a. A “ .
ˆ 1 2 ˙
2 0
b. B “ .
1 2
ˆ ˙
3 ´5
2. Given that A “ , find
8 1
a. The inverse of A
b. Show that AA´1 “ I
Solutions ˆ ˙
1 2 ´3
1. a. A´1 “ 5
ˆ ´1 4 ˙
2 0
b. B ´1 “ 14
´1 2
2. omitted for learners to do.

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

SIMULTANEOUS EQUATIONS
INVERSE METHOD
Consider the equations
3x ` 4y “ 18
4x ´ y “ 5
The above equations can be written in terms of matrices as
ˆ ˙ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
3 4 x 18
“
4 ´1 y 5
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
3 4 x 18
or AX “ B, where A “ ,X “ and B “
4 ´1 y 5
´1 ´1 ´1
Then A AX ˆ “ A B that˙ is X “ A B. We have that
1 ´1 ´4
A´1 “ ´ 19 therefore
ˆ ´4 3˙ ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
1 ´1 ´4 18 2 x 2
X “ ´ 19 “ . That is “ or
´4 3 5 3 y 3
x “ 2 and y “ 3.
Note that before writing simultaneous equations in terms of
matrices, make sure that the equations are aligned.
DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences
Cramer’s Rule

Cramer’s rule is a method of solving linear systems using determinants.

Procedure : Given a linear system

a1 x ` b1 y “ c
a2 x ` b2 y “ d

Solution
Step 1. Write linear system in matrix form
ˆ ˙ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
a1 b1 x c
“
a2 b2 y d
Step 2. Solution is given
› by › › ›
› c b1 a1 c
› › › ›
› › ›
› › › ›
› d b2 a2 d
› › › ›
detpAxq › detpAy q › ›
x “ detpAq “ › › › and y “ detpAq “ › ›
› a1 b1 a1 b1
› › ›
› › ›
› › › ›
› a2 b2 a2 b2
› › › ›
› › ›

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

Example 23

Consider the equations

3x ` 4y “ 18
4x ´ y “ 5

The above equations can be written in terms of matrices as

ˆ ˙ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
3 4 x 18
“
4 ´1 y 5

Solution
› is given› by › ›
› 18 4 ››› 3 18
› › ›
› ›
› › ›
› 5 ´1 ›› 4 5
› › ›
› “ ´38 “ 2 and y “ detpAy q › › ´57
x “ ›› ´19 detpAq “ › › “ ´19 “3
› 3 4 ››› 3 4
› ›
› ›
› › ›
› 4 ´1 › 4 ´1
› › › ›
› ›
Therefore x “ 2 and y “ 3.

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

Gauss-Jordan elimination method
Example
Use the Gauss-Jordan elimination method to solve the following system
of equations:
3x ` 4y “ 18
4x ´ y “ 5
Solution
Step 1
Use the coefficient matrix and the vector of the constant to develop the
augmented matrix
ˆ ˙ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
3 4 x 18
“
4 ´1 y 5
The augmented matrix is written as follows
ˆ ˙
3 4 18
pA|Bq “
4 ´1 5
Step 2
Perform Row Operation
DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences
1. Replace row 1 by (row 2 - row 1)
ˆ ˙
1 ´5 ´13
4 ´1 5
2. Replace row 2 by prow 2 ´ 4 ˆ row 1q
ˆ ˙
1 ´5 ´13
0 19 57
3. Divide row 2 by 19 ˆ ˙
1 ´5 ´13
0 1 3
4. Replace row 1 by prow 1 ` 5 ˆ row 2q
ˆ ˙
1 0 2
0 1 3
Thus, the solution is x “ 2 and y “ 3

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

Example of a system with 3 unknowns
Use the Gauss-Jordan method of elimination to solve

3R ` 4S ` T “ 3000
2R ` 3S ` 5T “ 2400
4R ` 3S ` T “ 3600

Solution
The augmented matrix is given by
¨ ˛
3 4 1 3000
pA|Bq “ ˝ 2 3 5 2400 ‚
4 3 1 3600

Performing row operations we have

1. Replace row 1 by (row 1 - row 2)
¨ ˛
1 1 ´4 600
˝ 2 3 5 2400 ‚
4 3 1 3600

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

2. Replace row 2 by prow 2 ´ 2 ˆ row 1q
¨ ˛
1 1 ´4 600
˝ 0 1 13 1200 ‚
4 3 1 3600
3. Replace row 3 by prow 3 ´ 4 ˆ row 1q
¨ ˛
1 1 ´4 600
˝ 0 1 13 1200 ‚
0 ´1 17 1200
4. Replace row 3 by prow 3 ` ˆrow 2q
¨ ˛
1 1 ´4 600
˝ 0 1 13 1200 ‚
0 0 30 2400
5. Replace row 3 by (row 3 divided by 30)
¨ ˛
1 1 ´4 600
˝ 0 1 13 1200 ‚
0 0 1 80

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

6. Replace row 1 by (row 1 - row 2)
¨ ˛
1 0 ´17 ´600
˝ 0 1 13 1200 ‚
0 0 1 80
7. Replace row 1 by prow 1 ` 17 ˆ row 3q
¨ ˛
1 0 0 760
˝ 0 1 13 1200 ‚
0 0 1 80
8. Replace row 2 by prow 2 ´ 13 ˆ row 3q
¨ ˛
1 0 0 760
˝ 0 1 0 160 ‚
0 0 1 80
Thus the solution is R “ 760, S “ 160 and T “ 80.

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

Example 24

Solve the following simultaneous equations by matrix algebra

1.

2x ` 3y “ 9
3x ´ 4 “ 5y

2.

x ` y ` 2z “ 12
3x ` y “ 12
3x ` 2y ` z “ 20

Solutions
1. x “ 3 and y “ 1
2. x “ 2, y “ 6 and z “ 2

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

ARITHMETIC AND GEOMETRIC PROGRESSION

WHAT IS AN AP?
An AP is one in which each term is obtained from the previous one by
either adding or subtracting a constant value. The constant value added
or subtracted is called the common difference, denoted by d. The first
term is denoted by a. Furthermore, the first term is represented by T1 ,
the second by T2 , and so on.
Generally if a is the first term of an AP with common difference d, then

1st term 2nd term 3rd term 4th term 5th term n-th term
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 Tn
a a`d a ` 2d a ` 3d a ` 4d a ` pn ´ 1qd

So the n ´ th term, Tn of an AP is given by

Tn “ a ` pn ´ 1qd

where n is the number of terms.

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

Example 13

1. Find the 15th term and the 28th term of the AP ´5, ´2, 1, ....
2. For an AP ´2, 1, 4, ...
piq find the 8th term and the 12th term.
piiq determine which term has a value of 148.
Solution
1. a “ ´5, d “ ´2 ´ p´5q “ 3 and Tn “ a ` pn ´ 1qd.

T15 “ ´5 ` p15 ´ 1qp3q “ 37

T28 “ ´5 ` p28 ´ 1qp3q “ 76

2. piq a “ ´2, d “ 1 ´ p´2q “ 3 and Tn “ a ` pn ´ 1qd.

T8 “ ´2 ` p8 ´ 1qp3q “ 19

T12 “ ´2 ` p12 ´ 1qp3q “ 31.

piiq 148 “ ´2 ` pn ´ 1qp3q giving n “ 51.

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

SUM OF AN ARITHMETIC PROGRESSION
The sum Sn for any AP with n terms having term a and the last term L
is given as
n
Sn “ pa ` Lq.
2
From the previous work, the last term L “ Tn “ a ` pn ´ 1qd so
n
Sn “ p2a ` pn ´ 1qdq
2
Example 14
1. Find the sum 5 ` 10 ` 15 ` ... ` 500
2. A man digs a trench such that he is paid P70 in the first day, P85 in
the second day, P100 in the third day and so on.
piq how much is he paid on the 5th day?
piiq Find the total amount he is paid in the first 25 days.
Solution
1. a “ 5, L “ 500 and n “ La “ 500 n
5 “ 100. Sn “ 2 pa ` Lq
100
S100 “ p5 ` 500q “ 25250.
2
2. piq P130
piiq Sn “ n2 p2a ` pn ´ 1qdq, S25 “ 25
2 p2p70q ` p25 ´ 1qp15qq “ 6250
DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences
GEOMETRIC PROGRESSION

A GP is a sequence in which the next term is obtained by multiplying the

previous term by a constant number. The constant number is called the
common ratio, r .
Taking a as the first term and r as the common ratio, and using the rest
of the terminology as in AP then
1st term 2nd term 3rd term 4th term 5th term n-th term
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 Tn
a ar ar 2 ar 3 ar 4 ar pn´1q

So the n ´ th term, Tn of a GP is given by

Tn “ ar pn´1q .
T2 T3
Here the common ratio, r “ T1 “ T2

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

Example 15

1. Find the common ratio of 24, ´6, 1.5, ...

2. Find the 5th term of the GP 80, 20, 5, ...
SOLUTIONS
T2 ´6 1
1. r “ T1 “ 24 “ ´ 4
20 1
2. r “ 80 “ 4 , a “ 80, Tn “ ar pn´1q .
ˆ ˙p5´1q
1
T5 “ 80 ˆ “ 0.3125
4

DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

SUM OF A GEOMETRIC SERIES
The sum of a GP with n terms where the first term is a and the common
ratio is r is given by
ap1 ´ r n q
Sn “
1´r
Example 16
1. Find the sum of the first six terms of the series 5 ` 2.5 ` 1.25 ` ....
2. Find the 12th term and the sum of the first 7 terms of the series
4, 8, 16, ...
Solution
n
1. a “ 5, r “ 0.5, n “ 6, Sn “ ap1´r
1´r
q

5p1 ´ 0.56 q
S6 “ “ 9.84375
1 ´ 0.5
2. a “ 4, r “ 2, n “ 12,n Tn “ ar pn´1q , T12 “ 4 ˆ 2p12´1q “ 8192 and
for n “ 7, Sn “ ap1´r q
1´r ,

4p1 ´ 27 q
S7 “ “ 65023
1´2
DR. M. Koorapetse Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences