The augmented matrix [A|B] is \(\left[ \begin{matrix} 2 & -3 & 5 \\ 3 & 1 & \lambda \\ 1 & -7 & 8 \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 12 \\ \mu \\ 17 \end{matrix} \right] \)
\(\overset { { R }_{ 1 }\leftrightarrow { R }_{ 3 } }{ \longrightarrow } \left[ \begin{matrix} 1 & -7 & 8 \\ 3 & 1 & \lambda \\ 2 & -3 & 5 \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 17 \\ \mu \\ 12 \end{matrix} \right] \)
\(\overset { { R }_{ 2 }\rightarrow { R }_{ 2 }-{ R }_{ 1 }\\ { R }_{ 3 }\rightarrow { R }_{ 3 }-2R_{ 1 } }{ \longrightarrow } \left[ \begin{matrix} 1 & -7 & 8 \\ 0 & 22 & \lambda -51 \\ 0 & 11 & -11 \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 17 \\ \mu -51 \\ -22 \end{matrix} \right] \)
\(\overset { { R }_{ 2 }\rightarrow { R }_{ 2 }-2{ R }_{ 3 }\\ { R }_{ 3 }\rightarrow { R }_{ 3 }\div 11 }{ \longrightarrow } \left[ \begin{matrix} 1 & -7 & 8 \\ 0 & 0 & \lambda -2 \\ 0 & 1 & -1 \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 17 \\ \mu -7 \\ -2 \end{matrix} \right] \)
\(\overset { { R }_{ 2 }\leftrightarrow { R }_{ 3 } }{ \longrightarrow } \left[ \begin{matrix} 1 & -7 & 8 \\ 0 & 1 & -1 \\ 0 & 0 & \lambda -2 \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 17 \\ -2 \\ \mu -7 \end{matrix} \right] \)
Case (i) : when λ ≠ 2,
\(\rho\) ([A|B]) = 3 and \(\rho\)(A) = 3
∴ \(\rho\)([AIB])= \(\rho\)(A) = 3 = the number of unknowns
∴ The system has unique solution
Case (ii) : when λ = 2, μ =7
\(\left[ \begin{matrix} 1 & -7 & 8 \\ 0 & 1 & -1 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 17 \\ -2 \\ 0 \end{matrix} \right] \)
Here \(\rho\)(A) = 2 and \(\rho\)([A|B]) = 2
∴ \(\rho\)(A) = \(\rho\)([A|B]) = 2 < number of unknowns
Thus the system is consistent with infinitely many solutions.
Case (iii) : When λ= 2 and μ ≠ 7
\(\rho\) (A) = 2 and \(\rho\) ([A|B]) = 3
∴ \(\rho\) (A) ≠ \(\rho\) ([A|B])
Thus, the given system of equations is inconsistent.

\(\frac { 3 }{ x } -\frac { 4 }{ y } -\frac { 2 }{ z } \) - 0, \(\frac { 1 }{ x } +\frac { 2 }{ y } +\frac { 1 }{ z } \) - 2 = 0, \(\frac { 2 }{ x } -\frac { 5 }{ y } -\frac { 4 }{ z } \) + 1 = 0
Put \(\frac { 1 }{ x } =u,\frac { 1 }{ y } =v,\frac { 1 }{ z } =w\)
We get 3u - 4v - 2w = 1, u + 2v + w = 2, 2u - 5v - 4w = -1
∴ \(\left| \begin{matrix} 3 & -4 & -2 \\ 1 & 2 & 1 \\ 2 & -5 & -4 \end{matrix} \right| =3\left| \begin{matrix} 2 & 1 \\ -5 & -4 \end{matrix} \right| +4\left| \begin{matrix} 1 & 1 \\ 2 & -4 \end{matrix} \right| -2\left| \begin{matrix} 1 & 2 \\ 2 & -5 \end{matrix} \right| \)
= 3(- 8 + 5) + 4'(- 4 - 2) - 2(- 5 - 4)
= 3(- 3) + 4(- 6) - 2(- 9)
= - 9 - 24 + 18 = -15
Δ₁ = \(\left| \begin{matrix} 1 & -4 & -2 \\ 2 & 2 & 1 \\ -1 & -5 & -4 \end{matrix} \right| \)
= \(1\left| \begin{matrix} 2 & 1 \\ -5 & -4 \end{matrix} \right| +4\left| \begin{matrix} 2 & 1 \\ -1 & -4 \end{matrix} \right| -2\left| \begin{matrix} 2 & 2 \\ -1 & -5 \end{matrix} \right| \)
= 1(- 8 + 5) + 4(- 8 + 11 -2(-10 + 2)
= 1(- 3) + 4(-7) - 2(- 8)
= - 3 - 28 + 16= -15
Δ₂ = \(\left| \begin{matrix} 3 & 1 & -2 \\ 1 & 2 & 1 \\ 2 & -1 & -4 \end{matrix} \right| \)
\(3\left| \begin{matrix} 2 & 1 \\ -1 & -4 \end{matrix} \right| -1\left| \begin{matrix} 1 & 1 \\ 2 & -4 \end{matrix} \right| -2\left| \begin{matrix} 1 & 2 \\ 2 & -1 \end{matrix} \right| \)
= 3(- 8 + 1) - 1(- 4 - 2) - 2(- 1 - 4)
= 3(-7) - 1(- 6) - 2(- 5)
= -21 + 6 + 10 = -5
Δ₃ = \(\left| \begin{matrix} 3 & -4 & 1 \\ 1 & 2 & 2 \\ 2 & -5 & -1 \end{matrix} \right| \)
\(3\left| \begin{matrix} 2 & 2 \\ -5 & -1 \end{matrix} \right| +4\left| \begin{matrix} 1 & 2 \\ 2 & -1 \end{matrix} \right| -2\left| \begin{matrix} 1 & 2 \\ 2 & -5 \end{matrix} \right| \)
= 3(-2 + 10) + 4(-1 - 4)+ 1(-5 - 4)
= 3(8) + 4(- 5) + 1(- 9)
= 24 - 20 - 9 = - 5
∴ \(\frac { { \triangle }_{ 1 } }{ \triangle } =\frac { -15 }{ -15 } =1\Rightarrow \frac { 1 }{ x } =1\Rightarrow \)x = 1
v = \(\frac { { \triangle }_{ 2 } }{ \triangle } =\frac { -5 }{ -15 } =\frac { 1 }{ 3 } \Rightarrow \frac { 1 }{ y } =\frac { 1 }{ 3 } \Rightarrow \)y = 3
w = \(\frac { { \triangle }_{ 3 } }{ \triangle } =\frac { 5 }{ -15 } =\frac { 1 }{ 3 } \Rightarrow \frac { 1 }{ z } =\frac { 1 }{ 3 } \Rightarrow \)z = 3
∴ Solution set is {1, 3, 3}

Assume that the system px + by + cz = 0, ax + qy + cz = 0, ax + by + rz = 0 has a non-trivial solution.
So, we have \(\left| \begin{matrix} p & b & c \\ a & q & c \\ a & b & r \end{matrix} \right| \) = 0, Applying R₂ ➝ R₂ - R₁ and R₃ ➝ R₃ - R₁ in the above equation,
we get \(\left| \begin{matrix} p & b & c \\ a-p & q-b & c \\ a-p & b & r-c \end{matrix} \right| \) = 0. That is,  \(\left| \begin{matrix} p & b & c \\ -\left( p-a \right) & q-b & c \\ -\left( p-a \right) & b & r-c \end{matrix} \right| \) = 0.
Since p ≠ a, q ≠ b, r ≠ c, we get (p - a)(q - b)(r - c) \(\left| \begin{matrix} \frac { p }{ p-a } & \frac { b }{ q-b } & \frac { c }{ r-c } \\ -1 & 1 & 0 \\ -1 & 0 & 1 \end{matrix} \right| \) = 0.
So, we have \(\left| \begin{matrix} \frac { p }{ p-a } & \frac { b }{ q-b } & \frac { c }{ r-c } \\ -1 & 1 & 0 \\ -1 & 0 & 1 \end{matrix} \right| \) = 0.
Expanding the determinant, we get \(\frac { p }{ p-a } +\frac { b }{ q-b } +\frac { c }{ r-c } \) = 0.
That is, \(\frac { p }{ p-a } +\frac { q-\left( q-b \right) }{ q-b } +\frac { r-\left( r-c \right) }{ r-c } \) = 0
⇒ \(\frac { p }{ p-a } +\frac { b }{ q-b } +\frac { c }{ r-c } \) = 2.

Here the number of unknowns is 3. So, if the system is consistent and has a non-trivial solution, then the rank of the coefficient matrix is equal to the rank of the augmented matrix and is less than 3.
So the determinant of the coefficient matrix should be 0.
Hence we get
\(\left| \begin{matrix} 3\lambda -8 & 3 & 3 \\ 3 & 3\lambda -8 & 3 \\ 3 & 3 & 3\lambda -8 \end{matrix} \right| \) = 0 or \(\left| \begin{matrix} 3\lambda -2 & 3\lambda -2 & 3\lambda -2 \\ 3 & 3\lambda -8 & 3 \\ 3 & 3 & 3\lambda -8 \end{matrix} \right| \) = 0 (by applying R₁ ➝ R₁ + R₂ + R₃)
or (3λ - 2) \(\left| \begin{matrix} 1 & 1 & 1 \\ 3 & 3\lambda -8 & 3 \\ 3 & 3 & 3\lambda -8 \end{matrix} \right| \) = 0 (by taking out (3λ − 2) from R₁)
or (3λ - 2) \(\left| \begin{matrix} 1 & 1 & 1 \\ 3 & 3\lambda -11 & 3 \\ 3 & 3 & 3\lambda -11 \end{matrix} \right| \) = 0 (by applying R₂ ➝ R₂ - 3R₁, R₃ ➝ R₃ - 3R₁)
or (3λ - 2)(3λ - 11)² 0. So λ = \(\frac { 2 }{ 3 } \) and λ = \(\frac { 11 }{ 3 } \).
We now give an application of system of linear homogeneous equations to chemistry. You are already aware of balancing chemical reaction equations by inspecting the number of atoms present on both sides.

Here the number of unknowns is 3.
The matrix form of the system is AX = B, where A = \(\left[ \begin{matrix} 1 & 2 & 1 \\ 1 & 1 & \lambda \\ 1 & 3 & -5 \end{matrix} \right] \), X = \(\left[ \begin{matrix} x \\ y \\ z \end{matrix} \right] \), B = \(\left[ \begin{matrix} 7 \\ \mu \\ 5 \end{matrix} \right] \).
Applying elementary row operations on the augmented matrix [A | B], we get
[A | B] = \(\left[ \begin{matrix} 1 & 2 & 1 \\ 1 & 1 & \lambda \\ 1 & 3 & -5 \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 7 \\ \mu \\ 5 \end{matrix} \right] \overset { { R }_{ 2 }\leftrightarrow { R }_{ 3 } }{ \longrightarrow } \left[ \begin{matrix} 1 & 2 & 1 \\ 1 & 3 & -5 \\ 1 & 1 & \lambda \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 7 \\ 5 \\ \mu \end{matrix} \right] \overset { \begin{matrix} { R }_{ 2 }\longrightarrow { R }_{ 2 }-{ R }_{ 1 }, \\ { R }_{ 3 }\longrightarrow { R }_{ 3 }-{ R }_{ 1 } \end{matrix} }{ \longrightarrow } \left[ \begin{matrix} 1 & 2 & 1 \\ 0 & 1 & -6 \\ 0 & -1 & \lambda -1 \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 7 \\ -2 \\ \mu -7 \end{matrix} \right] \overset { { R }_{ 3 }\longrightarrow { R }_{ 3 }+{ R }_{ 2 } }{ \longrightarrow } \left[ \begin{matrix} 1 & 2 & 1 \\ 0 & 1 & -6 \\ 0 & 0 & \lambda -7 \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 7 \\ -2 \\ \mu -9 \end{matrix} \right] \).
(i) If λ =7 and μ \(\neq\) 9, then ρ(A) = 2 and ρ([A | B]) = 3. So ρ(A) ≠ ρ([A | B]) Hence the given system is inconsistent and has no solution.
(ii) If λ ≠ 7 and μ is any real number, then ρ(A) = 3 and ρ([A | B]) = 3.
So, ρ(A) = ρ([A | B]) = 3 = Number of unknown. Hence the given system is consistent and has a unique solution.
(iii) If λ = 7 and μ = 9, then ρ(A) = 2 and ρ([A | B]) = 2.
So, ρ(A) = ρ([A | B]) = 2 < Number of unknown. Hence the given system is consistent and has infinite number of solutions.

Here the number of unknowns is 3.
The matrix form of the system is AX = B, where
A = \(\left[ \begin{matrix} 1 \\ \begin{matrix} 3 \\ \begin{matrix} 1 \\ 1 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}\begin{matrix} 2 \\ \begin{matrix} -1 \\ \begin{matrix} -2 \\ -1 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}\begin{matrix} -1 \\ \begin{matrix} 2 \\ \begin{matrix} 3 \\ 1 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \right] \), X = \(\left[ \begin{matrix} x \\ y \\ z \end{matrix} \right] \), B = \(\left[ \begin{matrix} 3 \\ \begin{matrix} 1 \\ \begin{matrix} 3 \\ -1 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \right] \).
The augmented matrix is [A | B] = \(\left[\begin{array}{ccc|c} 1 & 2 & -1 & 3 \\ 3 & -1 & 2 & 1 \\ 1 & -2 & 3 & 3 \\ 1 & -1 & 1 & -1 \end{array}\right]\).
Applying Gaussian elimination method on [A | B], we get
[A | B] \(\overset { \begin{matrix} { R }_{ 2 }\longrightarrow { R }_{ 2 }-3{ R }_{ 1 } \\ { R }_{ 3 }\longrightarrow { R }_{ 3 }-{ R }_{ 1 }, \\ { R }_{ 4 }\longrightarrow { R }_{ 4 }-{ R }_{ 1 } \end{matrix} }{ \longrightarrow } \left[ \begin{matrix} 1 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ 0 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}\begin{matrix} 2 \\ \begin{matrix} -7 \\ \begin{matrix} -4 \\ -3 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}\begin{matrix} -1 \\ \begin{matrix} 5 \\ \begin{matrix} 4 \\ 2 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 3 \\ \begin{matrix} -8 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ 4 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \right] \overset { \begin{matrix} { R }_{ 2 }\longrightarrow \left( -1 \right) { R }_{ 2 }, \\ { R }_{ 3 }\longrightarrow \left( -1 \right) { R }_{ 3 } \\ { R }_{ 4 }\longrightarrow \left( -1 \right) { R }_{ 4 } \end{matrix} }{ \longrightarrow } \left[ \begin{matrix} 1 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ 0 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}\begin{matrix} 2 \\ \begin{matrix} 7 \\ \begin{matrix} 4 \\ 3 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}\begin{matrix} -1 \\ \begin{matrix} -5 \\ \begin{matrix} -4 \\ -2 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 3 \\ \begin{matrix} 8 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ 4 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \right] \)\(\overset { \begin{matrix} { R }_{ 3 }\longrightarrow 7{ R }_{ 3 }-4{ R }_{ 2 } \\ { R }_{ 4 }\longrightarrow 7{ R }_{ 4 }-3{ R }_{ 2 } \end{matrix} }{ \longrightarrow } \left[ \begin{matrix} 1 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ 0 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}\begin{matrix} 2 \\ \begin{matrix} 7 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ 0 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}\begin{matrix} -1 \\ \begin{matrix} -5 \\ \begin{matrix} -8 \\ 1 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 3 \\ \begin{matrix} 8 \\ \begin{matrix} -32 \\ 4 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \right] \overset { { R }_{ 3 }\longrightarrow { R }_{ 3 }\div \left( -8 \right) }{ \longrightarrow } \left[ \begin{matrix} 1 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ 0 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}\begin{matrix} 2 \\ \begin{matrix} 7 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ 0 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}\begin{matrix} -1 \\ \begin{matrix} -5 \\ \begin{matrix} 1 \\ 1 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 3 \\ \begin{matrix} 8 \\ \begin{matrix} 4 \\ 4 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \right] \overset { { R }_{ 4 }\longrightarrow { R }_{ 4 }-{ R }_{ 3 } }{ \longrightarrow } \left[ \begin{matrix} 1 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ 0 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}\begin{matrix} 2 \\ \begin{matrix} 7 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ 0 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}\begin{matrix} -1 \\ \begin{matrix} -5 \\ \begin{matrix} 1 \\ 0 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}|\begin{matrix} 3 \\ \begin{matrix} 8 \\ \begin{matrix} 4 \\ 0 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \right] \)
There are three non-zero rows in the row-echelon form of [A | B]. So, ρ([A | B]) = 3.
So, the row-echelon form of A is \(\left[ \begin{matrix} 1 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ 0 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}\begin{matrix} 2 \\ \begin{matrix} 7 \\ \begin{matrix} 0 \\ 0 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix}\begin{matrix} -1 \\ \begin{matrix} -5 \\ \begin{matrix} 1 \\ 0 \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \end{matrix} \right] \). There are three non-zero rows in it. So ρ(A) = 3.
Hence, ρ(A) = ρ([A | B]) = 3.
From the echelon form, we write the equivalent system of equations
x + 2y − z = 3,7y − 5z = 8, z = 4, 0 = 0.
The last equation 0=0 is meaningful. By the method of back substitution, we get
z = 4
7y − 20 = 8 ⇒ y = 4 ,
x = 3 − 8 + 4 ⇒ x = −1.
So, the solution is (x = −1, y = 4, z = 4).(Note that A is not a square matrix.)
Here the given system is consistent and the solution is unique.

The path y = ax² + bx + c passes through the points (10, 8), (20, 16), (40, 22). So, we get the system of equations 100a + 10b + c = 8, 400a + 20b + c = 16, 1600a + 40b + c = 22. To apply Cramer’s rule, we find
Δ = \(\left| \begin{matrix} 100 & 10 & 1 \\ 400 & 20 & 1 \\ 1600 & 40 & 1 \end{matrix} \right| =1000\left| \begin{matrix} 1 & 1 & 1 \\ 4 & 2 & 1 \\ 16 & 4 & 1 \end{matrix} \right| \) = 1000 [-2 + 12 - 6] = -6000,
Δ₁ = \(\left| \begin{matrix} 8 & 10 & 1 \\ 16 & 20 & 1 \\ 22 & 40 & 1 \end{matrix} \right| =20\left| \begin{matrix} 4 & 1 & 1 \\ 8 & 2 & 1 \\ 11 & 4 & 1 \end{matrix} \right| \) = 20[-8 + 3 + 10] = 100,
Δ₂ = \(\left| \begin{matrix} 100 & 8 & 1 \\ 400 & 16 & 1 \\ 1600 & 22 & 1 \end{matrix} \right| =200\left| \begin{matrix} 1 & 4 & 1 \\ 4 & 8 & 1 \\ 16 & 11 & 1 \end{matrix} \right| \) = 200[-3 + 48 - 84] = -7800,
Δ₃ = \(\left| \begin{matrix} 100 & 10 & 8 \\ 400 & 20 & 16 \\ 1600 & 40 & 22 \end{matrix} \right| =2000\left| \begin{matrix} 1 & 1 & 4 \\ 4 & 2 & 8 \\ 16 & 4 & 11 \end{matrix} \right| \) = 2000[-10 + 84 - 64] = 20000.
By Cramer’s rule, we get a = \(\frac { { \Delta }_{ 1 } }{ \Delta } =-\frac { 1 }{ 60 } \), b = \(\frac { { \Delta }_{ 2 } }{ \Delta } =\frac { 7800 }{ 6000 } =\frac { 78 }{ 60 } =\frac { 13 }{ 10 } \), c = \(\frac { { \Delta }_{ 3 } }{ \Delta } =\frac { 20000 }{ 6000 } =-\frac { 20 }{ 6 } =-\frac { 10 }{ 3 } \).
So, the equation of the path is y = \(\frac { 1 }{ 60 } { x }^{ 2 }+\frac { 13 }{ 10 } x-\frac { 10 }{ 3 } \).
When x = 70, we get y = 6. So, the ball went by 6 metres high over the boundary line and it is impossible for a fielder standing even just before the boundary line to jump and catch the ball. Hence the ball went for a super six and the team won the match.

The equations can be written in matrix form as
\(\left( \begin{matrix} 2 & -1 \\ 5 & 1 \end{matrix} \right) \left( \begin{matrix} x \\ y \end{matrix} \right) =\left( \begin{matrix} 3 \\ 4 \end{matrix} \right) \) ⇒ AX = B where
A =\(\left( \begin{matrix} 2 & -1 \\ 5 & 1 \end{matrix} \right) ,X=\left( \begin{matrix} x \\ y \end{matrix} \right) ,B=\left( \begin{matrix} 3 \\ 4 \end{matrix} \right) \)
∴ X = A^-1B
|A| = \(\left| \begin{matrix} 2 & -1 \\ 5 & 1 \end{matrix} \right| \) = 2+5 =7 ≠ 0
∴ A^-1 =\(\frac { 1 }{ |A| } adj\quad A=\frac { 1 }{ 7 } \left[ \begin{matrix} 1 & 1 \\ -5 & 2 \end{matrix} \right] \)
∴ X = \(\frac { 1 }{ 7 } \left[ \begin{matrix} 1 & 1 \\ -5 & 2 \end{matrix} \right] \left[ \begin{matrix} 3 \\ 4 \end{matrix} \right] =\frac { 1 }{ 7 } \left[ \begin{matrix} 3+4 \\ -15+8 \end{matrix} \right] \)
= \(\frac { 1 }{ 7 } \left[ \begin{matrix} 7 \\ -7 \end{matrix} \right] =\left[ \begin{matrix} 1 \\ -1 \end{matrix} \right] \)
∴ Solution set is {1, -1}

\(\Delta = \left| \begin{matrix} t & 3 & -1 \\ 1 & 2 & 1 \\ -t & 1 & 2 \end{matrix} \right| =t\left| \begin{matrix} 2 & 1 \\ 1 & 2 \end{matrix} \right| -3\left| \begin{matrix} 1 & 1 \\ -t & 2 \end{matrix} \right| -\left| \begin{matrix} 1 & 2 \\ -t & 1 \end{matrix} \right| \)
= t(4 - 1) -3 (2 + t) -1(1 + 2t)
= 3t - 6i - 3t - 1 - 2t = - 7 - 2t
The system will fail to have unique solution if
Δ = 0 ⇒ -7-2t = 0 ⇒ -2t = 7 ⇒ t = \(\frac { -7 }{ 2 } \)
∴ t = \(\frac { -7 }{ 2 } \).