Question

If a linear system has no solution what happens when you try to solve the system by adding or subtracting

Answer 1

In the addition/subtraction method, the two equations in the system are added or subtracted to create a new equation with only one variable. In order for the new equation to have only one variable, the other variable must cancel out. In other words, we must first perform operations on each equation until one term has an equal and opposite coefficient as the corresponding term in the other equation.