For which values of a and b does the following pair of linear equations have an infinite number of solutions?
2x + 3y = 7
(a – b)x + (a + b)y = 3a + b - 2
(i) 2x + 3y - 7 =0
(a - b)x + (a + b)y - (3a + b - 2) = 0
For infinitely many solutions,
6a + 2b - 4 = 7a – 7b
a – 9b = -4.............. (i)
2a + 2b = 3a – 3b
a – 5b = 0...............(ii)
Subtracting (i) from (ii), we obtain
4b = 4
b = 1
Substituting this in equation (ii), we obtain
a - 5 × 1 = 0
a = 5
Hence, a = 5 and b = 1 are the values for which the given equations give infinitely many solutions.