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Direct Solution of Linear Equations

UPDATED: 02/22/2018

The first part of this spreadsheet is an exact implementation of the procedure discussed on page 155 of Engineering with Excel, 2nd Edition, by Ronald W. Larsen, Prentice-Hall E-Source (2005). A 3×3 system of linear equations is solved using the Excel MINVERSE function for the inverse of a matrix. The second part uses a home-made VBA subroutine to accomplish the same thing.

Solving a system of linear equations: (a) using Excel’s MINVERSE function, (b) inverting the system using a homemade VBA routine

For large systems of linear equations, both full and sparse, LAPACK is a much better alternative for direct solutions.

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