If we perform one of the following operations on a system of linear equations:

  1. list the equations in a different order; or
  2. multiply one of the equations by a non-zero real number; or
  3. replace equation $j$ by “equation $j$ ${}+{}$ $c\times {}$ (equation $i$)”, where $c$ is a non-zero real number,

then the new system will have exactly the same solutions as the original system. These are called elementary operations on the linear system.

Why do elementary operations leave the solutions of systems unchanged?