 In contrast, if an equation is dependent on the others, then it provides no information not contained in the others collectively, and the equation can be dropped from the system without any information loss.The number of independent equations in a system equals the rank of the augmented matrix of the system—the system's coefficient matrix with one additional column appended, that column being the column vector of constants.The number of independent equations in a system of consistent equations (a system that has at least one solution) can never be greater than the number of unknowns.