Vector Spaces

Lecturer Đặng Thị Kim Nhung

Faculty of Applied Mathematics, Department of Applied Sciences, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology,
268 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City.

E-mail: nhungdtk@[Link]

2nd March
Chapter 3
2026 2nd March 2026 1 / 51
 Definition

Vector Spaces

1 Definition

2 Linear independence

3 Spanning Set

4 Column Spaces and Row Spaces

5 Basic

6 Bases of finite-dimensional vector spaces

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 Definition

Definition
A vector space is a nonempty set V of objects, called vectors, on which are defined
two operations, called addition and multiplication by scalars (real numbers), subject to
the ten axioms (or rules) listed below. The axioms must hold for all vectors u, v , and w
in V and for all scalars c and d.

1 The sum of u and v , denoted by 6 The scalar multiple of u by c,

u + v , is in V . denoted by cu, is in V .
2 u + v = v + u. 7 c(u + v ) = cu + cv .
3 (u + v ) + w = u + (v + w ).
4 There is a zero vector 0 in V such 8 (c + d)u = cu + du.
that u + 0 = u. 9 c(du) = (cd)u.
5 For each u in V , there is a vector −u
in V such that u + (−u) = 0. 10 1u = u.

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 Definition

Properties
Let V be a vector space, for each u ∈ V and scalar c
1 There is a single zero element in an arbitrary vector space
2 There is a single additive inverse vector for every vector u
3 0u = 0
4 c0 = 0
5 −u = (−1)u

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 Definition

Example 1. The zero vector space V = {0}

0+0=0
k0=0

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 Definition

Example 2. The vector space Rn

V1 = Rn
u + v = (u1 , u2 , . . . , un ) + (v1 , v2 , . . . , vn ) = (u1 + v1 , u2 + v2 , . . . , un + vn )
ku = k(u1 , u2 , . . . , un ) = (ku1 , ku2 , . . . , kun )

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 Definition

Example 2. The vector space Rn

V1 = Rn
u + v = (u1 , u2 , . . . , un ) + (v1 , v2 , . . . , vn ) = (u1 + v1 , u2 + v2 , . . . , un + vn )
ku = k(u1 , u2 , . . . , un ) = (ku1 , ku2 , . . . , kun )

V2 = {(x1 , x2 , x3 ), xi ∈ R and 2x1 + x2 − x3 = 0} ⊆ R3

check:
1 The zero vector is in the set
2 It is closed under addition
3 It is closed under scalar multiplication

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 Definition

Example 2. The vector space Rn

V1 = Rn
u + v = (u1 , u2 , . . . , un ) + (v1 , v2 , . . . , vn ) = (u1 + v1 , u2 + v2 , . . . , un + vn )
ku = k(u1 , u2 , . . . , un ) = (ku1 , ku2 , . . . , kun )

V2 = {(x1 , x2 , x3 ), xi ∈ R and 2x1 + x2 − x3 = 0} ⊆ R3

check:
1 The zero vector is in the set
2 It is closed under addition
3 It is closed under scalar multiplication

V3 = {(x1 , x2 , x3 ), xi ∈ R and x1 + x2 − 2x3 = 1} ⊆ R3

x = (1, 2, 1) ∈ V3 , y = (2, 3, 2) ∈ V3 , however, x + y = (3, 5, 3) ∈
/ V3

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 Definition

Example 3.
V = {(x, y )|x, y ≥ 0}
u + v = (u1 , u2 ) + (v1 , v2 ) = (u1 + v1 , u2 + v2 )
ku = k(u1 , u2 ) = (ku1 , ku2 )
does not satisfy ax. 5

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 Definition

Example 4. The vector space M22

V = M22      
u11 u12 v11 v12 u11 + v11 u12 + v12
u+v = + =
 u21 u22   v21 v22  u21 + v21 u22 + v22
u u ku11 ku12
ku = k 11 12 =
u21 u22 ku21 ku22

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 Definition

Example 5. V = R+
u + v = uv
k.u = u k

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 Definition

Example 6. The space of polynomials

V1 = P2 [x] = {ax 2 + bx + c|a, b, c ∈ R}
(a1 x 2 + b1 x + c1 ) + (a2 x 2 + b2 x + c2 ) = (a1 + a2 )x 2 + (b1 + b2 )x + (c1 + c2 )
k.P2 [x] = k(ax 2 + bx + c) = (ka)x 2 + (kb)x + kc

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 Definition

Example 6. The space of polynomials

V1 = P2 [x] = {ax 2 + bx + c|a, b, c ∈ R}
(a1 x 2 + b1 x + c1 ) + (a2 x 2 + b2 x + c2 ) = (a1 + a2 )x 2 + (b1 + b2 )x + (c1 + c2 )
k.P2 [x] = k(ax 2 + bx + c) = (ka)x 2 + (kb)x + kc

V2 = {ax 2 + bx + c|a, b, c ∈ R, a ̸= 0}

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 Definition

Example 6. The space of polynomials

V1 = P2 [x] = {ax 2 + bx + c|a, b, c ∈ R}
(a1 x 2 + b1 x + c1 ) + (a2 x 2 + b2 x + c2 ) = (a1 + a2 )x 2 + (b1 + b2 )x + (c1 + c2 )
k.P2 [x] = k(ax 2 + bx + c) = (ka)x 2 + (kb)x + kc

V2 = {ax 2 + bx + c|a, b, c ∈ R, a ̸= 0} NOT a vector space (not closed under

addition)

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 Definition

Linear combination
Let M = {v1 , . . . , vp } be a subset of V . A vector v ∈ V is called a linear combination
of M if ∃c1 , ..., cp ∈ K such that

v = c1 v1 + · · · + cp vp

Vector b is a linear combination of the columns of a matrix A if and only if the equation
Ax = b has a solution.

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 Linear independence

Linear independence
An indexed set of vectors {v1 , . . . , vp } in V is said to be linearly independent if the
vector equation
c1 v1 + c2 v2 + · · · + cp vp = 0
has only the trivial solution, c1 = 0, . . . , cp = 0.

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 Linear independence

Linear independence
An indexed set of vectors {v1 , . . . , vp } in V is said to be linearly independent if the
vector equation
c1 v1 + c2 v2 + · · · + cp vp = 0
has only the trivial solution, c1 = 0, . . . , cp = 0.

The columns of a matrix A are linearly independent if and only if the equation Ax = 0
has only the trivial solution.

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 Linear independence

Linear dependence
The set {v1 , . . . , vp } in V is said to be linearly dependent if the vector equation

c1 v1 + c2 v2 + · · · + cp vp = 0

has a nontrivial solution. Then the equation is called a linear dependence relation
among v1 , . . . , vp .

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 Linear independence

Linear dependence
The set {v1 , . . . , vp } in V is said to be linearly dependent if the vector equation

c1 v1 + c2 v2 + · · · + cp vp = 0

has a nontrivial solution. Then the equation is called a linear dependence relation
among v1 , . . . , vp .

The columns of a matrix A are linearly dependent if and only if the equation Ax = 0 has
nontrivial solutions.

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 Linear independence

Example
Let the set of vectors M = {(1, 2, 3), (4, 5, 6), (2, 1, 0)}. Determine if M is linearly
independent.

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 Linear independence

Example
Let M = {(1, 1, 1), (2, 1, 3), (1, 2, 0)}.
Is M linearly independent?
Is vector v = (2, −1, 3) a linear combination of M?

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 Linear independence

Example
Let M = {1 + t + t 2 , 2 + t + 3t 2 , 1 + 2t}.
Is M linearly independent?
Is P2 [t] = 2 − t + 3t 2 a linear combination of M?

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 Linear independence

Example
     
1 1 2 1 1 2
Let M = , , .
1 0 3 0 0 0
Is M linearly independent?
 
2 −1
Is a linear combination of M?
3 0

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 Linear independence

Example

0 1 4
Determine if the columns of the matrix A = 1 2 −1 are linearly independent.
5 8 0

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 Linear independence

Example
Let M = {x, y , z} be a linearly independent set in a vector space V . Show that
M1 = {x + y + 2z, 2x + 3y + z, 3x + 4y + z} is linearly independent.

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 Linear independence

Theorem (Characterization of Linearly Dependent Sets)

An indexed set {v1 , . . . , vp } of two or more vectors, with v1 ̸= 0, is linearly dependent if
and only if some vj (with j > 1) is a linear combination of the preceding vectors,
v1 , . . . , vj−1 .

Theorem
Let M = {v1 , . . . , vm } and N = {u1 , . . . , un }. If every uk is a linear combination of M
and n > m, then N is linearly dependent.

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 Linear independence

Properties
If M is linearly dependent and N ⊃ M , then N is linearly dependent.
If M is linearly independent and N ⊂ M , then N is linearly independent.
Any set {v1 , . . . , vp } ⊂ Rn is linearly dependent if p > n.
Any set M containing the zero vector is linearly dependent.

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 Linear independence

Example
Determine if the given set is linearly dependent
     
2 4 −2
a , ,
1 −1 2
       
1 2 3 4
b 7 , 0 , 1 , 1
6 9 5 8
     
2 0 1
c 3 , 0 , 1
5 0 8
   
−2 3
 4  −6
d 
 6  , −9
  

10 15
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 Linear independence

Example
Determine if the given set is linearly dependent
a M = {(1, 1, 1), (2, 1, 3), (1, 2, 0)}
b M = {x 2 + x + 1, 2x 2 + 3x + 2, 2x + 1}
       
1 1 2 1 3 4 1 3
c , , ,
1 0 1 −1 0 1 −1 2

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 Linear independence

Example
Determine all value(s) m, such that the following set is linearly dependent
M = {(1, 1, 0); (1, 2, 1), (m, 0, 1)}

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 Linear independence

Rank of Vectors
The rank of M ⊂ V is k if there exists k linearly independent vectors in M and any
subset of M containing more than k vectors is linearly dependent.

Remark
The rank of M is the maximum number of independent vectors from M.

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 Linear independence

Example
Find a rank of following set of vectors
M = {(1, 1, 1, 0); (1, 2, 1, 1), (2, 3, 2, 1), (1, 3, 1, 2)}

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 Linear independence

Example
Let M = {x, y } ⊂ V be linearly independent. Identify the rank of the following subset
a M1 = {2x, 3y }
b M2 = {x, y , 2x + 3y }
c M3 = {x, y , 2x + 3y , 0}

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 Spanning Set

Definition
A set M is called a spanning set for vector space V if any vector in V is a linear
combination of M. Denote V = Span(M) or V = M .

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 Spanning Set

Example
Determine whether each following set is a spanning set of V .
a M = {(1, 1, 1); (1, 2, 1); (2, 3, 1)}, V = R3 .
b M = {(1, 1, 1); (2, 3, 1); (3, 4, 0)}, V = R3 .
c {x 2 + x + 1; 2x 2 + 3x + 1; x 2 + 2x}, V = R2 [x].

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 Column Spaces and Row Spaces

Definition
The column space of an m × n matrix A, written as Col(A), is the set of all linear
combinations of the columns of A. If A = [v1 , . . . , vn ], then

Col(A) = {b : b = Ax for some x ∈ Rn } = Span{v1 , . . . , vn }.

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 Column Spaces and Row Spaces

Example
   
1 −3 −4 3
Let A = −4 6 −2 and b =
   3 . Determine wheather b is in the column
−3 7 6 −4
space of A.

The vector b is a linear combination of the columns of A if and only if b can be written
as Ax for some x, that is, if and only if the equation Ax = b has a solution.

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 Column Spaces and Row Spaces

Example
(6a − b  )
Find a matrix A such that W = Col(A). W =  a + b  : a, b ∈ R
−7a

First, write W as a set of linear combinations.

( 6  
−1 ) ( 6  −1)
W = a  1  + b  1  : a, b ∈ R = Span  1  ,  1 
−7 0 −7 0
 
6 −1
Second, use the vectors in the spanning set as the columns of A. Let A =  1 1 .
−7 0
Then W = Col(A), as desired.
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 Column Spaces and Row Spaces

Definition
The set of all linear combinations of the row vectors is called the row space of A and is
denoted by Row (A).
 
−2 −5 8 0 −17
1 3 −5 1 5 
Example. Let A =   3 11 −19 7 1  The row space of A is the subspace of


1 7 −13 5 −3
R5 spanned by r1 ; r2 ; r3 ; r4 . That is, Row (A) = Span{r1 ; r2 ; r3 ; r4 }.

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 Column Spaces and Row Spaces

Theorem
Let A be an m × n matrix over K . Then
rank(A) = rank(Row (A))
rank(A) = rank(Col(A))

Proposition
Let M be a set containing m vectors.
If rank(A) = m then M is independent.
if rank(A) < m then M is dependent.

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 Column Spaces and Row Spaces

Example
Find the rank of the set M = {(1, 1, 1, 0); (1, 1, −1, 1); (2, 3, 1, 1); (3, 4, 0, 2)}

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 Column Spaces and Row Spaces

Example
 
1 2 1 −1
Let A =  3 1 0 5 . Find the set of row vectors and column vectors of A. Then
−2 4 1 6
identify the corresponding ranks.

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 Basic

Definition
Let V be vector space. B = {x1 , . . . , xn } is a basic for V if
1 B is linearly independent.
2 B is a spanning set of V .

A basis is a spanning set that is as small as possible.

A basis is an independent set that is as many as possible.
If B is a finite set then V is said to be finite-dimensional.
If B is an infinite set, then V is said to be infinite-dimensional.

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 Basic

Theorem
If a vector space V has a basis of n vectors, then every basis of V must consist of
exactly n vectors. dim(V ) = n.
1 bases: infinitely many
2 dimension: unqiue

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 Basic

Theorem (The Spanning Set Theorem)

Let S = {x1 , ..., xn } be a set in V , and let H = Span(x1 , ..., xn ).
1 If xk is a linear combination of the remaining vectors in S, then removing xk from
S does not matter.
2 If H ̸= {0}, then some subset of S is a basis of H.

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 Basic

Example
dimRn = n, dimR2 [x] = 3.
Find
 the dimension of the column
 space of the following matrices.
1 2 −4 3 −2 6 0  
0 0 0 1 0 −3 7  −3 6 −1 1 −7
 , 1 −2 2 3 −1
0 0 0 0 1 4 −2
2 −4 5 8 −4
0 0 0 0 0 0 1

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 Basic

Example
Find
( the dimensions of the vector space spanned by the given vectors:
    )
1 −2 −3
, ,
−5 10 15

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 Basic

Example
Find the dimensions of the vector space spanned by the given vectors:
(1 3 −2 5)
0 , 1 , −1 , 2
2 1 1 2

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 Basic

Example
 
( a − 3b + 6c )
 5a + 4d 
 b − 2c − d  : a, b, c, d ∈ R
Find the dimension of the vector space. H =  

5d

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 Bases of finite-dimensional vector spaces

Theorem
Let M = {x1 , . . . , xn } be a basis of a finite-dimensional vector space V . Then
Any set of more than n vectors is linearly dependent.
Any set of less than n vectors cannot span V .

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 Bases of finite-dimensional vector spaces

Theorem
Suppose that dim(V ) = n. Then
Any independent set in V containing exactly n vectors is a basis of V .
Any spanning set in V containing exactly n vectors is a basis of V .

Theorem
If a vector space V has a basis of n vectors, then every basis of V must consist of
exactly n vectors.

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 Bases of finite-dimensional vector spaces

Example
Let ei be the columns of In . The set {e1 , . . . , en } is called the standard basis for Rn .
Let S = {1, t, t 2 , . . . , t n }. The set S is a standard basis for Rn [x].

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 Bases of finite-dimensional vector spaces

Example
Determine if {(3, 0, −6), (−4, 1, 7), (−2, 1, 5)} is a basis for R3 .

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 Bases of finite-dimensional vector spaces

Theorem
The pivot columns of a matrix A form a basis for Col(A).

Example
Find a basis for Col(B), where
 
1 4 0 2 0
0 0 1 −1 0
B =
0

0 0 0 1
0 0 0 0 0

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 Bases of finite-dimensional vector spaces

Lemma
If A is row equivalent to B, then the columns of A have the same linear
independence/dependence relationships as the columns of B do.

Example
Assume
 that A is row equivalent
 to B with
 
1 4 0 2 −1 1 4 0 2 0
 , B = 0 0 1 −1 0. Find a basis for Col(A).
3 12 1 5 5   
A= 2 8 1 3 2  0 0 0 0 1
5 20 2 8 8 0 0 0 0 0

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 Bases of finite-dimensional vector spaces

Example
Determine whether the following set is a basis for R3 . M = {(1, 1, 1), (2, 3, 1), (3, 1, 0)}.

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 Bases of finite-dimensional vector spaces

Example
Determine whether the following set is a basis for R2 [x].
M = {x 2 + x + 1; 2x 2 + x + 1; x 2 + 2x + 2}.

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