Linear Algebra—Winter/Spring 2026
Instructors: A.S. Arora, S. Das, G. R. Kurri
Problem Set 6
Due: 8 PM, Tuesday March 10, 2026
Instructions
a. Timeline. In general, expect the first “half” of a problem set to be released by Tuesday
nights (or whenever the first lecture of the week takes place). Expect the full problem
set to be released by Friday nights (or whenever the second lecture of the week takes
place). The full assignment will, typically, be due on Tuesday nights, 8 PM.
b. Punctuality. Aim to get the assignment done three days prior to the deadline. We will
not be able to entertain any requests for extensions. If you seek clarification from us
and we do not respond on time, do the following: (a) assume whatever seems most
reasonable, and solve the question under that assumption and (b) ensure you have
evidence for making the clarification request and report the incident to one of the PhD
TAs.
c. Resources. Feel free to use any resource you like (including generative AI tools) to get
help but please make sure you understand what you finally write and submit. The
TAs may ask you to explain the reasoning behind your response if something appears
suspicious.
d. Graded vs Practice Questions. Problems numbered using Arabic numerals (i.e. 1, 2, 3, . . . )
constitute assignment problems that will be graded. Problems numbered using Roman
numerals (i.e. i,ii,iii,. . . ) are practice problems that will not be graded.
This is as early release draft; please reach out to your TAs in case something is unclear.
There is a fair chance that we may turn a few of the “graded questions” into “practice
questions” in the coming days (or vice versa). We may also add a few more questions before
the final release on Friday.
1. Let V and W be vector spaces over the field F and let T be a linear transformation
from V to W . Suppose the vectors {α1 . . . αk } form a basis for the null space of T .
Let {αk+1 , . . . αn } be vectors such that {α1 , . . . , αn } are a basis for V . Show that
{T αk+1 , . . . T αn } are orthogonal and span the range of T .
2. Suppose V and W are finite-dimensional vector spaces. Prove the following.
a. If dim V > dim W , then no linear transformation from V to W is injective.
b. If dim V < dim W , then no linear transformation from V to W is surjective.
3. Prove that a function T : Rn → Rm is a linear transformation if and only if there
exists a unique m × n matrix A such that T (α) = Aα, for all α ∈ Rn . Let L(Rn , Rm )
denote the vector space of all linear transformations from Rn to Rm . Find a basis of
L(Rn , Rm ).
i. [Based on Example 11, Chapter 3, from Hoffman and Kunze] Let F be a subfield of
complex numbers. Let V be the space of polynomials functions over F . Let D be the
differentiation operator and let T be the “multiplication by x” operator, i.e. T maps
a polynomial p(x) to xp(x).
a. Show that D is singular.
b. Find a right inverse for D.
c. Suppose f is a polynomial. Show that if x · f (x) = 0 for all x, then f (x) = 0.
d. Show that T is non-singular.
e. Show that DT − T D = I.
ii. Solve Example 11 in Chapter 3 from the textbook (whatever was not covered in the
question above).
iii. Let V be the space of infinite sequences
V := {(x1 , x2 , x3 , . . . ) : x1 , x2 , x3 · · · ∈ R}.
Define the “left shift operator” T : V → V that maps (x1 , x2 , x3 . . . ) to (x2 , x3 , . . . ).
i. Show that T is a linear operator, it is singular (i.e. has a non-trivial null-space)
and yet, its image is V .
ii. How would your conclusion change, had you considered Tk := T T . . . T (k-many
times) for k ∈ {1, 2 . . . }, instead of T ?
iii. How would you define a “right shift operator” S? Can you define it in such a way
that S is a right inverse of T , i.e. T S = I.
iv. Is S unique? If so, prove it. Otherwise construct distinct S and S ′ such that
T S = T S ′ = I.
v. Is Im(S) = V ? What about nullspace(S)?
iv. Suppose T is a linear transformation from V to W where dim V = dim W . Given that
α1 , . . . , αn form a basis for V , answer the following.
i. Disprove that T α1 , . . . , T αn is a basis for W (to disprove, give a T that is a
counter-example)?
ii. Show that if T is onto, T α1 , . . . T αn forms a basis for W ?
iii. Show that if T is non-singular, then again, T α1 , . . . T αn forms a basis.
v. Show that the following are equivalent, for a linear operator T .
i. Kernel of T contains only the zero vector.
ii. Nullity of T is zero.
iii. T is 1:1.
Does your answer work for infinite dimensional vector spaces as well?
4. Let T be a linear transformation from V to W . Suppose β1 , . . . , βℓ ∈ V are linearly
independent vectors that are not in Ker(T ). Is it the case that T (β1 ), . . . T (βℓ ) are also
linearly independent? If not, give an explicit counter-example. If they are independent,
prove it.
vi. Let V be a vector space and suppose β1 , . . . βℓ ∈ V are linearly independent vectors
not in the subspace V ′ ⊆ V . Is it the case that span(β1 , . . . βℓ ) ∩ V = ⃗0? If so, prove
it. Otherwise, write down the simplest counter-example you can conceive of.