Mathematics for Engineering

Chapter 11: VECTOR SPACE Rn

FPT University
Department of Mathematics

Quy Nhon, 2025

FUQN
Table of Contents

1 Subspaces of Rn

2 Spanning Sets

3 Linear Independence

4 Dimension

5 Dot Product, Length, and Distance

6 Orthogonal Sets and the Expansion Theorem

7 Rank of a Matrix

8 Rank, Nullity, and Linear Systems

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Table of Contents

1 Subspaces of Rn

2 Spanning Sets

3 Linear Independence

4 Dimension

5 Dot Product, Length, and Distance

6 Orthogonal Sets and the Expansion Theorem

7 Rank of a Matrix

8 Rank, Nullity, and Linear Systems

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Definition: Subspaces of Rn
A set S of vectors in Rn is called subspace of Rn if the following hold
S1. The zero vector: 0 ∈ S.
S2. Closed under addition: If x ∈ S and y ∈ S, then x + y ∈ S.
S3. Closed under scalar multiplication: If x ∈ S and α ∈ R, then αx ∈ S.

Rn

S
y
x
0 αx
x+y

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Example: A Subspace of Rn
The set S = {(x, y) ∈ R2 | x − y = 0} is a subspace of R2 or S ⊆ R2 . Indeed, we have
S1. 0 = (0, 0) ∈ S.
S2. (t, t) + (s, s) = (t + s, t + s) ∈ S.
S3. α(t, t) = (tα, tα) ∈ S for all α ∈ R.
In other words, the line x − y = 0 is a subspace of R2 .

Show that the set S = {(x, y) ∈ R2 | 3x + y = 0} is a subspace of R2 .

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Example: Not a Subspace of Rn
The set S = {(x, y) ∈ R2 | y = x2 } is not a subspace of R2 . Indeed, it is enough to find one
explicit counterexample.
Counterexample 1: Since (1, 1) ∈ S and (−1, 1) ∈ S while (1, 1) + (−1, 1) = (0, 2) ̸∈ S,
then S is not closed under addition.
Counterexample 2: Since (1, 1) ∈ S while 2(1, 1) = (2, 2) ̸∈ S, then S is not closed
under scalar multiplication.
In other words, the parabola y = x2 is not a subspace of R2 .

Is the following set a subspace of R3 ?

S = {x ∈ R | (x, x2 , x3 )}.

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Note
Rn is a subspace of Rn .
S = {0} is called the zero subspace.
Any subspace of Rn other than {0} or Rn is called a proper subspace.

Theorem
1 The subspaces of R2 are {0}, lines through origin and R2 .
2 The subspaces of R3 are {0}, lines through origin, planes through origin and R3 .

Which of the following sets are subspaces?

1. S = {(x, y) ∈ R2 | x − 2y = 1} 4. S = {(x, y) ∈ R2 | x − 2y = 0}
2. S = {(x, y) ∈ R2 | x − y 2 = 0} 5. S = {(r, s2 , t) | r, s, t ∈ R}
3. S = {(x, y) ∈ R2 | x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0} 6. S = {(r, s3 , t) | r, s, t ∈ R}
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 1 The null space of m × n matrix A
null(A) = {x ∈ Rn | Ax = 0} ⊆ Rn .
Note: null(A) consist of all solutions x in Rn of the homogeneous system Ax = 0.
2 The image space of m × n matrix A
im(A) = {Ax | x ∈ Rn } ⊆ Rm .
Note: im(A) is the set of all vectors y in Rm such that Ax = y has a solution x.
Eigenspace of a Matrix
For any λ ∈ R and an n × n matrix A, the eigenspace of A corresponding to λ is defined
Eλ (A) = {x ∈ Rn | Ax = λx}.
Remarks:
A vector x ∈ Eλ (A) if and only if (λI − A)x = 0.
Eλ (A) = null(λI − A) is a subspace of Rn for each n × n matrix A and number λ.
If Eλ (A) ̸= {0} then λ is an eigenvalue of A, in this case, Eλ (A) contains eigenvectors
of A corresponding to λ. FUQN

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Table of Contents

1 Subspaces of Rn

2 Spanning Sets

3 Linear Independence

4 Dimension

5 Dot Product, Length, and Distance

6 Orthogonal Sets and the Expansion Theorem

7 Rank of a Matrix

8 Rank, Nullity, and Linear Systems

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Given vectors x1 , x2 , . . . , xk in Rn . A vector the form
α1 x1 + α2 x2 + · · · + αk xk where the αi are scalars
is called a linear combination of the xi and αi is called the coefficient of xi .
Definition: Linear Combinations and Span in Rn
The set of all such linear combinations is called the span of the xi and is denoted
span{x1 , x2 , . . . , xk } = {α1 x1 + α2 x2 + · · · + αk xk | α1≤i≤k ∈ R}.
If V = span{x1 , x2 , . . . , xk }, we say that V is spanned by the vectors x1 , x2 , . . . , xk , and
that the vectors x1 , x2 , . . . , xk span the space V .
α1 x1 + α2 x2
α1 x1 α2 x2
x1
span{x1 } = Rx1 span{x1 , x2 }
x2
x1 α1 x1
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Example
Let x = (2, −1, 2, 1) and y = (3, 4, −1, 1) in R4 . Determine whether p = (0, −11, 8, 1) or
q = (2, 3, 1, 2) are in U = span{x, y}.
Solution: We have
U = span{x, y} = {α1 x + α2 y | α1 , α2 ∈ R}
= {α1 (2, −1, 2, 1) + α2 (3, 4, −1, 1) | α1 , α2 ∈ R}
= {(2α1 + 3α2 , −α1 + 4α2 , 2α1 − α2 , α1 + α2 ) | α1 , α2 ∈ R}.
We now consider the two following cases.
p ∈ U iff there exists α1 , α2 ∈ R such that
(0, −11, 8, 1) = (2α1 + 3α2 , −α1 + 4α2 , 2α1 − α2 , α1 + α2 )
which implies α1 = 3, α2 = −2 and thus p ∈ U .
q ̸∈ U since the following system has no solution
(2, 3, 1, 2) = (2α1 + 3α2 , −α1 + 4α2 , 2α1 − α2 , α1 + α2 ).
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 Check whether the vector (1, 2, 0) is in span{(1, 0, 1), (2, 1, 1)}.

Example
Let x = (2, 5) and y = (1, 3). Show that {x, y} is a spanning set for R2 .
Solution: Take any vector w = (a, b) ∈ R2 . We have to check that there exist α1 , α2 such
that
w ∈ span{x, y} ⇔ w = α1 x + α2 y ⇔ (a, b) = α1 (2, 5) + α2 (1, 3)
which implies 
2α1 + α2 = a
(*)
5α + 3α = b.
1 2
" #
2 1
Since the coefficient matrix C = has det(C) = 1 ̸= 0, then the system (*) has a
5 3
unique solution for any a, b. Hence, span{x, y} = R2 .

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Theorem: Span Theorem
Let U = span{x1 , x2 , . . . , xk } in Rn . Then,
1 U is a subspace of Rn containing each xi .
2 if W is a subspace of Rn and each xi ∈ W , then U ⊆ W .

Example
If x and y in Rn , show that span{x, y} = span{x + y, x − y}.
Solution: Since both x + y and x − y are in span{x, y}, then Span Theorem gives
span{x + y, x − y} ⊆ span{x, y}. (1)
1 1 1 1
But x = (x + y) + (x − y) and y = (x + y) − (x − y) are in span{x + y, x − y},
2 2 2 2
span{x, y} ⊆ span{x + y, x − y}. (2)
From (1) and (2), we obtain
span{x, y} = span{x + y, x − y}. FUQN

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Quiz
Show that
span{x, y} = span{x, y, 2x + 3y}.

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Table of Contents

1 Subspaces of Rn

2 Spanning Sets

3 Linear Independence

4 Dimension

5 Dot Product, Length, and Distance

6 Orthogonal Sets and the Expansion Theorem

7 Rank of a Matrix

8 Rank, Nullity, and Linear Systems

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Definition: Linear Independence in Rn
A set of vectors {x1 , x2 , . . . , xk } is linearly independent (independent) if the vector equation
t1 x1 + t2 x2 + · · · + tk xk = 0
has only the trivial solution t1 = t2 = · · · = tk = 0.

Remark: A set of vectors {x1 , x2 , . . . , xk } is linearly dependent (or dependent) if there exist
numbers t1 , t2 , . . . , tk not all equal to zero, such that t1 x1 + t2 x2 + · · · + tk xk = 0.
Example
1 If x = 0 then {x} is dependent because, for instance, 1x = 0.
2 If x ̸= 0 then {x} is independent since only scalar c = 0 satisfies cx = 0.
3 The standard basis {e1 , e2 , . . . , en } of Rn is independent.

Theorem
If {x1 , x2 , . . . , xk } is an independent set of vectors in Rn , then every vector in
span{x1 , x2 , . . . , xk } has a unique repesentation as a linear combination of the xi .
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Independence Test
To verify that a set {x1 , x2 , . . . , xk } in Rn is independent, proceed as follows:
Set a linear combination equal to zero: t1 x1 + t2 x2 + · · · + tk xk = 0.
Show that ti = 0 for each i = 1, 2, . . . , k.
Of course, if some nontrivial linear combination vanishes, the vectors are not independent.

Example
Determine whether {(1, 0, −2, 5), (2, 1, 0, −1), (1, 1, 2, 1)} is independent in R4 .

Solution: For r, s, t ∈ R, suppose a linear combination vanishes

r(1, 0, −2, 5) + s(2, 1, 0, −1) + t(1, 1, 2, 1) = (0, 0, 0, 0).
Thus,
r + 2s + t = 0, s + t = 0, −2r + 2t = 0 and 5r − s + t = 0
which implies r = s = t = 0. Hence, these vectors are independent.
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Note
The set {x1 , x2 , . . . , xk } in Rn is independent if and only if none of these vectors is a
linear combination of the others.
The zero vector in Rn does not belong to any independent set.

Example
If {x, y} is independent, show that {2x + 3y, x − 5y} is also independent.

Solution: For s, t ∈ R, suppose a linear combination vanishes

s(2x + 3y) + t(x − 5y) = 0
which implies
(2s + t)x + (3s − 5t)y = 0.
Since {x, y} is independent, then this combination must be trivial, i.e.,
2s + t = 0 and 3s − 5t = 0.
Thus, s = t = 0 and so we conclude {2x + 3y, x − 5y} is independent.
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Theorem
Let A be a square matrix. The following are equivalent
1 A is invertible.
2 The columns of A are linearly independent.
3 The columns of A span Rn .
4 The rows of A are linearly independent.
5 The rows of A span the set of all 1 × n rows.

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Example
Show that S = {(2, −2, 5), (−3, 1, 1), (2, 7, −4)} is independent in R3 .
 
2 −2 5
 
Solution: Consider the matrix A = −3 1
 1 with the vectors of S in rows. Since
2 7 −4
det(A) = −117 ̸= 0, then A is invertible which implies the rows of A are linearly independent.
In other words, S is independent.

Theorem
Let U = span{x1 , x2 , . . . , xm }. Then, there are at most m linearly independent vectors in U .

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Table of Contents

1 Subspaces of Rn

2 Spanning Sets

3 Linear Independence

4 Dimension

5 Dot Product, Length, and Distance

6 Orthogonal Sets and the Expansion Theorem

7 Rank of a Matrix

8 Rank, Nullity, and Linear Systems

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Theorem: Fundamental Theorem
Let U be a subspace of Rn . If U is spanned by m vectors, and if U contains k independent
vectors, then k ≤ m.

Definition: Basis of Rn
Let U be a subspace of Rn . A set {x1 , x2 , . . . , xm } in U is called a basis of U if it satisfies
the following two conditions:
1 {x1 , x2 , . . . , xm } is linearly independent.
2 U = span{x1 , x2 , . . . , xm }.

Theorem: Invariance Theorem

If {x1 , x2 , . . . , xm } and {y1 , y2 , . . . , yk } are bases of a subspace U of Rn , then m = k.

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Definition: Dimension of a Subspace of Rn
If U is a subspace of Rn and {x1 , x2 , . . . , xm } is any basis of U , the number m of the vectors
in the basis is called the dimension of U , denoted dim U = m.

Theorem
1 Any largest set of independent vectors in U is a basis for U .
2 Dimension of U is the maximum number of linearly independent vectors in U .

Theorem
Let U ̸= {0} be a subspace of Rn . Then
1 U has a basis and dim U ≤ n.
2 Any independent set in U can be enlarged to a basis of U .
3 Any spanning set for U can be cut down to a basis of U .
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Example
1 dim{0} = 0.
2 dim R2 = 2, {i, j} is a basis of R2 and {(1, 0), (1, 1)} is another basis of R2 .
3 dim Rn = n and {e1 , e2 , . . . , en } is a basis of Rn .

Example
  
r 

 


Let U = s
 r, s ∈ R . Find a basis and calculate dim U .

 

 r 

Solution: We have
     
r 1 0
     
s = r 0 + s 1 =: rv1 + sv2 .
     
r 1 0
It follows that U = span{v1 , v2 }. In addition, {v1 , v2 } is linearly independent, and so a basis
of U . It means that dim U = 2. FUQN

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Example
Find a basis and the dimension of the subspace U = {(x, y, z) ∈ R3 | x + 2z = 0}.

Solution: The general solution of the equation x + 2z = 0 is

       
x −2s 2 0
       
y  =  t  = s 0 + t 1 =: sv1 + tv2 ,
        (t, s ∈ R).
z s 1 0

We have
the plane x + 2z = 0 is spanned by v1 and v2 ,
v1 and v2 are linearly independent since they are not parallel,
which imply {v1 , v2 } is a basis, and thus, the dimension of U is dim U = 2.

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Quiz
Find a basis and the dimension of each of the following subspaces.
  


 a + 2b + c 



1 U=  a + 2b 
 a, b, c ∈ R .

 

 c 

2 U = {(x, y, z, w) ∈ R4 | x + 3y − z + w = 0}.

3 U = {(x, y, z) ∈ R3 | x + 3y − z = 0, x − y − z = 0}.

4 U = span{(1, 1, 2), (1, −1, 0), (3, −1, 2)}.

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Example
Find a basis of R4 containing S = {u, } where u = (0, 1, 2, 3) and v = (2, −1, 0, 1).
Solution: By Theorem 11.4.3, we can find such a basis by adding vectors from the standard
basis of R4 to S.
If we try e1 = (1, 0, 0, 0), we find easily that {e1 , u, v} is independent.
Now add another vector from the standard basis, say e2 . Again we find that
B = {e1 , e2 , u, v} is independent.
Since B has 4 = dim R4 vectors, then B must span R4 . Hence B is a basis of R4 .

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Theorem
Let U ⊆ W be subspaces of Rn .
1 dim U ≤ dim W .
2 If dim U = dim W then U = W .

Note
If U is a subspace of Rn , then dim U is one of the integers 0, 1, 2, . . . , n. Moreover,
dim U = 0 if and only if U = {0}.
dim U = n if and only if U = Rn .

Theorem
1 If U is a subspace of R2 or R3 , then dim U = 1 if and only if U is a line through the
origin.
2 If U is a subspace of R3 , then dim U = 2 if and only if U is a plane through the origin.
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Table of Contents

1 Subspaces of Rn

2 Spanning Sets

3 Linear Independence

4 Dimension

5 Dot Product, Length, and Distance

6 Orthogonal Sets and the Expansion Theorem

7 Rank of a Matrix

8 Rank, Nullity, and Linear Systems

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Recall: Let x = (x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ), y = (y1 , y2 , . . . , yn ) ∈ Rn . Their dot product is defined
x · y = x1 y1 + x2 y2 + · · · + xn yn = x⊤ y.

Length in Rn
The length ∥x∥ of the vector x = (x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ) ∈ Rn is defined by
√ q
∥x∥ = x · x = x21 + x22 + · · · + xn 2 ≥ 0.

Note
1 A vector x of length 1 is called a unit vector.
1
2 If x ∈ Rn \ {0} then ∥x∥ ≠ 0 and x is a unit vector.
∥x∥

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Theorem
Let x, y and z denote vectors in Rn . Then,
1 x · y = y · x.
2 x(y + z) = x · y + x · z.
3 (ax) · y = a(x · y) = x · (ay) for all scalars a.
4 ∥x∥2 = x · x.
5 ∥x∥ ≥ 0, and ∥x∥ = 0 if and only if x = 0.
6 ∥ax∥ = |a|∥x∥ for all scalars a.
Example
Show that ∥x + y∥2 = ∥x∥2 + 2(x · y) + ∥y∥2 for any x, y ∈ Rn .
Solution: We have
∥x + y∥2 = (x + y) · (x + y)
= x · x + x · y + y · x + y · y = ∥x∥2 + 2(x · y) + ∥y∥2 .
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Theorem: Cauchy Inequality
Let x, y ∈ Rn . Then
|x · y| ≤ ∥x∥∥y∥.

Moreover, |x · y| = ∥x∥∥y∥ if and only if one of x and y is a multiple of the other.

Remark: Since |x · y| ≤ ∥x∥∥y∥ then x · y ≤ ∥x∥∥y∥ which implies

∥x + y∥2 = ∥x∥2 + 2(x · y) + ∥y|2 ≤ ∥x∥2 + 2∥x∥∥y∥ + ∥y∥2 = (∥x∥ + ∥y∥)2 .

Corollary: Triangle Inequality

Let x, y ∈ Rn . Then
∥x + y∥ ≤ ∥x∥ + ∥y∥.

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Distance in Rn
Let x, y ∈ Rn . Then, the distance d(x, y) between x and y is defined by
d(x, y) = ∥x − y∥.

Theorem
Let x, y and z are three vectors in Rn . Then,
1 d(x, y) ≥ 0 for all x, y.
2 d(x, y) = 0 if and only if x = y.
3 d(x, y) = d(y, x) for all x, y.
4 d(x, z) ≤ d(x, y) + d(y, z) for all x, y, z [Triangle inequality].

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Table of Contents

1 Subspaces of Rn

2 Spanning Sets

3 Linear Independence

4 Dimension

5 Dot Product, Length, and Distance

6 Orthogonal Sets and the Expansion Theorem

7 Rank of a Matrix

8 Rank, Nullity, and Linear Systems

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Orthogonal Sets

Orthogonal Set
A set {x1 , x2 , . . . , xk } of vectors in Rn is called an orthogonal set if
1 xi ̸= 0 for all i = 1, k,
2 and xi · xj = 0 for all i ̸= j.

Note
The set {x} is an orthogonal set if x ̸= 0.
If {x1 , x2 , . . . , xk } is orthogonal, so also is {a1 x1 , a2 x2 , . . . , ak xk } for ai ∈ R \ {0}.

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Example (Orthogonal Set)
       
1 1 −1 −1
       
 1  0  0   3 
Let x1 =   , x2 =   , x3 =   and x4 =  . It is easy to see that
       
 1  1  1  −1
       
−1 2 0 1
xi ̸= 0 for all i = 1, 4.
xi · xj = 0 for all i ̸= j.

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Orthonormal Set
A set {x1 , x2 , . . . , xk } of vectors in Rn is called orthonormal set if
1 it is an orthogonal set, and
2 ∥xi ∥ = 1 for each i = 1, k.

Example (Orthonormal Set)

The standard basis {e1 , e2 , . . . , en } is an orthonormal set in Rn .

Normalizing an Orthogonal Set

Let {x1 , x2 , . . . , xk } is an orthogonal set. Then

1 1 1
 
x1 , x2 , . . . , xk
∥x1 ∥ ∥x2 ∥ ∥xk ∥

is an orthonormal set and we say that it is the result of normalizing the orthogonal set
{x1 , x2 , . . . , xk }.
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Example
       
1 1 −1 −1
       
 1  0  0   3 
Let x1 =   , x2 =   , x3 =   and x4 =  .
       
 1  1  1  −1
       
−1 2 0 1
The set S = {x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 } is an orthogonal set in R4 .
Normalizing S, we obtain the corresponding orthonormal set is
1 1 1 1
 
x1 , √ x2 , √ x3 , √ x4
2 6 2 2 3
√ √ √
where ∥x1 ∥ = 2, ∥x2 ∥ = 6, ∥x3 ∥ = 2, ∥x4 ∥ = 2 3.

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Pythagoras’ Theorem
Let {x1 , x2 , . . . , xk } is an orthogonal set in Rn . Then,
∥x1 + x2 + · · · + xk ∥2 = ∥x1 ∥2 + ∥x2 ∥2 + · · · + ∥xk ∥2 .

Theorem
Every orthogonal set in Rn is linearly independent.

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The Expansion Theorem

The Expansion Theorem

Let {f1 , f2 , . . . , fm } be an orthogonal basis of a subspace U of Rn . Assume x is any vector in
U , we have
x · f1 x · f2 x · fm
x= f1 + f2 + · · · + fm . (*)
∥f1 ∥2 ∥f2 ∥2 ∥fm ∥2

The formula (*) is called the Fourier expansion of x.

x · fi
The coefficients ti = for i = 1, m are called Fourier coefficient.
∥fi ∥2

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 x · f1 x · f2 x · fm
x= 2
f1 + 2
f2 + · · · + fm .
∥f1 ∥ ∥f2 ∥ ∥fm ∥2

Example
Expand x = (a, b, c, d) as a linear combination of the orthogonal basis
{f1 , f2 , f3 , f4 } = {(1, 1, 1, −1), (1, 0, 1, 2), (−1, 0, 1, 0), (−1, 3, −1, 1)}
of R4 .
Solution: The Fourier coefficients are
x · f1 1 x · f3 1
t1 = 2
= (a + b + c − d) t3 = 2
= (−a + c)
∥f1 ∥ 4 ∥f3 ∥ 2
x · f2 1 x · f4 1
t2 = = (a + c + 2d) t4 = = (−a + 3b − c + d).
∥f2 ∥2 6 ∥f4 ∥2 12

Then, we obtain
x = t1 f1 + t2 f2 + t3 f3 + t4 f4 .
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Table of Contents

1 Subspaces of Rn

2 Spanning Sets

3 Linear Independence

4 Dimension

5 Dot Product, Length, and Distance

6 Orthogonal Sets and the Expansion Theorem

7 Rank of a Matrix

8 Rank, Nullity, and Linear Systems

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Rank of a Matrix
The maximum number of linearly independent columns (or rows) of a matrix is called the rank
of a matrix. The rank of a matrix cannot exceed the number of its rows or columns.

Note
The rank of a matrix A is commonly denoted by rank(A) or rk(A), and sometimes by rank A.

Example
Consider the identity matrix I3 ,  
1 0 0
 
I3 = 0 1 0

.
0 0 1
All its rows (or columns) are linearly independent and hence its rank is 3, i.e., rank(I3 ) = 3.

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Remarks
1 The rank of the identity matrix of size n is n, i.e., rank(In ) = n.
2 Assume A is a matrix of size m × n. Then,

rank(A) ≤ min{m, n}.

3 Assume A is a matrix of size n × n and det(A) ̸= 0. Then,

rank(A) = n.

4 Assume A is a matrix of size n × n and det(A) = 0. Then,

rank(A) < n.

5 We can find the rank of a matrix A by using the row-echelon form.

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Example
" #
2 4 6
Consider the matrix A = .
4 8 12
We can remark that
rank(A) ≤ min{2, 3} = 2.

In this case, we can see that the second row is two times the first row. Thus,
" # " # " #
2 4 6 r2 −2r1 →r2 2 4 6 1/2r1 →r1 1 2 3
A= −−−−−−−→ −−−−−−→ .
4 8 12 0 0 0 0 0 0

We conclude that rank(A) = 1.

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Table of Contents

1 Subspaces of Rn

2 Spanning Sets

3 Linear Independence

4 Dimension

5 Dot Product, Length, and Distance

6 Orthogonal Sets and the Expansion Theorem

7 Rank of a Matrix

8 Rank, Nullity, and Linear Systems

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Column and Row Space of a Matrix
Let A be an m × n matrix.
The column space, col(A), of A is the subspace of Rm spanned by the columns of A.
The row space, row(A), of A is the subspace of Rn spanned by the rows of A.
Theorem
Echelon
Let A −−−−−→ B. Then
1 The rows of B containing the leading 1 are a basis of the row space of A.
2 The columns of A corresponding to the columns of B that contain the leading 1 are a
basis of the column space of A.
   
∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ 1 ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗
   
∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ 0 1 ∗ ∗ ∗
→ .
   
  
∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ 0 0 0 1 ∗
   
∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ 0 0 0 0 0
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Example
 
1 2 2 −1
 
Let A = 3 6 5 0 

. Find bases and dimensions for col(A) and row(A).
1 2 1 2
   
1 2 2 −1 1 2 2 −1
  Echelon  
Solution: We have A = 3 6 5 0  −−−−−→ 0 0 1 −3
  
.
1 2 1 2 0 0 0 0

A basis of row space: {(1, 2, 2, −1), (0, 0, 1, −3)}.

   
1 2

 

A basis of column space: 3 , 5 .
   

 

 1  1
dim[col(A)] = dim[row(A)] = 2 = rank(A).
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Rank Theorem
Let A denote any m × n matrix of rank r. Then,
dim[col(A)] = dim[row(A)] = r.

Corollary
1 If A is any matrix, then rank(A) = rank(A⊤ ).
2 If A is an m × n matrix, then rank(A) ≤ m and rank(A) ≤ n.
3 rank(A) = rank(U A) = rank(AV ) whenever U and V are invertible.
4 If A is m × n and B is n × m, then rank(AB) ≤ rank(A) and rank(AB) ≤ rank(B).

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Let an m × n matrix A. Then,
null(A) = {x ∈ Rn | Ax = 0} and im(A) = {Ax | x ∈ Rn }.

Theorem
Let A denote an m × n matrix and rank(A) = r. Then,
dim[null(A)] = n − r.
dim[row(A)] = dim[col(A)] = dim[im(A)] = r.

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Example
 
1 −2 1 1
 
Let A = −1 2 0 1

. Find bases of null(A) and im(A) and their dimension.
2 −4 1 0
Solution: Assume x is null A, then Ax = 0. We have
   
1 −2 1 1 0 1 −2 0 −1 0
   
−1 2 0 1 0 → 0 0 1 2 0 .
   
2 −4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
   
 1  1

 

Hence, rank(A) = 2 =: r and im(A) = col(A) has basis −1
 ,
0
 since leading 1s are

 

 2 1

in columns 1 and 3,
dim[im(A)] = 2 = r.
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Leading variables are x1 , x3 and general solution is
       
x 2s + t 2 1
 1      
x   s  1  0 
 2 
x= =  = s   + t   =: sv1 + tv2
    
x3   −2t  0 −2
       
x4 t 0 1

which implies
null(A) = span{v1 , v2 }.

In addition, {v1 , v2 } is independent, so it is a basis and thus,

dim[null(A)] = 2 = n − r.

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Theorem
The following are equivalent for an m × n matrix A
1 rank(A) = n.
2 The rows of A span Rn .
3 The columns of A are linearly independent in Rm .
4 The n × n matrix A⊤ A is invertible.
5 CA = In for some n × m matrix C.
6 If Ax = 0 where x ∈ Rn , then x = 0.

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Theorem
The following are equivalent for an m × n matrix A
1 rank(A) = m.
2 The columns of A span Rm .
3 The rows of A are linearly independent in Rn .
4 The m × m matrix AA⊤ is invertible.
5 AC = Im for some n × m matrix C.
6 The system Ax = b is consistent for every b in Rm .

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 Thank You! Goo
dB
ye

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