Chapter 2

Vector Spaces

2.1 Vectors in R
2.2 Vector Spaces
2.3 Subspaces of Vector Spaces
2.4 Spanning Sets and Linear Independence
2.5 Basis and Dimension
 n
2.1 Vectors in R
 An ordered n-tuple:
a sequence of n real number ( x1 , x2 ,, xn )

n
 n-space: R
the set of all ordered n-tuple

Linear Algebra 2
 Ex:
1
n=1 R = 1-space
= set of all real number
2
n=2 R = 2-space
= set of all ordered pair of real numbers ( x1 , x2 )
3
n=3 R = 3-space
= set of all ordered triple of real numbers ( x1 , x2 , x3 )

4
n=4 R = 4-space
= set of all ordered quadruple of real numbers ( x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 )

Linear Algebra 3
 Notes:
n
(1) An n-tuple ( x1 , x2 ,, xn ) can be viewed as a point in R
with the xi’s as its coordinates.
(2) An n-tuple ( x1 , x2 ,, xn ) can be viewed as a vector
x  ( x1 , x2 ,, xn ) in Rn with the xi’s as its components.
 Ex:

x1 , x2  x1 , x2 

0,0
a point a vector

Linear Algebra 4
 2.2 Vector Spaces
 Vector spaces:
Let V be a set on which two operations (vector addition and
scalar multiplication) are defined. If the following axioms are
satisfied for every u, v, and w in V and every scalar (real number)
c and d, then V is called a vector space.
Addition:
(1) u+v is in V too (closed under addition)
(2) u+v=v+u
(3) u+(v+w)=(u+v)+w
(4) V has a zero vector 0 such that for every u in V, u+0=u
(5) For every u in V, there is a vector in V denoted by –u
such that u+(–u)=0
Linear Algebra 5
Scalar multiplication:
(6) cu is in V too (closed under multiplication by a scalar).
(7) c(u  v )  cu  cv

(8) (c  d )u  cu  du

(9) c(du)  (cd )u

(10) 1(u)  u

Linear Algebra 6
 Note:
(1) A vector space consists of four entities:
a set of vectors, a set of scalars, and two operations
V：nonempty set
c：scalar
+ (u, v)  u  v vector addition

• . (c, u)  cu scalar multiplication

V , ,  is then called a vector space

(2) V  0 : zero vector space

Linear Algebra 7
 Examples of vector spaces:
(1) n-tuple space: Rn
(u1 , u2 ,, un )  (v1 , v2 ,, vn )  (u1  v1 , u2  v2 ,, un  vn ) vector addition
k (u1 , u2 ,, un )  (ku1 , ku2 ,, kun ) scalar multiplication

(2) Matrix space: V  M m(the

n
set of all m×n matrices with real values)

Exp: ：(m = n = 2)
u11 u12   v11 v12   u11  v11 u12  v12 
u u   v v   u  v u  v  vector addition
 21 22   21 22   21 21 22 22 
u11 u12   ku11 ku12 
k    scalar multiplication
 21 22   21
u u ku ku 22 

Linear Algebra 8
(3) n-th degree polynomial space: V  Pn (x)
(the set of all real polynomials of degree n or less)

p( x)  q( x)  (a0  b0 )  (a1  b1 ) x    (an  bn ) x n

kp( x)  ka0  ka1 x    kan x n

(4) Function space: V  c(, ) (the set of all real-

valued continuous functions defined on the entire real line.)

( f  g )( x)  f ( x)  g ( x)
(kf )( x)  kf ( x)

Linear Algebra 9
 Theorem: (Properties of scalar multiplication)
Let v be any element of a vector space V, and let c be any
scalar. Then the following properties are true.
(1) 0v  0
(2) c0  0
(3) If cv  0, then c  0 or v  0
(4) (1) v   v

Linear Algebra 10
 Example 1: The set of all integer is not a vector space.
Proof: 1 V , 1  R
2
( 12 )(1)  12  V (it is not closed under scalar multiplication)
  noninteger
scalar

integer

 Example 2: The set of all second-degree polynomials is not a

vector space.
Let p( x)  x and q( x)   x 2  x  1
2
Proof:
 p( x)  q( x)  x  1 V
(it is not closed under vector addition)
Linear Algebra 11
 Example 3:
V=R2=the set of all ordered pairs of real numbers defined as:
- vector addition: (u1 , u2 )  (v1 , v2 )  (u1  v1 , u2  v2 )
- scalar multiplication: c(u1 , u2 )  (cu1 ,0)
---------Verify V is not a vector space.

Sol:
1(1, 1)  (1, 0)  (1, 1) Condition (10) is not satisfied
the set (together with the two given operations) is
not a vector space

Linear Algebra 12
 Example 4:

Linear Algebra 13
 2.3 Subspaces of Vector Spaces
 Subspace:
If (V ,,) : a vector space
W  
 : a nonempty subset
W V
(W ,,) ：a vector space (under the operations of addition and
scalar multiplication defined in V)
 Then W is a subspace of V
 Trivial subspace:
Every vector space V has at least two subspaces.

(1) Zero vector space {0} is a subspace of V.

(2) V is a subspace of V.
Linear Algebra 14
 Theorem: (Test for a subspace)
If W is a nonempty subset of a vector space V, then W is
a subspace of V if and only if the following conditions hold.

(1) If u and v are in W, then u+v is in W (closed under addition).

(2) If u is in W and c is any scalar, then cu is in W (closed under
multiplication by a scalar).

Linear Algebra 15
 Ex: Subspace of R2
(1) 0 0  0, 0
(2) Lines through the origin
(3) R 2

 Ex: Subspace of R3
(1) 0 0  0, 0, 0
(2) Lines through the origin
(3) Planes through the origin
(4) R 3

Linear Algebra 16
 Example 1: (A subspace of M2×2)
Let W be the set of all 2×2 symmetric matrices. Show that
W is a subspace of the vector space M2×2, with the
standard
Sol:operations of matrix addition and scalar multiplication.
W  M 22 M 22 : vector sapces
Let A1, A2  W ( A1T  A1, A2T  A2 )
A1  W, A2  W  ( A1  A2 )T  A1T  A2T  A1  A2 ( A 1  A 2  W )
k  R , A  W  (kA)T  kAT  kA (k A  W )
W is a subspace of M 22

Linear Algebra 17
 Example 2: (The set of singular matrices is not a subspace of
M2×2)
Let W be the set of singular matrices of order 2. Show that
W is not a subspace of M2×2 with the standard operations.
Sol:
1 0 0 0 
A  W , B    W
0 0  0 1 

1 0
A B    W
0 1  singular matrices
The matrices are known to be singular if their
W2 is not a subspace of M 22 determinant is equal to the zero

Linear Algebra 18
 Example 3: (The set of first-quadrant vectors is not a subspace of R2)
Show that W  {( x1 , x2 ) : x1  0 and x2  0} , with the standard
operations, is not a subspace of R2.
(not closed under scalar
multiplication)
Sol:
Let u  (1, 1)  W
  1u   11, 1   1,  1  W

W is not a subspace of R 2

Linear Algebra 19
 2.4 Spanning Sets and Linear Independence
 Linear combination:
A vector v in a vector space V is called a linear combination of
the vectors u1,u 2 , ,u k in V if v can be written in the form

v  c1u1  c2u 2    ck u k c1,c2 , ,ck : scalars

Linear Algebra 20
 Example: (Finding a linear combination)
v1  (1,2,3) v 2  (0,1,2) v 3  (1,0,1)
Prove (a) w  (1,1,1) is a linear combination of v1 , v 2 , v 3
(b) w  (1,2,2) is not a linear combination of v1 , v 2 , v 3
Sol:
(a) w  c1 v1  c2 v 2  c3 v 3
1,1,1  c1 1,2,3  c2 0,1,2  c3  1,0,1
 (c1  c3 , 2c1  c2 , 3c1  2c2  c3 )
c1  c3 1
 2c1  c2 1
3c1  2c2  c3 1

Linear Algebra 21
 1 0  1 1 1 0  1 1 
 2 1 0 1       0 1 2  1
Guass  Jordan Elimination
 
3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 

 c1  1  t , c2  1  2t , c3  t

(this system has infinitely many solutions)

t 1
 w  2 v1  3 v 2  v 3

Linear Algebra 22
(b)
w  c1 v1  c2 v 2  c3 v 3

1 0  1 1  1 0  1 1 
 2 1 0  2       0 1 2  4 
Guass  Jordan Elimination
 
3 2 1 2  0 0 0 7 

 this system has no solution ( 0  7)

 w  c1 v1  c2 v 2  c3 v 3

Linear Algebra 23
 the span of a set: span (S)
If S={v1, v2,…, vk} is a set of vectors in a vector space V,
then the span of S is the set of all linear combinations of
the vectors in S,

span(S ) c1 v1  c2 v 2    ck v k ci  R

(the set of all linear combinations of vectors in S )
 a spanning set of a vector space:

If every vector in a given vector space can be written as a

linear combination of vectors in a given set S, then S is
called a spanning set of the vector space.

Linear Algebra 24
Linear Algebra 25
 Notes:
span ( S )  V
 S spans (generates) V
V is spanned (generated) by S
S is a spanning set of V

 Notes:
(1) span( )  0
(2) S  span( S )
(3) S1 , S 2  V
S1  S 2  span( S1 )  span( S 2 )

Linear Algebra 26
 Linear Independence (L.I.) and Linear Dependence (L.D.):

S  v1 , v 2 , , v k  : a set of vectors in a vector space V

c1 v1  c2 v 2    ck v k  0

(1) If the equation has only the trivial solution (c1  c2    ck  0)

then S is called linearly independent.
(2) If the equation has a nontrivial solution (i.e., not all zeros),
then S is called linearly dependent.

Linear Algebra 27
 Notes:
(1)  is linearly independent
(2) 0  S  S is linearly dependent.
(3) v  0  v is linearly independent
(4) S1  S 2
S1 is linearly dependent  S 2 is linearly dependent

S 2 is linearly independent  S1 is linearly independent

Linear Algebra 28
 Example 1: (Testing for linearly independent)
Determine whether the following set of vectors in R3 is L.I. or L.D.
S  1, 2, 3, 0, 1, 2,  2, 0, 1
v1 v2 v3
Sol: c1  2c3  0
c1 v1  c2 v 2  c3 v 3  0  2c1  c2  0
3c1  2c2  c3  0
1 0  2 0  1 0 0 0
 2 1 0 0 Gauss
   0 1 0 0
- Jordan Elimination

3 2 1 0 0 0 1 0

 c1  c2  c3  0 only the trivial solution 
 S is linearly independent
Linear Algebra 29
 Example 2: (Testing for linearly independent)
Determine whether the following set of vectors in 2×2
matrix space is L.I. or L.D.
2 1 3 0 1 0 
S    ,  , 
 0 1  2 1   2 0 
v1 v2 v3
Sol:
c1v1+c2v2+c3v3 = 0

2 1  3 0 1 0  0 0 
c1    c2    c3    
 0 1  2 1   2 0   0 0 

Linear Algebra 30
 2c1+3c2+ c3 = 0
c1 =0
2c2+2c3 = 0
c1 + c2 =0
  2 3 1 0 1 0 0 0
1 0 0 0  0
  1 0 0
Gauss
   
- Jordan Elimination

0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0
   
1 1 0 0  0 0 0 0

 c1 = c2 = c3= 0 (This system has only the trivial solution.)

 S is linearly independent.

Linear Algebra 31
 4.5 Basis and Dimension
 Basis:
Linearly
V：a vector space Generating
Bases Independent
Sets(span V)
S ={v1, v2, …, vn}V Sets

(a ) S spans V (i.e., span(S) = V )

If  Intersection
(b) S is linearly independent
 Then S is called a basis for V

 Notes:
(1) Ø is a basis for {0}
(2) the standard basis for R3:
{i, j, k} i = (1, 0, 0), j = (0, 1, 0), k = (0, 0, 1)
Linear Algebra 32
 n
(3) the standard basis for R :
{e1, e2, …, en} e1=(1,0,…,0), e2=(0,1,…,0), en=(0,0,…,1)
Ex: R4 {(1,0,0,0), (0,1,0,0), (0,0,1,0), (0,0,0,1)}

(4) the standard basis for mn matrix space:

{ Eij | 1im , 1jn }
Ex: for M22 2 2 matrix space:
1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
  ,  ,  , 
 0 0   0 0   1 0   0 1 
(5) the standard basis for Pn(x):
{1, x, x2, …, xn}
Ex: P3(x) {1, x, x2, x3}
Linear Algebra 33
 Theorem: (Uniqueness of basis representation)
If S  v1 , v 2 ,, v n  is a basis for a vector space V, then every
vector in V can be written in one and only one way as a linear
combination of vectors in S.
Proof:
 1. span(S) = V
 S is a basis  
 2. S is linearly independent
 span(S) = V Let v = c1v1+c2v2+…+cnvn
v = b1v1+b2v2+…+bnvn
 0 = (c1–b1)v1+(c2 – b2)v2+…+(cn – bn)vn

 S is linearly independent
 c1= b1 , c2= b2 ,…, cn= bn (i.e., uniqueness)
Linear Algebra 34
 Theorem: (Basis and linear dependence)
If S  v1 , v 2 ,, v n  is a basis for a vector space V, then every
set containing more than n vectors in V is linearly dependent.

Proof:
Let S1 = {u1, u2, …, um} , m > n
 span( S )  V
u1  c11 v1  c21 v 2    cn1 v n
uiV  u 2  c12 v1  c22 v 2    cn 2 v n

u m  c1m v1  c2 m v 2    cnm v n

Linear Algebra 35
Let k1u1+k2u2+…+kmum= 0
 d1v1+d2v2+…+dnvn= 0 (where di = ci1k1+ci2k2+…+cimkm)
 S is L.I.
 di=0 i i.e. c11k1  c12 k 2    c1m k m  0
c21k1  c22 k 2    c2 m k m  0

cn1k1  cn 2 k 2    cnm k m  0

 According to Thm 1.1: If the homogeneous system has fewer

equations than variables, then it must have infinitely many solution.

m > n  k1u1+k2u2+…+kmum = 0 has nontrivial solution

 S1 is linearly dependent
Linear Algebra 36
 Finite dimensional:
A vector space V is called finite dimensional,
if it has a basis consisting of a finite number of elements.
 Infinite dimensional:
If a vector space V is not finite dimensional,
then it is called infinite dimensional.
 Dimension:
The dimension of a finite dimensional vector space V is
defined to be the number of vectors in a basis for V.
V: a vector space S: a basis for V

symbol: dim(V) = #(S) (the number of vectors in S)

Linear Algebra 37
 Notes: dim(V) = n
Linearly
(1) dim({0}) = 0 = #(Ø) Generating
Bases Independent
Sets Sets

(2) dim(V) = n , SV #(S) > n #(S) = n #(S) < n

S：a generating set  #(S)  n

S：a L.I. set  #(S)  n
S：a basis  #(S) = n

(3) dim(V) = n , W is a subspace of V  dim(W)  n

Linear Algebra 38
 Exp:
(1) Vector space Rn  basis {e1 , e2 ,  , en}
 dim(Rn) = n
(2) Vector space Mmn  basis {Eij | 1im , 1jn}
 dim(Mmn)=mn
(3) Vector space Pn(x)  basis {1, x, x2,  , xn}
 dim(Pn(x)) = n+1
(4) Vector space P(x)  basis {1, x, x2, }
 dim(P(x)) = 

Linear Algebra 39
 Example 1: (Finding the dimension of a subspace)
(a) W={(d, c–d, c): c and d are real numbers}
(b) W={(2b, b, 0): b is a real number}
Sol: (Note: Find a set of L.I. vectors that spans the subspace)
(a) (d, c– d, c) = c(0, 1, 1) + d(1, – 1, 0)
 S = {(0, 1, 1) , (1, – 1, 0)} (S is L.I. and S spans W)
 S is a basis for W
 dim(W) = #(S) = 2
(b)  2b, b,0   b2,1,0 
 S = {(2, 1, 0)} spans W and S is L.I.
 S is a basis for W
 dim(W) = #(S) = 1
Linear Algebra 40
 Example 2: (Finding the dimension of a subspace)
Let W be the subspace of all symmetric matrices in M22.
What is the dimension of W?
Sol:
a b 
W    a, b, c  R 
b c  
a b  1 0 0 1 0 0
   a   b   c 
 b c   0 0   1 0   0 1 
1 0 0 1 0 0 
 S    ,  ,   spans W and S is L.I.
0 0 1 0 0 1 
 S is a basis for W  dim(W) = #(S) = 3
Linear Algebra 41
  Theorem: (Basis tests in an n-dimensional space)
Let V be a vector space of dimension n.
(1) If S  v1 , v 2 ,, v n  is a linearly independent set of
vectors in V, then S is a basis for V.
(2) If S  v1 , v 2 ,, v n  spans V, then S is a basis for V.
dim(V) = n

Imp: If we have a space V of

dimension n, and a set of vectors S of Linearly
Generating
number equal n, then for the set of Bases Independent
Sets
vectors S to be a Basis of V, it is Sets
sufficient to show that S is L.I. or that
it spans V.

#(S) > n #(S) < n

#(S) = n
Linear Algebra 42