Dr. El Mostafa Kalmoun |MTH 2303|Sec 3.
2|Page 1
Section 3.2: Subspaces
• The Null Space of a Matrix
• The Span of a Set of Vectors
• Spanning Set for a Vector Space
• Linear Systems Revisited
After completing this section, you should be able to:
• Recognize what is a subspace.
• Determine the null space of a matrix.
• Find the span of some given vectors.
• Check whether a set of vector is a spanning set of a vector space.
Dr. El Mostafa Kalmoun |MTH 2303|Sec 3.2|Page 2
Example. Let
𝑆 ⊂ ℝ2 . Let’s check the set 𝑆 is closed under the operations of addition and scalar
multiplication.
𝑐
For 𝛼 ∈ ℝ and 𝐱 = [ ] ∈ 𝑆, we have 𝛼𝐱 =
2𝑐
𝑎 𝑏
For 𝐱 = [ ] ∈ 𝑆 and 𝐲 = [ ] ∈ 𝑆, we have 𝐱 + 𝐲 =
2𝑎 2𝑏
It is easily seen that the mathematical system consisting of the set 𝑆 (instead of ℝ2 ),
together with the operations from ℝ2 , is itself a vector space.
Definition. If 𝑆 is a nonempty subset of a vector space 𝑉, and 𝑆 satisfies the
conditions
It is easily seen that all eight axioms will remain valid for this new system.
Every subspace of a vector space is a vector space.
Remarks.
1. {0} and V are subspaces of V. All other subspaces are referred to as proper
subspaces. We refer to {0} as the zero subspace.
2. To show that a subset 𝑆 of a vector space forms a subspace, we must show
that 𝑆 ≠ ∅ and that the closure properties (i) and (ii) in the definition are
satisfied. Since every subspace must contain the zero vector, we can verify
that 𝑆 is nonempty by showing that 0 ∈ 𝑆.
Example. Let 𝑆 = {(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 )𝑇 |𝑥1 = 𝑥2 }.
Dr. El Mostafa Kalmoun |MTH 2303|Sec 3.2|Page 3
Example. Is the following set a subspace of ℝ2 :
𝑥
𝑆 = {( ) | 𝑥 ∈ ℝ} ?
1
Example. Check whether 𝑆 = {𝐴 ∈ ℝ2×2 | 𝑎12 = −𝑎21 } is a subspace of ℝ2×2 .
Dr. El Mostafa Kalmoun |MTH 2303|Sec 3.2|Page 4
Example. Check whether 𝑆 = {𝑝 ∈ 𝑃𝑛 | 𝑝(0) = 0} is a subspace of ℝ2×2 .
Exercise. Let 𝐶𝑛 [𝑎, 𝑏] be the set of all functions that have a continuous 𝑛th
derivative on [𝑎, 𝑏]. Verify that 𝐶𝑛 [𝑎, 𝑏] is a subspace of 𝐶[𝑎, 𝑏].
Example. Show that the vector space 𝐶2 [−1, 1] is a proper subspace of both
𝐶[−1, 1] and 𝐶1 [−1, 1].
Dr. El Mostafa Kalmoun |MTH 2303|Sec 3.2|Page 5
Example. Show that the set 𝑆 of all 𝑓 in 𝐶2 [𝑎, 𝑏] such that
𝑓 ′′(𝑥) + 𝑓(𝑥) = 0
for all 𝑥 in [𝑎, 𝑏] is a subspace.
Thus the set of all solutions on [𝑎, 𝑏] to the differential equation 𝑦 ′′ + 𝑦 = 0 forms
a subspace of 𝐶2 [𝑎, 𝑏]. If we note that 𝑓(𝑥) = sin 𝑥 and 𝑔(𝑥) = cos 𝑥 x are both in
𝑆, it follows that any function of the form 𝑐1 sin 𝑥 + 𝑐2 cos 𝑥 x must also be in 𝑆.
The Null Space of a Matrix
Let 𝐴 be an 𝑚 × 𝑛 matrix. Let 𝑁(𝐴) = {𝐱 ∈ ℝ𝑛 |𝐴𝐱 = 𝟎}.
We claim that 𝑁(𝐴) is a subspace of ℝ𝑛 . Indeed:
• Clearly, 𝟎 ∈ 𝑁(𝐴).
• If 𝐱 ∈ 𝑁(𝐴) and 𝛼 ∈ ℝ, then 𝐴(𝛼𝐱) = 𝛼𝐴𝐱 = 𝛼𝟎 = 𝟎, and hence αx ∈ N(A).
• If 𝐱, 𝐲 ∈ 𝑁(𝐴), then 𝐴(𝐱 + 𝐲) = 𝐴𝐱 + 𝐴𝐲 = 𝟎 + 𝟎 = 𝟎. So, 𝐱 + 𝐲 ∈ 𝑁(𝐴).
The set of all solutions of the homogeneous system 𝐴𝐱 = 𝟎 forms a subspace of
ℝ𝑛 . The subspace 𝑁(𝐴) is called the null space of A.
Dr. El Mostafa Kalmoun |MTH 2303|Sec 3.2|Page 6
Example. Determine 𝑁(𝐴) if
The Span of a Set of Vectors
Definition. Let 𝐯1 , 𝐯2 , . . . , 𝐯𝑛 be vectors in a vector space 𝑉. A sum of the form
α1 𝐯1 + α2 𝐯2 + . . . +α𝑛 𝐯𝑛
where 𝛼1 , . . . , 𝛼𝑛 are scalars, is called a linear combination of 𝐯1 , 𝐯2 , . . . , 𝐯𝑛 .
The set of all linear combinations of 𝐯1 , 𝐯2 , . . . , 𝐯𝑛 is called the span of 𝐯1 , 𝐯2 , . . . , 𝐯𝑛 ,
and will be denoted by Span(𝐯1 , 𝐯2 , . . . , 𝐯𝑛 ).
Dr. El Mostafa Kalmoun |MTH 2303|Sec 3.2|Page 7
Example. In ℝ3 , the span of 𝐞1 and 𝐞2 is the set of all vectors of the form:
Verify that Span(𝐞1 , 𝐞2 ) is a subspace of ℝ3 .
The span of 𝐞1 , 𝐞2 , 𝐞3 is the set of all vectors of the form
𝛼1 𝐞1 + 𝛼2 𝐞2 + 𝛼3 𝐞3 =
Thus, Span(𝐞1 , 𝐞2 , 𝐞3 ) =
Theorem. Span(𝐯1 , 𝐯2 , . . . , 𝐯𝑛 ) is a subspace of 𝑉.
Proof. Exercise
Spanning Set for a Vector Space
Definition. The set {𝐯1 , 𝐯2 , . . . , 𝐯𝑛 } is a spanning set for 𝑉 if and only if every vector
in 𝑉 can be written as a linear combination of 𝐯1 , 𝐯2 , . . . , 𝐯𝑛 .
Example. Which of the following are spanning sets for ℝ3 ?
Solution.
Dr. El Mostafa Kalmoun |MTH 2303|Sec 3.2|Page 8
Example. Show that the vectors 1 − 𝑥 2 , 𝑥 + 2, and 𝑥 2 span 𝑃3 .
Dr. El Mostafa Kalmoun |MTH 2303|Sec 3.2|Page 9
Linear Systems Revisited
Let 𝐴𝐱 = 𝐛 be a consistent linear system and let 𝐱 0 be a particular solution to the
system. If there is another solution 𝐱1 , then the difference vector 𝐳 = 𝐱1 − 𝐱 0 must
be in 𝑁(𝐴) since
𝐴𝐳 = 𝐴𝐱1 − 𝐴𝐱 0 = 𝐛 − 𝐛 = 0.
Thus if there is a second solution, it must be of the form
𝐱1 = 𝐱 0 + 𝐳
where 𝐳 ∈ 𝑁(𝐴).
Theorem. If the linear system 𝐴𝐱 = 𝐛 is consistent and 𝐱0 is a particular solution,
then a vector 𝑦 will also be a solution if and only if 𝐲 = 𝐱 0 + 𝐳 where 𝐳 ∈ 𝑁(𝐴).
Example. Let 𝐱1 be a particular solution to a system 𝐴𝐱 = 𝐛 and let {𝐳1 , 𝐳2 , 𝐳3 } be
a spanning set for 𝑁(𝐴). If
Show that 𝐲 will be a solution to 𝐴𝐱 = 𝐛 if and only if 𝐲 = 𝐱1 + 𝑍𝐜 for some 𝐜 ∈ ℝ3 .