Linear Algebra I (Math3025)

College of Natural and Computational Science

Department of Mathematics

March, 2023
Chapter 2: Vectors Spaces
Outlines
❶Axioms of a vector space

❷Subspaces, linear combinations and generators

❸Linear dependence and independence of vectors

❹Basis and dimension of a vector space

❺Direct sum and direct product of subspaces

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1. Axioms of a vector space
Definition: Let V be a non- empty set and F be a field. Define
two operation + and ∙ on V. Then V is called a vector space over
a field F if it satisfies the following axioms:

A1: V is closed under addition.

That is, for all u, v ∈ V, u + v ∈ V.
A2: Associative property.
(u + v) + w = u + (v + w).
A3: Commutative property.
u + v = v + u.

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A4: Existence of identity element for + in V.

That is, u + 0 = 0 + u = u.
A5: Existence of inverse for + in V.
That is, u + (−u) = (−u) + u = 0.
A6: Closure under scalar multiplication.
For a scalar 𝛼, 𝛼u ∈ V.
A7: Scalar multiplication is distributive over vector
addition.
For any scalar 𝛼, 𝛼(u + v) = αu+α v.
A8: For any scalars 𝛼 and 𝛽, (𝛼 + 𝛽)u = αu+𝛽u.
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A9: For any scalars 𝛼 and 𝛽, (𝛼𝛽)u = α(𝛽u).
A10: For the unit scalar 1, 1u = u.
Notice that the elements (or objects) of a vector space can be
vectors or matrices or polynomial functions or other continuous
functions defined on the real number line.
Example: Let V = 𝑎, 𝑏 : 𝑎, 𝑏 ∈ ℝ . Define addition and scalar
multiplication on V by:
𝑎, 𝑏 + 𝑥, 𝑦 = 𝑎 + 𝑥, 𝑏 + 𝑦 and α 𝑎, 𝑏 = 𝛼𝑎, 𝛼𝑏 ,
respectively. Show that V is vector space.

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Example: Let V = 𝑀𝑚×𝑛 be the set of all 𝑚 × 𝑛 matrices whose
entries are in ℝ. Define addition and scalar multiplication of
matrices respectively by:
For A = 𝑎𝑖𝑗 , 𝐵 = 𝑏𝑖𝑗 . 𝐴 + 𝐵 = 𝑎𝑖𝑗 + 𝑏𝑖𝑗 and α𝐴 = 𝛼𝑎𝑖𝑗 .
Show that V is vector space.
Solution:
Example: Let V be the set of all real valued functions. Define
addition and scalar multiplication on V by:
𝑓 + 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑓 𝑥 + 𝑔 𝑥 and α𝑓 𝑥 = 𝛼𝑓 𝑥 , for all
scalar α ∈ 𝑅 respectively. Show that V is vector space over 𝑅.
Solution: Let 𝑓, 𝑔, 𝑕 ∈ 𝑉 and 𝑎, 𝑏 ∈ 𝑅. Then
1.( 𝑓 + 𝑔) 𝑥 = 𝑓 𝑥 + 𝑔 𝑥 ∈ 𝑉.
2. ( 𝑓 + 𝑔) 𝑥 = 𝑓 𝑥 + 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑔 + 𝑓 𝑥 .
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3. 𝑓 + 𝑔 + 𝑕 𝑥 = 𝑓 + 𝑔 𝑥 + 𝑕(𝑥)
= 𝑓 𝑥 +𝑔 𝑥 +𝑕 𝑥
=𝑓 𝑥 + 𝑔 𝑥 +𝑕 𝑥
= 𝑓+ 𝑔+𝑕 𝑥 .
4. The zero function 0 𝑥 = 0 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙, 𝑡𝑕𝑒𝑛
𝑓+0 𝑥 =𝑓 𝑥 +0 𝑥
= 𝑓 𝑥 + 0 = 𝑓(𝑥).
Thus the zero function is the identity element for addition.
5. 𝑓 + −𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑓 𝑥 + −𝑓 𝑥
=𝑓 𝑥 −𝑓 𝑥
= 0 𝑥 , 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑥.
Hence -𝑓 the additive inverse of 𝑓 𝑖𝑛 𝑉.
6. Since f is defined for all x, then 𝑎𝑓 is also defined for all x. Hence 𝑎𝑓 ∈ 𝑉.
7. 𝑎 𝑓 + 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑎 𝑓 + 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑎 𝑓 𝑥 + 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑎𝑓 𝑥 + 𝑎𝑔 𝑥
= 𝑎𝑓 + 𝑏𝑔 𝑥 .
8. 𝑎𝑏 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑎𝑏 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑎 𝑏 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑎 𝑏𝑓 𝑥 For all x.
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9. 𝑎 + 𝑏 𝑓 x = a + b f x = af x + bf x = af + bf x .
Hence 𝑎 + 𝑏 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑎𝑓 + 𝑏𝑓 𝑥 .
10. 1. 𝑓 𝑥 = 1. 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑓 𝑥 , 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑥.
Therefore, we conclude that 𝑉 is a vector space.
Theorem: Let V be a vector space over a field F. Let u, v ∈ V and
𝛼, 𝛽 ∈ F be arbitrary scalars. Then
1. 0𝑢 = 0.
2. −𝛼 𝑢 = − 𝛼𝑢 = 𝛼 −𝑢 .
3. 𝛼𝑢 = 0 ⇒ 𝛼 = 0 or 𝑢 = 0.
4. 𝛼𝑢 = 𝛼𝑣 and 𝛼 ≠ 0 ⇒ 𝑢 = 𝑣.
5. 𝛼𝑢 = 𝛽𝑢 and 𝑢 ≠ 0 ⇒ 𝛼 = 𝛽.
6. − 𝑢 + 𝑣 = −𝑢 + −𝑣 = −𝑢 − 𝑣.
7. 𝑢 + 𝑢 + ⋯ + 𝑢 = 𝑛𝑢 = 𝑛1 𝑢.
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2. Subspaces, linear combinations and generators
Definition: A non-empty subset W of a vector space V over a
field F is said to be subspace of V if W is also a vector space
over F under the operations addition and scalar multiplication
defined on V.
Theorem: Let V be a vector space over a field F and W be a non-
empty subset of V. Then W is said to be a subspace of V if and
only if the following conditions are satisfied:
1. 0 ∈W.
2. W is closed under vector addition, that is:
for every 𝑢, 𝑣 ∈W, 𝑢 + 𝑣 ∈W.
3. W is closed under scalar multiplication, that is:
for every 𝑢 ∈W and 𝑘 ∈F, 𝑘𝑢 ∈W.
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 Cont’d…
Example : a) Let V= ℝ3 and
W= 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧 : 𝑥 − 𝑦 + 𝑧 = 0, 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧 ∈ ℝ .
Then show that W is a subspace of V.
b) Let V = 𝑃𝑛 be the set of all polynomials of degree less than or
equal to 𝑛. Consider W= *𝑝 𝑥 : 𝑝 1 = 0. Show that W is a
subspace of 𝑃𝑛 .
Solution:
i. Clearly the zero polynomial lies in 𝑊.
ii. Let 𝑝 𝑥 , 𝑞(𝑥) ∈ 𝑊. Then 𝑝 1 = 𝑞 1 = 0
⇒ 𝑝 + 𝑞 1 = 𝑝 1 + 𝑞 1 = 0 + 0 = 0 and
iii. 𝛼𝑝 1 = 𝛼𝑝 1 = 𝛼 0 = 0 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝛼.
Hence, 𝑊 is a subspace of 𝑃𝑛 .

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Theorem:
i. The intersection of any number of subspaces
of a vector space V is a subspace of V.
ii. If U and W be two subspaces of a vector
space V over a field F, then the union U∪W
is a subspace of V if and only if either U⊆W
or W⊆U.

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 Cont’d…
Definition: Let V be a vector space over a field F and v1, v2, v3,
…,vn be vectors in V. Any vector of the form v =
𝛼1 v1+𝛼2 v2+𝛼3 v3 + ⋯ + 𝛼𝑛 vn is called a linear combination of
the vectors v1, v2, v3, …, vn, for some 𝛼𝑖 ’s in F.

Example: Determine whether 1, 1, 4 or 1, 5, 1 is a linear

combination of the vectors 𝑣 = 1, 2, −1 & 𝑤 = 3, 5, 2 in ℝ3 .
Solution: 1, 1, 4 = 𝛼1 1, 2, −1 + 𝛼2 3, 5, 2 , for 𝛼1 = −2
and 𝛼2 = 1. Hence, it is a linear combination of 𝑣 and 𝑤.
1, 5, 1 = 𝛼1 1, 2, −1 + 𝛼2 3, 5, 2 .
Equating components gives an equation which has no solution.
Hence, 1, 5, 1 is not a linear combination of 𝑣 and 𝑤

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 Cont’d…
Definition: Let V be a vector space and 𝒗1, 𝒗2, 𝒗3, … , 𝒗𝑛 be
vectors in 𝑽. The set {"v1, v2, v3, …, vn" } is said to generate (
span) V if and only if every vector in V can be expressed as a
linear combination of the vectors 𝒗1, 𝒗2, 𝒗3, … , 𝒗𝑛 . The set
v1, v2, v3, …, vn is called the generator of the vector space V.

Theorem: Let S be a subset of a vector space V. Then

i. If S is empty subset of V, then 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛S= 0 .
ii. 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛 S is a subset of V which contains S.
iii. If W is a subspace of V containing S, then 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛 S⊆W.

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 Cont’d…
Example: Show that the vectors
𝑒1 = 1, 0, 0 , 𝑒2 = 0, 1, 0 and 𝑒3 = 0, 0, 1
in ℝ3 form a spanning set for ℝ3 .
Solution: For any vector
v = v1, v2, v3 .

= v1 1, 0, 0 + v2 0, 1, 0 + v3 0, 0, 1

= v1𝑒1 + v2𝑒2 + v3𝑒3 .

Hence,
ℝ3 = 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛 𝑒1 , 𝑒2 , 𝑒3 .
Example: Show that 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛* 1, 1, 1 , 1, 1, 0 , (0, 1, 1)+

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3. Linear dependence & independence of vectors
Definition: Let V be a vector space over a field F and
𝒗1, 𝒗2, 𝒗3, … , 𝒗𝑛 be vectors in 𝑽. The set v1, v2, v3, …, vn is said
to be linearly dependent over F if and only if there are scalars
𝛼1 , 𝛼2 , 𝛼3 , … , 𝛼𝑛 in F, not all zero, such that 𝛼1 v1+𝛼2 v2+𝛼3 v3
+ ⋯ + 𝛼𝑛 vn = 0. Otherwise we say that the set is linearly
independent over F.
Theorem:
a) A set of vectors containing a zero vector in vector space V is
linearly independent.
b) A subset of a linearly independent set of vectors in a vector
space V over a field F is linearly independent.

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c) A set v1, v2, v3, …, vn of vectors in a vector space V is
linearly independent if and only if some v1 is a linear
combination of the others.
d) Let v1, v2, v3, …, vn be a linearly independent set of vectors
in a vector space V. If a vector v has two representations:
v= 𝛼1 v1+𝛼2 v2+𝛼3 v3 + ⋯ + 𝛼𝑛 vn and v= 𝛽1 v1+𝛽2 v2+𝛽3 v3
+ ⋯ + 𝛽𝑛 vn as linear combinations of these vectors, then
𝛼1 = 𝛽1 , 𝛼2 = 𝛽2 , 𝛼3 = 𝛽3 , …, 𝛼𝑛 = 𝛽𝑛 .

Example: a) Show that 1, −1 , 1, 1 , 2, 1 is linearly

dependent?
Solution: 1, −1 + 3 1, 1 − 2 2, 1 = 0, 0 .
Hence, the given set is linearly dependent.
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 Cont’d…

b) Show that 1, 0, −1 , 2, 1, 2 , 3, −2, 0 is linearly

independent
Soliution: 𝛼1 1, 0, −1 + 𝛼2 2, 1, 2 + 𝛼3 3, −2, 0
= 0, 0, 0 if and only if 𝛼1 = 𝛼2 = 𝛼3 = 0.

c) Show that 1 + 𝑥, 3𝑥 + 𝑥 2 , 2 + 𝑥 − 𝑥 2 is linearly independent

because 𝛼1 1 + 𝑥 + 𝛼2 3𝑥 + 𝑥 2 + 𝛼3 2 + 𝑥 − 𝑥 2 = 0, 0, 0
if and only if 𝛼1 = 𝛼2 = 𝛼3 = 0.
Exercise: Determine the set
1, 0, 1, 1 , 2, 1, 3, 1 , −1, 0, −1, −1 , 3, 2, 5, 1
is linearly dependent or linearly independent in ℝ4 .
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4. Basis and dimension of a vector space
Definition: A set S= v1, v2, v3, …, vn of vectors in a vector
space V is called a basis of V if it satisfies the following two
conditions:

1. v1, v2, v3, …, vn is linearly independent.

2. V= 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛 v1, v2, v3, …, vn .

A set S= v1, v2, v3, …, vn of vectors is a basis of V if every

vector 𝑣 ∈V can be written uniquely as a linear combination of
the basis vectors.

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 Cont’d…
Example: Show that the following are basis of the space V
indicated.
a. S = −1, 1 , 1 , 1, −1, 1 , 1, 1, −1 ; V= ℝ3 .
b. S = 1 + 𝑥, 𝑥 + 𝑥 2 , 𝑥 2 + 𝑥 3 , 𝑥 3 ; V=Set of polynomials of
degree 3.

Solution: a) 𝛼1 −1, 1 , 1 + 𝛼2 1, −1, 1 + 𝛼3 1, 1, −1 =

0, 0, 0 if and only if 𝛼1 = 𝛼2 = 𝛼3 = 0. To prove that S span 𝑉,
1
observe that 0, 0, 1 = −1, 1 , 1 + 1, −1, 1 . So, 0, 0, 1
2
lies in span −1, 1 , 1 , 1, −1, 1 , 1, 1, −1 .
This proof is similar for 0, 1, 0 and 1, 0, 0 .

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 Cont’d…
b) 𝛼1 1 + 𝑥 + 𝛼2 𝑥 + 𝑥 2 + 𝛼3 𝑥 2 + 𝑥 3 + 𝛼4 𝑥 3 = 0 if and
only if 𝛼1 = 𝛼2 = 𝛼3 = 0. This proves independence.
To prove that S span 𝑉, observe that
𝑥 2 = 𝑥 2 + 𝑥 3 − 𝑥 3 , 𝑥 = 𝑥 + 𝑥 2 − 𝑥 2 and 1 = 1 + 𝑥 − 𝑥.

So, 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛 1, 𝑥, 𝑥 2 , 𝑥 3 ⊆ 1 + 𝑥, 𝑥 + 𝑥 2 , 𝑥 2 + 𝑥 3 , 𝑥 3 .

Definition:
The number of vectors in a basis of a vector space V is said to be
the dimension (or rank) of V and is denoted by dim V.

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 Cont’d…
Definition: Let V be a vector space over a field F. V is said to be
finite dimensional, or finitely generated if there exists a finite set
of vectors in V generating V. Otherwise, V is said to be infinite
dimensional.
Remark: The zero vector space S= 0 is finite dimensional,
since it is generated by the empty set ∅. That is, dim 0 = 0 .

Theorem: Let V be a finite dimensional vector space. Then every

basis of V has the same number of elements.

Theorem: Let W be a subspace of an 𝑛 dimensional vector space

V. Then dim 𝐖 ≤ 𝑛. In particular, if dim 𝐖 = 𝑛, then W=V.

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 Cont’d…

Example: Let W be a subspace of the real space ℝ3 . Now,

dim ℝ3 = 3; hence by the above theorem the dimension of W
can only be 0, 1, 2, or 3. The following cases apply:

(i) dim 𝐖 = 0, then W= *+,

(ii) dim 𝐖 = 1, then W a line through the origin;

(iii) dim 𝐖 = 2, then W is a plane through the origin;

(iv) dim 𝐖 = 3, then W is the entire space ℝ3 .

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5. Direct sum and direct product of subspaces
Definition: Let U and W be two subspaces of a vector space V
over a field F. Then the sum of U and W, written by U+W, is
defined to be the set consisting of all sums 𝑢 + 𝑤 , where
𝑢 ∈ U, w ∈ W. That is,
U+W= 𝑢 + 𝑤: 𝑢 ∈ U, w ∈ W .

Example: Suppose U = 𝑥, 0, 0 ∈ ℝ3 : 𝑥 ∈ ℝ and W =

0, 𝑦, 0 ∈ ℝ3 : 𝑦 ∈ ℝ . Then U+W= 𝑥, 𝑦, 0 : 𝑥, 𝑦 ∈ ℝ .

Theorem: The sum U+W of the subspaces U and W of V is also

a subspace of V.

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 Cont’d…
Theorem: Let U and W be finite dimensional subspaces of a
vector space V. Then U + W has finite dimensional and
dim U + W = dim U + dim W − dim U ∩ W .

Exercise: Let U and W be two subspaces of a vector space V.

Show that
a) U and W are each contained in U+V.
b) W+W=W.
Definition: The vector space V is said to be the direct sum of its
subspaces U and W, denoted by V= U⊕W, if every vector 𝑣𝜖V
can be written in one and only one way as 𝑣 = 𝑢 + 𝑤 where
𝑢 ∈ U, w ∈ W.

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 Cont’d…

 When a vector space is the direct sum of two of its subspaces,

then they are said to be complements.

Theorem: The vector space V is the direct sum of its subspaces

U and W if and only if
(i) V=U+W. and (ii) U ∩ W={0}.

Theorem: Suppose V= W1 ⊕ W2 ⊕ W3 ⊕ ⋯ ⊕ Wr . Also, for

each 𝑖, suppose S𝑖 is a linearly independent subset of W𝑖 . Then

(a) The union S= ⋃𝑖 S𝑖 is linearly independent in V.

(b) If S𝑖 is a basis of W𝑖 , then S= ⋃𝑖 S𝑖 is a basis of V.
(c) dim 𝑉 = dim W1 + dim W2 + dim W3 + ⋯ + dim W𝑟 .
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 Cont’d…

Example: In the vector space ℝ3 , U = 𝑎, 𝑏, 0 : 𝑎, 𝑏 ∈ ℝ and

W = 0, 𝑏, 𝑐 : 𝑏, 𝑐 ∈ ℝ . Then ℝ3 =U+W since every vector in
ℝ3 is the sum of a vector in U and in W. However, ℝ3 is not the
direct sum of U and W since such sums are not unique. i.e.,
3,5,7 = 3,1,0 + 0,4,7 and 3,5,7 = 3, −4,0 + 0,9,7 .
ℝ3 is the direct sum of U = 𝑎, 𝑏, 0 : 𝑎, 𝑏 ∈ ℝ and W =
0, 0, 𝑐 : 𝑐 ∈ ℝ . Alternatively, ℝ3 = U ⊕ W since ℝ3 =U+W
and U⋂W={0}.
Definition: Let U and W be two vector spaces over a field F. The
direct product of U and W, denoted U × W, is defined as
U×W= 𝑢, 𝑤 : 𝑢 ∈ U, w ∈ W .

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 Cont’d…

Example: If ℝ is the real vector space, then the direct product

ℝ × ℝ is precisely just the Cartesian product, 𝑥, 𝑦 : 𝑥, 𝑦 ∈ ℝ .
Theorem: If U and W are finite dimensional, then
dim U × W = dim U + dim W.
Note:
i. We define addition on U×W as if 𝑢1 , 𝑤1 , 𝑢2 , 𝑤2 ∈U×W,
then
𝑢1 , 𝑤1 + 𝑢2 , 𝑤2 = 𝑢1 + 𝑢2 , 𝑤1 +𝑤2 .
ii. Also, the scalar multiplication on U×W is defined as:
𝛼 𝑢1 , 𝑤1 = 𝛼𝑢1 , 𝛼𝑤1 .

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