Md Firoz Ali 1

Elementary Algebraic Structures & Linear Algebra

1 Syllabus & books

1.1 Syllabus: Elementary algebraic structures
Group, subgroup, and field.

1.2 Syllabus: Linear Algebra

Field, Vector space, Subspaces, Linear dependence and independence of vectors, Linear span, Basis
and dimension of a vector space. Rank of a matrix, Elementary transformations, Matrix inversion,
Solution of system of Linear equations, Eigen values and Eigen vectors, Cayley-Hamilton Theorem,
Diagonalization of matrices.

1.3 Reference
• Engineering Mathematics- Babu Ram
• Higher Engineering Mathematics- B. S. Grewal
• Engineering Mathematics (Oxford University Press)- S. Pal and S.C. Bhunia

• Higher Engineering Mathematics- H. K. Dass

Md Firoz Ali 2

2 Elementary algebraic structures

2.1 Binary operation
• Let S be a non-empty set. Then a mapping f : S × S → S is called a binary operation in
S.
• In general, binary operation is denoted by ◦ or ∗ and we write f (a, b) = a ◦ b or f (a, b) = a ∗ b.
• A non-empty set S along with one or more binary operations defined on it is called an alge-
braic structure.

Example 2.1 (i) ∗ : R × R → R defined by a ∗ b = a + b is a binary operation.

(ii) ∗ : R × R → R defined by a ∗ b = a − b is a binary operation.
(iii) ∗ : R × R → R defined by a ∗ b = a.b is a binary operation.
(iv) ∗ : R×R → R defined by a∗b = a/b is not a binary operation but ∗ : R\{0}×R\{0} → R\{0}
defined by a ∗ b = a/b is a binary operation.
(v) ∗ : R × R → R defined by a ∗ b = a + b − 1 is a binary operation.
(vi) ∗ : N × N → N defined by a ∗ b = a + b is a binary operation.
(vii) ∗ : N × N → N defined by a ∗ b = a − b is not a binary operation.

2.2 Group
Let G be a non empty set and ∗ be a binary operation on G. The algebraic structure G is called
a group if it satisfies the following properties
(i) a ∗ b ∈ G for all a, b ∈ G (closure property)
(ii) a ∗ (b ∗ c) = (a ∗ b) ∗ c for all a, b, c ∈ G (associativity property)
(iii) there exists an element e ∈ G such that a ∗ e = e ∗ a = a for all a ∈ G. (Existence of identity)
(iv) for each element a ∈ G, there exists an element a′ ∈ G such that a ∗ a′ = a′ ∗ a = e (Existence
of Inverse Element).
The group is denoted by (G, ∗). Here e is called the identity element of the group G. a′ is called
the inverse of a and is denoted by a−1 .

The group (G, ∗) is called commutative or Abelian if a ∗ b = b ∗ a hold for all a, b ∈ G.

Example 2.2 (i) (R, +) is a commutative group.

(ii) (Z, +) is a commutative group.
(iii) (N, +) is not a group.
(iv) (R, .) is not a group but (R \ {0}, .) is a commutative group.
(v) (C, +) is a group.
(vi) (C, .) is not a group but (C \ {0}, .) is a commutative group.
(vii) Let Mm×n (R) be the set of all m × n matrices whose elements are real numbers. Then
(Mm×n (R), +) is a commutative group. But (Mn×n (R), .) is not a group.
(viii) Let GL(n, R) = {A ∈ Mn×n (R) : det A ̸= 0}. Then (GL(n, R), .) is a non-commutative
group, known as general linear group.
(ix) Let Mm×n (C) be the set of all m × n matrices whose elements are complex numbers. Then
(Mm×n (C), +) is a commutative group. But (Mn×n (C), .) is not a group.
Md Firoz Ali 3

(x) Let X be a non empty set. Then (P(X), ∪) and (P(X), ∩) are not groups.

Example 2.3 Let n be a fixed integer and

0 = {m ∈ Z : m − 0 is divisible by n} = {0, ±n, ±2n, ±3n, . . .}

1 = {m ∈ Z : m − 1 is divisible by n} = {1, ±n + 1, ±2n + 1, ±3n + 1, . . .}
2 = {m ∈ Z : m − 2 is divisible by n} = {2, ±n + 2, ±2n + 2, ±3n + 2, . . .}
..
.
n − 1 = {m ∈ Z : m − (n − 1) is divisible by n}
= {n − 1 ± n + (n − 1), ±2n + (n − 1), ±3n + (n − 1), . . .}

These sets are are known as classes of residues modulo n. Then Z = 0 ∪ 1 ∪ 2 ∪ . . . ∪ n − 1.

Let Zn = {0, 1, 2, . . . , n − 1}. Define +n and ·n on Zn by

x +n y = x + y & x ·n y = x · y.

Then (Zn , +n ) is a group. Here 0 is the identity element and the inverse of x ∈ Zn is n − x.
But (Zn , ·n ) is not a group. Here 1 is the identity element but the inverse of x ∈ Zn does not exist
always.

But (Z2 , ·), (Z3 , ·) are group, whereas (Z4 , ·) is not a group.

2.3 Subgroup
Let (G, ∗) be a group and H be a non-empty subset of G. If (H, ∗) is also a group then (H, ∗) is
called a subgroup of (G, ∗).

Theorem 2.1 Let (G, ∗) be a group. A non-empty subset H of G forms a subgroup of (G, ∗) if
and only if
(i) a, b ∈ H =⇒ a ∗ b ∈ H and
(ii) a ∈ H =⇒ a−1 ∈ H.
The above two conditions can be written as a, b ∈ H =⇒ a ∗ b−1 ∈ H.

Example 2.4 (i) (Z, +) is a subgroup of (Q, +).

(ii) (2Z, +) is a subgroup of (Z, +).

(iii) (R, +) is a subgroup of (C, +).

(iv) Let SL(n, R) = {A ∈ Mn×n (R) : det A = 1}. Then (SL(n, R), .) is a subgroup of (GL(n, R), .),
known as special linear group.

2.4 Field
Let F be a non empty set and + and . be two binary operation on F . Then F is a field if if it
satisfies the following properties
(i) (F, +) is a commutative group, where the additive identity element is denoted by 0 and the
additive inverse of a is denoted by −a.
(ii) (F, .) is a commutative group with the exception that 0 has no multiplicative inverse, where
the multiplicative identity element is denoted by 1 and the multiplicative inverse of a is
denoted by a−1 .

(iii) Distributivity of multiplication over addition: a.(b + c) = (a.b) + (a.c).

The field is denoted by (F, +, .) or simply by F .

Example 2.5 (i) (Z, +, .) is not a field.

Md Firoz Ali 4

(ii) (Q, +, .), (R, +, .), (C, +, .) are fields.

√ √ √
(iii) Let Q[ 2] = {a + b 2 : a, b ∈ Q}. Then (Q[ 2], +, .) is a field.

(iv) (Mn×n (R), +, .) is not a field.

(v) (Z2 , +n , ·n ), (Z3 , +n , ·n ), (Z5 , +n , ·n ) are field. But (Z4 , +n , ·n ) is not a field.
Md Firoz Ali 5

3 Linear Algebra
3.1 Vector Space
A vector space over a field F is a non-empty set V together with two operations + : V × V → V
(called vector addition) and . : F ×V → V (called scalar multiplication) which satisfies the following
properties

(i) α + β ∈ V for all α, β ∈ V

(ii) α + (β + γ) = (α + β) + γ for all α, β, γ ∈ V
(iii) there exists an element θ ∈ V (called zero vector or null vector) such that α + θ = θ + α = α
for all α ∈ G.

(iv) for each element α ∈ G, there exists an element −α ∈ G such that α + (−α) = (−α) + α = θ.
(v) α + β = β + α for all α, β ∈ V
(vi) c.α ∈ V for all c ∈ F and α ∈ V

(vii) c.(α + β) = c.α + c.β for all c ∈ F and α, β ∈ V

(viii) (c + d).α = c.α + d.α for all c, d ∈ F and α ∈ V
(ix) c.(d.α) = (c.d).α for all c, d ∈ F and α ∈ V
(x) 1.α = α for all α ∈ V where 1 is the multiplicative identity element of the field F .

The vector space is denoted by (V (F ), +, .) or simply by V or V (F ). The elements of V are called

vectors whereas the elements of F are called scalars.

Example 3.1 (i) R2 = {(x1 , x2 ) : x1 , x2 ∈ R} is a vector space over the field R where the vector
addition + and scalar multiplication . is defined respectively as below

(x1 , x2 ) + (y1 , y2 ) = (x1 + y1 , x2 + y2 ) & c(x1 , x2 ) = (cx1 , cx2 ).

(ii) Rn = {(x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ) : x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ∈ R} is a vector space over the field R.

(iii) The set V = {xî + y ĵ + z k̂ : x, y, z ∈ R} is vector space over the field R.

(iv) The set C of complex numbers is a vector space over the field R.

(v) The set Mm×n (R) is a vector space over the field R.
(vi) If Pn is the set of all polynomials of degree less than or equal to n with coefficients in R
(respectively C) then Pn is a vector space over the field R (respectively C).

Theorem 3.1 Let V be a vector space over the field F . Then the following hold
(i) 0.α = θ for all α ∈ V

(ii) c.θ = θ for all c ∈ F

(iii) −1.α = −α for all α ∈ V
(iv) c.α = θ implies either c = 0 or α = θ.
Md Firoz Ali 6

3.2 Subspace
Let V be a vector space over the field F and W be a non-empty subset of V . If W is a vector
space under the operations of V , then it is called a vector subspace of V .
Theorem 3.2 Let V be a vector space over the field F and W be a non-empty subset of V . Then
W is a subspace of V if and only if the following two conditions hold
(i) α, β ∈ W =⇒ α + β ∈ W
(ii) α ∈ W, c ∈ F =⇒ c.α ∈ W .
The above two condition can be also written as
α, β ∈ W & c, d ∈ F =⇒ c.α + d.β ∈ W.
Example 3.2 Let V be a vector space over a field F . Then W = V is itself a subspace of V (called
the improper subspace of V ). Also, W = {θ} is a subspace of V (called the trivial subspace of V ).
Example 3.3 Let W1 = {(x, y, z) ∈ R3 : x = 0}. Then show that W1 is a subspace of R3 .
Solution: First we note that W1 is non-empty as θ = (0, 0, 0) ∈ W1 . Let α = (x1 , y1 , z1 ), β =
(x2 , y2 , z2 ) ∈ W1 and c ∈ R. Then
α + β = (x1 + x2 , y1 + y2 , z1 + z2 ) ∈ W1 as x1 + x2 = 0
c.α = (cx1 , cy1 , cz1 ) ∈ W1 as cx1 = 0
Thus W1 is a subspace of R . 3

Example 3.4 (i) Let W2 = {(x, y, z) ∈ R3 : y = 0}. Then show that W2 is a subspace of R3 .
(ii) Let W3 = {(x, y, z) ∈ R3 : z = 0}. Then show that W3 is a subspace of R3 .
(iii) Let W4 = {(x, y, z) ∈ R3 : x + y + z = 0}. Then show that W4 is a subspace of R3 .
(iv) Let W5 = {(x, y, z) ∈ R3 : x2 + y 2 + z 2 = 1}. Then show that W5 is not a subspace of R3 .
Hint: The null vector θ = (0, 0, 0) ̸∈ W5 .
Theorem 3.3 Let W1 and W2 be two subspace of a vector space V over a field F . Then W1 ∩ W2
is a subspace of V . But W1 ∪ W2 need not be a subspace of V .
Example 3.5 Let
W1 = {(x, y, z) ∈ R3 : x = 0} & W2 = {(x, y, z) ∈ R3 : y = 0}.
Then W1 and W2 are subspaces of R3 . Let W = W1 ∪ W2 . Clearly, α = (0, 1, 1), β = (1, 0, 1) ∈ W
but α + β = (1, 1, 2) ̸∈ W . Thus W is not a subspace of R3 .
Example 3.6 Let V be a vector space over a field F and α ∈ V . Then W = {c.α : c ∈ F } is a
subspace of V .
Solution: First we note that W is non-empty as θ = 0.α ∈ W .
Let c1 .α, c2 .α ∈ W and d ∈ F . Then
c1 .α + c2 .α = (c1 + c2 )α ∈ W as c1 + c2 ∈ F
d.c1 α = (d.c1 )α ∈ W
Thus W is a subspace of V .
Example 3.7 Let V be a vector space over a field F and α, β ∈ V . Then W = {c.α+d.β : c, d ∈ F }
is a subspace of V .
Example 3.8 Let V be a vector space over a field F and α1 , α2 , . . . , αk ∈ V . Then W = {c1 α1 +
c2 α2 + . . . + ck αk : c1 , c2 , . . . , ck ∈ F } is a subspace of V .
Solution: First we note that W is non-empty as θ = 0.α1 + 0.α2 + . . . + 0.αk ∈ W .
Let u = c1 α1 + c2 α2 + . . . + ck αk , v = d1 α1 + d2 α2 + . . . + dk αk ∈ W and a ∈ F . Then
u + v = (c1 + d1 )α1 + (c2 + d2 )α2 + . . . + (ck + dk )αk ∈ W as ci + di ∈ F
a.u = (a.c1 )α1 + (a.c2 )α2 + . . . + ([Link] )αk ∈ W
Thus W is a subspace of V .
Md Firoz Ali 7

3.3 Linear Combination and Linear Span

Linear Combination: Let V be a vector space over a field F and α1 , α2 , . . . , αr ∈ V (finite
number of vectors). A vector β ∈ V is said to be a linear combination of the vectors α1 , α2 , . . . , αr
if β can be expressed as
β = c1 α1 + c2 α2 + . . . + cr αr
for some scalars ci ∈ F .

Example 3.9 Let V be a vector space over the field R and α, β, γ ∈ V . Then u1 = α+2β +γ, u2 =
α + 2β, u3 = β + 5γ are linear combination of α, β, γ.

Linear span: Let V be a vector space over a field F and S be a non empty subset of V (maybe
finite or infinite). The linear span of S is

L(S) = {c1 α1 + c2 α2 + . . . + ck αk : ci ∈ F, αi ∈ S}.

If S is the finite set S = {α1 , α2 , . . . , αn } then L(S) is the set of all linear combinations of the
vectors α1 , α2 , . . . , αn .

Remark: In general, L(S) is a subspace of V and it is the smallest subspace containing S.

Example 3.10 In R3 , let α = (4, 3, 5), β = (0, 1, 3), γ = (2, 1, 1), δ = (4, 2, 2). Examine if
(i) α is a linear combination of β, γ.
(ii) β is a linear combination of γ, δ.

Solution: (i) Let α = cβ + dγ for some c, d ∈ R. Then

(4, 3, 5) = c(0, 1, 3) + d(2, 1, 1)

=⇒ 4 = 0 + 2d, 3 = c + d, 5 = 3c + d

=⇒ d = 2, c = 1

Thus α = β + 2γ and so α is a linear combination of β, γ.

(ii) Let β = cγ + dδ for some c, d ∈ R. Then

(0, 1, 3) = c(2, 1, 1) + d(4, 2, 2)

=⇒ 2c + 4d = 0, c + 2d = 1, c + 2d = 3

This system of equations are inconsistent. Thus β is not a linear combination of γ, δ.

Example 3.11 Determine the subspace of R3 spanned by α = (1, 2, 3), β = (3, 1, 0). Examine if
(i) γ = (2, 1, 3) is in the subspace.
(ii) δ = (−1, 3, 6) is in the subspace.

Solution: Let S = {α, β}. Then

L(S) = {cα + dβ : c, d ∈ R} = {c(1, 2, 3) + d(3, 1, 0) : c, d ∈ R}.

If γ = (2, 1, 3) ∈ L(S) then there exist c, d ∈ R such that

(2, 1, 3) = c(1, 2, 3) + d(3, 1, 0)

=⇒ 2 = c + 3d, 1 = 2c + d, 3 = 3c

This system of equation is inconsistent and so γ ̸∈ L(S).

If δ = (−1, 3, 6) ∈ L(S) then there exist c, d ∈ R such that

(−1, 3, 6) = c(1, 2, 3) + d(3, 1, 0)

=⇒ − 1 = c + 3d, 3 = 2c + d, 6 = 3c =⇒ c = 2, d = −1

Thus δ = 2α − β and so δ ∈ L(S).

Md Firoz Ali 8

Theorem 3.4 Let S and T be two non-empty finite subset of a vector space V over a field F .
Then

(i) S ⊂ T =⇒ L(S) ⊂ L(T );

(ii) if each element of S is a linear combination of the vectors of T then L(S) ⊂ L(T ).

Example 3.12 Let S = {α, β, γ} and T = {α, β, α + β, β + γ. Show that L(S) = L(T ).

Solution: Clearly, each element of T is a linear combination of elements of S. Thus L(T ) ⊂

L(S). Also note that,

α = 1.α + 0.β + 0.(α + β) + 0.(β + γ)

β = 0.α + 1.β + 0.(α + β) + 0.(β + γ)
γ = 0.α + (−1).β + 0.(α + β) + 1.(β + γ).

Thus, each element of S is a linear combination of elements of T . Hence L(S) ⊂ L(T ). Therefore
L(S) = L(T ).

3.4 Linearly Dependent and Linearly Independent

A finite set of vectors {α1 , α2 , . . . , αn } of a vector space V over a field F is said to be Linearly
Dependent (L.D.) in V if there exist scalars c1 , c2 , . . . , cn not all zero in F such that

c1 α1 + c2 α2 + . . . + cn αn = θ. (3.1)

The set of vectors {α1 , α2 , . . . , αn } is said to be Linearly Independent (L.I.) in V if the equality
(3.1) is satisfied only when c1 = c2 = . . . = cn = 0.

An arbitrary set S of vectors of a vector space V over a field F is said to be L.D. if there exists
a finite subset of S which is L.D. in V. If S is not L.D. then it is called a L.I. set.

Remarks:
(i) A superset of a L.D. set is L.D.

(ii) A subset of L.I. set is L.I.

(iii) Any set which contains the null vector is linearly dependent set as cθ = θ for c ̸= 0.

Example 3.13 Examine if the set of vectors S = {α = (2, 1, 1), β = (1, 2, 2), γ = (1, 1, 1)} is L.I.
in R3 . Do the same for T = {α = (1, 2, 2), β = (2, 1, 2), γ = (2, 2, 1)}.

Solution: Here S = {α = (2, 1, 1), β = (1, 2, 2), γ = (1, 1, 1)}. Let c1 α + c2 β + c3 γ = θ where
c1 , c2 , c3 ∈ R.

=⇒ c1 (2, 1, 1) + c2 (1, 2, 2) + c3 (1, 1, 1) = (0, 0, 0)

=⇒ 2c1 + c2 + c3 = 0, c1 + 2c2 + c3 = 0, c1 + 2c2 + c3 = 0.

This is a system of homogeneous equations and its coefficient determinant is

2 1 1
1 2 1 = 0.
1 2 1

Thus it has many non zero solutions. Moreover,

c1 c2 c3
= = = k.
−1 −1 3
Thus (c1 , c2 , c3 ) = k(−1, −1, 3). Therefore S is L.D.
Md Firoz Ali 9

Here T = {α = (1, 2, 2), β = (2, 1, 2), γ = (2, 2, 1)}. Let

c1 α + c2 β + c3 γ = θ, c1 , c2 , c3 ∈ R
=⇒ c1 + 2c2 + 2c3 = 0, 2c1 + c2 + 2c3 = 0, 2c1 + 2c2 + c3 = 0.

This is a system of homogeneous equation and coefficient determinant is

1 2 2
2 1 2 = 5 ̸= 0.
2 2 1

Thus it has an unique solution and the solution is c1 = c2 = c3 = 0. Hence T is L.I.

Remark: Two vectors α, β in a vector space V are L.D. if at least one of them is a scalar
multiple of the other.

3.5 Basis and Dimension

Basis: Let V be a vector space over the field F. A subset B of V is called a basis for V if
(i) B is L.I.
(ii) B generates V i.e L(B) = V.

Dimension: The vector space V is called finite dimensional if B contains finite number of
element. If V is not finite dimensional then it is called infinite dimensional. The dimension of V,
denoted by dim V is the number of elements in B. The null space is said to be of dimension 0.

Example 3.14 Show that the set E = {ϵ1 = (1, 0), ϵ2 = (0, 1)} is a basis of R2 .

Solution: Let c1 ϵ1 + c2 ϵ2 = θ for some c1 , c2 ∈ R.

Then (c1 , c2 ) = (0, 0) =⇒ c1 = 0, c2 = 0 and so E is L.I.

Let v = (a, b) ∈ R2 . Then v = a(1, 0) + b(0, 1) = aϵ1 + bϵ2 and so R2 ⊆ L(E).

Also E ⊆ R2 and L(E) is the smallest subspace containing E. Then L(E) ⊆ R2 . Thus R2 =
L(E). Therefore E is a basis for R2 and dim R2 = 2.

Example 3.15 Show that the set set E = {ϵ1 = (1, 0, 0), ϵ2 = (0, 1, 0), ϵ3 = (0, 0, 1)} is a basis of
R3 .

Example 3.16 Show that the set E = {ϵ1 = (1, 0, 0, ..., 0), ϵ2 = (0, 1, 0, ..., 0), ..., ϵn = (0, 0, 0, ..., 1)}
is a basis of Rn . The basis E is called the standard basis of Rn .

Example 3.17 Let E = {E11 , E12 , . . . , E1m , E21 , E22 , . . . , E2m , . . . , Emn } where Eij is an m × n
matrix having 1 as the ij-th element and 0 elsewhere. Then E is a basis of the vector space
Mm×n (R) of all m × n. Also, dim Mm×n (R) = mn.

Example 3.18 Show that the set E = {1, x, x2 , ..., xn } is a basis of the vector space Pn .

Example 3.19 Show that the set E = {1, i} is a basis of the vector space C over the field R.

Theorem 3.5 Let V be a vector space of dimension n over a field F. Then

(i) Any set of L.I. vectors of V contains at most n vectors.
(ii) Any L.I. set of n vectors of V is a basis of V.
(iii) Any subset of n vectors of V that generates V is a basis of V.

Example 3.20 Prove that S = {α = (1, 0, 1), β = (0, 1, 1), γ = (1, 1, 0)} is a basis of R3 .
Md Firoz Ali 10

Solution: Here

c1 α + c2 β + c3 γ = θ, where c1 , c2 , c3 ∈ R3
=⇒ c1 + c3 = 0, c2 + c3 = 0, c1 + c2 = 0
=⇒ c1 = c2 = c3 = 0.

Thus S is L.I. Since R3 is a vector space of dimension 3 and S contains 3 L.I. vectors, S is a basis
of R3 .

Example 3.21 Let V be a real vector space with {α, β, γ} as basis. Prove that S = {α + β + γ, β +
γ, γ} is also a basis of V.

Solution: Let c1 (α + β + γ) + c2 (β + γ) + c3 γ = 0 where c1 , c2 , c3 ∈ R. Then

c1 α + (c1 + c2 )β + (c1 + c2 + c3 )γ = 0
=⇒ c1 = 0, c1 + c2 = 0, c1 + c2 + c3 = 0

as {α, β, γ} is L.I. So we get c1 = c2 = c3 = 0.

Thus S is L.I. Since V is a vector space of dimension 3 and S contain 3 L.I. vectors, S is a basis
of V.

Example 3.22 Find a basis and the dimension of the subspace W = {(x, y, z) ∈ R3 : x+y+z = 0}
of R3 .

Solution: Here we assume W is a subspace of R3 . Let v = (a, b, c) ∈ W. Then a + b + c = 0.

Therefore,

v = (a, b, −a − b) = a(1, 0, −1) + b(0, 1, −1)

Let α = (1, 0, −1), β = (0, 1, −1). Then v ∈ L{α, β} and so W ⊆ L{α, β}.

Since α, β ∈ W and L{α, β} is the smallest subspace containing α, β, then L{α, β} ⊆ W. Thus
W = L{α, β}.

Here α and β are L.I. as none of them is a scalar multiple of other. Thus {α, β} is a basis for
W and dim W = 2.

Example 3.23 Let S = {(x, y, z, w) ∈ R4 : 2x + y + 3z + w = 0} and T = {(x, y, z, w) ∈ R4 } :

x + 2y + z + 3w = 0. Find dim S ∩ T.

Solution: Clearly,

S ∩ T = {(x, y, z, w) ∈ R4 : 2x + y + 3z + w = 0, x + 2y + z + 3w = 0}.

is a subspace of R4 . Let v = (a, b, c, d) ∈ (S ∩ T ).Then

2a + b + 3c + d = 0, a + 2b + c + 3d = 0
=⇒ d = −2a − b − 3c, a + 2b + c − 6a − 3b − 9c = 0
=⇒ 5a + b + 8c = 0
1
=⇒ c = − (5a + b).
8
Therefore, d = −2a − b + 38 (5a + b) = − 18 a − 58 b. Thus

5 1 1 5 a b
v =(a, b, − a − b, − a, − ) = (8, 0, −5, −1) + (0, 8, −1, −5)
8 8 8 8 8 8
a b
= α + β ∈ L{α, β},
8 8
where α = (8, 0, −5, −1), β = (0, 8, −1, −5). Therefore, S ∩ T ⊆ L{α, β}.
Clearly α, β ∈ S ∩ T . Since S ∩ T is a subspace containing {α, β}, L{α, β} ⊆ S ∩ T. Therefore
L{α, β} = S ∩ T , Clearly α and β are L.I. Thus {α, β} is a basis for S ∩ T, and dim S ∩ T = 2.
Md Firoz Ali 11

3.6 Rank of a Matrix

A non-zero matrix A of order m × n is said to be of rank r when
(i) it has at least one non-zero minor of order r,

(ii) every minor of order higher than r is zero.

The rank of zero matrix is 0. Rank of a matrix is denoted by ρ(A) or r(A) or rank(A). For a
non-zero m × n matrix A, we have 0 < ρ(A) ≤ min{m, n} and ρ(A) = ρ(AT ).
   
1 0 3 2 3 −1 1
Example 3.24 Find the rank of the matrices A = 4 −1 5 and B = 3 0 4 2.
2 0 6 6 9 −3 3

Solution: We can easily verify that det(A) = 0. But

1 0
̸= 0.
4 −1

Therefore ρ(A) = 2. Similarly we can show that ρ(B) = 2.

Elementary Operation: An elementary operation on a matrix A is an operation of the
following types
(i) Interchange of two rows or columns of A. Notation: Rij (Cij ).
(ii) Multiplication of a row or column by a non-zero scalar c. Notation: kRi (kCi ).
(iii) Addition of a scalar multiple of one row or column to another row or column. Notation:
Ri + kRj (Ci + kCj ).

Equivalent Matrices: Two matrices A and B are said to be row equivalent or column equiv-
alent if one can be obtained from the other by elementary row or column operations respectively.
Two equivalent matrices have the same order and same rank.

Row reduced Echelon form: An m × n matrix A is called row-reduced echelon matrix if

(i) the first non-zero element in each non-zero row is 1 (called the leading 1)
(ii) each column containing the leading 1 of some row has all other element zero.

(iii) there is an integer r such that first r rows of A are non-zero and the remaining are all zero.
(iv) if the leading element of i-th row occurs in column ki then k1 < k2 < k3 ... < ki .

Theorem 3.6 The number of non-zero rows in row-reduced echelon matrix is the rank of that
matrix.
 
0 1 −3 −1
1 0 1 1
Example 3.25 Find the rank of the matrix A = 
3 1 0
.
2
1 1 −2 0
     
1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1
R12 0 1 −3 −1 R −3R1 0
 −−3−−−→
 1 −3 −1 R 3 −R2 0
 1 −3 −1
Solution: A −−→   −−− −−→ .
3 1 0 2  R4 −R1 0 1 −3 −1 R4 −R2 0 0 0 0
1 1 −2 0 0 1 −3 −1 0 0 0 0
Therefore ρ(A) = 2.
 
1 2 3 4
Example 3.26 Find the rank of the matrix A = 2 1 4 3 .
3 0 5 −10
Md Firoz Ali 12

Solution:
     
1 2 3 4 − 1
R
1 2 3 4 1 0 5/3 2/3
R −2R1 2 R +6R2
A −−2−−−→ 0 −3 −2 −5  −−− 3
−→ 0 1 2/3 5/3  −−3−−−→ 0 1 2/3 5/3 
R3 −3R1 R1 −2R2
0 −6 −4 −22 0 −6 −4 −22 0 0 0 −12
   
− 1 R3
1 0 5/3 2/3 R − 2 R 1 0 5/3 0
1 3 3
−−12
−−→ 0 1 2/3 5/3 −−−−− −→ 0 1 2/3 0 .
R2 − 35 R3
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1

Therefore, ρ(A) = 3.

 
2 0 4 2
3 2 6 5
Example 3.27 Find the rank of the matrix A = 
5

2 10 7
0 3 2 5
     
1 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 2 1
1/2R1 3 2 6 3 R −3R1 0
 2 0 2 1/2R2 0 1 0 1 R3 −2R2
Solution: A −−−−→   −−2−−−→  −−−−→  −−−−−→
5 2 10 7 R3 −5R1 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 R4 −3R2
0 3 2 5 0 3 2 5 0 3 2 5
      
1 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 −1
0 1 0 1 R3 4 0 1 0 1 1/2R3 0 1 0 1 R1 −2R3  0 1 0 1
  −−→  −−−−→   −−−−−→   .
0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1
0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Therefore, ρ(A) = 3.

 
1 1 2
Example 3.28 Find the inverse of A = 2 4 4 by elementary operation.
3 3 7

Solution:
   
1 1 2 : 0 1 0 1 1 2 : 1 0 0
R2 −2R1
[A : I3 ] = 2 4 4 : 0 −−−−−→ 0 2 0 : −2 1 0
0 1
R3 −3R1
3 3 7 : 1 0 0 0 0 1 : −3 0 1
   
1 1 2 : 1 0 0 1 0 2 : 2 −1/2 0
1/2R2 R1 −R2
−−−−→ 0 1 0 : −1 1/2 0 −−−−−→ 0 1 0 : −1 1/2 0
0 0 1 : −3 0 1 0 0 1 : −3 0 1
 
1 0 0 : 8 −1/2 −2
R −2R3
−−1−−−→ 0 1 0 : −1 1/2 0  = [I3 : A−1 ].
0 0 1 : −3 0 1
 
8 −1/2 −2
Therefore, A−1 = −1 1/2 0 .
−3 0 1