Vector Spaces (step-by-step) & prerequisites for Affine Spaces
This section is written as a sequence of small steps. If you want, tell me where you want to stop
(e.g., after bases, after linear maps, etc.) and I can expand each step with more examples and
exercises.
0. Prerequisites (what to know first)
You should be comfortable with:
• Sets and functions: elements, subsets, Cartesian products, and what a function f : X → Y
means.
• Real numbers (or a field): basic algebra with R (or Q, C).
• Solving linear equations: systems like Ax = b, row-reduction, and interpreting solutions.
Why this matters: vector spaces generalize “arrows in the plane” and “solutions to homogeneous
linear systems.” Affine spaces then generalize “points with directions but no chosen origin.”
1. Scalars, vectors, and the key idea
A vector space is a set V (whose elements are called vectors) together with:
• vector addition: + : V × V → V ,
• scalar multiplication: · : F × V → V (where F is a field, usually R),
that satisfy certain rules (axioms) listed next.
2. The vector space axioms (don’t skip these)
For all u, v, w ∈ V and scalars a, b ∈ F :
1. u + v = v + u (commutativity) (−v) = 0 (additive inverse)
2. (u + v) + w = u + (v + w) (associativity) 5. a(u + v) = au + av (distributivity over vec-
3. There exists 0 ∈ V with v +0 = v (additive tors)
identity)
6. (a + b)v = av + bv (distributivity over
4. For each v there exists (−v) with v + scalars)
1
7. (ab)v = a(bv) (associativity of scaling) 8. 1 · v = v (scalar identity)
Common examples:
• Rn with usual addition and scaling.
• The set of all polynomials R[x].
• The set of all m × n matrices over R.
• The set of all functions f : X → R.
3. First visual model: vectors as arrows in the plane
In R2 , a vector v = (v1 , v2 ) can be drawn as an arrow from the origin to the point (v1 , v2 ). Addition
is “tip-to-tail,” and scaling stretches/shrinks (and flips if negative).
y
u+v
x
0
4. Linear combinations: the building blocks
A linear combination of vectors v1 , . . . , vk ∈ V is any vector of the form
a1 v1 + · · · + ak vk (ai ∈ F ).
5. Span (what you can build)
The span of S = {v1 , . . . , vk } is
span(S) = {a1 v1 + · · · + ak vk : ai ∈ F }.
Visual: span of one vector in R2 is a line through the origin; span of two non-collinear
vectors is the whole plane.
2
y y
v2
span{v}
v
v1
x x
span{v1 , v2 } = R2 (if not collinear)
6. Subspaces (vector spaces inside vector spaces)
A subset W ⊆ V is a subspace if:
• 0 ∈ W,
• u, v ∈ W ⇒ u + v ∈ W (closed under addition),
• a ∈ F, v ∈ W ⇒ av ∈ W (closed under scaling).
Typical subspaces of R3 : lines and planes through the origin.
7. Linear independence (no redundancy)
Vectors v1 , . . . , vk are linearly independent if the only solution to
a1 v1 + · · · + ak vk = 0
is a1 = · · · = ak = 0. If there is a nontrivial solution, they are dependent.
8. Basis (a minimal generating set)
A basis of V is a set of vectors that is:
• spanning (you can build every vector), and
• linearly independent (no redundancy).
If {e1 , . . . , en } is a basis, then every v ∈ V can be written uniquely as
v = a1 e1 + · · · + an en .
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9. Dimension (the number of basis vectors)
The dimension of V , written dim V , is the number of vectors in any basis of V (all bases have the
same size).
10. Linear maps (structure-preserving functions)
A function T : V → W between vector spaces is linear if
T (u + v) = T (u) + T (v), T (av) = aT (v).
Key objects:
• kernel: ker(T ) = {v ∈ V : T (v) = 0} (a subspace of V ),
• image: im(T ) = {T (v) : v ∈ V } (a subspace of W ).
11. How affine spaces build on vector spaces (what’s missing)
A vector space has a distinguished origin 0.
An affine space is like Rn but without a chosen origin. Concretely:
• You have points (not vectors).
• You can subtract two points to get a vector (a displacement).
• You can add a vector to a point to get another point.
Visual: same “arrow” can be moved around (translations) because there is no preferred
zero point.
Q
−−→
PQ
same vector
P
R
Next step (affine spaces properly): define an affine space as a set A with a vector space V acting
transitively and freely on it (a torsor), and define affine combinations / affine subspaces.