FAMIL G.

PAGARAN

Linear Algebra
PROBLEM SET 1

I. Research the following:

1. Ring in ℝ
Definition: A ring R is an abelian group with a multiplication operation (a,b)→ ab that is
associative and satisfies the distributive laws: a(b+c) = ab+ac and (a + b)c = ab + ac for all a,b,c ∈
R. We will always assume that R has at least two elements, including a multiplicative identity 1R
satisfying a1R =1 Ra = a for all a in R. The multiplicative identity is often written simply as 1, and the
additive identity as 0. If a,b,and c are arbitrary elements of R, the following properties are derived
quickly from the definition of a ring; we sketch the technique in each case.
(1) a0=0 a = 0 [ a0+a0=a(0+0)=a0;0a+0a =(0+0)a =0 a]
(2) (−a)b = a(−b)=−(ab) [0 = 0 b =( a+(−a))b = ab+(−a)b,so(−a)b =−(ab);
similarly, 0=a0=a(b +(−b)) = ab + a(−b),so a(−b)=−(ab)]
(3) (−1)(−1) = 1 [take a =1,b=−1 in (2)]
(4) (−a)(−b)=ab [replace b by −b in (2)]
(5) a(b−c)=ab−ac [a(b +(−c)) = ab + a(−c)=ab +(−(ac)) = ab−ac]
(6) (a−b)c = ac−bc [(a+(−b))c = ac+(−b)c)=ac−(bc)=ac−bc]
(7) 1= 0 [If 1 = 0 then for all a we have a = a1=a0 = 0, so R ={0}, contradicting the
assumption that R has at least two elements]
(8) The multiplicative identity is unique [If 1’ is another multiplicative identity then 1 =
11’=1’]

2. Vector Space
Definition: A vector space is a set V on which two operations + and · are defined,
called vector addition and scalar multiplication.

The operation + (vector addition) must satisfy the following conditions:

Closure: If u and v are any vectors in V, then the sum u + v belongs to V.
(1) Commutative law:
For all vectors u and v in V, u + v = v + u
(2) Associative law:
For all vectors u, v, w in V, u + (v + w) = (u + v) + w
(3) Additive identity:
The set V contains an additive identity element, denoted by 0, such that for any vector v in
V, 0 + v = v and v + 0 = v.
(4) Additive inverses:
For each vector v in V, the equations v + x = 0 and x + v = 0 have a solution x in V,
called an additive inverse of v, and denoted by - v.

The operation · (scalar multiplication) is defined between real numbers (or scalars) and
vectors, and must satisfy the following conditions:
Closure:
If v in any vector in V, and c is any real number, then the product c · v belongs to V.
(5) Distributive law:
For all real numbers c and all vectors u, v in V, c · (u + v) = c · u + c · v
(6) Distributive law:
For all real numbers c, d and all vectors v in V, (c+d) · v = c · v + d · v
(7) Associative law:
For all real numbers c,d and all vectors v in V, c · (d · v) = (cd) · v
(8) Unitary law:
For all vectors v in V, 1 · v = v
3. Subspace
Definition: Let V be a vector space, and let W be a subset of V. If W is a vector space with
respect to the operations in V, then W is called a subspace of V.

Theorem:
Let V be a vector space, with operations + and ·, and let W be a subset of V. Then W is a
subspace of V if and only if the following conditions hold.
Sub0 W is nonempty:
The zero vector belongs to W.
Sub1 Closure under +:
If u and v are any vectors in W, then u + v is in W.
Sub2 Closure under ·:
If v is any vector in W, and c is any real number, then c · v is in W.

4. Linear Combination
Definition: Given two vectors v and w, a linear combination of v and w is any vector of the
form av + bw where a and b are scalars. For example, the vector (6,8,10) is a linear combination of
the vectors (1,1,1) and (1,2,3), since

[ ] [ ] [ ]

More generally, a linear combination of n vectors is any vector of the form

where are scalars. For n = 2, this reduces to the
definition for two vectors given above.
It is all right if some of the scalars in a linear combination are either zero or negative. For
example, if u, v, and w are vectors, then
2u−3v + 4w, 3u + 5w, v + w, w−u, and 5v
are some possible linear combinations of u, v, and w. We will sometimes want to discuss linear
combinations of a single vector. If v is a vector, a linear combination of just v is the same thing as a
scalar multiple of v: av.
Thus (3,12,6) is a linear combination of (1,4,2), since (3,12,6) = 3(1,4,2).
Expressing a Vector as a Linear Combination
Sometimes you want to express one vector as a linear combination of others. For
example, can we express the vector (8,3,3) as a linear combination of (1,1,1) and (1,0,0)? A
moment’s thought reveals the answer:

[ ] [ ] [ ]

For more complicated examples, you can express one vector as a linear combination of
others by solving a system of linear equations.
EXAMPLE. Express the vector (9,6) as a linear combination of the vectors (1,2) and (1,−4).
SOLUTION. We are looking for scalars and so that

[ ] [ ] [ ]

We can write this equation as a system of linear equations:

9
6
Solving gives = 7 and = 2. Thus

[ ] [ ] [ ].
 5. Linear Span
Definition: The linear span of a set S of vectors, denoted, is the smallest linear subspace
that contains the set.
The Span of Vectors
The span of a collection of vectors is the set of all possible linear combinations of them.
For example, the span of the vectors (1,5,3) and (2,1,7) is the set of all vectors of the form

[ ] [ ]

as s and t range over all possible scalars.

EXAMPLE. Describe the span of the vectors (1,0,0) and (0,1,1).
SOLUTION. A linear combination of the vectors (1,0,0) and (0,1,1) has the form

[ ] [ ]

which simplifies to

[ ]

where s and t many be any real numbers. Hence, the span of the vectors (1,0,0) and (0,1,1) is the
set of all vectors in R3 whose second and third entries are the same.

II. Prove the following:

1. Let V be a vector space over F. For all ∈ V and C ∈ F,
1) =
2)
3) ( )
1.
Answer: ∈
2.
∈
3. (-1)
Answer: ∈

2. Let S be a non-empty subset of a vector space V over F. Then iff for all ∈ and
all ∈
i. ∈
ii. ∈
i. + ∈
Answer: ∈
S is a subspace of F and S is closed under addition.
ii. ∈
Answer: ∈
S is closed scalar multiplication.