Math 176: Vector Spaces

Dr. B. O. Bainson
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

April 18, 2019

Outline
 Introduction

• The notion of vector spaces is a core and an ubiquitous

concept in algebra.
• It shows up in many forms in most mathematical related
fields.
• Its treatment in this course is a preparatory development
into abstraction in mathematics.
• Abstraction refers to the thinking process of to extract
core ideas of mathematical objects.
• The ideas are mainly properties which “stand out” and
mostly give account for nice results about the object as
well as lay foundations further research.
 Motivation

From High school, recall that a vector is an ordered n-tuple

(x1 , x2 , x3 , · · · , xn )T of real numbers. The set of vectors admit
addition and scalar multiplication and satisfies
• v +u =u+v
• (v + u) + w = v + (u + w )
• v +0=v
• v + (−v ) = 0
• (k1 k2 )v = k1 (k2 v )
• (k1 + k2 )v = k1 v + k2 v
• 1v = v
 Definition
Definition
A vector space over a field F is a nonempty set V together
with operations; vector addition (u + v ) ∈ V and scalar
multiplication ku ∈ V satisfying
1. u + v = v + u
2. u + (v + w ) = (u + v ) + w
3. there is a 0 ∈ V satisfying 0 + v = v
4. there is (−a) ∈ V such that v + (−v ) = 0
5. k(u + v ) = ku + kv
6. (k + k 0 )v = kv + k 0 v
7. (kk 0 )v = k(k 0 v )
8. 1v = v for the unit scalar 1 ∈ F
for all k, k 0 ∈ F and u, v , w ∈ V .
 Examples
Example (Space Fn )
For any field F, the set V = {(x1 , · · · , xn ) : xi ∈ F} together
with the operations

(x1 , · · · , xn ) + (y1 , · · · , yn ) = (x1 + y1 , · · · xn + yn )

and
k(x1 , · · · , xn ) = (kx1 , · · · , xan )
is a vector space denoted by Fn .
Example (Polynomial Space P(x))
The set of all polynomials in the indeterminate x over a field F
together with the usual addition and scalar multiplication of
polynomials forms a vector space.
Example (Matrix Space Mmn )
The space of all m × n matrices with entries from a field F
together with the usual matrix addition and scalar
multiplication.
Example (Function Space F (X ))
The set of functions from a nonempty set X to a field F
together with the addition operation (f + g )(x) = f (x) + g (x)
for all x ∈ X and scalar multiplication (kf )(x) = kf (x).
 Properties of vector spaces

Definition
Suppose V is a vector space over F and S is a subset of V ,
then S is said to be a subspace of V if S is itself a vector
space over F with respect to the operations from V .
 Properties of vector spaces

Definition
Suppose V is a vector space over F and S is a subset of V ,
then S is said to be a subspace of V if S is itself a vector
space over F with respect to the operations from V .
Example
Consider S = {(x, y )|x, y ∈ R, x + y = 0} ⊂ R2 . It is easy to
see that it satisfies all the axioms of vector spaces using the
addition and scalar multiplication in R2 . Hence S is a
subspace of R2 .
 Properties of vector spaces

Definition
Suppose V is a vector space over F and S is a subset of V ,
then S is said to be a subspace of V if S is itself a vector
space over F with respect to the operations from V .
Example
Consider S = {(x, y )|x, y ∈ R, x + y = 0} ⊂ R2 . It is easy to
see that it satisfies all the axioms of vector spaces using the
addition and scalar multiplication in R2 . Hence S is a
subspace of R2 .
Notice that some of the checks were trivial. Hence we cut out
many checks and give the following adequate condition.
Lemma
A subset S of vector space V is a subspace if
1. 0 ∈ S,
2. (ku + k 0 v ) ∈ S for all u, v ∈ S and k, k 0 ∈ F.
Lemma
A subset S of vector space V is a subspace if
1. 0 ∈ S,
2. (ku + k 0 v ) ∈ S for all u, v ∈ S and k, k 0 ∈ F.

Example
The space of all polynomials of degree at most n is a subspace
of P(x).
Example
The space of all triangular matrices is a subspace of all n × n
matrices.
Example
The line y = x is a subspace of R2 .
Proposition
An arbitrary intersection of subspaces of V is a subspace of V .
Proposition
An arbitrary intersection of subspaces of V is a subspace of V .
Proposition
The set of solutions of the homogeneous system Ax = 0 in n
unknowns is a subspace of Rn .
 Linear dependence, span and basis

Definition
Let S ⊂ V . A linear combination of S is a formal sum of
the form n
X
ai vi , where ai ∈ F, vi ∈ S .
i=1
 Linear dependence, span and basis

Definition
Let S ⊂ V . A linear combination of S is a formal sum of
the form n
X
ai vi , where ai ∈ F, vi ∈ S .
i=1

Definition
The set of all linear combinations of elements of S is called
the span of S and is denoted by Span(S) or hSi.
Example
The set of all linear combinations of S = {(2, 1, 3), (0, 4, −1)}
in R3 is the set hSi = {(2a1 , a1 + 4a2 , 3a1 − a2 ) : a1 , a2 ∈ R}.
Example
( 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 )
The span of S = 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 is
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
(  0 0 0 )
hSi = a1 0 0 , a1 , a2 , a3 ∈ R
a2 a3 0
Example
Determine whether (2, 7) ∈ hSi where S = {(2, 3), (4, 2)}.
Example
Determine whether (2, 7) ∈ hSi where S = {(2, 3), (4, 2)}.
Example
Write v = (3, 7, −4) as a linear combination of u1 = (1, 2, 3),
u2 = (2, 3, 7) and u3 = (3, 5, 6).
Proposition
Let S ⊂ V . The set of all linear combinations of vectors in S
is a subspace of V containing S.
Proposition
Let S ⊂ V . The set of all linear combinations of vectors in S
is a subspace of V containing S.
Definition
Let S ⊂ V . Then S is said to be linearly dependent if some
non-zero linear combination gives the zero vector i.e
n
X
a1 vi = 0 where ai ∈ F, vi ∈ S and not all ai = 0 .
i=1

Otherwise S is linearly independent.

Example
The vectors u1 = (2, 3), u2 = (4, 2) and u3 = (2, 7) are linearly
dependent. Since the problem a1 u1 + a2 u2 + a3 u3 = 0 has
infinitely many solutions.
Example
The vectors u = (1, 2, 0), v = (−1, 3, −5) and (2, 6, −2) are
linearly independent since the problem has no nontrivial
solution, i.e the solution
 of a1 u1 + a2 u2 + a3 u3 = 0 from the
1 −1 2 0
augmented matrix  2 3 6 0  is a1 = 0, a2 = 0 and
0 −5 −2 0
a3 = 0.
Example
The set S = {1, x, x 2 } is linearly independent in P(x)
Lemma
A subset S of a vector space V is linearly dependent if and
only if some element vk of S is a linear combination of the
others.
Example
The vectors u = (1, 4) and v = (4, 1) spans R2 since every
vector in R2 is a linear combinations of u and v .
Example
The vectors u = (1, 0) and v = (0, 1) span R2 since every
vector in R2 is a linear combinations of u and v .
Example
The vectors u1 = (0, 0, 1), u2 = (0, 1, 0) and u3 = (1, 0, 0)
span R3 .
Remark

1. The spanning set of a space is not unique.

2. Suppose u1 , u2 , · · · , un is a spanning set of V and v is
any vector in V . Then v , u1 , u2 , · · · , un spans V .
3. Suppose u1 , u2 , · · · , un spans V and uk is either zero or a
linear combination of some of the ui ’s, then the u’s
without the uk spans V .
Definition
A set S of vectors is called a basis of a vector space V if S
spans V and the vectors in S are linearly independent.
The number of vectors in the basis S of a vector space V is
called the dimension of V written as dim(V ) = |S|.
Example
The vectors (1, 0) and (0, 1) form a basis for R2 .
Example
Show that (1, 2), (3, −1) is a basis for R2 .
Example
The vectors (1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0) and (0, 0, 1) form a basis for R3 .
Example
The set of all matrices eij with the ijth entry1 and else 0 form
a basis for the space of all m × n matrices.
Example
The set {1, x, x 2 , · · · , x n } is a basis for the space of all
polynomials of degree at most n.
Example
Is there a basis for the space of all polynomials?
Proposition
Suppose that S and S 0 with cardinality m and n respectively
are basis of V . Then m = n.
 Sums and Direct sums
Definition
Let V and U be subpaces of W . The sum of V and U
denoted by V + U is defined by

U + V = {w : w = v + u, where v ∈ V and u ∈ U}
 Sums and Direct sums
Definition
Let V and U be subpaces of W . The sum of V and U
denoted by V + U is defined by

U + V = {w : w = v + u, where v ∈ V and u ∈ U}

Example      
x 0
Let V = : x ∈ R and U = : y ∈ R . Then
0 y
      
x 0 x
V +U = + = : x, y ∈ R = R2
0 y y
Proposition
The sum of subspaces U and V of W is a subspace of W .
Proposition
The sum of subspaces U and V of W is a subspace of W .
Definition
Let V and U be vector spaces. Then W is called the direct
sum of V and U denoted by W = V ⊕ U if for every w ∈ W
there exist unique v ∈ V and u ∈ U such that w = v + u
Proposition
The sum of subspaces U and V of W is a subspace of W .
Definition
Let V and U be vector spaces. Then W is called the direct
sum of V and U denoted by W = V ⊕ U if for every w ∈ W
there exist unique v ∈ V and u ∈ U such that w = v + u
Example    
 0   x 
Let V =  y : y , z ∈ R and U =
  0 : x ∈ R . Then

z 0
       
 x x 0 x 
3  
V ⊕U = y ∈R : y = y + 0 ∈V +U
    
z z z 0

where the sum is unique. Thus V ⊕ U = R3 .

Example    
 0   x 
Let V = y  : y , z ∈ R and U = m : x ∈ R .
z 0
Example    
 0   x 
Let V = y  : y , z ∈ R and U = m : x ∈ R .Then
z 0
     
 0 x x 
3
V + U = y  + m = y + m = R
z 0 z

Thus V ⊕ U = R3 . Although V + U = R3 , an element in R3

can
 be written
   in many
 ways.
  Forexample
1 0 1 0 1
4 = 4 + 0 = 2 + 2. Hence R3 is not a direct
1 1 0 1 0
sum of V and U.
Proposition
V + U is a direct sum of V and U iff V ∩ U = {0}.
Definition
Let V be a vector space with basis B = {u1 , u2 , · · · , un }. The
every v ∈ V can be uniquely written as

v = a1 u1 + a2 u2 + · · · + an un .

The coordinates of v relative to the basis denoted by [v ]B is

the tuple of scalars

[v ]B = [a1 , a2 , · · · , an ] .
Example  
8
Determine the coordinates of v = relative to the basis
    10
1 2
B ={ , } of R2 .
2 1
Solution      
8 1 2
We want to find a1 , a2 such that = a1 + a2 .
 10 2 1
1 2 8
Forming the augmented matrix and applying the
2 1 10
Gaussian elimination we have a1 = 4 and a2 = 2. Therefore
[v ]B = [4, 2].
Example  
13
Determine the coordinates of v = relative to the basis
    11
1 2
B ={ , } of R2
2 1
 Change of Basis

Recall that basis of a vector space is not unique, i.e we can

have many basis for the same vector space. For example
B = {(1, 0), (0, 1)} and B 0 = {(2, 1), (1, 2)} are basis of R2 .
 Change of Basis

Recall that basis of a vector space is not unique, i.e we can

have many basis for the same vector space. For example
B = {(1, 0), (0, 1)} and B 0 = {(2, 1), (1, 2)} are basis of R2 .
Suppose B = {u1 , u2 , · · · , un } and S = {v1 , v2 , · · · , vn } are
basis of a vector space W . Then by definition,

v1 = a11 u1 + a12 u2 + · · · a1n un

v2 = a21 u1 + a22 u2 + · · · a2n un
..
.
vn = an1 u1 + an2 u2 + · · · ann un
     
v1 a11 a12 · · · a1n u1
v2  a21 a22 · · · a2n  u2 
 ..  =  ..
    
..   .. 
.  . .  . 
vn a11 a12 · · · a1n un
i.e S = PB. The matrix P is called the change of basis
matrix.
Example
Determine the change of basis matrix from the basis
B = {(1, 2), (3, 5)} to the basis S = {(1, −1), (1, −2)} of R2 .
Solution
Since B and S are basis of R2 , we have
     
1 1 3
= a11 + a21
−1 2 5

solving yields a11 = −8 and a21 = 3. Also

     
1 1 3
= a12 + a22
−2 2 5

−11 and a22

solving yields a12 =   = 4.Therefore the change of
−8 −11
basis matrix is P =
3 4
 Linear Transformations

A transformation in simple terms is a process by which an

entity is changes form, nature or appearance.

Alternatively a transformation is a function between sets.

In our context, we shall consider transformations on vector

spaces.
Definition
A map T : V → W of vector spaces is be a linear
transformation if
1. T (v1 + v2 ) = T (v1 ) + T (v2 )
2. T (αv ) = αT (v )
Definition
A map T : V → W of vector spaces is be a linear
transformation if
1. T (v1 + v2 ) = T (v1 ) + T (v2 )
2. T (αv ) = αT (v )

Example
Determine if the transformation T : R3 → R3 defined by
T (x, y , z) = (x + 1, y + 1, z) is linear.
 Matrix representation of T

Suppose T : V → V and V has basis u1 , u2 , · · · un . Then the

image of the ui ’s can be written as a linear combination of the
u’s. The matrix representation of T is a matrix whose
columns are the coordinates vectors of T (ui ).
 Matrix representation of T

Suppose T : V → V and V has basis u1 , u2 , · · · un . Then the

image of the ui ’s can be written as a linear combination of the
u’s. The matrix representation of T is a matrix whose
columns are the coordinates vectors of T (ui ).
Example
Let T : R2 → R2 be defined by T (x, y ) = (x + y , x − y ).
Find the matrix (representation relative to the basis
   )
1 0
S = {u1 , u2 } = , .
0 1
Solution  
1
We have that T (u1 ) = which can be written as
      1
1 1 0
= a1 + a2 . Solving gives a1 = 1 and a2 = 1.
1 0 1
Hence T (u1 ) = u1 + u2 .
1
Also T (u2 ) = which can be written as
    −1  
1 1 0
= a1 + a2 . Solving gives a1 = 1 and a2 = −1.
−1 0 1
Hence T (u1 ) = u1 − u2 . Writing coordinates of T (u1 ) and
T (u2 ) as of the matrix representation gives
 
1 1
[T ]S = .
1 −1