MATH 4330 HW 1

Sam Oliver

1) Show that it follows from the definition of a vector space that both zero and additive inverse
vectors are unique.
Proof. First, suppose that for a vector space V there are vectors ⃗v, ⃗01 , ⃗02 ∈ V fulfilling the defining ax-
ioms. Then it must be that ⃗v + ⃗01 = ⟨v1 , v2 , · · · , vn ⟩ + ⟨0, 0, · · · , 0n ⟩ = ⟨v1 , v2 , · · · , vn ⟩. Likewise, we observe
that ⃗v +⃗02 = ⟨v1 , v2 , · · · , vn ⟩+⟨0, 0, · · · , 0n ⟩ = ⟨v1 , v2 , · · · , vn ⟩. Hence ⃗01 = ⃗02 , and the zero vector is unique.

Now, suppose that we have ⃗v, (−⃗v1 ), (−⃗v2 ) ∈ V likewise fulfilling the defining axioms such that ⃗v + (−⃗v1 ) =
⃗0 and ⃗v + (−⃗v2 ) = ⃗0. In the previous portion of the proof, we determined that ⃗0 is unique, indicating that
⃗v − ⃗0 = ⃗v1 and ⃗v − ⃗0 = ⃗v2 . Hence, ⃗v1 = ⃗v2 , i.e. (−⃗v1 ) = (−⃗v2 ), and the additive inverse vector is unique. ■
2) Consider the set of vectors in R3
      
 1 −1 −1 
−1 ,  0  , −1 .
 
1 2 5

Determine if this set is linearly independent.

Solution: By the definition of linear independence, we must see if the scalars of each vector in the linear
combination α⃗v1 + β⃗v2 + · · · + ζ⃗vn = 0 are all 0. We can determine this by calculating the determinant of a
matrix M composed of the three column vectors and seeing if it solves to a non-zero value. We see that
 
1 −1 −1 1 −1 −1
det −1 0 −1 = −1 0 −1
1 2 5 1 2 5
= 1(2) + (−1)(4) + (−1)(−2) = 0

Hence, it is shown that the three vectors are linearly dependent since |M| = 0, meaning that at least one of
the scalars is a non-zero value.

3) Show that the vectors in Rn defined by

⃗e1 = ⟨1, 0, 0, · · · , 0⟩ , ⃗e2 = ⟨0, 1, 0, · · · , 0⟩ , · · · ⃗en = ⟨0, 0, 0, · · · , 1⟩ ,

are linearly independent.

Proof. Let the provided set of standard basis vectors in Rn be represented as E = {⃗ek | 1 ⩽ k ⩽ n}, n, k ∈ N.
Note that by definition of linear independence, no vector ⃗ek ∈ E can be a linear combination of the others
within the set (it cannot be in the span of its sister vectors). For generality, we will just consider the 3 × 1
vector case, but the principle can be easily extended to n-dimensions. Given α, β, γ ∈ R, consider the
following linear combination of basis vectors
     
1 0 0
α 0 + β 1 + γ 0 .
0 0 1

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We see that no matter the placement of the leading one, and no matter the value of α, β, γ, all non-zero values
from different vectors line up with zeros in other vectors, demonstrating that there can be no transformation
applied to a vector that provides the zero value in the chosen basis vector. Thus, we see that any chosen vector
cannot be in the span of the rest of the set, indicating linear independence. To solidify the claim of linear
independence, let us observe the result of the determinant of the column vector matrix for n-dimensions.

1 0 ···0n
.
0 1 · · · ..
|E| = .. .. .
..
. . . ..
0n ··· ··· 1

We see that no matter the orientation used for determining the determinant of the basis vectors, all sub-
determinants will derive to 0 except the leading 1 of the first row. This indicates that the determinant will
always be 1 no matter how many dimensions are being considered, and it follows that the set is linearly
independent. ■
4) Let ⃗u1 , · · · , ⃗un (n ⩾ 2) be linearly independent vectors in a vector space V and set

⃗vi−1 = ⃗ui−1 + ⃗ui , i ⩽ n, i, n ∈ N \ {1}; ⃗vn = ⃗un + ⃗u1 .

Investigate whether ⃗v1 , · · · ,⃗vn are linearly independent as well.

Solution: Because {⃗u1 , · · · , ⃗un } are linearly independent, we know that for α⃗u1 + · · · + ζ⃗un = 0, α, · · · , ζ =
0. So, because the vectors {⃗v1 , · · · ,⃗vn } are linear combinations of vectors ⃗ui , we see that a1⃗v1 + · · · + an⃗vn =
a1 (⃗u1 + ⃗u2 ) + · · · + an (⃗un + ⃗u1 ) = (a1 + an )⃗u1 + (a1 + a2 )⃗u2 + · · · + an ⃗un . Because we know α, · · · , ζ = 0,
all of the scalars must be 0, or they must be a1 = −an , a1 = −a2 , a2 = −a3 etc. It appears in only the
case that a1 , · · · , an = 0 will both sets be linearly independent.

5) Suppose B = {⃗b1 , ⃗b2 , · · · , ⃗bn } is a basis for a vector space V. Prove that the set B ′ =
{⃗b1 , ⃗b2 , · · · , ⃗bn−1 , ⃗b1 + ⃗b2 + · · · + ⃗bn } also constitutes a basis for V.
Proof. First, we note that since B is a basis, it must be linearly independent, indicating that if α1⃗b1 + α2⃗b2 +
· · · + αn⃗bn = 0, then ∀i ⩽ n ∈ N, αi = 0. Suppose that we construct an arbitrary linear combination with
B ′ . We see that for some vector ⃗v ∈ V,

⃗v = β1⃗b + β2⃗b + · · · + βn−1⃗bn−1 + βn (⃗b1 + ⃗b2 + · · · + ⃗bn )

= (β1 + βn )⃗b1 + (β2 + βn )⃗b2 + · · · + (βn−1 + βn )⃗bn−1 + βn⃗bn

Remember that we have determined B is a basis and is linearly independent, meaning that all scalars
(β1 + βn ), etc. must be zero when ⃗v = ⃗0. Thus, B ′ is linearly independent, and we can see that B ′ is a
linear combination of B, hence also making it a basis. ■

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CORRECTIONS

1) I felt both the proofs I gave were sufficient. The first was very similar to yours, while the second did look
at it from a different way (using vector notation). I would appreciate feedback on what I should have done
differently or what I should fix.

2) Again different from your solution, instead of constructing the matrix and using row reduction I simply
used the determinant of the 3 × 3 vector matrix to see if the vectors are linearly independent. Because it
solved to 0, I concluded that the set is linearly dependent.

3) My explanation was more extensive and frankly overkill, but I feel it concludes the same. I will try to
shorten them in the future.

4) I feel the argument I gave was not rigorous enough. Below is the corrected solution:

Let ⃗u1 , · · · , ⃗un (n ⩾ 2) be linearly independent vectors in a vector space V and set

⃗vi−1 = ⃗ui−1 + ⃗ui , i ⩽ n, i, n ∈ N \ {1}; ⃗vn = ⃗un + ⃗u1 .

Investigate whether ⃗v1 , · · · ,⃗vn are linearly independent as well.

Solution: Because {⃗u1 , · · · , ⃗un } are linearly independent, we know that for α⃗u1 + · · · + ζ⃗un = 0, α, · · · , ζ =
0. So, because the vectors {⃗v1 , · · · ,⃗vn } are linear combinations of vectors ⃗ui , we see that a1⃗v1 + · · · + an⃗vn =
a1 (⃗u1 + ⃗u2 ) + · · · + an (⃗un + ⃗u1 ) = (a1 + an )⃗u1 + (a1 + a2 )⃗u2 + · · · + an ⃗un . Because we know α, · · · , ζ = 0,
all of the scalars must be 0, or they must be a1 = −an , a1 = −a2 , a2 = −a3 etc. It appears in only the
case that a1 , · · · , an = 0 will both sets be linearly independent. Furthermore, we see that the first n − 1
of the previous equations yield that an = (−1)n−1 an , while the last requires a1 = −an . It can hence be
shown that ak = 0 for all k if and only if (−1)n−1 = −1, that is when n is even or n − 1 is odd. Hence, if
n is even, then the set {v1 , · · · ,⃗vn } is linearly dependent, and likewise if n is odd they are linearly independent.

5) This proof seems okay to me, but I think it would be helpful to add the βn = αn and βi = αi − αn .