UNIT 3.

Vector spaces

Exercise 1. Show that the set R2 is not a vector space when we consider the addition, +, and the scalar multiplication,
∗, defined by
(x1 , x2 ) + (y1 , y2 ) = (x1 + y1 , x2 + y2 ) ∀(x1 , x2 ), (y1 , y2 ) ∈ R2 ,
λ ∗ (x1 , x2 ) = (λx1 , 0) ∀λ ∈ R, ∀(x1 , x2 ) ∈ R2 .

Exercise 2. Determine if the following sets are subspaces of R3 :

(a) U1 = {(x, y, 0) ; x, y ∈ R},
(b) U2 = (x, y, z) ∈ R3 ; x2 + y = 0 ,


(c) U3 = (x, y, z) ∈ R3 ; 2x + 3y + z = 0 ,


(d) U4 = (x, y, z) ∈ R3 ; 2x + 3y + z = 1 .


Exercise 3. Show that the set of symmetric matrices of order n × n is a subspace of Mn (R).

Exercise 4. Study if the set U = a + bx2 ; a, b ∈ R is a subspace of R3 [x] (which stands for the space of polynomials
with real coefficients and degree not greater than 3).
Exercise 5. Let S be an indexed set of vectors in R4 . Answer the following questions (remember you must justify your
answers):

(a) If S consists of five vectors, can it be linearly independent?

(b) If S contains four vectors, can it span R4 ?
Exercise 6. Let ~u and ~v denote two linearly independent vectors. What can you deduce about 3~u and 5~v ?
Exercise 7. Find the values of a such that the following set of vectors of M2 (R) is linearly independent:
     
1 2 1 3 3 7
S= , ,
1 2 0 2 2 a
Determine the dimension of hSi depending on the values of a.
Exercise 8. Let us consider the following indexed set of vectors in R2 [x]:
S = 1 + x + x2 , 1 + 3x − x2 , x2 .


Is S linearly independent? what is its rank? Justify your answer.

Exercise 9. Consider the vector space R3 and let S = {~v1 = (1, 1, α), ~v2 = (1, α, 1), ~v3 = (α, 1, 1)} where α ∈ R.
Determine the dimension of hSi as a function of α.
Exercise 10. Show that S = {(1, 1, 1), (1, 3, 1), (−2, 1, 3)} defines a basis of R3 and find the coordinates of (1, 1, 2) with
respect to it.
Exercise 11. In the space of polynomials of degree not greater than 2, R2 [x], consider
f (x) = x2 − 2x + 1.

(a) Show that the polynomials f (x), f 0 (x) and f 00 (x) define a basis of R2 [x].
(b) Find the coordinates of g(x) = x2 + 2x − 1 with respect to the basis B = {f (x), f 0 (x), f 00 (x)} .
Exercise 12. Given the polynomials p1 (x) = 1, p2 (x) = (x + 1)2 , p3 (x) = x, p4 (x) = x3 , prove that they define a basis of
the vector space of polynomials of degree not greater than 3. Find the coordinates of q(x) = (x + 1)3 with
respect to such basis.

Exercise 13. Let V be a real vector space and B = {~v1 , ~v2 , ~v3 } a basis of V . Consider a vector ~x ∈ V whose coordinates
with respect to the basis B are (1, 2, 3). Find the coordinates of ~x with respect to the basis B 0 = {~u1 , ~u2 , ~u3 },
where
~u1 = 3~v1 + 2~v2 − ~v3 ,
~u2 = 4~v1 + ~v2 + ~v3 ,
~u3 = 2~v1 − ~v2 + ~v3 .

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Exercise 14. In the vector space R4 , consider ~x = (3, 1, 2, 6)B relative to the basis
B = {~u1 = (1, 0, 2, 1), ~u2 = (0, 3, 2, 1), ~u3 = (3, 4, 1, 0), ~u4 = (1, 1, 0, 1)} .
Find the coordinates of ~x with respect to the standard basis of R4 .
Exercise 15. In the vector space R3 , consider the bases
B1 = {~u1 = (1, 0, 1), ~u2 = (0, 1, 1), ~u3 = (0, 0, 1)} ,
B2 = {~v1 = (1, 4, 2), ~v2 = (1, 1, 2), ~v3 = (−3, −9, −5)} .
(a) Find the change of basis matrix P1 associated to changing from the standard basis to B1 .
(b) Get the coordinates in the standard basis of (1, 2, 3)B1 .
(c) Find the change of basis matrix P2 associated to changing from the standard basis to B2 .
(d) Express the change of basis matrix associated to changing from B2 to B1 in terms of P1 and P2 .
Exercise 16. Consider the space of polynomials of degree not greater than 2, R2 [x] and its two bases
B1 = x, 1 + x2 , x + x2 , B2 = 1, 1 + x, x2 .
 

Find the change of basis matrix associated to changing from B1 to B2 , and write p(x) = 4 − 2x − x2 as a
linear combination of the polynomials in each basis.
Exercise 17. In the vector space of square matrices of order 2, M2 (R), consider the following two bases:
               
1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1
B1 = , , , and B2 = , , ,
0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1
Find the change of basis matrix corresponding to changing from B1 to B2 and deduce the coordinates of
A = (1, 1, 1, 1)B2 with respect to B1 .
Exercise 18. Consider the subspaces of R4 given by
(a) V1 = {(x, y, z, t) ; x + y + z = 0};
(b) V2 = h (1, 1, 1, 1), (1, 2, 3, 4) i;
(c) V3 = {(x, y, z, t) ; x = α + β, y = α + γ, z = γ + δ, t = α + δ for some α, β, γ, δ ∈ R}.
For each of these subspaces, determine if the vector ~v = (1, 0, −1, −2) belongs to it; if so, compute the
coordinates of ~v with respect to a basis of such subspace.
Exercise 19. Find the sum and the intersection of the vector subspaces V1 and V2 of R3 spanned by the following indexed
vector sets:
S1 = {(1, 0, 1), (1, 1, 0)} and S2 = {(1, 2, 3), (0, 0, 1)} , respectively.

Exercise 20. Consider the subspaces V and W of R3 ,

V = {(x1 , x2 , x3 ) ∈ R3 ; x1 = λ + µ, x2 = µ, x3 = λ + 2µ for some λ, µ ∈ R},
W = {(y1 , y2 , y3 ) ∈ R3 ; y1 − y2 + 2y3 = 0}.
Find:
(a) a basis of V ;
(b) a basis of V + W ;
(c) a basis of V ∩ W ;
(d) an implicit representation of V ∩ W ;
(e) a basis of a complement of V + W in R3 ;
(f) the coordinates of ~u = (2, 3, 5) relative to the basis of V + W obtained in (e).

Exercise 21. In the vector space of square matrices of order 2, M2 (R), find the intersection and the sum of the subspaces
V1 and V2 spanned by the indexed vector sets
       
1 2 −1 1 2 −1 1 −1
S1 = , and S2 = , , respec.
1 0 1 1 0 1 3 7

Exercise 22. Let E be a K-vector space and B = {~u1 , ~u2 , ~u3 , ~u4 } a basis of E. Consider the subspace U of E defined
implicitly with respect to the basis B by
x1 − x2 + x3 − x4 = 0,
2x1 + x2 + 3x3 + x4 = 0.
Find some parametric equations that define U , as well as a basis of U .

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Exercise 23. Consider the following vector subspaces of R3 :
U1 = (x, y, z) ∈ R3 ; x + y + z = 0 ,

U2 = {(t, 2t, 3t); t ∈ R} .
Show that R3 = U1 ⊕ U2 .

Exercise 24. Let U and V be the subspaces of R4 spanned by the vectors ~u1 = (1, −1, 0, 1), ~u2 = (−1, 0, 1, 0), ~u3 =
(1, −2, 1, 2), and ~v1 = (0, −1, 1, 1), ~v2 = (1, −2, 1, 2), respectively. Represent the subspace U ∩ V , both with
an implicit description and with parametric equations; deduce its dimension.
Exercise 25. Consider the subspace of R3 given by
U1 = {(x, y, z); x + y − z = 0, x + y + z = 0.} .
Find U2 a complement of U1 , and represent the vector ~u = (1, 2, 1) as a sum of a vector ~u1 ∈ U1 and another
vector ~u2 ∈ U2 .
Exercise 26. Let R3 [x] denote the vector space of polynomials with real coefficients and degree not greater than 3.
(a) Find a basis for R3 [x] and deduce its dimension.

(b) Show that U = ax3 + bx2 + bx; a, b ∈ R is a subspace of R3 [x]. Find a basis of U and deduce its
dimension.
(c) Let V be the subspace of R3 [x] spanned by q1 (x) = 2x3 +x2 +x, q2 (x) = x2 +1 and q3 (x) = 2x3 −x2 +x−2.
Find a basis of V and deduce its dimension.
(d) Find a basis of each of the following subspaces: U + V and U ∩ V . Deduce their dimensions.
Exercise 27. Consider the following subsets of the vector space M2 (R):
  
x1 x2
A= ; 3x1 = 3x2 − x3 ,
x3 x4
  
x1 x2
B= ; x3 = 2 ,
x3 x4
  
x1 x2
C= ; x1 = x2 − x3 .
x3 x4

(a) Determine if they are subspaces of M2 (R). If so, find the corresponding dimension and a basis.
(b) Is A ∪ C a subspace? Justify your answer.
(c) Is A + C a subspace? If so, determine its dimension and a basis.
(d) Is A ∩ C a subspace? If so, calculate its dimension, a basis and an implicit representation.