Section 4.3
Section 4.3
Spanning Space
Section 4. 3
v = v1 e1 + v2 e2 + · · · + vn en
Example
Consider the vectors u = (1, 2, −1) and v = (6, 4, 2) in R 3 . Show that
w = (9, 2, 7) is a linear combination of u and v and that w′ = (4, −1, 8)
is not a linear combination of u and v.
(9, 2, 7) = k1 (1, 2, −1) + k2 (6, 4, 2) = (k1 + 6k2 , 2k1 + 4k2 , −k1 + 2k2 )
k1 + 6k2 = 9
2k1 + 4k2 = 2
−k1 + 2k2 = 7
(4, −1, 8) = k1 (1, 2, −1) + k2 (6, 4, 2) = (k1 + 6k2 , 2k1 + 4k2 , −k1 + 2k2 )
k1 + 6k2 = 4
2k1 + 4k2 = −1
−k1 + 2k2 = 8
Example
Determine whether the vectors v1 = (1, 1, 2), v2 = (1, 0, 1), and
v3 = (2, 1, 3) span the vector space R 3 .
b = k1 v1 + k2 v2 + k3 v3
or
(b1 , b2 , b3 ) = (k1 + k2 + 2k3 , k1 + k3 , 2k1 + k2 + 3k3 )
has a nonzero determinant. But this is not the case here since
det(A) = 0 (verify), so v1 , v2 , and v3 do not span R 3 .
Example
Determine
whether the set S spans P2 .
a. S = 1 + x + x 2 , −1 − x, 2 + 2x + x 2
b. S = x + x 2 , x − x 2 , 1 + x, 1 − x
Since the matrix A has two identical rows it follows that det(A) = 0, so
parts (e) and (g) of that theorem imply that the system is inconsistent
for some choice of a, b, and c; and this tells us that S does not span
P2 .
−a+b+c
1 0 0 0 2
0 1 0 −a+b−c
0 2
0 0 1 −1 a
so is consistent for every choice a, b, and c. Thus, the vectors in S
span P2 , which we can express by writing span(S) = P2 .
Example
In each
part, determine
whether
the set
S spans
M22 . a.
1 2 1 0 1 2 1 1
S= , , ,
0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1
1 0 −1 0 0 0 0 1
b. S = , , ,
0 0 1 0 1 0 −1 1