1.

Vector Space:
Definition: A vector space is a mathematical structure consisting of a set of vectors,
which can be added together and multiplied ("scaled") by numbers, called scalars. These
operations satisfy certain properties such as closure under addition and scalar
multiplication, associativity, commutativity, existence of identity elements, and
distributivity.
Properties:
• Closure under Addition and Scalar Multiplication: For any two vectors u and
v in the vector space V and any scalar c in the underlying field, the sum u + v and
the scalar product cu belong to V.
• Associativity and Commutativity of Addition: Addition of vectors is
associative and commutative.
• Existence of Additive and Multiplicative Identities: There exist two special
vectors in V: the zero vector, denoted as 0, which serves as the additive identity,
and the scalar 1, which serves as the multiplicative identity.
• Distributive Property: Scalar multiplication distributes over vector addition.
• Existence of Additive Inverses: For every vector v in V, there exists a vector -v
in V such that v + (-v) = 0.
Example 1: The set of all polynomials of degree at most n with real coefficients forms a
vector space denoted as P_n(ℝ).
Example 2: The set of all continuous functions on the interval [0, 1] forms a vector space
under pointwise addition and scalar multiplication.

2. Subspace:
Definition: A subspace of a vector space V is a subset U of V that is itself a vector space
under the operations of addition and scalar multiplication defined in V.
Properties:
• Contains the Zero Vector: The zero vector of V belongs to U.
• Closed under Vector Addition: If u and v are any vectors in U, then their sum u
+ v is also in U.
• Closed under Scalar Multiplication: If u is any vector in U and c is any scalar,
then the scalar product cu is also in U.
Example 1: The set of all solutions to a homogeneous system of linear equations forms a
subspace of the vector space of all possible solutions.
Example 2: In ℝ³, the xy-plane (the set of all vectors of the form (x, y, 0)) is a subspace.
3. Basis:
Definition: A basis for a vector space V is a set of vectors that are linearly independent
and span the entire vector space, meaning that any vector in V can be expressed as a
unique linear combination of the basis vectors.
Properties:
• Minimal Spanning Set: The basis vectors span the vector space V.
• Linear Independence: No vector in the basis can be expressed as a linear
combination of the other basis vectors.
Example 1: The standard basis for ℝ³ is {(1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (0, 0, 1)}.
Example 2: In ℝ², the vectors (1, 0) and (0, 1) form a basis.

4. Null Space:
Definition: The null space (or kernel) of a matrix A, denoted as Null(A), is the set of all
vectors x such that Ax = 0, where 0 is the zero vector.
Properties:
• Contains the Zero Vector: The zero vector belongs to the null space.
• Closed under Vector Addition: If u and v are in the null space, then their sum u
+ v is also in the null space.
• Closed under Scalar Multiplication: If u is in the null space and c is a scalar,
then cu is also in the null space.
Example 1: Consider the matrix A = [[1, 0], [0, 1]]. The null space of A is the set {(0,
0)}.
Example 2: For the matrix B = [[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6]], the null space of B is the set of all
vectors of the form (x, -2x, x), where x is a scalar.

5. Column Space:
Definition: The column space of a matrix A, denoted as Col(A), is the vector space
spanned by the columns of A.
Properties:
• Contains the Zero Vector: The zero vector belongs to the column space.
• Closed under Vector Addition: If u and v are in the column space, then their
sum u + v is also in the column space.
• Closed under Scalar Multiplication: If u is in the column space and c is a
scalar, then cu is also in the column space.
Example 1: For the matrix A = [[1, 0], [0, 1]], the column space of A is ℝ².
 Example 2: Consider the matrix B = [[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6]]. The column space of B is the
span of the vectors (1, 4) and (2, 5).

6. Dimension of Vector Space:

7. Rank:
Definition: The rank of a matrix A is the dimension of its column space, or equivalently,
the maximum number of linearly independent columns in A.
Properties:
• The rank of a matrix is equal to the number of pivots in its reduced row echelon
form.
Example 1: Consider the matrix A = [[1, 0], [0, 1]]. The rank of A is 2.
Example 2: For the matrix B = [[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6]], the rank of B is 2.