Linear Algebra [math325] vector space

Chapter 2
Vector spaces
The axioms of a vector space
Definition (field): Let K be a set of numbers. We shall say that K together with the operation
addition and multiplication denoted by ( ) is a field if it satisfies the following
conditions:

are elements of K, then and are also elements of K.

, then is also an element of K. If furthermore, , then is

an e/t of K.

The elements 0 and 1 are elements of K.

Example: We observe that both R and C are fields.

 Let us denote the set of rational numbers by , i.e. the set of all fractions , where
are integers, and . Then it is easily verified that is a field.
 Let denote the set of all integers. Then is not a field, because condition (b) above is not

satisfied. Indeed, if n is an integer , then is not an integer (except in the

trivial case that ). For instance is not an integer.

Remark: The essential thing about a field is that it is a set of elements which can be added and
multiplied, in such a way that addition and multiplication satisfy the ordinary rules
of arithmetic, and in such a way that one can divide by non-zero elements.

Let K, L be fields, and suppose that K is contained in L (i.e. that K is a subset of L). Then we
say that K is a subfield of L. Thus every one of the fields which we are considering is a
subfield of the complex numbers. In particular, we can say that is a subfield of , and is
a subfield of .

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Let K be a field. Elements of K will also be called numbers (without specification) if the
reference to K is made clear by the context, or they will be called scalars.
We are now ready to define the central algebraic object of Linear Algebra called vector spaces
over afield K.
Definition (vector space): let K be a field. A vector space V over the field K is a triple
( ) Consisting of a set V and two operations addition and multiplication
satisfying the following axioms called vector space axioms.
Given elements u, v, w of V:
1.
2. Commutative:
For all elements u, v of V, we have Note: .
3. Associativity:
( ) ( ).
4. Existence of additive identity:
There is an element of V, denoted by 0, such that for all elements u of V,
5. Existence of additive inverse
Given an element u of V, there exists an element - u in V such that ( ) .
6. If c is a number, then ( )
If a, b are two numbers, then ( ) .
7. If a, b are two numbers, then ( ) ( ).
8. For all elements u of V, we have (1 here is the number1)
Those eight properties are called axioms of vector spaces.
If a set fails to satisfy at least one of the above axioms then it is not a vector space.
Note:
 To show that a set is not a vector space it is suffices to find at least one axiom
which is not satisfied.
 Elements of the vector space V are called vectors.
Example 1: Consider sets 2 over the field 
Clearly, for V = 2 and k =, axiom 1 and axiom 2 are hold true.

The element 0 of 2 that satisfied the 3rd axiom is 0 = (0, 0).

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The other 5 properties can be easily verified. Hence 2 is a vector space over .

Example 2: Let V = 2 and K = ℂ

For any u, v  2, we have u + v  2.

But for a  ℂ, au is not always in 2.

Particularly if we take a = 3i and u = (1, -2), au = (3i, -2i)  2 .

Hence 2 is not vector space over the field k= ℂ.

Thus when dealing with vector spaces, we shall always specify the field over which we
take the vector space.

Example 3: Show that * √ √ + is a vector space over the field ,

under usual addition and scalar multiplication.
Proof:
* √ √ +
Let √ √ and √ √

Addition:
1. Closurity:
√ √ √ √
( ) ( )√ ( )√ ,Since ( ), ( ), ( )
2. Commutativity :
√ √ √ √
( ) ( )√ ( )√
( ) ( )√ ( )√
3. Associativity:
Let
( )
, ( )- , ( )-√ , ( )- √
=,( ) - ,( ) -√ ,( ) -√
( ) ( )√ ,( )- √ √ √
( )

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4. Existence of identity:
√ √
√ √ , then √ √ √ √
5. Existence of inverse
Let √ √ , √ √
So, ( ) ( ) ( )√ ( )√
6. Scalar multiplication
Let [ √ √ ] √ √

( ) ,( ) ( )√ ,( )- √ -
[ √ √ ] [ √ √ ]
. Let
( ) ( )( √ √ ) ( ) ( ) √ ( ) √

=[ √ √ ] [ √ √ ]
. Let
( ) [ ( √ √ )] [( √ √ )]
( ( ) ( )√ ( )√ ) ( ) ( ) √ ( ) )√ ) ( )
. Let
[ √ √ ] √ √
Consequently, ( ) is a vector space over the field .

Example 4: Let be the set of n-tuples of elements of K

Let ( ) and ( ) be elements of .
We define ( ).
If ( ) . Then V is a vector space.
The zero elements is the n-tuple ( ), with all its coordinates equal to O.
. Show that v is a vector space over k.
Ex.

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Example 5: Let V be the set of second degree polynomials. For any

( )( ) ( ) ( ), ( ) and the zero 0 of V is the zero
function ( ) . Show that V is not a vector space over R.
Proof
Let ( ) ( )
But ( ) ( ) , V is not closed under vector addition.
Example 6: All polynomial functions over with constant term 1 is not a vector space.
Proof:
Let * +
If ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Exercise 1: show that
a) is a vector space over ,
b) is a vector space over .

Exercise 2: . Let vector addition and scalar multiplication are defined as follows:
( ) ( ) ( ) and ( ) ( ) . Verify V is not a
vector space over .
Lemma: in any vector space V, for any we have;
1.
2.
3.
Proof

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2.1 sub spaces, linear combination and generator

Definition: Let be a vector space over the field and let be anon empty subset of V. if
closed under the operation addition and scalar multiplication that is defined on V,
then is called sub space of V.

That means if is said to be a subspace of V if it satisfies the following conditions:

i. For v, w are elements of W, if their sum is also an element of .
ii. If is an element of and c a number, then is an element of .
iii. The element 0 of V is also an element of

Then since the above eight axioms are true, itself is a vector space.
Example 1: Let and let be the set of vectors in whose last coordinate is equal to
. Then is a subspace of V,
Solution

Example 2: Let be a vector space. A be a vector in . Let W be the set of all elements B in
such that B· A = 0. i.e. B is perpendicular to A. Then show that W is a subspace
of .
Proof:
Let
i. Since , then 0 is in W.
ii. Suppose that B, C are perpendicular to A.
i.e B· A = 0 and B· c = 0

Claim
To show that B + C is in W
i.e (B + C).A=0
Now (B + C)· A = B· A + C· A = 0, so that B + C is also perpendicular to A.
iii. let , then ( ) ( ) , so that is perpendicular to A. This
proves that W is a subspace of .

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Example 3: Let V be the set of all functions of into . Then V is a vector space over .
Let W be the set of all continuous functions. Then W is a subspace of v.
Proof:
i. The zero function is continuous. Thus, the zero vector is element of W.
ii. If are continuous functions, then is continuous.
iii. If c is a real number, then is continuous.
Hence W is a subspace of the vector space of all functions of in to .i.e. W is a
subspace of V.

Example 4: let be a set of continuous function on R. Let U be the set of differentiable

functions from in to .show that U is a sub space of V.
Solution
i. If are differentiable functions, then their sum is also differentiable.
ii. If c is a real number, then is differentiable.
iii. The zero function is differentiable. Hence U is a subspace of V.
In fact U is a subspace of W (in the example above), because every differentiable function is
continuous.
Example 5: Consider H = {(x, y): x, y   and x + 4y = 0}. Show that H is a sub space of 2 over .
Solution

To show that H is a subspace of 2, it is enough to show the above three properties hold in H.

Let u = (x1, y1) and w = (x2, y2) be in H. Then x1 + 4y1 = 0 and x2 + 4y2 = 0

u + w = (x1 + x2, y1 + y2) and (x1 + x2) + 4(y1 + y2) = x1 + 4y + x2 + 4y2 = 0 + 0 = 0

Which shows u  w  H .

For a   , au  ax1 , ax2  and ( ax1 )  4( ax2 )  a( x1  4 x 2 ) = 0a = 0.

Hence au  H. Now, the element O of 2 is (0, 0). 0 + 4(0) = 0. Hence O = (0, 0) is in H.

 H is a subspace of 2

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Theorem: Let V be a vector space and let be subspaces of V. then the intersection of U and
W is a subspace of V.

Proof: exercise
Example: Let U, W be subspaces of a vector space . By , we denote the set of all
elements with . Then verify that is a subspace
of .
is said to be generated by U and W, and called the sum of .
Solution

Exercise:
1. Show that the following sets of elements in form subspaces.
a) The set of all ( ) such that .
b) The set of all ( ) .
c) The set of all ( ) such that .
2. Show that the following sets of elements in form subspaces.
a) The set of all ( ) such that .
b) The set of all ( ) such that .
c) The set of all ( ) such that .
3. Let K be a subfield of a field L. Show that L is a vector space over K. In particular, and
are vector spaces over .
4. Let K be the set of all numbers which can be written in the form √ , where a, b are
rational numbers. Show that K is a field.
5. Let K be the set of all numbers which can be written in the form , where a, b are
rational numbers. Show that K is a field.
6. Let Show that the set of all vectors such
that is perpendicular to both is a subspace.
7. Suppose V is a nonempty subset of . Addition in is defined as
( ) ( ) ( ), and. ( ) ( ). Is V a vector space over ?
8. Show that the set of all positive real numbers, with redefined to equal the
usual , respectively, is a vector space. What is the "zero vector?"

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Definition (Linear Combinations ): Let V be an arbitrary vector space, and let be

elements of V .Let be numbers. An expression of type
is called a linear combination of .

Example 1: Consider the vectors ( ) ( ) in .

i. Show that ( ) is a linear combination of U and V.
ii. Show that ( ) is not a linear combination of U and V.
iii. Show that ( ) is a linear combination of ( )
( )

Solution:
i. ( ) to be a linear combination of ( ) ( ), there must be
scalars a and b such that
i.e ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Therefore W is a linear combination of U and V.

ii. ( ) to be a linear combination of U and V there must be scalars a and b such that

( ) ( ) ( )

But ( ) . /

Hence there are no scalars a and b which makes is true.

Consequently, W is not a linear combination of U and V.

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Example 2: Show that the following are true.

a. The vector ( ) is a linear combination of ( )( ) ( ).
b. The vector ( ) is not a linear combination of ( )( ) ( ).
Solution

Example 3: Let W be the set of all linear combinations of . Then W is a subspace of

V.
Proof:
i. Let and be numbers. Then
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Thus the sum of two elements of W is again an element of W.

ii. If c is a number, then ( )
is a linear combination of , and hence is an element of W
iii. is an element of W.
This proves that W is a subspace of V.
The subspace W as above is called the subspace generated by .
If , i.e. if every element of V is a linear combination of , then we say that
generate V.

Generators (Spans)
Definition: (Span of a set) let * + be a set of vectors in a vector space V, the set
of all linear combination of the vectors in S is called the span of S and it is denoted
by ( ).

That is ( ) * +

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Definition: (Generator (spanning set) of a vector space

Let S be a non empty subset of a vector space V. Then S is said to be the generator of
V( or S spans V) if each element of V can be expressed as a linear combination of the
elements of S.

Notes: If S is a generator of a vector space V. then

 Span(S)=V
 V is spanned ( generated ) by S

Example 1: *( )( )( ) * + show that S is the spanning set of .

Solution:
Let ( ) be arbitrary element in
Now ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( )
is a linear combination of elements of S.
Since is arbitrary elements of , then S spans .
Example 2: Show that *( )( ) * + is the spanning set of .
Ex.

Example 3: Show that the set *( )( )( )+ span .

Solution:
Let ( ) arbitrary vector in
We need to show that there are scalars a, b and c such that
Let( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )

{ , ,

Thus ( ) is a linear combination of ( )( )( ), and hence V spans .

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Definition: Let V be a vector space over the field K, and let be elements of V. We
say that are:
1. Linearly dependent over K if there exist elements not all equal
to 0 such that .
2. : if are numbers such that
, then

Example 1: Consider the vectors v1 = (1, -1,1) , v2 = (2, 0, -1) and v3 = (2, -2, 2)

i. Let a1v1 + a2v2 = (0, 0, 0)

a1v1 + a2v2 = (0, 0, 0)
a1 (1, -1, 1) + a2 (2, 0, -1)= (0, 0, 0)
(a1 + 2a2, -a1, a1 – a2)= (0, 0, 0)
 a1 + 2a2 = 0, -a1 = 0 and a1 – a2 = 0

 a1 = 0 and a2 = 0
Hence v1 & v2 are linearly independent.

i) Let a1v1 + a2v3 = (0, 0, 0)

 a1 (1, -1, 1) + a2 (2, -2, 2)=(0, 0, 0)
(a1 + 2a2, -a1 – 2a2 , a1 +2 a2)=(0, 0, 0)
 a1 + 2a2 = 0, -a1 – 2a2 = 0 and a1 +2 a2 = 0

 a1 = -2a2

Take a1 = 2 and a2 = -1, we get 2(1, -1, 1) + (-1) (2, -2, 2) = 0.

As the constants are not all equal to zero, then v1 and v3 are linearly dependent vectors.

Example 2: Let and consider the vectors ( ),…, ( )

show that are linearly independent.
Solution

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Example3: Show that the vectors ( ) ( ) ( ) are linearly

independent.
Solution

Exercise:
1. Prove that the four vectors ( ), ( )( ) and ( ) in form a linearly
dependent set over , but any three of them are linearly independent over .
2. Prove that the three vectors ( )( ) ( ) form a linearly independent set
over
3. Prove that the three vectors ( )( ) ( ) form a linearly dependent

Theorem: A set S with two or more vectors is:

1. Linearly dependent if and only if at least one of the vectors in S is expressible as a linear
combination of the other vectors in S.
2. Linearly independent if and only if no vector in S is expressible as a linear combination of
the other vectors in S.

Proof 1)
) Let * + be a set with two or more vectors.
If we assume that S is linearly dependent, then there are scalars not all zero such
that .
Without loss of generality assume
as a linear combination of the other

vectors in S.
if is expressible as a linear combination of
the other vectors in S.
) Assume that at least one of the vectors; say in S is expressed as a linear
combination of the other vectors in S.

Then,
are linearly dependent.

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Proof 2): Exercise

Example: Let V be the vector space of polynomials of degree 3 over . Determine whether
are linearly independent or linearly dependent. Where
a.
b.

Solution:
a. Let
( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
The coefficient of the powers of t must be each zero ( to get the zero polynomial)
Therefore we must have

Solving the above system of equations, we obtain only

are linearly independent.
Remark:
a. Any super set of a linearly dependent set is linearly dependent.
b. Any subset of linearly independent is linearly independent.
c. A set containing a zero vector * + is linearly dependent.
d. A set containing a single non zero vector is linearly independent.
e. A set of vectors that contains a zero vector is linearly dependent.
Verify them Exercise

Geometric interpretation of linearly independence

In a set of two vectors is said to be independent if and only if the vectors do not lie on
the same line when they placed with their initial points at the origin.
Examples:

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In , a set of three vectors is linearly independent if and only if the vectors do not lie in
the same plane when they are placed with their initial points at the origin.

1.3 Bases and Dimension of a vector space

Definition: If elements of a vector space v are linearly independent, and generate
V then the set * + is called a basis of V.

We shall also say that the elements constitute or form a basis of V.

Thus * + is said to be a basis for a vector space V if

i. are linearly independent.
ii. .

Example 1: Show that e1 = (0, -1) and e2 = (2, 1) are a basis of 2.
Solution:

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Here we have to show that

i) e1 and e2 are linearly independent

ii) They generate 2 i.e every element (x,y) of 2 can be written as a linear
combination of e1and e2.
i) Let a1 e1 + a2 e2 = (0, 0)
 a1(0, -1) + a2(2,1) = (0, 0)
 2a2 = 0 and –a1 + a2 = 0
 a2 = 0 and a1 = 0
 e1 and e2 are linearly independent

ii) Let (x, y) = a1e2 + a2 e2

 (x, y) = (0, -a1) + (2a2, a2)
 x = 2a2 and y = -a1 + a2
x x  2y
 a2 = and a1 = a2 – y = (*)
2 2 …… ……….

x  2y x
Since a1= and a2 = are elements of real number Therefore, any given (x, y), we can
2 2
obtained a real number a1 and a2 such that (x, y) can be written as a linear combination of e1 and
e2 as

i.e (x, y) =  x  2 y  (0,  1)   x  (2, 1)

 2  2

4  6 4
For example, (4, 3) =   (0,1)    (2,1)
 2  2
Or (4, 3) = -(0, -1) + 2(2, 1)

Note that {(1, 0), (0, 1)} is also a basis of 2. They are called standard basis 2.
Hence a vector space can have two or more basis. Find other bases of 2.

The standard basis vectors of form a basis of .

Example2: Let ( ) ( ) ( ). Show that the set

* + is a basis for .

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Solution:
i) W.t.s. S spans
Let ( ) be an arbitrary vector in . We must show the existence of
scalars a, b and c such that

Now ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( )

This gives

S spans

iii. To prove S is linearly independent exercise

Example 3: determine whether ( ) ( ) form a basis for 3.
Solution

It is clear that ( ) ( ) are linearly independent but they do not

generate 3. Because there are no real numbers x and y for which
( ) ( ) ( ) Holds true
)+ is not a basis for  .
3
Hence *( ) (

Example 4: Show that the vectors ( ) ( ) form a basis of .

Solution:
We have to show that
i) ( ) ( ) are linearly independent vectors and
ii) *( ) ( )+ Generate .
To prove linear independence, suppose that a, b are numbers such that
( ) ( ) ( )

The given vectors are linearly independent.

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Next, let ( ) be an arbitrary element of . We have to show that there exist

numbers such that ( ) ( ) ( )
Now ( ) ( ) ( )
and
Again subtract the first equation from the second. We find

Whence and

This proves what we wanted.

Definition: Let B = {e1 , e2, …, en} be a basis of V. since B generates V, any u in V can be
represented as u = a1e1 + a2 e2 + … + an en.
Then the vector (a1, a2, …, an) is called coordinate vector of u with respect to the
basis B, and we call ai the i – th coordinate of v.

Example 1: in example 1 above since *( )( ) + is a basis of 2, and

( ) ( ) ( ) Then -1 and 2 are coordinates of (4, 3) .
Solution
Example 2: Find the coordinates of (1, 0) with respect to the two vectors ( ) ( ),
which form a basis.
Solution
We must find numbers a, b such that ( ) ( ) ( )
Now ( ) ( ) ( )

and

Hence the coordinate vector of ( ) with respect to ( ) ( ) is ( )·

Example 3: Consider the set V of all polynomial functions f:    which are of degree less
than or equal to 2.
solution

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Every element of V has the form f(x) = bx2 + cx + d, where b, c, d  

V is a vector space over  (show).
Clearly, e1 = x2, e2 = x and e3 = 1 are in V .
Then a1e1 + a2 e2 + a3e3 = O (0 is the zero function)
 a1x2 + a2e2 + a3 e3 = 0 for all x
 a1 = a2 = a3 = 0.
This shows e1, e2 and e3 are linearly independent
Let bx2 + cx + d = a1e1 + a2e2 + a3e3 for all x
 bx2 + cx + d = a1x2 + a2x + a3
 b = a1, c = a2 and d = a3
Thus e1, e2 and e3 generate V.
 {x2, x1 1} is a basis of V and the coordinate vector of an element f(x) = bx2 + cx + d
is (b, c, d) Then the coordinate vector of x2 – 3x + 5 is (1, -3, 5)

Exercise:1 Let be the set of polynomial functions Show that the polynomials

( ) – , ( ) and ( )

a) Form a basis of a vector space V.

b) Determine the coordinate of ( ) – with respect to the basis
* ( ) ( ) ( )+

1. Let V be the vector space of functions generated by the two functions , .

Then show that the coordinates of the function with respect to the basis
{ , } are (3, 5).

Theorem: Let V be a vector space over the field K. Let {v1, v2,…,vn} be a basis of V. If w1, w2,…,wm
are elements of V, where m > n, then w1, w2, …, wm are linearly dependent.

Proof (reading assignment)

Theorem: Let V be a vector space and suppose that one basis B has n elements, and another basis W
has m elements. Then m = n.

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Proof: As B is a basis, m > n is impossible. Otherwise by theorem 3.4.1, W will be a linearly

dependent set. Which contradicts the fact that W is a basis. Similarly, as W is a basis, n >
m is also impossible. Hence n = m.

Definition: Let be a set of elements of a vector space V. Let r be a positive integer .

We say that * + is a maximal subset of linearly independent elements if
1. are linearly independent, and

2 Given any , the elements are linearly dependent.

Example: In  3 {(1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 1), (0, 2, 1)} is a maximal set of linearly independent
elements.
We now give criteria which allow us to tell when elements of a vector space constitute a basis.

Theorem: Let * + be a set of generators of a vector space V. Let * + be a maximal

subset of linearly independent elements. Then * + is a basis of V.

Proof:
What we need to show is to prove generate V.
We shall first prove that each is a linear combination of . By hypothesis,
given there exist numbers not all 0 such that
Furthermore, because otherwise, we would have a relation of linear
dependence for . Hence we can solve for namely

Hence is a linear combination of .

Next, let V be any element of V. There exist numbers such that

In this relation, we can replace each ( ) by a linear combination of .

If we do this, and then collect terms, we find that we have expressed V as a linear combination
of
This proves that Generate V, and hence form a basis of V.

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Exercise
1. Express the given vector X as a linear combination of the given vectors ,
and find the coordinates of X with respect to .
a. ( ) ( ) ( )
b. ( ) ( ) ( )
c. ( ) ( ) ( )
d. ( ) ( ) ( )
2. Let ( ) ( ) be two vectors in the plane. If , show that
they are linearly dependent. If , show that they are linearly independent
3. Express the following as a linear combinations of

a.
b.
c.
d.
4. Find two different bases for the subspace of all vectors in whose first two components
are equal.
5. Suppose V is a vector space of dimension 7 and W is a subspace of dimension 4.
True or false:
a. Every basis for W can be extended to a basis for V by adding three more vectors;
b. Every basis for V can be reduced to a basis for W by removing three vectors.

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DIMENSION OF A VECTOR SPACE

Theorem: Let be a vector space over the field K. Let * + be a basis of over K. Let
be elements of V, and assume that . Then are linearly
dependent.

Proof:
Assume that are linearly independent. Since
* + is a basis, there exist elements such that

By assumption, we know that , and hence some .

After renumbering if necessary, we may assume without loss of generality that say
. We can then solve for , and get

The subspace of V generated by contains , and hence must

be all of V since generate V. The idea is now to continue
our procedure stepwise, and to replace successively by
, until all the elements are exhausted, and
generate V. Let us now assume by induction that there is an integer r
with such that, after a suitable renumbering of , the
elements generate V. There exist elements

In K such that

Theorem: Let be a vector space and suppose that one basis has n elements, and another basis
has m elements. Then .

Definition: The dimension of a vector space V over a field k, denoted by ( ) , is

defined to be the number of vectors in a basis for V.

We define the dimension of a zero vector space to be zero.

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) is a basis of  over  ,
3
Example1: Since ( ) ( ) (
3
then the dimension 3 of  over R is 3.

Example2: The dimension of R over R is 1. In fact, {1} is a basis of  , because

a .1  0  a  0 and any number x   has a unique expression x  x.1 .

Example 3: since the n vectors ( )( ) ( ) form a basis of over

the field R, then the vector space has dimension n over ,

Example 4: The dimension of over is n.

Note: For any field K, the vector space has dimension n over K.

Remark: A vector space which has a basis consisting of a finite number of elements, or the
zero vector space, is called finite dimensional. Other vector spaces are called infinite
dimensional. It is possible to give a definition for an infinite basis.

Example 5: Let K be a field. Then K is a vector space over itself, and it is of dimension 1. In
fact, the element 1 of K forms a basis of K over K, because any element has a
unique expression as .

Example 6: Let V be a vector space. A subspace of dimension 1 is called a line in V. A

subspace of dimension 2 is called a plane in V.

Theorem: Let V be a vector space of dimension n, and let be linearly independent

elements of V. Then constitute a basis of V.

Proof:
By one of the previous theorems * + is a maximal set of linearly independent elements
of V.
Hence it is a basis by the above theorem.

Corollary: Let be a vector space and let be a subspace. If .

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Corollary: Let be a vector space of dimension n. Let r be a positive integer with r < n, and let
be linearly independent elements of V. Then one can find elements
such that is a basis of V.

Proof: Theorem: Let be a vector space having a basis consisting of n elements. Let W be a
subspace which does not consist of 0 alone. Then W has a basis, and the dimension of
.

Let be a non-zero element of W. If { } is not a maximal set of linearly independent

elements of W, we can find an element of W such that are linearly independent.
Proceeding in this manner, one element at a time, there must be an integer such that we
can find linearly independent elements , and such that * +
is a maximal set of linearly independent elements of W. by the previous theorems we cannot go
on indefinitely finding linearly independent elements, and the umber of such elements is at most
n).Thus, we conclude that * + is a basis for W.

1.4 Direct sum and Direct product

Definition: Let V be a vector space over the field K. Let U, W be subspaces of V. We define
the sum of U and W which is denoted by to be the subset of V consisting of
all sums with . .

i.e * +
The sum of U and W, is a subspace of V.

1. Let
Then (u1  w1 )  (u 2  w2 )  u1  u 2  w1  w2  U  W

2. let c  K , then c(u1  w1 )  cu1  cw1  U  W

3. Finally, 0  0 U  W . This proves that U + W is a subspace.

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Those implies is subspace of V.

Definition: Let V be a vector space over the field K. Let U, W be subspaces of V. Then we say
that V is a direct sum of U and W if for every element v of V there exist unique
elements such that .

 When V is the direct sum of subspaces U, W we write

Theorem: Let V be a vector space over the field K, and let U, W be subspaces. If
i) , and
ii) * +,

Then V is the direct sum of .

Proof:
Given , by the first assumption, there exist elements such that
. Thus V is the sum of U and W.
To prove it is the direct sum, we must show that these elements u, w are uniquely determined.
Suppose there exist elements such that
Thus Which I equivalent to
But . By the second assumption, we conclude that
, whence thereby proving our theorem.

Example: Let, V  R 3 , U  (0,0, x3 ), x3   , and W  ( x1 , x2 ,0), x1 , x2  .

Show that V is the direct sum of W and U.
Solution:

Since U and W are vector spaces, and U and W are subset of V, they are subspaces of V.

The sum of U and W is

U + W = ( x1 , x2 , x3 ), x1 , x2 , x3    R  V
3

Thus; V = U + W

The intersection of U and W is: U  W  0

Therefore, V is the direct sum of W and U.

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Theorem: Let V be a finite dimensional vector space over the field K. Let W be a subspace. Then
there exists a subspace U such that V is the direct sum of Wand U.

Theorem: If V is a finite dimensional vector space over K, and is the direct sum of subspaces
then .

Definition :( DIRECT PRODUCT) Suppose that U, W are arbitrary vector spaces over the
field K (i.e. not necessarily subspaces of some vector space). Then the vector
defined by

*( ) + is called the direct product of U and W.

The addition and the product on such pairs component wise is defined as

1. if ( )( ) , then ( ) ( ) ( )
2. If , then ( ) is given by ( ) ( ).

Note: that the direct product of the vector space U and W, is a vector space.

If n is a positive integer, written as a sum of two positive integers, , then we see that
is the direct product . We note that ( ) .
Remark: we can extend the notion of direct sum and direct product of several factors. Let
be subspaces of a vector space V. We say that V is the direct sum

if every element has a unique expression as a sum

A "unique expression" means that if

, then .
Similarly, let be vector spaces. We define their direct product

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to be the set of n-tupl es ( ) with . Addition is defined component wise, and

multiplication by scalars is also defined component wise. Then this direct product is a
vector space.

Exercises:
1. Let , and let W be the subspace generated by (2, 1). Let U be the subspace
generated by (0, 1). Show that V is the direct sum of . If is the subspace
generated by (1, 1), show that V is also the direct sum of
2. Let V = K3 for some field K. Let W be the subspace generated by (1, 0, 0), and let U
be the subspace generated by (1, 1, 0) and (0, 1, 1). Show that V is the direct sum of
W and U.
3. Let A, B be two vectors in R2, and assume neither of them is O. If there is no number
c such that , show that A, B form a basis of , and that is a direct sum of
the subspaces generated by A and B respectively.
4. Prove the last assertion of the section concerning the dimension of U x W If
* + is a basis of U and * + is a basis of W, what is a basis of U x W?

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