Lecture Notes: Compiled by Maqsood Ahmad (A.P. Maths.

) for
students of CUI, Lahore. (FA20-BSM-A, SP20-BSE-A & B).
Note: (Courtesy) Material for this lecture is selected from Kolman book,
Virtual University, Lahore, Virtual COMSATS and Housten University hand
outs.
Lecture 12+13 consists of the files named as (LA-Lecture 12+13, Examples of subspaces,
Vector Space-applications)
Objective of Lecture 12+13:-
(1) To check and verify that “whether given set 𝑉 satisfy axioms of vector space.”
(2) To check and verify that “whether given subset 𝑊of a set 𝑉 satisfy axioms of subspace.”
(3) Whether vector 𝒗 can be written as “linear combination” of given vectors 𝒗𝟏 , 𝒗𝟐 and 𝒗𝟑 .
Linear independence of vectors, Linear span of vectors.

After studying this lecture, You are desired to do

Home Work: Do Questions 1-14 of Exercise 4.2, Questions 5-18 and 32-34 of
Exercise 4.3, following link is extremely helpful in this regard.
https://www.slader.com/textbook/9780132296540-elementary-linear-algebra-with-
applications-9th-edition/196/

Chapter 4: Real Vector Spaces

In this chapter, we first recall the notion of 2-vectors (𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑅2 ) and 3-
vectors (𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑅3 ) along with their properties. As a consequence, we can
extend the properties of 3-vectors to n-vectors (𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑛 ). Many concepts
concerning vectors in 𝑅𝑛 can be generalized to other mathematical systems (set of
Matrices, set of Polynomials etc.). We can think of a vector space in general, as a
collection of objects that behave as vectors do in 𝑅𝑛 . The objects of such a set are
called vectors. For applications of vector spaces see file named “Vector Space-
applications”. And above all, we all are living in a vector space (3𝐷 𝑜𝑟 𝑅3 ).
Section 4.1: Read from book on your own as it just deals with 2-vectors and 3-
vectors.
Section 4.2: Definition: (Vector Space)

Examples of vector spaces: The following examples will specify a non-empty set 𝑉 along with
two operations: addition (⨁) and scalar multiplication (⨀); then we shall verify that the Ten
vector space axioms are satisfied.
 n
Hence, R is the real vector space with the standard operations of addition and scalar multiplication.
 2
Note: For 𝒏 = 𝟏, 𝟐, 𝟑, we get three important vector spaces, namely, R (the real numbers), R
3
(the vectors in the plane), and R (the vectors in 3-space), respectively.
Example 2:
Show that the set V of all 2x2 matrices with real entries is a vector space if vector addition is
defined to be matrix addition and vector scalar multiplication is defined to be matrix scalar
multiplication.
𝒂𝟏𝟏 𝒂𝟏𝟐
𝑽 = 𝑴𝟐𝟐 = [𝒂 | 𝒂𝒊𝒋 ∈ 𝑹]
𝟐𝟏 𝒂𝟐𝟐
Note: 𝑽 = 𝑴𝒎×𝒏 = 𝑺𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒏 is vector space and 𝑴𝟐×𝟐 is
subspace of 𝑴𝒎×𝒏 .
Example 3: Show that set of all polynomials of degree less or equal to n is
vector space.
Solution: We Know,
𝑽 = 𝑷𝒏 (𝒕) = {𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒏 + 𝒂𝒏−𝟏 𝒕𝒏−𝟏 + ⋯ + 𝒂𝟐 𝒕𝟐 + 𝒂𝟏 𝒕 + 𝒂𝟎 : 𝒂𝒊 ∈ 𝑹} i.e. 𝑽 is set of
all polynomials of degree less or equal to 𝒏.
Let 𝒑(𝒕), 𝒒(𝒕), 𝒓(𝒕) ∈ 𝑽, then
𝒑(𝒕) = 𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒏 + 𝒂𝒏−𝟏 𝒕𝒏−𝟏 + ⋯ + 𝒂𝟏 𝒕 + 𝒂𝟎 and
𝒒(𝒕) = 𝒃𝒏 𝒕𝒏 + 𝒃𝒏−𝟏 𝒕𝒏−𝟏 + ⋯ + 𝒃𝟏 𝒕 + 𝒃𝟎
𝒓(𝒕) = 𝒄𝒏 𝒕𝒏 + 𝒄𝒏−𝟏 𝒕𝒏−𝟏 + ⋯ + 𝒄𝟏 𝒕 + 𝒄𝟎
Property

Property1 (commutative law)

𝒒(𝒕) + 𝒑(𝒕) = (𝒃𝒏 + 𝒂𝒏 ) 𝒕𝒏 + (𝒃𝒏−𝟏 + 𝒂𝒏−𝟏 ) 𝒕𝒏−𝟏 + ⋯ + (𝒃𝟏 + 𝒂𝟏 )
+ (𝒃𝟎 + 𝒂𝟎 ) = 𝒑(𝒕) + 𝒒(𝒕)
Property2( Associative law)
Let 𝒑(𝒕), 𝒒(𝒕), 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓(𝒕) ∈ 𝑽, Then it is evident/obvious that
𝒑(𝒕) + (𝒒(𝒕) + 𝒓(𝒕)) = (𝒑(𝒕) + 𝒒(𝒕)) + 𝒓(𝒕)
Property3 (Additive identity) 0=𝟎 = 0𝑡 𝑛 + 0𝑡 𝑛−1 + 0𝑡 𝑛−2 + ⋯ + 0𝑡 + 0
Property4 (Additive inverse) 𝑠(𝑡) = 2𝑡 𝑛 − 5𝑡 𝑛−1 + 𝑡 𝑛−2 + ⋯ − 6𝑡 + √7
 −𝑠(𝑡) = −2𝑡 𝑛 + 5𝑡 𝑛−1 − 𝑡 𝑛−2 + ⋯ + 6𝑡 − √7
(b) Properties of scalar Multiplication.
(5) for scalar 𝑐 ∈ 𝑅 and 𝑝(𝑡), 𝑞(𝑡) ∈ 𝑉
𝑐 . (𝑝(𝑡) + 𝑞(𝑡)) = 𝑐 . 𝑝(𝑡) + 𝑐 . 𝑞(𝑡) − − − (5)
𝐿. 𝐻. 𝑆 = 𝑐 . (𝑝(𝑡) + 𝑞(𝑡))
= 𝑐 . ((𝒂𝒏 + 𝒃𝒏 ) 𝒕𝒏 + (𝒂𝒏−𝟏 + 𝒃𝒏−𝟏 ) 𝒕𝒏−𝟏 + ⋯ + (𝒂𝟏 + 𝒃𝟏 )𝒕
+ (𝒂𝟎 + 𝒃𝟎 ))

= 𝑐 . (𝒂𝒏 + 𝒃𝒏 ) 𝒕𝒏 + 𝑐 . (𝒂𝒏−𝟏 + 𝒃𝒏−𝟏 ) 𝒕𝒏−𝟏 + ⋯ + 𝑐 . (𝒂𝟏 + 𝒃𝟏 ) 𝒕

+ 𝑐 . (𝒂𝟎 + 𝒃𝟎 )
= (𝑐 𝒂𝒏 + 𝑐 𝒃𝒏 ) 𝒕𝒏 + (𝒄. 𝒂𝒏−𝟏 + 𝒄. 𝒃𝒏−𝟏 ) 𝒕𝒏−𝟏 + ⋯ + (𝒄. 𝒂𝟏 + 𝒄. 𝒃𝟏 ) 𝒕
+ (𝒄. 𝒂𝟎 + 𝒄. 𝒃𝟎 )
= (𝑐 𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒏 + 𝒄. 𝒂𝒏−𝟏 𝒕𝒏−𝟏 + ⋯ + 𝑐 𝒂𝟏 𝒕 + 𝑐 𝒂𝟎 ) + (𝑐 𝒃𝒏 𝒕𝒏 + 𝒄. 𝒃𝒏−𝟏 𝒕𝒏−𝟏 + ⋯
+ 𝑐 𝒃𝟏 𝒕 + 𝑐 𝒃𝟎 )
= 𝑐. ( 𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒏 + 𝒂𝒏−𝟏 𝒕𝒏−𝟏 + ⋯ + 𝒂𝟏 𝒕 + 𝒂𝟎 ) + 𝒄. ( 𝒃𝒏 𝒕𝒏 + 𝒃𝒏−𝟏 𝒕𝒏−𝟏 + ⋯ + 𝒃𝟏 𝒕
+ 𝒃𝟎 )
= 𝑐. 𝑃(𝑡) + 𝑐. 𝑞(𝑡) = 𝑅. 𝐻. 𝑆
 𝑽 = 𝑷𝒏 (𝒕) = {𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒏 + 𝒂𝒏−𝟏 𝒕𝒏−𝟏 + ⋯ + 𝒂𝟏 𝒕 + 𝒂𝟎 : 𝒂𝒊 ∈ 𝑹}
𝑽 = 𝑷𝒏 (𝒕) = {(𝒂𝒏 , 𝒂𝒏−𝟏 , 𝒂𝒏−𝟐 , … , 𝒂𝟏 , 𝒂𝟎 ): 𝒂𝒊 ∈ 𝑹} = 𝑹𝒏+𝟏
Note: In Example 3, For 𝒏 = 𝟏, 𝟐, 𝟑, we get special cases 𝑷(𝒕) = {𝒂𝟎 + 𝒂𝟏 𝒕 ∶
𝒂𝒊 ∈ 𝑹} (all linear functions or straight lines in 2D), 𝑷𝟐 (𝒕) = {𝒂𝟎 + 𝒂𝟏 𝒕 +
𝒂𝟐 𝒕𝟐 ∶ 𝒂𝒊 ∈ 𝑹} (all parabolas and straight lines) and 𝑷𝟑 (𝒕) = {𝒂𝟎 + 𝒂𝟏 𝒕 +
𝒂𝟐 𝒕𝟐 + 𝒂𝟑 𝒕𝟑 : 𝒂𝒊 ∈ 𝑹} (all cubic functions, all parabolas and straight lines),
respectively. Since 𝑷𝐧 (𝒕) is a vector space so are the 𝑷(𝒕), 𝑷𝟐 (𝒕) and 𝑷𝟑 (𝒕).
Exercise 4.2 (Important)
See separate file named (some solved problems of 4.2)
 Section 4.3: Definition (Subspace)
Let 𝑽 be a vector space and 𝑾 a nonempty subset of 𝑽. Then 𝑾 is said to be a
subspace of 𝑽 if following three properties hold in 𝑾

(1) The zero vector of 𝑽 is in 𝑾. (optional)

(2) For each vector 𝒖 and 𝒗 in 𝑾 we have 𝒖⨁𝒗 in 𝑾.
(3) For each 𝒖 ∈ 𝑾 and each scalar 𝒄 ∈ 𝑹, we get 𝒄⨀𝒖 ∈ 𝑾.

Examples of Subspaces:
See uploaded file with name “examples of subspaces.”
Definition (Linear combination of vectors)

See figure below to understand geometric interpretation of linear combination

of two vectors.

𝟏
𝟑
Examle 1(LC) : Let 𝒗𝟏 , 𝒗𝟐 and 𝒗𝟑 be vectors in 𝑹 , such that 𝒗𝟏 = [ 𝟐 ], 𝒗𝟐 =
−𝟏
𝟔 𝟒 𝟗
[𝟒], 𝒗𝟑 = [−𝟏]. Show that 𝒗 = [𝟐] is a linear combination of 𝒗𝟏 , 𝒗𝟐 and 𝒗𝟑 .
𝟐 𝟖 𝟕
Solution: Consider definition of L.C. 𝒗 = 𝒂𝟏 𝒗𝟏 + 𝒂𝟐 𝒗𝟐 + 𝒂𝟑 𝒗𝟑 … … … (𝟏), Our
goal is to find scalars 𝒂𝟏 , 𝒂𝟐 and 𝒂𝟑 .
𝟗 𝟏 𝟔 𝟒
{(𝟏) ⇒ [𝟐] = 𝒂𝟏 [ 𝟐 ] + 𝒂𝟐 [𝟒] + 𝒂𝟑 [−𝟏],
𝟕 −𝟏 𝟐 𝟖
𝟗 𝒂𝟏 𝟔𝒂𝟐 𝟒𝒂𝟑
[𝟐] = [ 𝟐𝒂𝟏 ] + [𝟒𝒂𝟐 ] + [−𝒂𝟑 ]
𝟕 −𝒂𝟏 𝟐𝒂𝟐 𝟖𝒂𝟑
𝟗 𝒂𝟏 + 𝟔𝒂𝟐 + 𝟒𝒂𝟑
[𝟐] = [ 𝟐𝒂𝟏 + 𝟒𝒂𝟐 − 𝒂𝟑 ]
𝟕 −𝒂𝟏 + 𝟐𝒂𝟐 + 𝟖𝒂𝟑
Equating both sides we get,
𝒂𝟏 + 𝟔𝒂𝟐 + 𝟒𝒂𝟑 = 𝟗 ;
𝟐𝒂𝟏 + 𝟒𝒂𝟐 − 𝒂𝟑 = 𝟐 ;

−𝒂𝟏 + 𝟐𝒂𝟐 + 𝟖𝒂𝟑 = 𝟕}

Observe: The problem of linear combination boils down to a problem of non-
homogeneous system of linear equations. I believe you can find scalars using
Gauss-Elimination method (Echelon form). Here we go.
𝟏 𝟔 𝟒 | 𝟗 𝑹 − 𝟐𝑹 𝟏 𝟔 𝟒 | 𝟗
𝟐 𝟏
[𝑨|𝒃] = [ 𝟐 𝟒 −𝟏 | 𝟐 ] 𝑹 + 𝑹 ~ [𝟎 −𝟖 −𝟗 | −𝟏𝟔 ]
𝟑 𝟏
−𝟏 𝟐 𝟖 | 𝟕 𝟎 𝟖 𝟏𝟐 | 𝟏𝟔
𝑹𝟐
𝟏 𝟔 𝟒 | 𝟗 𝟏 𝟔 𝟒 | 𝟗
𝑹𝟑 + 𝑹𝟐 ~ [𝟎 −𝟖
−𝟗 | −𝟏𝟔 ] 𝑹 ~ [𝟎 𝟗/𝟖 | 𝟐 ]
−𝟖 𝟏
𝟑
𝟎 𝟎 𝟑 | 𝟎 𝟎 𝟎 𝟏 | 𝟎
𝟑
Now rewrite this equivalent simple system,
𝟗
𝒂𝟑 = 𝟎; 𝒂𝟐 + 𝒂𝟑 = 𝟐 ; 𝒂𝟏 + 𝟔𝒂𝟐 + 𝟒𝒂𝟑 = 𝟗
𝟖
Using backward substitution, we get 𝒂𝟑 = 𝟎 ; 𝒂𝟐 = 𝟐 ; 𝒂𝟏 = −𝟑
 𝟗 𝟏 𝟔 𝟒
Hence [𝟐] = −𝟑 [ 𝟐 ] + 𝟐 [𝟒] + 𝟎 [−𝟏].
𝟕 −𝟏 𝟐 𝟖

Examle 2 (Spanning set): Let 𝑆 = {𝒗𝟏 , 𝒗𝟐 , 𝒗𝟑 } be vectors in 𝑹𝟑 , such that 𝒗𝟏 =

𝟏 𝟔 𝟒
[ 𝟐 ], 𝒗𝟐 = [𝟒], 𝒗𝟑 = [−𝟏]. Whether these vectors span 𝑹𝟑 ?
−𝟏 𝟐 𝟖
Solution: The set of vectors 𝒗𝟏 , 𝒗𝟐 and 𝒗𝟑 spans 𝑹𝟑 if every vector in 𝑹𝟑 can be
written as a linear combination (L.C.) of 𝒗𝟏 , 𝒗𝟐 and 𝒗𝟑 .
𝒂
Take any arbitrary vector say 𝒗 = [𝒃] from 𝑹𝟑 .
𝒄
Consider 𝒗 = 𝒂𝟏 𝒗𝟏 + 𝒂𝟐 𝒗𝟐 + 𝒂𝟑 𝒗𝟑 … … … (𝟏), Our goal is to find scalars 𝒂𝟏 ,
𝒂𝟐 and 𝒂𝟑 in terms of 𝒂, 𝒃 and 𝒄.
𝒂 𝟏 𝟔 𝟒
(𝟏) ⇒ [𝒃] = 𝒂𝟏 [ 𝟐 ] + 𝒂𝟐 [𝟒] + 𝒂𝟑 [−𝟏],
𝒄 −𝟏 𝟐 𝟖
𝒂 𝒂𝟏 𝟔𝒂𝟐 𝟒𝒂𝟑
[𝒃] = [ 𝟐𝒂𝟏 ] + [𝟒𝒂𝟐 ] + [−𝒂𝟑 ]
𝒄 −𝒂𝟏 𝟐𝒂𝟐 𝟖𝒂𝟑
𝒂 𝒂𝟏 + 𝟔𝒂𝟐 + 𝟒𝒂𝟑
[𝒃] = [ 𝟐𝒂𝟏 + 𝟒𝒂𝟐 − 𝒂𝟑 ]
𝒄 −𝒂𝟏 + 𝟐𝒂𝟐 + 𝟖𝒂𝟑
Equating both sides we get,
𝒂𝟏 + 𝟔𝒂𝟐 + 𝟒𝒂𝟑 = 𝒂 ; 𝟐𝒂𝟏 + 𝟒𝒂𝟐 − 𝒂𝟑 = 𝒃 ; −𝒂𝟏 + 𝟐𝒂𝟐 + 𝟖𝒂𝟑 = 𝒄
Observe: The problem of spanning set for vector space boils down to a problem
of non-homogeneous system of linear equations. I believe you can find scalars
using Gauss-Elimination method. Here we go.
 𝟏 𝟔 𝟒 | 𝒂 𝑹 − 𝟐𝑹 𝟏 𝟔 𝟒 | 𝒂
𝟐 𝟏
[𝑨|𝒃] = [ 𝟐 𝟒 −𝟏 | 𝒃 ] 𝑹 + 𝑹 ~ [𝟎 −𝟖 −𝟗 | 𝒃 − 𝟐𝒂 ]
𝟑 𝟏
−𝟏 𝟐 𝟖 | 𝒄 𝟎 𝟖 𝟏𝟐 | 𝒄 + 𝒂
𝑹𝟐
𝟏 𝟔 𝟒 | 𝒂 𝟏 𝟔 𝟒 | 𝒂
𝑹𝟑 + 𝑹𝟐 ~ [𝟎 −𝟖 −𝟗 | 𝒃 − 𝟐𝒂 ] −𝟖
𝑹𝟑
~ [𝟎 𝟏 𝟗/𝟖 | (𝟐𝒂 − 𝒃)/𝟖 ]
𝟎 𝟎 𝟑 | 𝒃+𝒄−𝒂 𝟎 𝟎 𝟏 | (𝒃 + 𝒄 − 𝒂)/𝟑
𝟑
Now, rewrite this equivalent simple system,
𝒃+𝒄−𝒂 𝟗 𝟐𝒂 − 𝒃
𝒂𝟑 = ; 𝒂𝟐 + 𝒂𝟑 = ; 𝒂𝟏 + 𝟔𝒂𝟐 + 𝟒𝒂𝟑 = 𝒂
𝟑 𝟖 𝟖
Using backward substitution, we get
𝟗 𝒃+𝒄−𝒂 𝟐𝒂 − 𝒃
𝒂𝟐 + ( )=
𝟖 𝟑 𝟖
𝟐𝒂 − 𝒃 𝟗 𝒃 + 𝒄 − 𝒂 𝟔𝒂 − 𝟑𝒃 − 𝟗𝒃 − 𝟗𝒄 + 𝟗𝒂 𝟏𝟓𝒂 − 𝟏𝟐𝒃 − 𝟗𝒄
𝒂𝟐 = − ( )=( )=( )
𝟖 𝟖 𝟑 𝟐𝟒 𝟐𝟒
𝟓𝒂 − 𝟒𝒃 − 𝟑𝒄
=( )
𝟖
𝒂𝟏 + 𝟔𝒂𝟐 + 𝟒𝒂𝟑 = 𝒂
𝟓𝒂−𝟒𝒃−𝟑𝒄 𝒃+𝒄−𝒂 𝟐𝟎𝒃+𝟏𝟏𝒄−𝟏𝟕𝒂
→ 𝒂𝟏 = 𝒂 − 𝟔𝒂𝟐 − 𝟒𝒂𝟑 = 𝒂 − 𝟔 ( ) − 𝟒( )=
𝟖 𝟑 𝟏𝟐
𝒃+𝒄−𝒂 𝟓𝒂−𝟒𝒃−𝟑𝒄 𝟐𝟎𝒃+𝟏𝟏𝒄−𝟏𝟕𝒂
𝒂𝟑 = ; 𝒂𝟐 = ; 𝒂𝟏 =
𝟑 𝟖 𝟏𝟐

Hence given set of vectors 𝒗𝟏 , 𝒗𝟐 and 𝒗𝟑 spans 𝑹𝟑 .

𝟒𝟎+𝟕𝟕−𝟏𝟓𝟑
Verification of answer: a=9, b=2, c=7, Then 𝒂𝟏 = = −𝟑
𝟏𝟐

𝟒𝟓 − 𝟖 − 𝟐𝟏 𝟐+𝟕−𝟗
𝒂𝟐 = = 𝟐; 𝒂𝟑 = =𝟎
𝟖 𝟑
____________________________________________________________
𝒂𝟏 𝒗𝟏 + 𝒂𝟐 𝒗𝟐 + 𝒂𝟑 𝒗𝟑 = 𝟎
𝒂𝟏 𝒆𝟏 + 𝒂𝟐 𝒆𝟐 + 𝒂𝟑 𝒆𝟑 = 𝟎
1 0 0 0
𝒂𝟏 [0] + 𝒂𝟐 [1] + 𝒂𝟑 [0] = [0]
0 0 1 0
 𝒂𝟏 𝟎 𝟎 0 𝒂𝟏 0
𝟎
[ 𝟎 ] + [𝒂𝟐 ] + [ ] = [0] 𝒂
→ [ 𝟐 ] = [ 0]
𝟎 𝟎 𝒂𝟑 0 𝒂𝟑 0

Examle 3: (Linear Independent): Let 𝒗𝟏 , 𝒗𝟐 and 𝒗𝟑 be vectors in 𝑹𝟑 , such that

𝟏 𝟔 𝟒
𝒗𝟏 = [ 𝟐 ], 𝒗𝟐 = [𝟒], 𝒗𝟑 = [−𝟏]. Are these vectors linearly independent?
−𝟏 𝟐 𝟖
Solution: Consider 𝟎 = 𝒂𝟏 𝒗𝟏 + 𝒂𝟐 𝒗𝟐 + 𝒂𝟑 𝒗𝟑 … … … (𝟏), Our goal is to find
scalars 𝒂𝟏 , 𝒂𝟐 and 𝒂𝟑 .
0 𝟏 𝟔 𝟒
(𝟏) ⇒ [0] = 𝒂𝟏 [ 𝟐 ] + 𝒂𝟐 [𝟒] + 𝒂𝟑 [−𝟏],
0 −𝟏 𝟐 𝟖
0 𝒂𝟏 𝟔𝒂𝟐 𝟒𝒂𝟑
𝟐𝒂
[0] = [ 𝟏 ] + [𝟒𝒂𝟐 ] + [−𝒂𝟑 ]
0 −𝒂𝟏 𝟐𝒂𝟐 𝟖𝒂𝟑
0 𝒂𝟏 + 𝟔𝒂𝟐 + 𝟒𝒂𝟑
[0] = [ 𝟐𝒂𝟏 + 𝟒𝒂𝟐 − 𝒂𝟑 ]
0 −𝒂𝟏 + 𝟐𝒂𝟐 + 𝟖𝒂𝟑
Equating both sides we get,
𝒂𝟏 + 𝟔𝒂𝟐 + 𝟒𝒂𝟑 = 0 ;
𝟐𝒂𝟏 + 𝟒𝒂𝟐 − 𝒂𝟑 = 0 ;
−𝒂𝟏 + 𝟐𝒂𝟐 + 𝟖𝒂𝟑 = 0
Observe: The problem of linear independence boils down to a problem of
homogeneous system of linear equations. I believe you can find scalars using
Gauss-Elimination method. Here we go.
𝟏 𝟔 𝟒 | 0 𝑹 − 𝟐𝑹 𝟏 𝟔 𝟒 | 0
𝟐 𝟏
[𝑨|𝒃] = [ 𝟐 𝟒 −𝟏 | 0 ] 𝑹 + 𝑹 ~ [𝟎 −𝟖 −𝟗 | 0 ]
𝟑 𝟏
−𝟏 𝟐 𝟖 | 0 𝟎 𝟖 𝟏𝟐 | 0
𝑹𝟐
𝟏 𝟔 𝟒 | 0 𝟏 𝟔 𝟒 | 0
𝑹𝟑 + 𝑹𝟐 ~ [𝟎 | −𝟖 𝟗/𝟖 | 0 ]
−𝟖 −𝟗 0 ] 𝑹 ~ [𝟎 𝟏
𝟑
𝟎 𝟎 𝟑 | 0 𝟎 𝟎 𝟏 | 0
𝟑
Now rewrite this equivalent simple system,
𝟗
𝒂𝟑 = 0; 𝒂𝟐 + 𝒂𝟑 = 0 ; 𝒂𝟏 + 𝟔𝒂𝟐 + 𝟒𝒂𝟑 = 0
𝟖
Using backward substitution, we get 𝒂𝟑 = 0 ; 𝒂𝟐 = 0 ; 𝒂𝟏 = 0
Hence given set of vectors are linearly independent.
Examle 2:
Figure 4.21 is just for explanation, not to draw in exam.
 𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
Examle 2: The set 𝑾 of all 2 × 3 matrices of the form [ ], where
𝑎 0 0
𝑐 = 𝑎 + 𝑏, is a subspace of 𝑀2×3 . Show that every vector in 𝑾 is a linear
1 0 1 0 1 1
combination of 𝑤1 = [ ] and 𝑤2 = [ ].
1 0 0 0 0 0
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
Solution: 𝑾 = {[ ] : 𝑐 = 𝑎 + 𝑏; 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐 ∈ 𝑅}
𝑎 0 0
Consider 𝑤 ∈ 𝑾, Then
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐 𝑎 𝑏 𝑎+𝑏 𝑎 0 𝑎 0 𝑏 𝑏
𝑤=[ ]=[ ]=[ ]+[ ]
𝑎 0 0 𝑎 0 0 𝑎 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 1 0 1 1
= 𝑎[ ]+𝑏[ ] = 𝑎𝑤1 + 𝑏𝑤2
1 0 0 0 0 0
Hence every vector in 𝑾 can be written as linear combination of 𝑤1 and 𝑤2 .