Math 115AH

Homework 5
Due Sunday, February 12, 2023
Remember: If a problem deals with an arbitrary vector space V or W , do not assume that
the vector space is finite-dimensional unless the problem explicitly says so! In particular, if
you have to use a basis of the space, don’t write it as B = {~x1 , . . . , ~xn }, as that assumes
the basis is finite, and thus the space is finite-dimensional. A few hints for some problems
appear on the last page.

1. Label each of the following statements as true or false. If true, explain why briefly (no
need to give a rigorous proof). If false, either give a counterexample or say how the
statement should be modified to make it true. In all of the following, V and W are
finite-dimensional vector spaces over a field F , and T : V → W .
(a) If T (~x + ~y ) = T (~x) + T (~y ) for all ~x, ~y ∈ V , then T is linear.
(b) T is one-to-one if and only if the only vector ~x such that T (~x) = ~0 is ~x = ~0.
(c) If T is linear, then nullity(T ) + rank(T ) = dim(W ).
(d) If T is linear, then T maps linearly independent subsets of V to linearly indepen-
dent subsets of W .
(e) Given any distinct ~x1 , ~x2 ∈ V and any ~y1 , ~y2 ∈ W , there exists a linear function
T : V → W such that T (~x1 ) = ~y1 and T (~x2 ) = ~y2 .

2. Let V and W be vector spaces over a field F , and let T : V → W . Prove the following:
(a) If T is linear, then T (~0V ) = ~0W .
(b) T is linear if and only if, for all ~x, ~y ∈ V and all c ∈ F , we have

T (c~x + ~y ) = cT (~x) + T (~y ).

(c) If T is linear, then for all ~x, ~y ∈ V , T (~x − ~y ) = T (~x) − T (~y ).

(d) T is linear if and only if, for all ~x1 , ~x2 , . . . , ~xn ∈ V and all a1 , a2 , . . . , an ∈ F , we
have !
X n X n
T ai~xi = ai T (~xi )
i=1 i=1

3. Suppose that T : R2 → R2 is linear, T (1, 0) = (1, 4), and T (1, 1) = (2, 5). What is
T (2, 3)? Is T one-to-one?

4. Is there a linear transformation T : R3 → R2 such that T (1, 0, 3) = (1, 1) and T (−2, 0, −6) =
(2, 1)? Explain.
 5. Let V and W be vector spaces, let T : V → W be linear, and let {w ~ 1, w ~ k } be a
~ 2, . . . , w
linearly independent set of k vectors from im(T ). Suppose that S = {~v1 , ~v2 , . . . , ~vk } is
chosen so that T (~vi ) = w
~ i for each i = 1, 2, . . . , k. Prove that S is a linearly independent
subset of V .

6. Let V and W be vector spaces and T : V → W be linear.

(a) Prove that T is one-to-one if and only if, for all linearly independent subsets L of
V , T (L) is linearly independent.
(In short: The image under T of any linearly independent set is linearly indepen-
dent. Or even shorter: T maps linearly independent sets to linearly independent
sets.)
(b) Suppose that T is one-to-one, and S is a subset of V . Prove that S is linearly
independent if and only if T (S) is linearly independent.
(c) Suppose β = {~v1 , ~v2 , . . . , ~vn } is a basis for V , and T is both one-to-one and onto.
Prove that T (β) = {T (~v1 ), T (~v2 ), . . . , T (~vn )} is a basis for W .

7. Recall that P (R) denotes the vector space of all polynomials with coefficients in R.
Define a function T : P (R) → P (R) by
Z x
T (f ) = f (t) dt
0

Prove that T is linear and one-to-one, but not onto. What is im(T )?

8. Define a function T : P (R) → P (R) by

T (f ) = f 0

Prove that T is linear and onto, but not one-to-one. What is ker(T )?

9. Let V and W be finite-dimensional vector spaces, and let T : V → W be linear.

(a) Prove that if dim(V ) < dim(W ), then T cannot be onto.
(b) Prove that if dim(V ) > dim(W ), then T cannot be one-to-one.

10. Let V be a finite-dimensional vector space, and let T : V → V be linear.

(a) Suppose that V = im(T ) + ker(T ). Prove that V = im(T ) ⊕ ker(T ).
(b) Suppose that im(T ) ∩ ker(T ) = {~0}. Prove that V = im(T ) ⊕ ker(T ).
In both proofs, point out where you have used the fact that V is finite-dimensional.
 11. Let V = P (R), the vector space of all polynomials with real coefficients.
(a) Let T : V → V be as defined in problem 8 above:

T (f ) = f 0

Prove that V = im(T ) + ker(T ), but V is not the direct sum of im(T ) and ker(T ).
(b) Now let T : V → V be as defined in problem 7 above:
Z x
T (f ) = f (t) dt
0

Prove that im(T )∩ker(T ) = {~0}, but V is not the direct sum of im(T ) and ker(T ).
Compare these two examples to the results of problem 10 above. What can you con-
clude?

Recall the following fact from problem 11 on Homework 3: if W1 and W2 are subspaces of a
vector space V such that V = W1 ⊕ W2 , then for all ~x ∈ V , there exist unique w ~ 1 ∈ W1 and
~ 2 ∈ W2 such that ~x = w
w ~1 + w
~ 2 . The following definition, which makes use of this important
fact, is used in the next few exercises, and will show up in other places in the coming weeks.
Definition. Let V be a vector space, and let W1 and W2 be subspaces such that V =
W1 ⊕ W2 . Define a function T : V → V as follows: for any ~x ∈ V , let w ~ 1 and w
~ 2 be the
unique vectors in W1 and W2 , respectively, such that ~x = w
~1 + w
~ 2 . Then

T (~x) := w
~1

This function is called the projection of V onto W1 along W2 .

(Occasionally, but only when the direct sum being used is clear from context, we’ll drop the
“along W2 ” and just call this the “projection of V onto W1 ”.)
12. (a) Let T : R2 → R2 be the projection onto the y-axis along the x-axis. Sketch a
graph/figure illustrating this function, and find a formula for T (x, y) for any
(x, y) ∈ R2 .
(b) Let T : R2 → R2 be the projection onto the y-axis along the line y = x (that is,
along the subspace W2 = { (a, a) | a ∈ R }). Sketch a graph/figure illustrating
this function, and find a formula for T (x, y) for any (x, y) ∈ R2 .
13. Let V , W1 , and W2 be as in the definition above, and let T : V → V be the projection
onto W1 along W2 .
(a) Prove that T is linear.
(b) Describe T in the case where W1 = V .
(c) Describe T in the case where W1 = {~0}.
14. (a) Let V be a finite-dimensional vector space, and let W be a subspace of V . Prove
that there exists a subspace W2 of V and a function T : V → V such that T is the
projection onto W along W2 .
(b) Give an example of a (finite-dimensional) vector space V and a subspace W such
that there are two different projections onto W along two different subspaces.
Hints for a few exercises:
A general hint for this whole assignment: For any problem that explicitly deals with finite-
dimensional vector spaces, you probably want to use the Rank–Nullity Theorem!
Hint for Problem 10: Problem 9 from Homework 4 will be really helpful.
Hint for problem 14: See problem 10 from Homework 4. Also for part (b), you could just
look up the page slightly.