Homework 3

Math A4600 11 September 2023

Problem 1
Let V be the real vector space of polynomials on the interval [−1, 1] with an inner product defined
by Z 1
⟨f, g⟩ = f (x)g(x) dx.
−1
Let W be the subspace of polynomials of degree less than or equal to 3. Use the Gram-Schmidt
orthogonalization procedure to find an orthogonal basis for W . (Your answer does not have to be
orthonormal.)

Problem 2
Let B(·, ·) be a symmetric bilinear form on a real vector space V and let Q be the associated
quadratic form Q(v) = B(v, v).

(a) Prove that

2 · B(v, w) = Q(v + w) − Q(v) − Q(w).

(b) Let T : V → V be a linear transformation. Call T “norm-preserving” if ∥T (v)∥ = ∥v∥ for all
v ∈ V and call T “inner-product” preserving if ⟨T (v), T (w)⟩ = ⟨v, w⟩ for all v, w ∈ V. Prove that
T is norm-preserving if and only if it is inner-product preserving.

Problem 3
Let B be a bilinear form on an n-dimensional real vector space V . Choose a basis {vi } for V . Let
G be the n × n matrix G = (⟨vi , vj ⟩)i,j whose (i, j)-entry is ⟨vi , vj ⟩.

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(a) Let

a = a1 v1 + a2 v2 + · · · + an vn , and
b = b1 v1 + b2 v2 + · · · + bn vn

be two elements of V. Prove that

 
b1
h i .
B(a, b) = a1 . . . an · G ·  .
 . .
bn

(Hint: Start with the 2-by-2 case if you’re having trouble with this.)

(b) Prove that the bilinear form B is symmetric if and only if the the associated matrix G is
symmetric.

(c) Prove that B is positive definite if and only if G is.

Problem 4

(a) (This is a converse to the previous problem.) Let {v1 , . . . , vn } be a basis for a vector space V
and G an n × n matrix. For
n
X n
X
a= ai vi and b = bi vi , ai , bi ∈ R,
i=1 i=1

define  
b1
h i .
B(a, b) = a1 . . . an · G ·  .. 


bn
Prove that B(·, ·) : V × V → R is a bilinear form on V .

(b) Prove the bilinear form B is symmetric or positive definite if and only if G is.

(c) Let A be an invertible n × n matrix and define wi = Avi . Thus {w1 , . . . , wn } is a new basis
for V and A is the change of basis matrix carrying the basis {vi } into {wi }. How is the matrix
G′ = (⟨wi , wj ⟩)i,j related to G?

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Problem 5

(a) Let V = R2 with the standard inner product and associated norm
" #!
x
Q = x2 + y 2 .
y

Show that for any θ ∈ R, the matrix

" #
cos θ sin θ
κθ =
− sin θ cos θ

acting on column vectors represents a norm-preserving linear transformation of V. That is, show
that
Q(κθ v) = Q(v)

for all v ∈ V, θ ∈ R.

(b) Let A be a symmetric, positive definite 2-by-2 matrix. Define the associated norm for column
vectors v ∈ R2 by
QA (v) = vt Av.

Write the Cholesky decomposition of A as A = U t U for an upper-triangular U . Show that the

matrix U −1 κθ U represents a linear transformation which preserves the norm QA .

Problem 6
Let Q2 be the quadratic form " #!
x
Q2 = x2 − xy + y 2
y

on R2 .

(a) Check that Q2 is positive definite.

(b) What is the matrix A which satisfies

Q2 (v) = vt · A · v

for all v ∈ R2 ?

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(c) Draw the “unit circle”
( " #! )
2 x
(x, y) ∈ R : Q2 =1 .
y

(d) Find the norm-preserving linear transformation T : R2 → R2 such that

" #! " #
1 1
T = .
0 1

(Note: by “norm-preserving” I mean ∥T (v)∥ = ∥v∥ for all v ∈ R2 .) Hint: By the previous problem,
we can write T = U −1 κθ U, for some θ. Solve for θ by solving two linear equations in the two
unknowns cos θ and sin θ.

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