Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Amit Tripathi

Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Qn 1 ∼ 95%

Which of the following options is FALSE about a finite

dimensional vector space V ?
(a) A set containing the 0 vector can never be linearly
independent.
(b) A spanning set of vectors can never contain infinitely many
vectors.
(c) A set of linearly independent vectors can never contain
infinitely many vectors.
(d) A spanning set of vectors can have more vectors than a set of
linearly independent vectors.

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Qn 10 ∼ 94%

Let A be a 4 × 3 matrix and let A : R3 → R4 be the associated

map. Which of the following statements is TRUE ? [Hint: You
may need ”more variables than equations” theorem for some
options.]
(a) A can be a surjective map.
(b) At defines a map R3 → R4 .
(c) A can never be an injective map.
(d) At can never be an injective map.

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations

Definition
Let V and W be vector spaces over F . A linear transformation
from V into W is a function T : V → W such that

T (cα+β) = cT (α)+T (β) for all scalars c ∈ F and for all α, β ∈ V .

The following are immediate:
(a) T (0) = 0.
(b) T (−α) = −T (α).
(c) Id : V → V defined as Id(α) = α for any α ∈ V , is a linear
transformation.
(d) 0 : V → V defined as 0(α) = 0 for any α ∈ V , is a linear
transformation.

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations

Example
Let A be an m × n matrix over F . Then the map

A : Rn → Rm , X 7→ AX ,

is a linear transformation.
Proof: Let X , Y ∈ Rn be two column vectors and c ∈ R be any
scalar. Then

A(cX + Y ) = A(cX ) + A(Y ) = cA(X ) + A(Y ).

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations

Example
Let V = R[x] be the real vector space of polynomials in x. Which
of the following maps T : V → V is a linear transformation:
(a) T (f ) = f 2 for any f ∈ V .
(b) T (f ) = g · f for any f ∈ V , and for a fixed g ∈ V .
(c) T (f ) = f + g for any f ∈ V , and for a fixed g ∈ V .
(d) T (f ) = D(f ) where D is the derivative map i.e.

df
D(f (x)) = .
dx
(e) The evaluation function eva for any a ∈ R.

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations

Example
Let V be the vector space of all continuous functions from R into
R. Define T : V → V as
Z x
T (f )(x) = f (t)dt.
0

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations
Question: Let T : V → V be a linear transformation from V to
itself. Is the composition
T ◦T :V →V
a linear transformation ?

Lemma
Let V1 , V2 and V3 be vector spaces. Let T : V1 → V2 , and
S : V2 → V3 be linear transformations. Then the composed map
S ◦ T : V1 → V3 , is a linear transformation.

Proof.
Let v , v ′ ∈ V1 and c ∈ R. Then

S ◦ T (cv + v ′ ) = S cT (v ) + T (v ′ )

= c(S ◦ T )(v ) + (S ◦ T )(v ′ ).

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Rotation

Example
Consider R2 and rotate by some angle θ around origin
(anticlockwise direction). This defines a map

R θ : R2 → R2 .

Is it a linear transformation?

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Rotation

Example

Figure: Rotation as a linear transformation.

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Rotation
Example
Let V = R2 and let θ be a fixed number. Set
 
cos(θ) − sin(θ)
Rθ = .
sin(θ) cos(θ)

Define a linear transformation

    
2 2 x cos(θ) − sin(θ) x
Rθ : R → R , by v = 7→ .
y sin(θ) cos(θ) y

Thus, Rθ (x, y ) = (x cos(θ) − y sin(θ), x sin(θ) + y cos(θ)).

Observe that
(a) ||v || = ||Rθ (v )||
(b) arg(Rθ (v )) = arg(v ) + θ.
(c) Rθ ◦ Rθ′ = Rθ+θ′ .
(d) Rθ−1 = R−θ .
Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)
Reflection
Example
Consider the map R2 → R2 given by

α 7→ reflection of α over a line (say) x-axis.

Figure: Reflection over x-axis.

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Reflection

Example
With respect to the (ordered) standard basis, reflection over x-axis
can be defined as    
x x
7→ .
y −y
Does two distinct reflections commute? Does a reflection and a
rotation commute?

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations

(a) What are all the linear transformations R → R.

(b) What are all the linear transformations R → R2 .

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations

Example
For any x = (x1 , x2 , x3 ) ∈ R3 , define T : R3 → R2 as

T (x) = (x1 − x2 , 2x3 ).

This is a linear transformation. We can describe it alternatively by

the matrix  
1 −1 0
A= .
0 0 2

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations

Example
Let V be a 2 dimensional vector and let B = {α1 , α2 } be a basis.
Let W be any vector space.
Claim: To define a linear transformation T : V → W , it is
sufficient to give two vectors β1 , β2 ∈ W such that

T (α1 ) = β1 and T (α2 ) = β2 .

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations

Example
Suppose we have given such vectors β1 , β2 ∈ W .
Let α ∈ V be any vector. Then

α = x1 α1 + x2 α2 .

Define
T (α) := x1 β1 + x2 β2 .
Let α′ ∈ V be another vector such that

α′ = x1′ α1 + x2′ α2 .

and c ∈ F be a scalar.

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations

Example
Then by definition of T

T (cα + α′ ) = T ((cx1 + x1′ )α1 + (cx2 + x2′ )α2 )

= (cx1 + x1′ )β1 + (cx2 + x2′ )β2
= c(x1 β1 + x2 β2 ) + (x1′ β1 + x2′ β2 )
= cT (α1 ) + T (α1′ ).

Thus, T is a linear transformation.

Takeaway point: A linear transformations T : V → W can be
defined by giving a function of sets B → W where B is a basis
of V .

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations

Theorem
Let V be a finite dimensional vector space over F and let
{α1 , · · · , αn } be an ordered basis for V . Let W be a vector space
and let β1 , · · · , βn ∈ W be any vectors. Then there exists a
unique linear transformation

T :V →W

such that
T (αi ) = βi , for i = 1, · · · , n.

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations

Proof.
Existence as a map: We first define T for an arbitrary vector
α ∈ V . Since {αi } form a basis of V , there are unique scalars
c1 , · · · , cn , such that

α = c1 α1 + · · · + cn αn .

Define
T (α) = c1 β1 + · · · + cn βn .
This defines a map
T : V → W.
Is T a linear transformation?

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations
Proof.
Let α′ = d1 α1 + · · · + dn αn be another arbitrary vector and let λ
be any scalar. We need to verify that

T (λα + α′ ) = λT (α) + T (α′ ).

Then

T (λα + α′ ) = T (λ(d1 α1 + · · · + dn αn ) + (c1 α1 + · · · + cn αn ))

= T ((λd1 + c1 )α1 + · · · + (λdn + cn )αn )
= (λd1 + c1 )β1 + · · · + (λdn + cn )βn
= λd1 β1 + · · · + λdn βn + c1 β1 + · · · + cn βn
= λT (d1 α1 + · · · + dn αn ) + T (c1 α1 + · · · + cn αn )
= λT (α) + T (α′ ).

Thus, T is a linear transformation.

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)
Linear Transformations

Proof.
Uniqueness: Suppose T ′ be any other linear transformation from
V into W , such that T ′ also satisfies the property

T ′ (αi ) = βi , for i = 1, · · · , n.

Claim T = T ′ .
Let α ∈ V be any arbitrary vector and (as before), and let
α = c1 α1 + · · · + cn αn , be the expression for α in terms of the
basis {αi }. Then

T (α) = T (c1 α1 + · · · + cn αn )
=c1 β1 + · · · + cn βn .

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations

Proof.
Similarly,

T ′ (α) = T ′ (c1 α1 + · · · + cn αn )
=c1 β1 + · · · + cn βn .

This shows that T (α) = T ′ (α) for any vector α ∈ V . Thus,

T = T ′ and the linear transformation T exists uniquely.

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Two important subspaces

Definition
Let T : V → W be a linear transformation. We define the null
space (or the kernel) of T , denoted N(T ), to be the set of all
the vectors α ∈ V such that T (α) = 0.

Definition
The range space (or the image) of T is defined as the set

R(T ) := {β ∈ W | ∃ α ∈ V , T (α) = β}.

Lemma
The null space of T is a vector subspace of V . The range of T is a
vector subspace of W .

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Rank and nullity

Definition
If V is finite dimensional, the nullity of T is the dimension of
N(T ), and the rank of T is the dimension of R(T ).
(a) If V is finite dimensional then the nullity of T is finite.
(b) What about rank of T ?

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Examples of null space and range space

Example
Let V be the vector space of polynomials in x and let

D:V →V

be the differentiation operator.

(a) What is R(D) ?
(b) What is N(D) ?

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Two important subspaces

Example
Let V be the vector space of 2 × 2 matrices in F . Define a map

T : V → V , T (A) = A + At .

(a) Is T a linear transformation?

(b) What is R(T ) and the rank of T ?
(c) What is N(T ) and the nullity of T ?

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Linear Transformations

Example
Let V be the vector space of 2 × 2 matrices over R. Fix a matrix
B ∈ V . Define

T : V → V , T (A) = AB − BA, for any A ∈ V .

(a) Is T a linear transformation?

(b) What is R(T ) and the rank of T ?
(c) What is N(T ) and the nullity of T ?

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Rank and nullity

Example
Fix positive integers m < n. Let V be an n dimensional vector
space and let {α1 , · · · , αn } be a basis for V . Let W be an m
dimensional vector space and let {β1 , · · · , βn } be a basis for W .
Define a linear transformation T : V → W by setting
(
βi , if i ≤ m
T (αi ) =
0, if m < i ≤ n.

Question: What is R(T ) and what is the rank of T ?

Question: What is N(T ) and what is the nullity of T ?
Question: What is dim(V ) − rank(T ) − nullity (T ) ?

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Rank and nullity

Example
Fix positive integers m ≥ n. Let V be an n dimensional vector
space and let {α1 , · · · , αn } be a basis for V . Let W be an m
dimensional vector space and let {β1 , · · · , βn } be a basis for W .
Define a linear transformation T : V → W by setting

T (αi ) = βi for i = 1, · · · , n.

Question: What is R(T ) and what is the rank of T ?

Question: What is N(T ) and what is the nullity of T ?
Question: What is dim(V ) − rank(T ) − nullity (T ) ?

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

The rank nullity theorem

Theorem (The rank-nullity theorem)

Let T : V → W be a linear transformation of vector spaces where

V is finite dimensional. Then

rank(T ) + nullity (T ) = dim(V ).

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

The rank nullity theorem

Proof.
Let α1 , · · · , αm ∈ N(T ) be a basis for the null space of T . These
are independent vectors in V , so we can extend it to a basis
α1 , · · · , αm , · · · , αn of V .
(a) dim(V ) = n, and nullity (T ) = m.
(b) The vectors T (α1 ), · · · , T (αn ) span the range space of T .
(c) In fact, the vectors T (αm+1 ), · · · , T (αn ) span the range
space of T .
(d) To prove the theorem, it is sufficient to show that the vectors
T (αm+1 ), · · · , T (αn ) are linearly independent.

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

The rank nullity theorem
Proof.
Suppose there are scalars cm+1 , · · · , cn such that

cm+1 T (αm+1 ) + · · · + cn T (αn ) = 0. (1)

This means that the vector

α = cm+1 αm+1 + · · · + cn αn ∈ N(T ). (2)

Thus, there are scalars c1 , · · · , cm , such that

α = c1 α1 + · · · + cm αm . (3)

By comparing equations (2) and (3), we get that

c1 α1 + · · · + cm αm − cm+1 αm+1 − · · · − cn αn = 0.

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

The rank nullity theorem

Proof.
c1 α1 + · · · + cm αm − cm+1 αm+1 − · · · − cn αn = 0.
Since α1 , · · · , αn are linearly independent, we conclude that

c1 = c2 = · · · = cn = 0.

In particular, in equation 1, all the coefficients are 0, which is what

we wanted to prove.

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

The rank nullity theorem

Some immediate corollaries:

Corollary

Let V and W be finite dimensional vector spaces. Let T : V → W

be a linear transformation. Then T is surjective if and only if

dim(W ) = dim(V ) − dim(N(T )).

In particular, if T is surjective, then

dim(W ) ≤ dim(V ).

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

The rank nullity theorem

Corollary

Let V be a finite dimensional vector space and let W be any

vector space. Let T : V → W be a linear transformation. Then
T is injective if and only if

N(T ) = 0.

In particular, if T is injective, then

dim(V ) ≤ dim(W ).

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)

Isomorphism of vector spaces

Definition
An isomorphism of the vector spaces V and W is a bijective linear
transformation T : V → W . When the isomorphism is clear, we
write
V ∼= W.

Elementary Linear Algebra (2024-25 @IITH)