DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS

MAT231CT: LINEAR ALGEBRA AND PROBABILITY THEORY

UNIT 1: LINEAR ALGEBRA-1
TUTORIAL SHEET

Vector spaces:
1. Show that ℝ𝑚×𝑛 , together with the usual addition and scalar multiplication of matrices, satisfies the
eight axioms of a vector space.

2. Verify the set of all odd functions from ℝ to ℝ with field ℝ, under usual addition and scalar
multiplication is a vector space.

3. Show that 𝐶[𝑎, 𝑏], together with the usual pointwise addition and scalar multiplication of functions,
satisfies the eight axioms of a vector space. (where 𝐶[𝑎, 𝑏], is a set of all continuous real valued
function on [𝑎, 𝑏],)

4. Let V be the set of all ordered pairs of real numbers with addition defined by
(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 ) + (𝑦1 , 𝑦2 ) = (𝑥1 + 𝑦1 , 𝑥2 + 𝑦2 )
and scalar multiplication defined by
𝛼 . (𝑥1 , 𝑥2 ) = (𝛼𝑥1 , 𝑥2 )
Is V a vector space with these operations? Justify your answer.

5. Let R denote the set of real numbers. Define scalar multiplication by

𝛼𝑥 = 𝛼. 𝑥 (the usual multiplication of real numbers)
and define addition, denoted ⊕, by
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥(𝑥, 𝑦) (the maximum of the two numbers)
Is 𝑅 a vector space with these operations? Prove your answer.

6. Prove that the set of all positive real numbers ℝ+ , is a vector space over the real field, under the vector
addition α + β = αβ ∀ α, β ∈ ℝ+ and scalar multiplication 𝑐 ⋅ α = αc ∀ α ∈ ℝ+ and 𝑐 ∈ ℝ .

Subspaces, linear combination and linear span:

7. Let 𝑆 be the set of all polynomials of degree ≤ 𝑛, with the property that 𝑝(0) = 0.
i.e. 𝑆 = {𝑝(𝑥) | 𝑝(𝑥) is a polynomial of degree ≤ 𝑛 and 𝑝(0) = 0}.
The set 𝑆 is nonempty since it contains the zero polynomial. Show that 𝑆 is a subspace of 𝑃𝑛 (where
𝑃𝑛 denote the set of all polynomials of degree less than or equal to 𝑛.).
 𝑠 + 3𝑡
𝑠−𝑡
8. Verify 𝑊 = {[ ] |𝑠, 𝑡 ∈ ℝ} is a subspace of ℝ4 .
2𝑠 − 𝑡
4𝑡

𝑎 𝑏
9. Determine if the set 𝐻 of all matrices of the form [ ] is a subspace of 𝑀2×2 .
𝑐 𝑎2

10. Determine whether the following sets form subspaces of ℝ2 :

(a) {(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 )𝑇 | 𝑥1 + 𝑥2 = 0}
(b) {(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 )𝑇 | 𝑥1 𝑥2 = 0}
(c) {(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 )𝑇 | 𝑥1 = 3𝑥2 }
(d) {(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 )𝑇 | 𝑥12 = 𝑥22 }

11. Determine whether the following sets form subspaces of ℝ3 :

(a) {(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 )𝑇 | 𝑥1 + 𝑥3 = 1}
(b) {(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 )𝑇 | 𝑥1 = 𝑥2 = 𝑥3 }
(c) {(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 )𝑇 | 𝑥3 = 𝑥1 + 𝑥2 }
(d) {(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 )𝑇 | 𝑥3 = 𝑥1 or 𝑥3 = 𝑥2 }
(e) {(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 )𝑇 | 𝑥3 = 1}

12. Determine whether the following are subspaces of ℝ𝑛×𝑛 :

(a) The set of all 𝑛 × 𝑛 diagonal matrices
(b) The set of all 𝑛 × 𝑛 upper triangular matrices
(c) The set of all 𝑛 × 𝑛 lower triangular matrices
(d) The set of all 𝑛 × 𝑛 matrices 𝐴 such that 𝑎12 = 1
(e) The set of all 𝑛 × 𝑛 matrices 𝐵 such that 𝑏11 = 0
(f) The set of all symmetric 𝑛 × 𝑛 matrices
(g) The set of all singular 𝑛 × 𝑛 matrices

13. Determine the null space of each of the following matrices:

2 1
(a) ( )
3 2
1 1 −1 2
(b) ( 2 2 −3 1 )
−1 −1 0 −5
 1 3 −4
(c) ( 2 −1 −1)
−1 −3 4

14. Which of the sets that follow are spanning sets for ℝ3 ? Justify your answers.
(a) {(1, 0, 0)𝑇 , (0, 1, 1)𝑇 , (1, 0, 1)𝑇 }
(b) {(1, 0, 0)𝑇 , (0, 1, 1)𝑇 , (1, 0, 1)𝑇 , (1, 2, 3)𝑇 }
(c) {(2, 1, −2)𝑇 , (3, 2, −2)𝑇 , (2, 2, 0)𝑇 }
(d) {(2, 1, −2)𝑇 , (−2, −1, 2)𝑇 , (4, 2, −4)𝑇 }
(e) {(1, 1, 3)𝑇 , (0, 2, 1)𝑇

15. Let 𝑈 and 𝑉 be subspaces of a vector space 𝑊. Define

𝑈 + 𝑉 = {𝒛 | 𝒛 = 𝒖 + 𝒗 where 𝒖 ∈ 𝑈 and 𝒗 ∈ 𝑉}
Show that 𝑈 + 𝑉 is a subspace of 𝑊.

16. Describe the subspace of ℝ3 (is it line or a plane or ℝ3 ?) spanned by

a) The two vectors (1, 1, −1) and (−1, −1, 1).
b) The three vectors (0, 1, 1), (1, 1, 0) and (0, 0, 0).
c) The columns of a 3 by 5 echelon matrix with 2 pivots
d) All vectors with positive components

Linear independence and dependence

17. Determine whether the following vectors are linearly independent in ℝ3 :

1 0 1
a) [0], [1], [0]
0 1 1
2 3 2
b) [ 1 ], [ 2 ], [2]
−2 −2 0
1 0 1 1
c) [0], [1], [0] , [2]
0 1 1 3

18. Determine whether the following vectors are linearly independent in ℝ2×2 :
1 0 0 1
a) [ ], [ ]
1 1 0 0
1 0 0 1 2 3
b) [ ], [ ], [ ]
0 1 0 0 0 2
 19. Determine whether the following vectors are linearly independent in 𝑃3 :
a) 1, 𝑥 2 , 𝑥 2 − 2
b) 2, 𝑥 2 , 𝑥, 2𝑥 + 3
c) 𝑥 + 2, 𝑥 2 − 1

20. Let 𝐴 be an 𝑚 × 𝑛 matrix. Show that if 𝐴 has linearly independent column vectors, then
𝑁(𝐴) = {0}.

21. The value of 𝑘 such that the polynomials 2 + 𝑡 and 3 + 𝑘𝑡 are linearly dependent is ___.
22. Let 𝑉 = 𝑀2×2 , the vector space of 2 × 2 matrices and the set 𝑈 consist of those matrices whose first
row is zero. Then the standard basis of 𝑈 is ____, and its dimension is ____.
23. Suppose 𝑣1 , 𝑣2 , 𝑣3 , 𝑣4 are vectors in ℝ3 .
a) These four vectors are dependent because ________.
b) The two vectors 𝑣1 and 𝑣2 will be dependent if ________.
c) The vectors 𝑣1 and (0, 0, 0) are dependent because _________.

Basis and Dimension

24. Consider the vectors
2 4 7
𝑥1 = [ ] , 𝑥2 = [ ] , 𝑥3 = [ ]
1 3 −3

a) Show that 𝑥1 and 𝑥2 form a basis for ℝ2 .

b) Why must 𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , and 𝑥3 be linearly dependent?
c) What is the dimension of Span(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 ).

25. In each of the following, find the dimension of the subspace of 𝑃3 spanned by the given vectors:
a) 𝑥, 𝑥 − 1, 𝑥 2 + 1
b) 𝑥 2 , 𝑥 2 − 𝑥 − 1, 𝑥 + 1
c) 2𝑥, 𝑥 − 2

26. Let 𝐴 ne am 𝑚 × 𝑛 matrix. Show that if 𝐴 has linearly independent column vectors, then 𝑁(𝐴) =
{0}.

27. Determine the dimension of the subspace of ℝ3 spanned by the vectors:

1 2 −3
[−2] , [−2] , [3]
2 4 6
 28. Find the basis and dimension for all the subspaces in question 12.

29. Find the basis for each of these subspaces of ℝ4 :

a) All vectors whose components are equal.
b) All vectors whose components add to zero.
c) All vectors that are perpendicular to (1, 1, 0, 0) and (1, 0, 1, 1).
1 0 1 0 1
d) The column space (in ℝ2 ) and nullspace (in ℝ5 ) of 𝑈 = [ ].
0 1 0 1 0

Row Space and Column Space

30. For each of the following matrices, find a basis and the dimension for the row space, column space,
null space and left null space. Hence verify rank-nullity theorem:
1 3 2
a) [2 1 4]
4 7 8
−3 1 3 4
b) [ 1 2 −1 −2]
−3 8 4 2

1 3 −2 1
c) [2 1 3 2 ]
3 4 5 6

2 −4 1 2 −2 −3
d) 𝐴 = [−1 2 0 0 1 −1]
10 −4 −2 4 −2 4

31. Given a matrix:

2 −3 6 2 5
𝐴 = [2 −3 3 3 5].
4 −6 9 5 9

a) The 𝑁(𝐴) is a subspace of _________ vector space.

b) The 𝑅(𝐴) is a subspace of __________ vector space.
c) The 𝐶(𝐴) is a subspace of _________ vector space.
d) The 𝑁(𝐴𝑇 ) is a subspace of _________ vector space.
1
e) Determine if 𝑣 = [0] is in row space of 𝐴.
2
 1
f) Determine if 𝑣 = [0] is in column space of 𝐴.
2
−5
2
g) Determine if 𝑤 = 1 is in null space of 𝐴.
3
[0]
4
−2
h) Determine if 𝑤 = 9 is in row space of 𝐴.
5
[5]

32. If 𝐴 is a 9 × 7 matrix with three dimensional nullspace, the rank of 𝐴 is ___ and the dimension of
the left nullspace is ___ .

33. If 𝐴 is any 4 × 7 matrix and if rank of 𝐴 is 3, then the 𝑑𝑖𝑚(𝑅(𝐴)), dim(𝑁(𝐴)) and dim(𝑁(𝐴𝑇 ))
are ___________.

34. Any solution 𝑋 to 𝐴𝑋 = 𝑏 (if it exist) is always a sum of a vector in the ________ space of 𝐴 plus a
vector in the _______ space of 𝐴.

35. 𝐴𝑋 = 𝑏 is solvable if and only if 𝑏 is orthogonal to every vector in the ______ space of 𝐴.

36. If 𝑋1 and 𝑋2 are both solutions of 𝐴𝑋 = 𝑏, then the vector 𝑋1 − 𝑋2 must be in the ________ space
of 𝐴.

37. Let 𝐴 be a 4 × 4 matrix with reduced row echelon form given by

1 0 2 1
0 1 1 4
𝑈=[ ]
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
Let 𝑎𝑖 be 𝑖 𝑡ℎ column of 𝐴. If
−3 4
5 −3
𝑎1 = [ ] and 𝑎2 = [ ]
2 7
1 −1
Find 𝑎3 and 𝑎4 .
 38. Relate the four fundamental subspaces of 𝐴𝑇 𝐴 to the four fundamental subspaces of a real matrix 𝐴:
nullspace of 𝐴𝑇 𝐴 = ________ space of 𝐴, left nullspace of 𝐴𝑇 𝐴 = ______ space of 𝐴, column space
of 𝐴𝑇 𝐴 = __________ space of 𝐴, row space of 𝐴𝑇 𝐴 = ________ space of 𝐴.

Linear Transformation

39. Check whether the following are linear transformation:

𝑎 2𝑎
a) 𝑇: ℝ2 → ℝ2 ; 𝑇 ([ ]) = [ ].
𝑏 3𝑏
𝑎 𝑏 𝑎+𝑐 0
b) 𝑇: 𝑀2×2 (ℝ) → 𝑀2×2 (ℝ); 𝑇 ([ ]) = [ ].
𝑐 𝑑 0 𝑐−𝑑
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐 𝑎
c) 𝑇: 𝑀2×2 (ℝ) → 𝑀2×2 (ℝ); 𝑇 ([ ]) = [ ].
𝑐 𝑑 𝑑 𝑏
d) 𝑇: 𝑃2 (𝑡) → 𝑃3 (𝑡); 𝑇(𝑓(𝑡)) = 𝑡𝑓(𝑡).
e) 𝑇: 𝑃2 (𝑡) → 𝑃4 (𝑡); 𝑇(𝑓(𝑡)) = 𝑓(𝑡 2 ).
𝑥
f) 𝑇: ℝ → ℝ ; 𝑇(𝑥) = [𝑥 2 ].
3

𝑥3

40. Determine whether the vector 𝑣 is in the range of the linear transformation 𝐿.
𝑥 𝑥+𝑧 1
a) 𝐿: ℝ3 → ℝ3 given by 𝐿 ([𝑦]) = [ 𝑦 + 𝑧 ] , 𝑢 = [−1]
𝑧 𝑥 + 2𝑦 + 2𝑧 0
𝑥 −1 2 0 𝑥 1
3 3
b) 𝐿: ℝ → ℝ given by 𝐿 ([𝑦]) = [ 1 1 1] [𝑦] , 𝑢 = [3]
𝑧 2 −1 1 𝑧 2

1 −3 3 3
2
41. Let 𝐴 = [ 3 5 ] , 𝑢 = [ ] , 𝑏 = [ 2 ] and 𝑐 = [ 2]. Define a linear transformation 𝑇: ℝ2 → ℝ3
−1
−1 7 −5 5
by 𝑇(𝑋) = 𝐴𝑋, for all 𝑋 ∈ ℝ2 .

a) Find 𝑇(𝑢), the image under the transformation 𝑇.

b) Find an 𝑋 ∈ ℝ2 whose image is 𝑏. AX=B Find the X matrix

c) Is there more than one 𝑋 ∈ ℝ2 whose image is 𝑏. solve for [A|b] and if rank(A)=rank(A:B) then unique

d) Determine if 𝑐 is in the range of the transformation. solve AX=C and see if it is consistent
 1 5
1 −1
42. Obtain the Linear Transformation 𝑇: ℝ2 → ℝ3 defined by 𝑇 ([ ]) = [−1] , 𝑇 ([ ]) = [−2].
2 1
5 −2
2
43. The vector [ ] is reflected along the line 𝑦 = 𝑥. Then the reflection matrix is ____ and the resultant
1
vector is ____.
1
1
44. Find the range space and kernel of the linear transformation 𝑇: ℝ2 → ℝ3 defined by 𝑇 ([ ]) = [2] ,
1
3
1
1
𝑇 ([ ]) = [0].
−1
1
45. Show that each of the following are linear operators on ℝ2 . Describe geometrically what each linear
transformation accomplishes.

−𝑥1
a) 𝐿(𝑋) = [ 𝑥 ],
2

b) 𝐿(𝑋) = −𝑋

c) 𝐿(𝑋) = 𝑥2 𝑒2

46. Let 𝐿: ℝ2 → ℝ2 be a linear operator. If

1 2 1 5
𝐿 ([ ]) = [ ] and 𝐿 ([ ]) = [ ]
2 3 −1 2
7
find the value of 𝐿 ([ ]).
5
47. Determine whether the following are linear transformations from ℝ2 into ℝ3 :
𝑥1
a) 𝐿(𝑋) = [𝑥2 ]
1
𝑥1
b) 𝐿(𝑋) = [ 𝑥2 ]
𝑥1 + 2𝑥2

𝑥1
c) 𝐿(𝑋) = [ 0 ]
0
𝑥1
d) 𝐿(𝑋) = [ 𝑥2 ]
𝑥12 + 𝑥22
48. Determine the kernel and range of each of the following linear operators on ℝ3 :
𝑥3
a) 𝐿(𝑋) = [𝑥2 ] take standard basis as example and solve
𝑥1
𝑥1
b) 𝐿(𝑋) = [𝑥2 ]
0
𝑥1
c) 𝐿(𝑋) = [𝑥1 ]
𝑥1

49. For each of the following linear transformations 𝐿 mapping ℝ3 into ℝ2 , find a matrix 𝐴 such that
𝐿(𝑋) = 𝐴𝑋 for every 𝑋 in ℝ3 :
𝑥1 + 𝑥2
a) 𝐿(𝑋) = [ ]
0
𝑥1
b) 𝐿(𝑋) = [𝑥 ]
2
𝑥1
𝑥2 − 𝑥1
c) 𝐿(𝑋) = [𝑥 − 𝑥 ], where 𝑋 = [𝑥2 ].
3 2
𝑥3

50. Let 𝐿 ∶ ℝ2 → ℝ3 be defined by

𝑥1 + 𝑥2
𝐿(𝑋) = [ 𝑥1 − 𝑥2 ]
3𝑥1 + 2𝑥2
Find a matrix 𝐴 such that 𝐿𝑋 = 𝐴𝑋 for each 𝑋 in ℝ2 .

51. Find the matrix of the linear transformation 𝐿 ∶ ℝ3 → ℝ3 defined by

𝑥 𝑥 + 2𝑦 − 3𝑧
𝐿 ([𝑦]) = [4𝑥 − 5𝑦 − 6𝑧]
𝑧 7𝑥 + 8𝑦 + 9𝑧
with respect to the standard basis.

52. Find the matrix of the linear transformation 𝐿 ∶ ℝ3 → ℝ2 defined by

𝑥
2𝑥 + 3𝑦 − 𝑧
𝐿 ([𝑦]) = [ ]
4𝑦 + 5𝑧
𝑧
with respect to the standard basis.
53. Discuss the following maps on ℝ2 and represent them graphically:
a) Reflection through 𝑥 − axis TAKE EXAMPLE AND PROVE
b) Reflection through 𝑦 − xis

c) Reflection through 𝑦 = 𝑥.

d) Reflection through 𝑦 = −𝑥.

e) Reflection through origin.
f) Rotation
g) Horizontal contraction or expansion
h) Vertical contraction or expansion
i) Dilation
j) Horizontal Shear
k) Vertical Shear

𝜋
54. Determine the matrix that describes a reflection about 𝑥 − axis, followed by rotation through 2 ,
followed by a dilation of factor 3. Find the image of the point (4, 1) under this sequence of
mappings.

55. Derive the matrix of the linear transformation 𝑇: ℝ2 → ℝ2 , which rotates a vector 𝑣 ∈ ℝ2 by an
angle 𝜃 in an anticlockwise direction. Find if there exist:
a) A preimage of (1, −3)
𝜋
b) An image of (3, −1) when 𝜃 = 2 .