MATHEMATICS-II

Basis and Dimension

(Lecture-12)

P. Danumjaya

Department of Mathematics
BITS-Pilani K.K. Birla Goa Campus

February 3, 2025

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 Quiz-7

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Quiz-7

1) Let S = {v1 , v2 , v3 } be a basis for a vector space V and let

T = {w1 , w2 , w3 } where

w1 = v1 + v2 , w2 = v2 + v3 , w3 = v1 + v3 .

Is T a basis for V ? Justify your answer.

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Quiz-7 (contd...)

2) Find the dimension of the subspace of R4 consisting of all vectors of

the form (a, b, c, d) where d = a + b and c = a − b.

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Quiz-7 (contd...)

3) Let P2 denotes the set of all polynomials of degree less than or equal to
2.

Find a basis and dimension for the subspace of P2 consisting of all

polynomials of the form: a t 2 + b t + c, where c = 2 a − 3 b.

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Theorem 1

Let
S = {v1 , v2 , · · · , vn }
be a set of nonzero vectors in a vector space V and let W = span S.

Then some subset of S is a basis for W .

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Proof

If S is linearly independent then S forms a basis for W since S spans W .

Suppose if S is linearly dependent, then

α1 v1 + α2 v2 + · · · + αn vn = 0

where α1 , α2 , · · · , αn not all zero.

Let some vj be a linear combination of the preceding vectors in S.

We now delete vj from S and form a subset S1 of S that spans W .

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Proof (contd...)

If S1 is linearly independent then S1 is a basis for W .

If S1 is linearly dependent then delete a vector in S1 that is a linear

combination of the preceding vectors of S1 and form a new set S2 that
spans W .

Since S is a finite set, by continuing this process at a finite number of

steps, we find a subset T of S that is linearly independent and spans W .

Thus T is a basis for W .

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Example 1

Let
S = {v1 , v2 , v3 , v4 }
where v1 = (1, 2, 2), v2 = (3, 2, 1), v3 = (11, 10, 7) and v4 = (7, 6, 6).

Find a basis for the subspace W = span S of R3 .

What is the dim W ?

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Solution

We form the vector equation

α1 v1 + α2 v2 + α3 v3 + α4 v4 = 0.

This gives a homogeneous system of equations

α1 + 3α2 + 11α3 + 7α4 = 0

2α1 + 2α2 + 10α3 + 6α4 = 0
2α1 + α2 + 7α3 + 6α4 = 0.

We construct the augmented matrix associated with the homogeneous

system of equations and transform it to a reduced row echelon form

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Solution (contd...)

 
1 0 2 0 | 0
 0 1 3 0 | 0 .
0 0 0 1 | 0
The vectors corresponding to the columns containing the leading 1′ s form
a basis for W = span S.

Therefore, the set {v1 , v2 , v4 } form a basis for W = span S.

The dim W = 3.

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Example 2

Consider the subset

S = {1 + x, 2 − x + x 2 , x + x 2 , 1 + x 2 }

of P2 .

Find a basis for the subspace W = span S.

What is the dimension of W ?

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Theorem 2

If S = {v1 , v2 , · · · , vn } is a basis for a vector space V and

T = {w1 , w2 , · · · , wr } is a linearly independent set of vectors in V , then
r ≤ n.

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Proof

Let T = {w1 , w2 , · · · , wr } be basis for V then r = n.

If T is not a basis then vectors can be added to the linearly independent

set T to make it into a basis for V , so r < n.

Thus r ≤ n in all cases.

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Theorem 3

If S is a linearly independent set of vectors in a finite dimensional vector

space V then there is a basis T for V , which contains S.

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Proof

Suppose that dim V = n. If S is a linearly independent set that is not

already a basis for V , then S fails to span V and there is some vector v in
V that is not in span S.

We now insert v into S and the resulting set S1 is still linearly

independent. If S1 spans V then S1 is a basis for V and we are done.

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Proof (contd...)

If S1 does not span V , then we insert an appropriate vector into S1 and

the resulting set S2 is still linearly independent.

We continue in this way, after a finite number of steps, we get a set T

that is linearly independent and spans V .

Thus, T is a basis for V and which contains S.

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Example 3

Find a basis for R3 that includes the vectors v1 = (1, 0, 2) and

v2 = (0, 1, 3).

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Solution

We know that the set S = {e1 , e2 , e3 } forms a basis for R3 .

We consider the set S1 = {v1 , v2 , e1 , e2 , e3 }.

Since S spans R3 this implies S1 also spans R3 .

We now take the vector equation

α1 v1 + α2 v2 + α3 e1 + α4 e2 + α5 e3 = 0.

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Solution (contd...)

This gives the system of linear equations

α1 + α3 = 0
α2 + α4 = 0
2α1 + 3α2 + α5 = 0.

Constructing the augmented matrix and reducing it to the reduced row

echelon form, we arrive at

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Solution (contd...)

 .. 
1 0 0 − 23 1
2 . 0
 .. 
.
 0 1 0 1 0 . 0 

3 ..
0 0 1 2 − 12 . 0
The leading 1′ s appear in columns 1, 2, and 3.

Therefore, the set {v1 , v2 , e1 } forms a basis for R3 .

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Example 4

Let M22 denote the set of all 2 × 2 matrices.

Prove that the set

     
1 0 1 1 0 1
S= , ,
1 1 1 0 1 1

is linearly independent and extend the set S to a basis of M22 .

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Theorem 4

Let V be an n-dimensional vector space and let S = {v1 , v2 , · · · , vn } be a

set of n vectors in V .

If S is linearly independent, then it is a basis for V .

If S spans V , then it is a basis for V .

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Proof

We assume that S has exactly n vectors and is a linearly independent set.

To prove that S is a basis, we must show that S spans V .

Suppose if S does not span V then there is some vector v in V that is not
in span S.

If we insert this vector into S, then still S is linearly independent.

But this is impossible, since no set with more than n vectors in an

n-dimensional vector space can be linearly independent.

Thus, S spans V .

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