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)
