Vector Spaces

Examples of vector space:

1. ℝ2 = {(𝑎, 𝑏): 𝑎, 𝑏 ∈ ℝ} is a vector space over the field 𝐾 = ℝ with respect to the
operations of vector addition and scalar multiplication on ℝ2 .

2. ℝ3 = {(𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐): 𝑎, 𝑏 ∈ ℝ} is a vector space over the field 𝐾 = ℝ with respect to the
operations of vector addition and scalar multiplication on ℝ3 .

3. The set 𝑉 of all 2 × 2 matrices with real entries is a vector space if addition is defined to
be matrix addition and scalar multiplication is defined to be matrix multiplication.
(Solution to be done in class).
Example: Let 𝑉 = ℝ2 and define addition and scalar multiplication operations as follows: If
𝒖 = (𝑢1 , 𝑢2 ) and 𝒗 = (𝑣1 , 𝑣2 ), then define 𝒖 + 𝒗 = (𝑢1 +𝑣1 , 𝑢2 +𝑣2 ) and if 𝑘 is any real
number, then define 𝑘𝒖 = (𝑘𝑢1 , 0). Show that 𝑉 is not a vector space.

Solution: If 𝒖 = (𝑢1 , 𝑢2 ) is such that 𝑢2 ≠ 0, then 1 𝒖 = 1(𝑢1 , 𝑢2 ) = (1. 𝑢1 , 0) = (𝑢1 , 0) ≠ 𝒖 .

Therefore the last axiom is not satisfied. Thus 𝑉 is not a vector space with the stated operations.
𝑎 1
Exercise: Show that the set of all 2 × 2 matrices of the form [ ] with addition defined by
1 𝑏
𝑎 1 𝑐 1 𝑎+𝑐 1 𝑎 1 𝑘𝑎 1
[ ]+[ ]=[ ] and scalar multiplication defined by 𝑘 [ ]=[ ]
1 𝑏 1 𝑑 1 𝑏+𝑑 1 𝑏 1 𝑘𝑏
is a vector space. What is the zero vector in this space?
Ahsan Ali, Senior Lecturer (Mathematics), Dept. of ECE, EWU. Page 1
Subspace: A subset 𝑊 of a vector space 𝑉 is called a subspace of 𝑉 if 𝑊 is itself a vector space
under the addition and scalar multiplication defined on 𝑉.

First Fundamental Theorem of Subspace: If 𝑊 is a set of one or more vectors from a vector
space 𝑉, then 𝑊 is a subspace of 𝑉 if and only if the following conditions hold.
a) If 𝒖 and 𝒗 are vectors in 𝑊, then 𝒖 + 𝒗 is in 𝑊.
b) If 𝑘 is any scalar and 𝒖 is any vector in 𝑊, then 𝑘𝒖 is in 𝑊.

Second Fundamental Theorem of Subspace: 𝑊 is a subspace of 𝑉 if and only if the following

conditions hold.
a) 0 ∈ 𝑊 or 𝑊 ≠ ∅
b) 𝒖, 𝒗 ∈ 𝑊 ⇒ 𝛼𝒖 + 𝛽𝒗 ∈ 𝑊 where 𝛼, 𝛽 are scalars.

Example: Show that any straight line passing through origin is a subspace of ℝ2 .

Solution: Let the set of any straight line passing through origin is
𝑆 = {(𝑥, 𝑦): 𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥}
Now we have to show that 𝑆 is a subspace of ℝ2 .
𝟎 = (0,0) ∈ 𝑆 since (0,0) satisfies 𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥, so that 𝑆 is non-empty.
Let 𝒖, 𝒗 ∈ 𝑆 where 𝒖 = (𝑢1 , 𝑢2 ) and 𝒗 = (𝑣1 , 𝑣2 )
∴ 𝑢2 = 𝑚𝑢1 and 𝑣2 = 𝑚𝑣1
For any scalar 𝛼 and 𝛽, we have
𝛼𝒖 + 𝛽𝒗 = 𝛼(𝑢1 , 𝑢2 ) + 𝛽(𝑣1 , 𝑣2 )
= (𝛼𝑢1 , 𝛼𝑢2 ) + (𝛽𝑣1 , 𝛽𝑣2 )
= (𝛼𝑢1 + 𝛽𝑣1 , 𝛼𝑢2 + 𝛽𝑣2 )
= (𝑤1 , 𝑤2 )

where 𝑤1 = 𝛼𝑢1 + 𝛽𝑣1 , 𝑤2 = 𝛼𝑢2 + 𝛽𝑣2

Here, 𝑤2 = 𝛼𝑢2 + 𝛽𝑣2 = 𝛼. 𝑚𝑢1 + 𝛽. 𝑚𝑣1 = 𝑚(𝛼𝑢1 + 𝛽𝑣1 ) = 𝑚𝑤1

∴ (𝑤1 , 𝑤2 ) ∈ 𝑆 ⇒ 𝛼𝒖 + 𝛽𝒗 ∈ 𝑆

Thus 𝑆 is a subspace of ℝ2 .

Hence any straight line passing through origin is a subspace of ℝ2 .

Ahsan Ali, Senior Lecturer (Mathematics), Dept. of ECE, EWU. Page 2

Example: Geometrically show that the points in a plane through the origin of ℝ3 is a subspace
of ℝ3 .

Solution: Let 𝑊 be any plane through the origin, and let 𝒖 and 𝒗 be any vectors in W. Then
𝒖 + 𝒗 must lie in W because it is the diagonal of the parallelogram determined by 𝒖 and 𝒗
(Figure 1), and 𝑘𝒖 must lie in W for any scalar k because 𝑘𝒖 lies on a line through 𝒖 . Thus W
is closed under addition and scalar multiplication, so it is a subspace of ℝ3 .

𝒗 𝒖+𝒗
𝑘𝒖
𝒖

Figure: 1

Example: Let 𝑊 be the set of all points (𝑥, 𝑦) in ℝ2 such that 𝑥 ≥ 0, 𝑦 ≥ 0. Show that the set 𝑊
is not a subspace of ℝ2 .

Solution: 𝑊 is not closed under scalar multiplication. For example, (1,1) lies in W, but its
negative (−1)𝒗 = −𝒗 = (−1, −1) ∉ 𝑊. Therefore, the set 𝑊 is not a subspace of ℝ2 .

Exercise:

1. Show that 𝑇 = {(𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑) ∈ ℝ4 : 2𝑎 − 3𝑏 + 5𝑐 − 𝑑 = 0} is a subspace of ℝ4 .

2. Show that 𝑊 = {(𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐): 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐 ∈ ℝ and 𝑎 − 2𝑏 + 3𝑐 = 5} is not a subspace of ℝ3 .

Linear Combination:

A vector 𝒘 is called a linear combination of the vectors 𝒗𝟏 , 𝒗𝟐 , … … … , 𝒗𝒓 if it can be expressed

in the form
𝒘 = 𝑘1 𝒗𝟏 + 𝑘2 𝒗𝟐 + ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ + 𝑘𝑟 𝒗𝒓

where 𝑘1 , 𝑘2 , … … … , 𝑘𝑟 are scalars.

Example: Consider the vectors 𝒖 = (1,2, −1) and 𝒗 = (6,4,2) in ℝ3 . Show that 𝒘 = (9,2,7) is
A linear combination of 𝒖 and 𝒗 and that 𝒘′ = (4, −1,8) is not a linear combination of 𝒖 and 𝒗.

Ahsan Ali, Senior Lecturer (Mathematics), Dept. of ECE, EWU. Page 3

Solution: In order for 𝒘 to be a linear combination of 𝒖 and 𝒗, there must be scalars 𝑘1 and 𝑘2
such that 𝒘 = 𝑘1 𝒖 + 𝑘2 𝒗 ; that is,
(9,2,7) = 𝑘1 (1,2, −1) + 𝑘2 (6,4,2)
⇒ (9,2,7) = (𝑘1 + 6𝑘2 , 2𝑘1 + 4𝑘2 , −𝑘1 + 2𝑘2 )

Equating corresponding components gives

𝑘1 + 6𝑘2 = 9
2𝑘1 + 4𝑘2 = 2
−𝑘1 + 2𝑘2 = 7

Solving this system using Gaussian elimination

𝑘1 + 6𝑘2 = 9
∼{ 8𝑘2 = 16
8𝑘2 = 16
[𝐿2 → 2𝐿1 − 𝐿2 , 𝐿3 → 𝐿1 + 𝐿3 ]

𝑘1 + 6𝑘2 = 9
∼{
𝑘2 = 2
Therefore 𝑘1 = −3, 𝑘2 = 2 so that
𝒘 = −3𝒖 + 2𝒗

Similarly, for 𝒘′ to be linear combination of 𝒖 and 𝒗, there must be scalars 𝑘1 and 𝑘2 such that
𝒘′ = 𝑘1 𝒖 + 𝑘2 𝒗 ; that is,
(4, −1,8) = 𝑘1 (1,2, −1) + 𝑘2 (6,4,2)
⇒ (4, −1,8) = (𝑘1 + 6𝑘2 , 2𝑘1 + 4𝑘2 , −𝑘1 + 2𝑘2 )

Equating corresponding components gives

𝑘1 + 6𝑘2 = 4
2𝑘1 + 4𝑘2 = −1
−𝑘1 + 2𝑘2 = 8
Solving this system using Gaussian elimination
𝑘1 + 6𝑘2 = 4
∼{ 8𝑘2 = 9
8𝑘2 = 12
[𝐿2 → 2𝐿1 − 𝐿2 , 𝐿3 → 𝐿1 + 𝐿3 ]

𝑘1 + 6𝑘2 = 4
∼{ 8𝑘2 = 9
0 = −3
[𝐿3 → 𝐿2 − 𝐿3 ]

Ahsan Ali, Senior Lecturer (Mathematics), Dept. of ECE, EWU. Page 4

This implies that the given system is inconsistent, so no such scalars 𝑘1 and 𝑘2 exist.
Consequently, 𝒘′ is not a linear combination of 𝒖 and 𝒗.

3 −1 1 1
Example: Write the matrix 𝐴 = [ ] as a linear combination of the matrices 𝐴1 = [ ],
1 −2 0 −1
1 1 1 −1
𝐴2 = [ ] and 𝐴3 = [ ].
−1 0 0 0

Solution: Set 𝐴 as a linear combination of 𝐴1 , 𝐴2 and 𝐴3 using the unknowns 𝑘1 , 𝑘2 and 𝑘3 .

𝐴 = 𝑘1 𝐴1 + 𝑘2 𝐴2 + 𝑘3 𝐴3

3 −1 1 1 1 1 1 −1
That is, [ ] = 𝑘1 [ ] + 𝑘2 [ ] + 𝑘3 [ ]
1 −2 0 −1 −1 0 0 0

3 −1 𝑘 𝑘1 𝑘 𝑘2 𝑘 −𝑘3
⇒[ ]=[ 1 ]+[ 2 ]+[ 3 ]
1 −2 0 −𝑘1 −𝑘2 0 0 0

3 −1 𝑘 + 𝑘2 + 𝑘3 𝑘1 + 𝑘2 − 𝑘3
⇒[ ]=[ 1 ]
1 −2 −𝑘2 −𝑘1

Equating corresponding components and forming the linear system we get

𝑘1 + 𝑘2 + 𝑘3 = 3
𝑘1 + 𝑘2 − 𝑘3 = −1
−𝑘2 =1
−𝑘1 = −2
Hence the solution of the system is 𝑘1 = 2, 𝑘2 = −1, 𝑘3 = 2
Therefore,
𝐴 = 2𝐴1 − 𝐴2 + 2𝐴3

That is 𝐴 as a linear combination of 𝐴1 , 𝐴2 and 𝐴3 .

Exercise Problems:

1. Consider the vectors 𝒗𝟏 = (2,1,4), 𝒗𝟐 = (1, −1,3) and 𝒗𝟑 = (3,2,5) in ℝ3 . Show that
𝒗 = (5,9,5) is a linear combination of 𝒗𝟏 , 𝒗𝟐 and 𝒗𝟑 .

Answer: 𝒗 = 3𝒗𝟏 − 4𝒗𝟐 + 𝒗𝟑 .

2. For which value of 𝜆 the vector 𝒗 = (1, 𝜆, 5) in ℝ3 will be a linear combination of the
vectors 𝒗𝟏 = (1, −3,2) and 𝒗𝟐 = (2, −1,1).

Answer: 𝜆 = −8 and 𝑘1 = 3, 𝑘2 = −1.

Ahsan Ali, Senior Lecturer (Mathematics), Dept. of ECE, EWU. Page 5