CHAPTER

Linear Combination of Vectors FOUR

In this chapter, we have a concentration to discuss about the linear combination,
linear dependence and independence of vectors.
Linear Combination of Vectors: Let V be a vector space over the scalar field F
and v1 , v2 , v3 , , vn V , then any vector v V is called a linear combination of the
vectors v1 , v2 , v3 , , vn if there exists scalars 1 ,  2 , a3 , , an  F such that
v  1v1   2v2  3v3    n vn
Example: Observe that  13, 4, 4  2  2, 1, 2    2  4,1,0   3  3,0,0 
Thus  13, 4, 4 is a linear combination of  2, 1, 2 ,  4,1,0 and  3,0,0  in R 3 .
The same vector may be a linear combination of more than one set of vectors, viz,
 13, 4, 4   131,0,0   4 0,1,0  4  0,0,1
Problem-01: Write the vector v   5,9,5 as a linear combination of the vectors
v1   2,1, 4 , v2  1, 1, 3 and v3   3, 2,5 in R 3 .
Solution:
We know that, v will be a linear combination of the vectors v1 , v2 and v3 if there
exists scalars x , y and z in R such that,
v  xv1  yv2  zv3
i.e,  5,9,5  x  2,1, 4   y 1, 1,3  z 3, 2,5
  2 x, x, 4 x    y,  y,3 y   3z, 2 z,5z 
  2 x  y  3z , x  y  2 z , 4 x  3 y  5 z 
Equating corresponding components and forming linear system, we get
2 x  y  3z  5
x  y  2z  9
4 x  3 y  5z  5
The augmented matrix is,
2 1 3 5
 
 1 1 2 9
4 3 5 5 

2 1 3 5  '
  R  2R2  R1
  0 3 1 13  2'
 0 1 1 R  R3  2R1
 5  3
2 1 3 5
 
  0 3 1 13  R3'  3R3  R2
 0 0 2 2 

 CHAPTER

Linear Combination of Vectors FOUR

The reduced system is,
2 x  y  3z  5
 3 y  z  13
 2 z  2
By back substitution, From 3 rd equation we get,
z 1
From 2 nd
equation we get,
 3 y  1  13
  3 y  12
 y  4
From 1st equation we get,
2x  4  3  5
 2x  6
 x3
Therefore, the required linear combination is,
v  3v1  4v2  v3  Ans .
Problem-02: Write the vector 16,1, 11, 23 as a linear combination of the vectors
 2,0, 1,1 ,  1,1, 2, 0 , 1,1, 0, 5 and 1,0,0, 1 in R4 .
Solution:
We know that, 16,1, 11, 23 will be a linear combination of the vectors  2,0, 1,1 ,
 1,1, 2, 0 , 1,1, 0, 5 and 1,0,0, 1 if there exists scalars x , y , z and t in R such that,
16,1, 11, 23  x  2,0, 1,1  y  1,1, 2,0  z 1,1,0, 5  t 1,0,0, 1
  2 x,0,  x, x     y, y, 2 y,0   z, z,0, 5z   t ,0,0, t 
  2 x  y  z  t , y  z ,  x  2 y, x  5 z  t 
Equating corresponding components and forming linear system, we get
2 x  y  z  t  16
y  z 1
x  2 y  11
x  5 z  t  23
The augmented matrix is,
 2 1 1 1 16 
 
0 1 1 0 1 
 1 2 0 0 11 
 
 1 0 5 1 23 
 CHAPTER

Linear Combination of Vectors FOUR

 2 1 1 1 16 
 
0 1 1 0 1  R3'  2 R3  R1

0 3 1 1 6  R4'  2 R4  R1
 
 0 1 11 3 62 
 2 1 1 1 16 
 
0 1 1 0 1  R3'  R3  3R2

 0 0 2 1 9  R4'  R4  R2
 
 0 0 12 3 63 
 2 1 1 1 16 
 
0 1 1 0 1 '
 R4  R4  6 R3
 0 0 2 1 9 
 
 0 0 0 9 9 
The reduced system is,
2 x  y  z  t  16
y  z 1
 2 z  t  9
 9t  9
By back substitution, from 4th equation we get,
t 1
From 3 rd
equation we get,
 2 z  1  9
  2 z  10
 z5
From 2nd equation we get,
y 5 1
 y  4
From 1st equation we get,
2x  4  5  1  16
 2x  6
 x3
Therefore, the required linear combination is,
16,1, 11, 23  3 2,0, 1,1   4 1,1, 2,0  5 1,1,0, 5  1,0,0, 1  Ans.
Problem-03: Determine whether or not the vector 1, 2,6 as a linear combination
of the vectors  2,1,0 , 1, 1, 2 and  0,3, 4  in R 3 .
Solution:
We know that, 1, 2,6 will be a linear combination of the vectors  2,1,0 , 1, 1, 2 and
 0,3, 4 if there exists scalars x , y and z in R such that,
 CHAPTER

Linear Combination of Vectors FOUR

1, 2,6  x  2,1,0  y 1, 1, 2  z  0,3, 4
  2 x, x,0   y,  y, 2 y    0,3z, 4 z 
  2 x  y, x  y  3 z , 2 y  4 z 
Equating corresponding components and forming linear system, we get
2x  y  1
x  y  3z  2
2 y  4z  6
The augmented matrix is,
2 1 0 1
 
1 1 3 2
0 2 4 6 

2 1 0 1
 
 0 3 6 3  R2'  2 R2  R1
0 2 4 6 

2 1 0 1 
 
  0 3 6 3  R3'  3 R3  2 R2
0 0 0 24 

The reduced system is,
2x  y 1
 3y  6  3
0  24
Since, 0  24 arise, which is impossible, so the system of linear equations is
inconsistent.
Thus, our assumption regarding the linear combination was wrong. Therefore, we
conclude that, 1, 2,6 can’t be a linear combination of the vectors  2,1,0 , 1, 1, 2 and
 0,3, 4 in R 3 . (Ans).
 5 1
Problem-04: Express the matrix B  as a linear combination of the
 2 3 
1 0   1 1  0 1
matrices B1    , B2    and B3   .
1 0  0 1   1 0 
Solution:
We know that, B will be a linear combination of the matrices B1 , B2 and B3 if there
exists scalars x , y and z in R such that,
B  xB1  yB2  zB3
 5 1 1 0   1 1  0 1 
i.e,    x   y  z 
 2 3  1 0   0 1   1 0 
 CHAPTER

Linear Combination of Vectors FOUR

 x 0  y y   0 z 
   
 x 0   0 y   z 0 
 x  y y  z
 
 xz y 
Equating corresponding components and forming linear system, we get
x y 5
 y  z 1
x  z  2
y3
Solving these equations we get, x  2 , y  3 and z  4
Therefore, the required linear combination of the matrices is,
B  2 B1  3B2  4 B3 (Ans).
Exercise:
Problem-01: Express the vector v , if possible, as a linear combination (LC) of the
vectors, v1 , v2 , v3 where,
a). v   2,3, 4  and v1  1,0,1 , v2   0,  1,1 , v3   1, 1, 1
b). v  1, 2,5 and v1  1, 2,3 , v2  1,1,1 , v3   2, 1,1
c). v   2, 5, 4 and v1  1, 3, 2 , v2   2,  1,1
d). v  15,17,0  and v1   2,1,0 , v2   1, 1,1 , v3  1, 2,3
e). v   5,1, 7  and v1   1, 2,10  , v2   1, 0, 2 , v3  1, 1, 2 
f). v   3,9, 4, 2 and v1  1, 2,0,3 , v2   2, 3, 1, 0 , v3   2, 1, 2,1
ANS: a). v  3v1  2v2  5v3 ; b). v  3v1  6v2  2v3 ; c). not possible ;
 7   42   13 
d). not possible ; e). not possible ; f). v    v1    v2    v3 .
 17   17   17 
Problem-02: Express, if possible
 3 1  1 1   1 1  1 1
a). P    as a LC of P1    , P2    & P3   
 1 2   0 1  1 0  0 0 
2 1  1 1  1 1  1 1
b). M    as a LC of M 1    , M2    & M3   
 1 2   0 1  1 0  0 0 
 3 1   1 1  1 1  1 1
c). A    as a LC of A1    , A2    & A3   
 1 2   0 1  1 0  0 0 
ANS: a). P  2 P1  P2  2P3 ; b). not possible ; c). not possible.
Linear Dependence (LD) of vectors: Let V be a vector space over the scalar field
F .The vectors v1 , v2 , v3 , , vn V are said to be linearly dependent over F , if there
exist scalars 1 ,  2 , a3 , , an  F , not all of them zero, such that
 CHAPTER

Linear Combination of Vectors FOUR

Example: Observe that 3 1, 1,0  2 1,3, 1   15,3, 2    0,0,0 
Thus, the vectors 1, 1,0 , 1,3, 1 and  5,3, 2  are linear dependent in R 3 .
Linear Independence (LI) of vectors: Let V be a vector space over the scalar field
F .The vectors v1 , v2 , v3 , , vn V are said to be linearly independent over F , if
there exist scalars 1 ,  2 , a3 , , an  F , all of them zero i.e, 1   2  a3   an  0 ,
such that
1v1   2v2  3v3    nvn  0
Example: The vectors 1,0,0 ,  0,1,0 and  0,0,1 are linearly independent in R 3 .
Since, x 1,0,0  y  0,1,0  z  0,0,1  0
 x  0; y  0 & z  0
Note: 1. Any set containing a zero vector is linearly dependent.
2. Any two vectors are linearly dependent iff one is scalar multiple of the
other i.e, they are
collinear.
3. The non- zero rows of a matrix in echelon form are linearly independent.
4. Every singleton having a nonzero vector is linearly independent.
5. Any empty set is linearly independent.
6. In plane, any two nonzero vectors are linearly dependent iff they are
parallel.
7. In plane, any two nonzero vectors are linearly independent iff they are
intersecting.
Determination of Linear dependence & independence:
Let 1v1   2v2  3v3    nvn  0 for some scalars 1 ,  2 , a3 , , an . If we substitute
the values of v1 , v2 , v3 , , vn we get an n  n system of linear equations which yields
the following matrix equation:
 a11 a12 a1n  1   0 
  
 a21 a22 a2 n   2   0 

    
    
 an1 an 2 ann   n   0 
or , MX  0
At this stage there are two methods to test the linear dependence or independence
as follows:
Method-01: Use of Determinant: If M  0 , then X  0 i.e, 1   2   an  0 and the
vectors are linearly independent.
Again, if M  0 , then the vectors are linearly dependent.
 CHAPTER

Linear Combination of Vectors FOUR

Method-02: Use of Echelon Matrix: If we apply elementary row or column
operations to obtain rk(M) , then
1). if we get, rk  M   n , then the vectors are linearly independent and
2). if we get, rk  M   n , then the vectors are linearly dependent.
Problem-01: Check the linear dependency of S where,
i). S  1, 1,3 , 1, 4,5 ,  2, 3, 7   R3
ii). S   2,1,1 ,  3, 4,6 ,  4, 9,11  R3
iii). S   2,1,3, 1 , 2,3,1,2 , 3,2,5,6 ,  
2, 
7,3, 8   R4
iv). S  1,1, 2, 1 , 1, 2,5,0 ,  0,1, 2,1 ,  2,1, 2,5  R4
Solution: i). We have, S  1, 1,3 , 1, 4,5 ,  2, 3, 7   R3
Writing the vectors in S as column we form the following matrix,
1 1 2
 
M   1 4 3 
 3 5 7 
 
The determinant of this matrix is,
1 1 2
M  1 4 3
3 5 7
  28  15   7  9   2 5 12 
 13 16 120
 149
Since M  0 , so S is a linear independent subset of vectors from R 3 .
ii). We have, S   2,1,1 ,  3, 4,6 ,  4, 9,11  R3
Writing the vectors in S as column we form the following matrix,
2 3 4 
 
M   1 4 9 
 1 6 11 
 
The determinant of this matrix is,
2 3 4
M  1 4 9
1 6 11
 2  44  54  3 11  9   4  6  4 
 20  60  40
0
Since M  0 , so S is a linear dependent subset of vectors from R 3 .
 CHAPTER

Linear Combination of Vectors FOUR

iii). We have, S   2,1,3, 1 ,  2,3,1, 2 , 3, 2,5,6  ,  2, 7,3, 8  R4
Writing the vectors in S as row we form the following matrix,
 2 1 3 1 
 
 2 3 1 2 
M
 3 2 5 6 
 
 2 7 3 8 
Now we shall reduce this matrix into echelon form by elementary row operations,
 2 1 3 1  '
  R2  R2  R1
 0 2 2 3  R '  2 R  3R
 0 1 1 15  3 ' 3 1

  R4  R4  R1
 0 6 6 9 
 2 1 3 1 
  '
 0 2 2 3  R3  2 R3  R2
 0 0 4 27  R4'  R4  3R2
 
0 0 0 0 
Since, the echelon form of the matrix contains a zero row so S is a linear dependent
subset of vectors from R 4 .
iv). We have, S  1,1, 2, 1 , 1, 2,5,0 ,  0,1, 2,1 ,  2,1, 2, 5  R4
Writing the vectors in S as row we form the following matrix,
1 1 2 1 
 
1 2 5 0
M 
0 1 2 1
 
2 1 2 5
Now we shall reduce this matrix into echelon form by elementary row operations,
 1 1 2 1
  '
 0 1 3 1  R2  R2  R1
 0 1 2 1  R4'  R4  2 R1
 
 0 1 2 7 
 1 1 2 1
  '
 0 1 3 1  R3  R3  R2
 0 0 1 0  R4'  R4  R2
 
0 0 1 8 
1 1 2 1
 
0 1 3 1 '
R4  R4  R3
0 0 1 0 
 
0 0 0 8
 CHAPTER

Linear Combination of Vectors FOUR

Since, the echelon form of the matrix does not contain any zero row so S is a linear
independent subset of vectors from R 4 .
Problem-03: Test the linear dependency of the functions
2  t 2 ,1  t  t 2 ,3  2t , 1  2 t 2 in R3
Solution: We have, 2  t 2  2  0.t  t 2
1  t  t 2  1  t   1 t 2
3  2t  3  2t  0.t 2
1  2 t 2  1  0.t  2 t 2
The matrix of the coefficients is,
0 1  2
 
1 1 1
M 
2 0  3
 
0 2  1
Now we shall reduce this matrix into echelon form by elementary row operations,
 2 0 1  '
  R2  2 R2  R1
 0 2 1 R '  2 R  3R
 0 4 3  3' 3 1

  R4  2 R4  R1
 0 0 0
 2 0 1 
 
 0 2 1 R '  R  2 R
 0 0 5 3 3 2

 
 0 0 0
Since, the echelon form of the matrix contains a zero row, so the given functions
are linearly dependent in R 3 .
Exercise:
Problem-01: Test the linear dependency of S where,
i). S  1, 2,1 ,  2,1, 1 ,  7, 4,1  R3
ii). S   1,1,1 , 1, 4, 2  , 3, 5,1  R3
iii). S  1,1, 1 , 1, 2,3 , 3,5, 3  R3
iv). S  1, 4,0, 1 ,  2,0,0,3 ,  1, 4,0, 4   R4
v). S  1, 4,0, 1, 2 ,  2,0,0,3,1 ,  2,1,5, 2,0   R5
vi). S  1, 2, 4,1 ,  2,1,0, 3 , 3, 6,1, 4   R4
ANS: i). LD ; ii). LI ; iii). LD ; iv). LD ; v). LI ; vi). LI.
Problem-02: Test whether or not the following vectors are linearly dependent or
not:
i). 1, 2,3 ,  2,1, 2  ,  3,3,1 in R .
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Linear Combination of Vectors FOUR

ii).  2,1,3 ,  3, 2,1 , 1,1, 2 in R3
iii). t 2  2 t  3,3t 2  t  2,5 t 2  3t  8 in R3
iv). t 2  t  2,2 t 2  t,3t 2 2 t 2 in R3
v). 1,2, 1, 3 , 3,1, 1,2 , 4, 1,0,3  in R 4