MATHEMATICS II

MATH F112

Department of Mathematics
BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus

Dr. Manoj Kumar Pandey

 Spanning Sets
and
Linear Independence

Dr. Manoj Kumar Pandey

 Spanning Sets

This section introduces the spanning set, linear independence, and
linear dependence

The above three notions are associated with the representation of
any vector in a vector space as a linear combination of a selected
set of vectors in that vector space

Linear combination
A vector u in a vector space V is called a linear combination of
the vectors v1 , v 2 ,L , v k in V if u can be written in the form

u = c1 v1 + c2 v 2 + K + ck v k ,

where c1 , c2 ,K, ck are real-number scalars

4.3
The span of a set: span (S)

If S = {v1, v2,…, vk} is a set of vectors in a vector space V,

then the span of S is the set of all linear combinations of
the vectors in S,

span(S ) = {c1v1 + c2 v 2 + L + ck v k ∀ci ∈ R}

(the set of all linear combinations of vectors in S )

4.4
 Theorem
Let S= {v1, v2,…, vk} be a set of vectors in a vector space V. Then
span (S) is a subspace of V.
The span (S) is the smallest subspace of V that contains all of the
vectors in S, in the sense that any other subspace that contains
those vectors contains span (S).

4.5
The vectors v1, v2,…, vk in a vector space V are said to span V if
every vector in V is a linear combination of v1, v2,…, vk .
Moreover, if S= {v1, v2,…, vk}, then we also say that the set S
spans V, or that {v1, v2,…, vk} spans V or V is spanned by S.

4.6
 Examples

(a) The set S = {(1, 0, 0), (0,1, 0), (0, 0,1)} spans R 3 because any vector
u = (u1 , u2 , u3 ) in R 3 can be written as
u = u1 (1, 0, 0) + u2 (0,1, 0) + u3 (0, 0,1)

(b) The set S = {1, x, x 2 } spans P2 because any polynomial function

p ( x) = a + bx + cx 2 in P2 can be written as
p( x) = a(1) + b( x) + c( x 2 )

4.7
Problems

(i) Show that the set S = {(1,2,3), (0,1,2), (-2,0,1)} spans R3.

(ii) Show that

1 0 0 1 0 0 
S =   ,  ,  
0 0 1 0 0 1 

spans the subspace of M 2, 2 consisting of all symmetric matrices.

4.8
Solution

We must examine whether any vector u = (u1 , u2 ,u3 ) in R 3

can be expressed as a linear combination of v1 = (1, 2,3),
v 2 = (0,1, 2), and v 3 = (−2, 0,1)

If u = c1 v1 + c2 v 2 + c3 v 3 ⇒ c1 − 2c3 = u1
2c1 + c2 = u2
3c1 + 2c2 + c3 = u3

The above problem thus reduces to determine whether this

system is consistent for all values of u1 , u2 , and u3

4.9
 1 0 −2
QA=2 1 0 ≠0
3 2 1

∴ Ax = u has exactly one solution for every u

⇒ span( S ) = R 3

If A is an invertible matrix, then the system Ax = b has a unique solution for any
given b
A square matrix A is invertible (nonsingular) if and only if det (A) ≠ 0

4.10
Problem

(iii) Does the set

{
S = x + 2 x + 1, x + 2
2 2
}
spans P2. Justify your answer?

4.11
Linear Independence and Linear Dependence

The vectors v1, v2,…, vk in a vector space V are said to be linearly

dependent (LD) if there exist constants c1, c2,…, ck , not all zero,
such that
c1v1 + c2 v2 + K + ck vk = 0

Otherwise, v1, v2,…, vk are linearly independent (LI). That is

v1, v2,…, vk are LI if whenever

c1v1 + c2 v2 + K + ck vk = 0

we must have
c1 = c2 = K = ck = 0.

4.12
 Examples

(i) Determine whether the following set of vectors in R3 is L.I. or L.D.

S = { v1 , v 2 , v 3 } = {(1, 2, 3) , ( 0, 1, 2 ) , ( −2, 0, 1)}

(ii) Determine whether the following set of vectors in P2 is L.I. or L.D.

{
S = { v1 , v 2 , v 3 } = 1 + x − 2 x 2 ,2 + 5 x − x 2 ,x + x 2 }
(iii) Determine whether the following set of vectors in the 2×2
matrix space is L.I. or L.D.

  2 1  3 0  1 0  
S = { v1 , v 2 , v 3 } =    ,  ,  
  0 1  2 1   2 0  
4.13
Solution 1:

c1 v1 + c2 v 2 + c3 v 3 = 0 ⇒ c1 − 2c3 = 0
2c1 + c2 + =0
3c1 + 2c2 + c3 = 0

1 0 − 2 0  1 0 0 0 
⇒ 2 1 0 0 
G.-J. E.
→
0 1 0 0
 
3 2 1 0  0 0 1 0 

⇒ c1 = c2 = c3 = 0 (only the trivial solution )

(or det(A) = −1 ≠ 0, so there is only the trivial solution)

⇒ S is (or v1 , v 2 , v 3 are) linearly independent

4.14
Solution 2:

c1v1+c2v2+c3v3 = 0

i.e., c1(1+x – 2x2) + c2(2+5x – x2) + c3(x+x2) = 0+0x+0x2

c1+2c2 =0  1 2 0 0 1 2 0 0
⇒ c1+5c2+c3 = 0  1 5 1 0  
⇒   → 1
G. E.
0 1 3
0
–2c1– c2+c3 = 0  −2 −1 1 0   
0 0 0 0

⇒ This system has infinitely many solutions

(i.e., this system has nontrivial solutions, e.g., c1=2, c2= – 1, c3=3)
⇒ S is (or v1, v2, v3 are) linearly dependent
4.15
Theorem

A set S = {v1,v2,…,vk}, for k ≥ 2, is linearly dependent if and only

if at least one of the vectors vi in S can be written as a linear
combination of the other vectors in S.

4.16
Important Results

(i) A set that contains 0 vector is linearly dependent.

(ii) A set with exactly two vectors is LI if and only if neither
vector is a scalar multiple of the other.
(iii) Let S= {v1,v2,…,vk}, be a set of vectors in Rn . If k>n, then S
is LD.

4.17
Theorem

Let S1 and S2 be finite subsets of a vector space V and let S1 be a

subset of S2. Then
(a) If S1 is LD, so is S2.
(b) If S2 is LI, so is S1.

4.18
Problem

Suppose that S1 = {v1, v2 ,v3}, is a LI set in V.

If S2 ={w1, w2 ,w3}, where
w1= v1
w2= v1+ v2
w3= v1+ v2+ v3
check whether S2 is LD or LI.

4.19
 Basis and Dimension
Basis : Let V be a vector space and S = {v1, v2, …, vn}⊆V if

(a) S spans V (i.e., span(S) = V)

(b) S is linearly independent

then S is called a basis for V.

Notes: A basis S must have enough vectors to span V, but not so

many vectors that one of them could be written as a linear
combination of the other vectors in S

4.20
 Standard Basis (Natural Basis)
(1) the standard basis for R3: { (1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (0, 0, 1)}

(2) the standard basis for Rn :

{e1, e2, …, en}, for e1 = (1,0,…,0), e2 = (0,1,…,0),…, en = (0,0,…,1)

(3) the standard basis for Pn(x):

{1, x, x2, …, xn}
Ex: P3(x): {1, x, x2, x3}

(4) the standard basis for 2×2 matrix space:

1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
  ,  ,  ,  
0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
4.21
 Examples

(1) Show that the set

S = { (1, 0 ,1, 0 ), ( 0 ,1, − 1, 2 ), ( 02 , 2 ,1), (1, 0 , 0 ,1) }

is a basis for R4

(2) Determine the basis for the following subspaces

(a) S1 = {( x, y ) / y = x} of R 2
{
(b) S 2 = ax + bx + cx + d / b = 3a − 5d , c = d + 4a of P3 .
3 2
}
(c) S3 = { p( x) ∈ P3 / p′(1) = 0}.

4.22
Dimension

The dimension of a vector space V is defined to be the

number of vectors in a basis for V
V: a vector space S: a basis for V

⇒ dim(V) = #(S) (the number of vectors in a basis S)

 Finite dimensional:
A vector space V is finite dimensional if it has a basis
consisting of a finite number of elements

 Infinite dimensional:
If a vector space V is not finite dimensional, then it is called
infinite dimensional
4.23
 Theorem

Uniqueness of basis representation for any vectors

If S = {v1 , v 2 , L , v n } is a basis for a vector space V, then every
vector in V can be written in one and only one way as a linear
combination of vectors in S.

4.24
 Theorem

Let S = {v1 , v 2 , L , v n } be a set of non-zero vectors in a vector

space V, and let W = span(S). Then some subset of S is a basis for W.

4.25
 Working Rule for Rn:

The procedure for finding a subset of S that is a basis for

W= span(S):
Step 1. Consider
c1v1 + c2 v2 + L + cn vn = 0.

Step 2. Construct the augmented matrix associated with

the homogeneous system of equations and reduce it to
reduced row echelon form.

4.26
 Working Rule for Rn:

Step 3. The vectors corresponding to the columns

containing the leading one’s form a basis for W= Span(S).

4.27
Example

Consider the set

S = { (1, 0 ,1, 0 ), ( 0 ,1, − 1, 2 ), ( 0 , 2 , 2 ,1), (1, 0 , 0 ,1) }

find a subset of S which forms a basis for span(S)

4.28
 Important Theorems:

1. Let S = {v1 , v 2 , L , v n } is a basis for a vector space V, and let

T = {v1 , v 2 , L , v m } is a LI set in V, then m ≤ n.

2. If S is a LI set of vectors in a finite-dimensional vector space V,

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

4.29
Example

Extend

S = { (1, 0 ,1, 0 ), ( − 1,1, − 1, 0 ) }

to a basis for R4

4.30
 Theorem:

1. Let S = {v1 , v 2 , L , v n } be a set of n vectors in an n-dimensional

vector space V, then
(a) If S is LI, then it is a basis for V.
(b) If S spans V, then it is a basis for V.

2. Let V be a vector space and let W be a subspace of V. Then,

dim(W) ≤ dim(V). Moreover dim(W) = dim(V) if and only if W = V.

4.31
 Problems

(1) Find the basis if exist for the solution space of AX=0, where

 1 −1 2 1 2 0
( i ) A =  0 2 1  ( ii ) A =  0 1 3 
 − 1 1 2   2 1 3 

(2) Let
S = {1 − x 2 + 3x3 ,−1 + x + 2 x 2 − x3 ,−3 + 5x + 8x 2 + x3 ,4 x + 5x 2 + 3x3}
be a subset of P3 , find a basis for Span(S).

4.32
 Row space and Column space of a matrix

In this section, two vector spaces are investigated

Row space: the vector space spanned by the row
vectors of a matrix A

Column space: the vector space spanned by column

vectors of a matrix A

4.33
  a11 a12 L a1n 
a a22 L a2 n 
A =  21
 M M M 
 
am1 am 2 L amn 

row vectors of A column vectors of A

( a11 , a12 , K , a1 n )  a11   a12   a1n 
( a 21 , a 22 , K , a 2 n ) a  a  a 
 21   22  L  2 n 
M  M   M   M 
( a m 1 , a m 2 , K , a mn )      
am1  a
 m2  amn 
So, the row vectors are vectors in Rn So, the column vectors are vectors in Rm

4.34
 Row Space and Column Space

n
Row space of A is a subspace of R spanned by the row
vectors of A.

m
Column space of A is a subspace of R spanned by the
column vectors of A.

4.35
Null Space

4.36
 Theorem

If A and B are two m ä n row equivalent matrices, then the

row space of A and B are equal.

Hint: Rows of B are linear combination of rows of A and

vice-versa.
4.37
Example

Finding a basis for a row space

 1 3 3
1
 0 1 0
1
Find a basis of the row space of A = 
− 3 0 6 − 1
 
 3 4 −2 1
 2 0 − 4 2

Sol:  1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 w 1
 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 w 2
 
− 3 0 6 − 1  0 0 1 w 3
A=   
G. E.
→ B = 0 
 3 4 −2 1 0 0 0 0
 2 0 −4 2 0 0 0 0
a1 a 2 a3 a4 b1 b 2 b3 b 4

4.38
 a basis for RS(A) = {the nonzero row vectors of B}
= {w1, w2, w3} = {(1, 3, 1, 3), (0, 1, 1, 0), (0, 0, 0, 1)}

(Check: w1, w2, w3 are linearly independent,)

4.39
Example

4.40
The dimension of the row space of A is called the row rank
of A, and the dimension of column space of A is called the
column rank of A.

Rank(A) = Row rank = Column rank

4.41
 Rank - Nullity Theorem

Let A be an m ä n matrix, then

rank(A) + nullity (A) = n

where nullity(A) is the dimension of the null-space of A.

4.42
Linear Independence and Dependence of functions

The set of functions { f1, f2,…, fk } is linearly independent on an

interval I if and only if the only values of the scalars c1, c2,…, ck ,
such that

c1 f1 + c2 f 2 + K + ck f k = 0, for all x ∈ I ,

are
c1 = c2 = K = ck = 0.

The main point to notice here is the above condition must hold
for all x in I.

4.43
 Wronskian of functions

A key tool in deciding whether or not a collection of functions is

linearly independent on an interval I is the Wronskian.

Let f1, f2,…, fk be at least k-1 times continuously differentiable

functions on an interval I. The Wonskian of these functions is defined
as
f1 ( x ) f 2 ( x) L f k ( x)
f1′( x ) f 2′( x ) L f k′( x )
W ( f1 , f 2 , L , f k )( x ) =
M M L M
( k −1) ( k −1) ( k −1)
f 1 ( x) f 2 ( x) L f k ( x)

4.44
 Wronskian Test for LI and LD

Let f and g be differentiable on [a, b]. If Wronskian W(f, g)(t0) is

nonzero for some t0 in [a, b] then f and g are linearly independent on
[a, b]. If f and g are linearly dependent then the Wronskian is zero for
all t in [a,b].

4.45