CHAPTER 8 BASIS FOR A VECTOR SPACE 8.1, Background Topics: basis, dimension. 8.1.1. Definition. A set B (finite or not) of veetors in a veotor space V is a Basis for V if it is linearly independent and spans V. 8.1.2. Example. The vectors e' = (1,0,0), €” = (0,1,0), and e* = (0,0,1) constitute a basis for the vector space IR° 8.1.3. Example. More generally, consider the vector space I" of all n-tuples of real numbers, For each natural number k between 1 and n let e* be the vector which is 1 in the A*"-coordinate and 0 in all the others. Then the set {e',e?,...,e"} is a basis for B", It is called the STANDARD Basis for R". 8.1.4. Example. For each n = 0, 1, 2, ...define a function py, on R by pa() =". Then the set {Po, Pi, P2,---} is a basis for the vector space P of polynomial functions on R. ‘Two important facts of linear algebra are that regardless of the size of the space every vector space has a basis and that every subspace has a complement, 8.1.5. Theorem. Let B be a linearly independent set of vectors in a vector space V. Then there exists a set C of vectors in V such that BUC is a basis for V. 8.1.6. Corollary. Every vector space has a basis. 8.1.7. Corollary. Let V be a vector space. If M = V, then there exists M@N=V SV such that ‘The next theorem says that any two bases for a veetor space are the sam 8.1.8. Theorem. If B and C are bases for the same vector space, then there is a one-to-one correspondence from B onto C. 8.1.9. Definition. A vector space V is FINITE DIMENSIONAL if it has a finite basis. Its DIMENSION (denoted by dim V) is the number of elements in the basis. If V does not have a finite basis it is INFINITE DIMENSIONAL. 8.1.10, Theorem. If M and N are subspaces of a finite dimensional vector space, then dim(M +N) = dim M + dim N ~ dim(M0.N)5, BASIS FOR A VECTOR SPACE, 8.2, Exercises (1) Let w= (2,0,-1), v = (3,1,0), and w = (1,—1,e) where ¢ € R. The basis for R® provided that ¢ is not equal to (2) Let u = (1,-1,3), v = (1,0,1), and w = (1,2,¢) where ¢ € R. The set {u, v, w} is a basis for R® provided that ¢ is not equal to (3) The dimen: et {uv,w} is a n of M22, the vector space of all 2 x 2 matrices of real numbers is (4) The dimension of $2, the vector space of all 2x 2 matrices of real numbers with zero trace (5) The dimension of the vector space of all real valued polynomial functions on R of degree 4or less is (6) In R* let M be the subspace spanned by the vectors (1,1,1,0) and (0,—4,1,5) and let N be the subspace spanned by (0, —2, 1,2) and (1, ~1,1,3). One veetor which belongs to both Mand N is (1, ____). The dimension of MN is __ and the dimension of M+ NisSa, PROBLEMS 8.3. Problems (1) Exhibit a basis for 92.2, the veetor space of all 2 x 2 matrices of real numbers. (2) Exhibit a basis for To, the vector space of all 2 x 2 matrices of real numbers with zero trace, (3) Exhibit a basis for Gs, the vector space of all symmetric 3 x 3 matrices of real numbers. (4) Let be the set of all matrices of real numbers of the form [ oe ‘| and % be ¢l set of all real matrices of the form [i ‘ Exhibit a basis for {for VW, for M+, and for WOU. (5) Prove that the vectors (1, 1,0), (1,2,3), and (2,—1,5) form a basis for RS. (6) Let V be a vector space and A be a linearly independent subset of V. Prove that A is a basis for V if and only if it is a maximal linearly independent subset of V. (If A is a linearly independent subset of V we say that it is a MAXIMAL linearly independent set if the addition of any vector at all to A will result in a set which is not linearly independent.) (7) Let V be a vector space and A a subset of V which spans V. Prove that A is a basis for V if and only if it is a minimal spanning set. (If A is a set which spans V we say that it is a MINIMAL spanning set if the removal of any vector at all from A will result in a set which does not span V.)