Department of Mathematics, IIT Delhi

MTL104 (Linear Algebra & Applications)

Problem Sheet-1

Vector Space and Subspace

1) Let V = R3 . Examine whether V (R) is a vector space under the addition + and scalar
multiplication · defined as following.

(i) (x1 , y1 , z1 ) + (x2 , y2 , z2 ) = (x1 − x2 , y1 − y2 , z1 − z2 )

c · (x1 , y1 , z1 )
(ii) (x1 , y1 , z1 ) + (x2 , y2 , z2 )
c · (x1 , y1 , z1 )
(iii) (x1 , y1 , z1 ) + (x2 , y2 , z2 )
c · (x1 , y1 , z1 )
(iv) (x1 , y1 , z1 ) + (x2 , y2 , z2 )
c · (x1 , y1 , z1 )
= (cx1 , cy1 , cz1 )
= (x1 + x2 − 1, y1 + y2 − 1, z1 + z2 − 1)
= (cx1 , cy1 , cz1 )
= (2x1 + 2x2 , 2y1 + 2y2 , 2z1 + 2z2 )
= (cx1 , cy1 , cz1 )
= (x1 + 2x2 , y1 + 2y2 , z1 + 2z2 )
= (cx1 , cy1 , cz1 )

2) Let F ∈ {R, C} and let V = Mn×n (F). In the following, determine whether W is a
subspace of V (F), where

(a) W is the set of all skew-Hermitian matrices, that is, the set of all matrices A such
that A∗ = −A.
(b) W is the set of all Hermitian matrices, that is, the set of all matrices A such that
A∗ = A.
(c) W is the set of all upper triangular matrices.
(d) W is the set of all invertible matrices.
(e) W is the set of all idempotent matrices, that is, the set of all matrices A such that
A2 = A.

3) Let V = {(t, 1 + t) : t ∈ R}. For all t1 , t2 ∈ R and c ∈ R, define

(t1 , 1 + t1 ) + (t2 , 1 + t2 ) = (t1 + t2 , 1 + t1 + t2 )

c · (t1 , 1 + t1 ) = (ct1 , 1 + ct1 ).

Show that V is a vector space under + and · defined as above.

4) Prove or disprove: Let W1 and W2 are two subspaces of V . Then

(a) W1 ∪ W2 is a subspace of V .
(b) W1 ∩ W2 is a subspace of V .

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5) Prove or disprove: If W1 , W2 , U are subspaces of V such that
W1 + U = W2 + U,
then W1 = W2 .
6) Prove or disprove: If W1 , W2 , U are subspaces of V such that
W1 ⊕ U = W2 ⊕ U,
then W1 = W2 .
7) Let V = {f : R → C | f (−t) = f (t)}. The bar denotes the complex conjugation. Show
that V , with the operations
(f + g)(t) = f (t) + g(t)
(c · f )(t) = cf (t)
is a vector space over R.
Bases and Dimension
1) Prove that if {v1 , . . . , vn } spans the vector space V , then so does the set
{v1 − v2 , v2 − v3 , . . . , vn−1 − vn , vn } .

2) Let F ∈ {R, C} and let V = Mm×n (F) be the set of m × n matrices. Show that V (F) has
dimension mn.
3) V is infinite dimensional if and only if there is a sequence of vectors v1 , v2 , . . . such that
{v1 , . . . , vn } is linearly independent for every positive integer n.
4) Show that V = {f : [0, 1] → R | f is continous} is infinite dimensional vector space.
5) Let Pm (R) be the vector space containing all polynomials of degree less than equal to m.
Suppose that p0 , p1 , . . . , pm ∈ Pm (R) such that pj (2) = 0 for all j = 0, . . . , m. Then show
that {p0 , p1 , . . . , pm } is not linearly independent.
6) Let          
 1 0 1 1 −1 
S =  0 , 1 , 1 , 2 , 1  .
1 1 2 1 −2
 

Find a basis for the Span(S).

 
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7) Let v1 = 2 . Extend v1 to a basis of R3 .

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8) Let V = P3 (R) and S = {p(x) ∈ P3 (R) : p(0) = 0, p(1) = 0}. Show that (i) S is a
subspace of P3 (R), and (ii) find a basis for S.
9) Let U, W are two subspaces of V such that U ⊆ W and dim(U ) = dim(W ). Then U = W .