|Math 231-Fall 2019|Section 4.

6|Page 1

Section 4.6: Change of Basis1

Concepts:
• Coordinate map.
• Change-of-basis problem.
• Transition matrix.

Learning Outcomes.
After completing this section, you should be able to:
• Find coordinate vectors relative to a given basis directly.
• Find the transition matrix from one basis to another.
• Use the transition matrix to compute coordinate vectors.

1
The materials of these lecture notes are based on the textbook of the course.
 |Math 231-Fall 2019|Section 4.6|Page 2

Introduction
A basis that is suitable for one problem may not be suitable for another, so it is a common
process in the study of vector spaces to change from one basis to another.

Because a basis is the vector space generalization of a coordinate system, changing bases is
similar to changing coordinate axes in ℝ2 and ℝ3 .

In this section we will study problems related to changing bases.

Coordinate Maps
Let 𝑆𝑆 = {𝐯𝐯1 , 𝐯𝐯2 , … , 𝐯𝐯𝑛𝑛 } be a basis for a finite-
dimensional vector space 𝑉𝑉 and 𝐯𝐯 ∈ 𝑉𝑉. If
(𝐯𝐯)𝑆𝑆 = (𝑐𝑐1 , 𝑐𝑐2 , … , 𝑐𝑐𝑛𝑛 )
is the coordinate vector of 𝐯𝐯 relative to 𝑆𝑆, then
the coordinate map relative to 𝑆𝑆 from 𝑉𝑉 to ℝ𝑛𝑛 is
𝑐𝑐1
𝑐𝑐2
𝐯𝐯 → [𝐯𝐯]𝑆𝑆 = � ⋮ �
𝑐𝑐𝑛𝑛

The Change-of-Basis Problem:

Let 𝑉𝑉 be a finite-dimensional vector space and 𝐵𝐵 be a basis for 𝑉𝑉. Let 𝐯𝐯 ∈ 𝑉𝑉 and [𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵 is the
coordinate vector of 𝐯𝐯 relative to 𝐵𝐵.

If we change the basis for 𝑉𝑉 from a basis 𝐵𝐵 to a basis 𝐵𝐵 ′ , how are the coordinate
vectors [𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵 and [𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵′ related?

Solution of the Change-of-Basis Problem:

If we change the basis for a vector space 𝑉𝑉 from an old basis 𝐵𝐵 = {𝐮𝐮1 , 𝐮𝐮2 , … , 𝐮𝐮𝑛𝑛 } to a new
basis 𝐵𝐵′ = {𝐮𝐮1′ , 𝐮𝐮′2 , … , 𝐮𝐮′𝑛𝑛 }, then for each vector 𝐯𝐯 in 𝑉𝑉, the old coordinate vector [𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵 is
related to the new coordinate vector [𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵′ by the equation
[𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵 = 𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵′ →𝐵𝐵 [𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵′
where the columns of the 𝑛𝑛 × 𝑛𝑛 matrix 𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵′ →𝐵𝐵 are the coordinate vectors of the new basis
vectors relative to the old basis; that is,
𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵′ →𝐵𝐵 = � [𝐮𝐮1′ ]𝐵𝐵 | [𝐮𝐮′2 ]𝐵𝐵 | ⋯ | [𝐮𝐮′𝑛𝑛 ]𝐵𝐵 �
 |Math 231-Fall 2019|Section 4.6|Page 3

Transition Matrices:
The transition matrix from 𝑩𝑩′ to 𝑩𝑩:
𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵′ →𝐵𝐵 = � [𝐮𝐮1′ ]𝐵𝐵 | [𝐮𝐮′2 ]𝐵𝐵 | ⋯ | [𝐮𝐮′𝑛𝑛 ]𝐵𝐵 �

The transition matrix from 𝑩𝑩 to 𝑩𝑩′ :

𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵→𝐵𝐵′ = � [𝐮𝐮1 ]𝐵𝐵′ | [𝐮𝐮2 ]𝐵𝐵′ | ⋯ | [𝐮𝐮𝑛𝑛 ]𝐵𝐵′ �

Remark
(𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵′ →𝐵𝐵 )−1 = 𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵→𝐵𝐵′

Remark
[𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵 = 𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵′ →𝐵𝐵 [𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵′
[𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵′ = 𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵→𝐵𝐵′ [𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵

A Procedure for Computing 𝑷𝑷𝑩𝑩→𝑩𝑩′ :

1. 𝐵𝐵 is the matrix whose columns are the old bases vectors 𝐮𝐮1 , 𝐮𝐮2 , … , 𝐮𝐮𝑛𝑛 .
2. 𝐵𝐵′ is the matrix whose columns are the new bases vectors 𝐮𝐮1′ , 𝐮𝐮′2 , … , 𝐮𝐮′𝑛𝑛 .
3. Form the matrix [ 𝐵𝐵′ | 𝐵𝐵 ].
4. Use elementary row operations to reduce the matrix in Step 1 to reduced row
echelon form.
5. The resulting matrix will be [ 𝐼𝐼 | 𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵→𝐵𝐵′ ].

Remark:
We can also compute 𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵′ →𝐵𝐵 by using elementary row operations to reduce the matrix
[ 𝐵𝐵 | 𝐵𝐵′ ]
to
[ 𝐼𝐼 | 𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵′ →𝐵𝐵 ]
 |Math 231-Fall 2019|Section 4.6|Page 4

Example.
Consider the bases 𝐵𝐵 = {𝐮𝐮1 , 𝐮𝐮2 } and 𝐵𝐵′ = {𝐮𝐮1′ , 𝐮𝐮′2 } for ℝ2 , where
𝐮𝐮1 = (2,2), 𝐮𝐮2 = (4, −1), 𝐮𝐮1′ = (1,3), 𝐮𝐮′2 = (−1, −1),
a) Find the transition matrix 𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵′ →𝐵𝐵 from 𝐵𝐵′ to 𝐵𝐵.
b) Find the transition matrix 𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵→𝐵𝐵′ from 𝐵𝐵 to 𝐵𝐵′ .
c) Find [𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵 given that
[𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵′ = �1�
2
 |Math 231-Fall 2019|Section 4.6|Page 5

Example.
Consider the bases 𝐵𝐵 = {𝐮𝐮1 , 𝐮𝐮2 } and 𝐵𝐵′ = {𝐮𝐮1′ , 𝐮𝐮′2 } for ℝ2 , where
𝐮𝐮1 = (1,0), 𝐮𝐮2 = (0,1), 𝐮𝐮1′ = (1,1), 𝐮𝐮′2 = (2,1),
a) Find the transition matrix 𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵→𝐵𝐵′ from 𝐵𝐵′ to 𝐵𝐵.
b) Find the transition matrix 𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵′ →𝐵𝐵 from 𝐵𝐵 to 𝐵𝐵′ .
c) Find [𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵′ given that
[𝐯𝐯]𝐵𝐵 = �7�
2