SUBSPACE TEST

Strategy: We want to see if H is a subspace of V.

1.) Is the zero vector of V also in H? If no, then H is not a subspace of V. If yes, then move on

to step 2.

2.) Identify c, u , v , and list any facts.

3.) Is u + v in H? If yes, then move on to step 4. If no, then give a specific example to show

that u and v are in H but u + v is not in H. This shows that H is not a subspace of V.

4.) Is cu in H? If yes, then H is a subspace of V. If no, then give a specific example to show

that u is in H but cu is not in H. This shows that H is not a subspace of V.

Note: If H is defined with the variables u, v, or c, feel free to use different letters. For example,
let your scalar be d instead of c or let your two vectors be g and h instead of u and v. There is
nothing special about using c, u, and v. Just be sure to be consistent. Don't start using d as your
scalar and end up using c as your scalar.

1
Example 1
a + b + c

Let H = 2a + 3b a, b, c R . Is H a subspace of R 3 ?
4c

1.) Is the zero vector of R 3 also in H?

a + b + c 0

We need to see if the equation 2a + 3b = 0 has a solution. A solution to this equation is
4c 0

a = b = c = 0 . So 0 is in H.

2.) Identify d, u , v , and list any facts. (Im going to use d as my scalar because c has already

been used.)

u1 + u 2 + u 3 v1 + v 2 + v 3

d R , u = 2u1 + 3u 2 , and v = 2v 1 + 3v 2
4u 3 4v 3

3.) Is u + v in H?

u1 + u 2 + u 3 + v 1 + v 2 + v 3 (u1 + v 1 ) + (u 2 + v 2 ) + (u 3 + v 3 )

u + v = 2u1 + 3u 2 + 2v 1 + 3v 2 = 2(u1 + v 1 ) + 3(u 2 + v 2 )
4u 3 + 4v 3 4(u 3 + v 3 )

Here a = u1 + v 1 , b = u 2 + v 2 , and c = u 3 + v 3 . So u + v is in H.

4.) Is du in H?

d(u1 + u 2 + u 3 ) du1 + du 2 + du 3

du = d(2u1 + 3u 2 ) = 2du1 + 3du 2
d(4u 3 ) 4du 3

Here a = du1 , b = du 2 , and c = du 3 . So du is in H. This means that H is a subspace of R 3 .

2
Example 2
a

b
Let W = : c = a + 2b & d = a 3b . Is W a subspace of R 4 ?
c
d

1.) Is the zero vector of R 4 also in W?

a a 0

b b 0
We need to see if the equation = = has a solution.
c a + 2b 0

d a 3b 0

A solution to this equation is a = b = 0 . So 0 is in W.

2.) Identify k, u , v , and list any facts.

u1 v1

u2 v
k R , u = , v = 2
u3 v
3
u v
4 4

Our facts are u 3 = u1 + 2u 2 , u 4 = u1 3u 2 , v 3 = v 1 + 2v 2 , and v 4 = v 1 3 v 2 .

3.) Is u + v in W?

u1 + v 1

u2 + v 2
u+v =
u + v3
3
u + v
4 4
Here a = u1 + v 1 , b = u 2 + v 2 , c = u 3 + v 3 , and d = u 4 + v 4 . We need to know if c = a + 2b and d = a 3b .

c = u 3 + v 3 = (u1 + 2u 2 ) + (v 1 + 2v 2 ) = (u1 + v 1 ) + 2(u 2 + v 2 ) = a + 2b

d = u 4 + v 4 = (u1 3u 2 ) + (v 1 3v 2 ) = (u1 + v 1 ) 3(u 2 + v 2 ) = a 3b

So u + v is in W.

4.) Is ku in W?

ku 1

ku 2
ku =
ku
3
ku
4
Here a = ku1 , b = ku 2 , c = ku 3 , and d = ku 4 . We need to know if c = a + 2b and d = a 3b .
c = ku 3 = k (u1 + 2u 2 ) = ku1 + 2ku 2 = a + 2b and d = ku 4 = k (u1 3u 2 ) = ku1 3ku 2 = a 3b
So ku is in W. This means that W is a subspace of R 4 .
3
Example 3
2a + b

Let H = 2b + 4c 1 a, b, c R . Is H a subspace of R 3
?
a + b + c

3
1.) Is the zero vector of R also in H?

2a + b 0

Does the equation 2b + 4c 1 = 0 have a solution? No, this equation can be written as the
a + b + c 0

2a + b = 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 10

system 2b + 4c = 1 . Looking at the augmented matrix 0 2 4 1 ~ 0 1 2 0 we can see
a+b+c =0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1

3
that this system has no solution. This means that 0 is not in H. So H is not a subspace of R .

4
Example 4
abc

Let H = 2a + 3b a, b, c R . Is H a subspace of R 3 ?
4c

1.) Is the zero vector of R 3 also in H?

abc 0

We need to see if the equation 2a + 3b = 0 has a solution. A solution to this equation is
4c 0

a = b = c = 0 . So 0 is in H.

2.) Identify d, u , v , and list any facts. (Im going to use d as my scalar because c has already

been used.)

u1 * u 2 * u 3 v1 * v 2 * v 3

d R , u = 2u1 + 3u 2 , and v = 2v 1 + 3v 2
4u 3 4v 3

3.) Is u + v in H?

u1 * u 2 * u 3 + v 1 * v 2 * v 3 u 1 * u 2 * u 3 + v 1 * v 2 * v 3

u + v = 2u1 + 3u 2 + 2v 1 + 3v 2 = 2(u1 + v 1 ) + 3(u 2 + v 2 )
4u 3 + 4v 3 4(u 3 + v 3 )

Looking at the last two entries we see that a = u1 + v 1 , b = u 2 + v 2 , and c = u 3 + v 3 .

However, abc = (u1 + v 1 )(u 2 + v 2 )(u 3 + v 3 ) u1 * u 2 * u 3 + v 1 * v 2 * v 3 , in general.

8 27

For example, let u1 = u 2 = u 3 = 2 , v 2 = 3 , and v 1 = v 3 = 3 . So u = 10 , v = 3 , and
8 12

35 abc
13 3b 13 3b
u + v = 13 = 2a + 3b . Now we have that c = 1 , a = , and * b * ( 1) = 35
4 4c 2 2

13 169 840
or 3b 2 13b 70 = 0 . Using the quadratic formula, we get b = R . So, in
6

general, u + v is not in H. This means that H is not a subspace of R 3 .

5
 EXERCISES
n n
For problems 1-5, determine if H is a subspace of R . If so, write it as the span of a set of vectors in R and the
column space of a matrix.

1.)
a + b + 2c
H =

a, b, c R 2x + 3 y + 4z + 6 w

ab + c 4.) H =
yz
x, y, z, w R

1

x + y z w
a + 2b

2.) H = a + b + c a, b, c R

0 a b + 7c

3a 4b + 8c 9d
5.) H = a, b, c, d R
dc
x + 2y z
6a 17d

3.) H = 4y + 6z x, y, z R
7 x 3 y + 14z

1 2 4 6
3
6.) Let A = 1 5 3 2 . Is the solution set of A x = 0 as subspace of R ? Is the solution set of A x = 0 as
1 2 3 4

4
subspace of R ?

1 2 4 6 1
3
7.) Let A = 1 5 3 2 and b = 2 . Is the solution set of A x = b as subspace of R ? Is the solution set
1 2 3 4 4

4
of A x = b as subspace of R ?

n
For problems 8-14, determine if W is a subspace of R .

a x
y
8.) W = b abc = 0
c 12.) W = 2x + 3 y = z + w
z
w


x

9.) W = y x + y + z = 0 a
z b
13.) W = a + b = 3c and b + c = 4d
c
d
x
10.) W = sin x =
y 2
14.) Let T : R n R m be a linear transformation.


r



Determine if W = x

()

x R n and T x = 0 is a


11.) W = s r + s t
n
t subspace of R .

6
 ANSWERS TO THE ODD EXERCISES
2
1.) H is not a subspace of R .

1 2 1 1 2 1
3
3.) H is a subspace of R where H = span 0 , 4 , 6 = ColA with A = 0 4 6 .
7 3 14 7 3 14

1 1 7 0 1 1 7 0

4 3 4 8 9 3 4 8 9
5.) H is a subspace of R where H = span , 0 , 1, = ColA with A = .
0 1 0 0 1 1

6 0

0

17

6
0 0 17

3 4
7.) The solution set of A x = b is not a subspace of R or R .
3
9.) W is a subspace of R .
3
11.) W is not a subspace of R .
4
13.) W is a subspace of R .