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1. a) Define what it means to say that vectors ~v1 , . . . , ~vp in a vector space V are linearly independent.
b) Consider the following polynomials
1 + 2t2 , 4 + t + 5t2 , 3 + 2t
in the vector space P2 of all polynomials of degree ≤ 2. Do they form a basis for P2 ? Explain your
answer as carefully as you can.
Solution. (i) They are linearly independent if
c1~v1 + · · · + cp~vp = 0
implies c1 = · · · = cp = 0.
(ii) Write the given vectors in terms of the basis 1, t, t2 . This gives the columns of the matrix:
1 4 3
0 1 2
2 5 0
If the vectors are linearly independent, this matrix should be invertible, i.e. have rank 3. Probably
the quickest way to check is to compute its determinant:
1 4 3 1 4 3
0 1 2 = 0 1 1 2
2 =
= 0.
2 5 0 0 −3 −6 −3 −6
Hence, the matrix is not invertible, so the vectors do not form a basis for P2 .
2. Let
B = {1, t, t2 },
C = {1 + t, 1 + t2 , t + t2 }.
So B is our favorite basis for the vector space P2 of all polynomials of degree ≤ 2.
a) Explain carefully why C is also a basis for the vector space P2 .
b) Write down the coordinates of the polynomial 6 + 3t − t2 relative to the basis B.
c) Compute the change of basis matrices
d) Using your answers to b) and c), write down the coordinates of the polynomial 6 + 3t − t2
relative to the basis C.
Solution. a) By the same argument as the previous question, C is a basis if the matrix
1 1 0
1 0 1
0 1 1
Hence,
1 3 3 2 2 3 9 2 4 19/5
T = T − T = − = .
0 5 2 5 3 5 6 5 6 6/5
Similarly:
0 3 2 2 3 3 4 2 9 −4/5
T = T − T = − = .
1 5 3 5 2 5 6 5 6 6/5
5. Let ~b1 , ~b2 , ~b3 , ~b4 be a basis for a 4-dimensional vector space V . Consider the linear transformation
T : V → V which satisfies
0 0 0 0
b) Note the matrix has rank 3, so the image has dimension 3 and the kernel has dimension 1.
Now just look at the above matrix: ~b1 is a basis for the kernel, ~b1 , ~b2 , ~b3 is a basis for the image.
c) Of course it is 4. It has to be, by the rank-nullity theory.