Section 4.

1 Vector Spaces and Subspaces Main Ideas in this section: Denition of a Vector Space Examples of Vector Spaces, old and new Subspaces New look at Span of a set of objects

A Vector Space is a set V of objects for which there are two dened operations, addition and scalar multiplication, subject to the ten rules below. The rules hold for all u, v, w in V and for all scalars c, d in R. I

1. u + v V 2. u + v = v + u 3. (u + v) + w = u + (v + w) 4. 0 V such that u + 0 = u 5. u V, u V such that u + (u) = 0 6. cu V 7. c(u + v) = cu + cv 8. (c + d)u = cu + du 9. c(du) = (cd)u 10. 1u = u

Most obvious example of a vector space: R I n for any integer n.

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Other examples of vector spaces: Dene M22 as

M22 = M22 is a vector space.

a b : a, b, c, d R I . c d

For any integer n > 0, dene P I n as the set of all polynomials of degree at most n: P I n = {p(t) = a0 + a1t + a2t2 + + antn} where the coecients a0, . . . , an are real numbers. P I n is a vector space.

 Let V be the set of all real-valued continuous functions f (t) dened on the interval [a, b]. (Take note: This set is generally denoted by C[a, b].) If we dene addition and scalar multiplication carefully , then V is a vector space.

carefully means: f + g is the function whose value at t in the domain is f (t) + g(t), and the function cf is the function whose value at t is cf (t).

TIP: try to think of an individual object in any vector space as a simple entity, for example as a point in space, even when the object is not dened so simply. Most Important: every object in a vector space V obeys the ten rules for addition and scalar multiplication as dened for V.
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Subspaces special subsets of Vector Spaces A subspace of a vector space V is a subset H of V that has three properties: a. The zero vector of V is in H . b. H is closed under vector addition. That is, for each u and v in H , the sum u + v is also in H . c. H is closed under scalar multiplication. That is, for each u in H and each scalar c, the vector cu is also in H .

NOTE: Every subspace (not subset) of a vector space is itself a vector space.

Examples of subspaces: The set consisting of only the zero vector in any vector space V is a subspace of V . It is called the zero subspace and written as {0}

Let H = span

1 , 0 0

1 . Then H is a subspace of R I 3. 1 0

1 1 Note that H looks and acts like S = span , . However, these are 0 1 3 fundamentally dierent spaces. H is a subspace of R I , whereas S is not even a subset of R I 3.
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Exercise: Let H be the set of points inside and on the unit circle in the x 2 2 : x +y 1 . xy plane. That is, let H = y a. Is H a subset of R I 2? b. Is H a subspace of R I 2?

Exercise: Let H be the set of all polynomials of the form a + bt2, where a and b are in R. I a. Is H a subset of P I 2? b. Is H a subspace of P I 2? What if b = 1?

Theorem 1 If v1, v2, . . . , vp are objects in a vector space V , then Span{v1, v2, . . . , vp } is a subspace of V . Span{v1, v2, . . . , vp } is called the subspace spanned (or generated) by {v1, v2, . . . , vp }. Given any subspace H of V , a spanning (or generating) set for H is a set {v1, v2, . . . , vp } such that H = Span{v1, v2, . . . , vp }

Exercise: Let H be the set of all vectors of the form (4a + 2b, a + b + c, 0, b 2c). Is H a subspace of the vector space R I 4? If so, nd its generating set.

Exercise: Let H I 3 such that Ax = 0, where be the set of all x in R 1 0 1 0 3 . Is H a subspace of R A= I 3? If so, nd its spanning set. 3 0 0 0

Exercise: Let H and K be subspaces of a vector space V . The intersection of H and K , denoted H K , is the set of v in V that belong to both H and K . Show that H K is a subspace of V .

Summary Vector Space = set of objects with rules for addition and scalar multiplication, and closure under these operations Objects in a vector space are not always vectors Checking subsets to see if theyre subspaces three criteria Span of a set of objects from V is automatically a subspace of V .
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