Department of Mathematics, University of Toronto

MAT223H1S - Linear Algebra I

Suggestions for Review: Midterm Exam II

I suggest before you go through this document that you read through all your class notes and/or the textbook
and, as youre reading, solve questions as you encounter a new topic. You should at least attempt to solve
all the computational style questions from the textbook, then try some of the Find an Example questions
and some of the True or False questions. Once youve systematically worked through all the material from
the beginning, only then read this document. Organizing a carrying out your own review is a critical step
to understanding and mastering new material. It is much more valuable than going through someone elses
review. You should be able to state theorems and definitions precisely and make connections between various
ideas. You should be able to solve particular examples explaining you reasoning at every step. If you are
doing a proof and you are using a theorem to help complete the proof, you should state the theorem precisely.
Writing something like By Theorem in the textbook, yadda, yadda, yadda... is not acceptable. Working
in small groups may worthwhile.
This may not cover every idea you need to master (not that Im intentionally omitting something) but it is
intended to identify and solidify the main points and connections between various concepts.
I hope this helps. Good Luck!

Chapter 4: Subspaces
Keywords: Subspace, zero vector, closure under addition, closure under scalar multiplication, null space,
row space, column space, kernel, range, basis, standard basis, dimension, nullity, rank.
State the definition of a subspace of Rn . Give examples of subspaces of R3 that are lines, examples
that are planes, and examples that are all of R3 . Show that there is only one subspace of R3 that does
not have infinitely many vectors in it.
Explain why a subspace spanned by three vectors in R3 can either be a point, a line, a plane, or all of
R3 .
What is a basis? What are some of the important properties of a basis?
What is the dimension of a subspace of Rn ? Explain how knowing the dimension of a subspace is
helpful when you have to find a basis for the subspace.
How many ways can you describe the rank of a matrix? State them all.
State the connection between the rank of a matrix A and the dimension of the solution space of the
homogeneous system Ax = 0.

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Practice Problems
1. For each of the following subsets of R3 , determine if it is or is not a subspace of R3 . If it is, show that
all three conditions in Denition 4.1 of the textbook are satisfied; if it is not, show by example that one
of the conditions fails to hold.

n x1
o
(i) W = x2 | x1 + x3 0 .
x3

n x1
o
(ii) W = x2 | (x1 + x2 + x3 )2 = 0 .
x3

x1
n x
o
2
2. Let W =
|
x

x
=
2x

2x
.
1
2
4
3
x3
x4
(a) Show in two different ways that W is a subspace of R4 without using Definition 4.1 in the textbook.
(Hint: Use two Theorems from Section 4.1 in the textbook).
(b) Find a basis for W and determine the dimension of W .

3 )
0
( 1
1 0 1

(c) Prove or disprove: The set S =
0 , 1 , 0 is a basis for W .
1
1
0

3. Let

1
A= 1
2

5
6
11

4
5
8

2
3
5

2
2
2

and let T : R5 R3 be the linear transformation defined by T (x) = Ax for all x R5 .

(a) Find a basis for the kernel of T
(b) Find a basis for the range of T .
(c) For every b R3 does there exist an x R5 such that T (x) = b?

4. Let a, b, c be real numbers

1
(a) Show the matrix A = 1
1

that are not all equal.

a b+c
b a + c has rank 2.
c a+b

(b) Find a basis for the nullspace of A.

5. Let A be an n m matrix. If Ax = b has a solution for every b, what is the rank of A? If Ax = b

has a unique solution, what is the rank of A?

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Chapter 5: Determinants
Keywords: Determinant, minor, cofactor, cofactor (Laplace) expansion.
Define cofactor and explain the cofactor (Laplace) Expansion.
State as many facts as you can that simplify the evaluation of determinants.
What does the determinant of a matrix A tell you about the invertibility of A?
How and why are determinants connected to area and volume?
Practice Problems

3
2 4 2
6
2
3 3 27 33
and B =
6. Prove or disprove: A =
6
2 1 5
2
2
6 1 3 3
(Hint: You dont need to compute the determinants of A

6
1
1
2
and

3
9
5
2
have the same determinant.
3 3
18 22
B to answer this question.)

7. Let A be an n n matrix, and R an echelon form of A

(a) Explain why it is always possible to row-reduce A to R using only two types of elementary row
operations: (i) adding a multiple of one row to another, and (ii) interchanging any two rows.
(b) Prove that if k row interchanges were used in row-reducing A to R, then

(1)k (product of pivots in R) when A is invertible
det(A) =
0
when A is not invertible
Note, as an interesting aside, that although the echelon form R is not unique, and the pivots are not
unique, the product of the pivots is unique up to sign (+/-).
(c) Explain why part (b) proves A is invertible iff det(A) 6= 0.

4
1
. Determine all values of c such that A is invertible.
2
c

2
0
8. Let A =
0
1

5
1
1
0

a
9. If det d
g

c
4a 2c 6b 2c
f = 3, find det 2d f 3e f .
k
2g k 3h k

b
e
h

2
1
4
1

10. In Tutorial Problems 7, 2(c), you proved any 33 matrix with linearly dependent rows has determinant
equal to zero. Use volume to explain why this result is expected.
11. Suppose A is a 3 3 matrix and that det(A) = 0. What can you say about the rows of A? Explain
why the range of the linear transformation T (x) = Ax cannot be all of R3 and that its kernel cannot
be trivial.

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Chapter 6: Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors

Keywords: Eigenvalue, eigenvector, eigenspace, characteristic polynomial, multiplicity, diagonalization,
diagonalizable.
Define eigenvectors and eigenvalues of matrix A. Explain the connection between the statement that
is an eigenvalue of A with eigenvector x and the condition det(A I) = 0.
Let be an eigenvalue of A. Define the eigenspace E . Explain why E = null(A I).
Suppose you are given that an n n matrix A has eigenvalues 1 , 2 , . . . , n (not necessarily distinct).
What condition on the eigenvalues guarantees A is diagonalizable.

Practice Problems

4 2 2
12. Let A = 1 1 1 .
1 1 3
(a) Find all the eigenvalues of A and a basis for each corresponding eigenspace.
(b) Is A diagonalizable? If it is, find an invertible matrix P and a diagonal matrix D such that A = P DP 1 .
13. Suppose A is a 3 3 matrix such that det(A) = 0, det(A + 2I) = 0, and det(A 3I) = 0. Is A
diagonalizable? Is A invertible? What is the rank of A? Explain your answer in each case.

1
14. Let A = 0
1

1
c
0

1
0. For what value of c is A diagonalizable?
1

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