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'''Note*''' If v1, v2,..., vk form a basis for a vector space V, then they must be distinct and nonzero.
 
'''Note*''' If v1, v2,..., vk form a basis for a vector space V, then they must be distinct and nonzero.
 
'''Note**''' The above definition not only applies to a finite set of vectors, but also to an infinite set of vectors in a vector space.
 
'''Note**''' The above definition not only applies to a finite set of vectors, but also to an infinite set of vectors in a vector space.
'''Example 1''' Let <math>V = R^3</math>. The vectors <math>[1,0,0], [0,1,0], [0,0,1]</math> form a basis for <math>R^3</math>, called the '''natural basis''' or '''standard basis''', for <math>R^3</math>.
+
*'''Example 1'''
===Example 2===
+
Let <math>V = R^3</math>. The vectors <math>[1,0,0], [0,1,0], [0,0,1]</math> form a basis for <math>R^3</math>, called the '''natural basis''' or '''standard basis''', for <math>R^3</math>.
 +
*'''Example 2'''
 
The set of vectors <math>{t^n,t^(n-1),...,t,1}</math> forms a basis for the vector space Pn called the '''natural''', or '''standard basis''', for Pn.
 
The set of vectors <math>{t^n,t^(n-1),...,t,1}</math> forms a basis for the vector space Pn called the '''natural''', or '''standard basis''', for Pn.
===Example 3===
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*'''Example 3'''
 
A vector space V is called '''finite-dimensional''' if there is a finite subset of V that is a basis for V. If there is no such finite subset of V, then V is called '''infinite-dimensional'''.
 
A vector space V is called '''finite-dimensional''' if there is a finite subset of V that is a basis for V. If there is no such finite subset of V, then V is called '''infinite-dimensional'''.
===Theorem 1===
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*'''Theorem 1'''
 
If <math>S = (v1,v2,...,Vn)</math> is a basis for a vector space V, then every vector in V can be written in one and only one way as a linear combination of the vectors in S.
 
If <math>S = (v1,v2,...,Vn)</math> is a basis for a vector space V, then every vector in V can be written in one and only one way as a linear combination of the vectors in S.
===Theorem 2===
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*'''Theorem 2'''
 
Let <math>S = (v1,v2,...,Vn)</math> be a set of nonzero vectors in a vector space V and let <math>W = span S</math>. Then some subset of S is a basis for W.
 
Let <math>S = (v1,v2,...,Vn)</math> be a set of nonzero vectors in a vector space V and let <math>W = span S</math>. Then some subset of S is a basis for W.
===Theorem 3===
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*'''Theorem 3'''
 
If <math>S = (v1,v2,...,Vn)</math> is a basis for a vector space V and <math>T = (w1,w2,...,Wr)</math> is a linearly independent set of vectors in V, then <math>r <= n</math>.
 
If <math>S = (v1,v2,...,Vn)</math> is a basis for a vector space V and <math>T = (w1,w2,...,Wr)</math> is a linearly independent set of vectors in V, then <math>r <= n</math>.
===Corollary 1===
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*'''Corollary 1'''
 
If <math>S = (v1,v2,...,Vn)</math> and <math>T = (w1,w2,...,Wn)</math> are bases for a vector space V, then <math>n = m</math>.
 
If <math>S = (v1,v2,...,Vn)</math> and <math>T = (w1,w2,...,Wn)</math> are bases for a vector space V, then <math>n = m</math>.
 
=='''Dimension'''==
 
=='''Dimension'''==

Revision as of 03:06, 10 December 2011


Basis and Dimension of Vector Spaces

Basis

Definition: The vectors v1, v2,..., vk in a vector space V are said to form a basis for V if (a) v1, v2,..., vk span V and (b) v1, v2,..., vk are linearly independent. Note* If v1, v2,..., vk form a basis for a vector space V, then they must be distinct and nonzero. Note** The above definition not only applies to a finite set of vectors, but also to an infinite set of vectors in a vector space.

  • Example 1

Let $ V = R^3 $. The vectors $ [1,0,0], [0,1,0], [0,0,1] $ form a basis for $ R^3 $, called the natural basis or standard basis, for $ R^3 $.

  • Example 2

The set of vectors $ {t^n,t^(n-1),...,t,1} $ forms a basis for the vector space Pn called the natural, or standard basis, for Pn.

  • Example 3

A vector space V is called finite-dimensional if there is a finite subset of V that is a basis for V. If there is no such finite subset of V, then V is called infinite-dimensional.

  • Theorem 1

If $ S = (v1,v2,...,Vn) $ is a basis for a vector space V, then every vector in V can be written in one and only one way as a linear combination of the vectors in S.

  • Theorem 2

Let $ S = (v1,v2,...,Vn) $ be a set of nonzero vectors in a vector space V and let $ W = span S $. Then some subset of S is a basis for W.

  • Theorem 3

If $ S = (v1,v2,...,Vn) $ is a basis for a vector space V and $ T = (w1,w2,...,Wr) $ is a linearly independent set of vectors in V, then $ r <= n $.

  • Corollary 1

If $ S = (v1,v2,...,Vn) $ and $ T = (w1,w2,...,Wn) $ are bases for a vector space V, then $ n = m $.

Dimension

Definition: The dimension of a nonzero vector space V is the number of vectors in a basis for V. dim V represents the dimension of V. The dimension of the trivial vector space $ {0} $ is zero.

Example 1

Let S be a set of vectors in a vector space V. A subset T of S is called a maximal independent subset of S if T is a linearly independent set of vectors that is not properly contained in any other linearly independent subset of S.

Corollary 1

If the vector space V has dimension n, then a maximal independent subset of vectors in V contains n vectors.

Corollary 2

If a vector space V has dimension n, then a minimal* spanning set for V contains n vectors. *If S is a set of vectors spanning a vector space V, then S is called a minimal spanning set for V if S does not properly contain any other set spanning V.

Corollary 3

If vector space V has dimension n, then any subset of $ m > n $ vectors must be linearly dependent.

Corollary 4

If vector space V has dimension n, then any subset of $ m < n $ vectors cannot span V.

Theorem 1

If S is a linearly independent set of vectors in a finite-dimensional vector space V, then there is a basis T for V that contains S.

Theorem 2

Let V be an n-dimensional vector space. (a)If $ S = {v1,v2,...,Vn} $ is a linearly independent set of vectors in V, then S is a basis for V. (b)If $ S = {v1,v2,...,Vn} $ spans V, then S is a basis for V.

Theorem 3

Let S be a finite subset of the vector space V that spans V. A maximal independent subset T of S is a basis for V.

  • Reference: Elementary Linear Algebra with Applications, 9th Ed.

Alumni Liaison

Ph.D. on Applied Mathematics in Aug 2007. Involved on applications of image super-resolution to electron microscopy

Francisco Blanco-Silva