MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II)

Gaurav Dwivedi
Department of Mathematics
BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus.
 Module 3
Basis, dimension of a vector space, Rank of a matrix
Module 3

1 Basis
2 Dimension,
3 Row Space, Column Space, and Null Space of a
matrix
4 Rank, Nullity of a matrix

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 3 / 29
 Basis of a Vector Space

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 4 / 29
Basis of a Vector Space
Definition: A finite subset S = {v1 , v2 , . . . , vn } of a
vector space V is said to be a basis of V if
1 S is LI, and
2 span(S) = V .

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 5 / 29
Example
The subset S = {(1, 0), (0, 1)} = {e1 , e2 } is a basis of
R2 as S is LI and span(S) = R2 . The subset S is called
the standard basis of R2 .
Analogously, S = {e1 , e2 , . . . , en } is called the standard
basis of Rn , where ei is a vector of Rn such that its ith
component is 1 and remaining components are 0.

Question: Examine whether S = {(4, 1), (−7, −8)} is a

basis of R2 ?

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 6 / 29
1 A set containing a single vector is linearly
independent. (F)
2 No linearly independent set contains the zero vector.
(T)
3 Every linearly dependent set contains the zero
vector. (F)
4 The span of a single vector in R2 is a line. (F)
5 The span of a nonempty set S of vectors in V is the
smallest subspace of V that contains S. (T)
6 The span of any finite set of vectors in a vector
space is closed under addition and scalar
multiplication. (T)
7 Two subsets of a vector space V that span the
same subspace of V must be equal. (F)
8 Every linearly independent subset of a vector space
V is a basis for V . (F)
Standard bases

1 S = {1, x, x2 , . . . , xn } is a basis of Pn as S is LI
and span(S) = Pn . The set S is called the
standard basis of Pn .
2 The set
       
1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
S= , , ,
0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

is a basis of M22 . The set S is called the standard

basis of M22 .

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 8 / 29
Questions
1 Find a basis for
W = {(a, b, c, d) ∈ R4 | d = a + 2b, c = 3a − b}.
2 Consider the subspace
W1 = {(a, b, c, d) | b − 2c + d = 0} and
W2 = {(a, b, c, d) | a = d, b = 2c} of R4 . Find a
basis for W1 ∩ W2 .
3 Find a basis for W = {A ∈ M33 | A = AT }.
4 Find a basis for W = {p(x) ∈ P4 |p(2) = p(3) = 0}.
5 Find a basis for
W = {p(x) ∈ P4 | p(3) = p(5) = p(8)}.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 9 / 29
Dimension of a Vector Space

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 10 / 29
Definition. A vector space that can be spanned by
finitely many vectors is said be finite dimensional.
Otherwise, it is called infinite dimensional.

Example: The vector spaces Rn , Pn and Mmn are finite

dimensional, whereas the vector space P∞ is infinite
dimensional.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 11 / 29
Theorem. Let V be a finite dimensional vector space,
and let S = {v1 , v2 , . . . , vn } be any basis
If a subset of V has more than n vectors, then it is
linearly dependent
If a subset of V has fewer than n vectors, then it
does not span V

Theorem. All bases for a finite dimensional vector space

have the same number of elements.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 12 / 29
Definition. The dimension of a finite dimensional vector
space V is the number of elements in a basis of V and it
is denoted by dim(V ).

The dimension of the zero vector space {0} is defined to

be zero.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 13 / 29
 Examples

dim(R2 ) = 2.
dim(R3 ) = 3.
dim(Rn ) = n.
dim(Pn ) = n + 1.
dim(Mmn ) = mn.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 14 / 29
Questions
1 Find a basis and the dimension of a subspace W of
R3 , where

W = {(x, y, z) ∈ R3 | x + 2z = 0}.
2 Find a basis and the dimension of a subspace W of
M33 , where

W = {A ∈ M33 | A = −AT }.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 15 / 29
Questions
1 Find a basis and dimension for the solution space of
the following homogeneous linear system
x + 2y − z = 0
2x − y + 2z = 0
3x + y + z = 0
4x + 3y = 0
 
1 0 1
2 Let A =  0 12 − 21 . Find values of x such that
n −2 0 x o
N = X ∈ R3 : AX = 0 is one dimensional
subspace of R3 .
Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 16 / 29
Exercise

Let  
1 1 1
A =  2 2 3 .
x y z
Find the dimension of the subspace

W = {(x, y, z) ∈ R3 | A is singular}.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 17 / 29
Theorem. If S = {v1 , v2 , . . . , vn } is a basis for a vector
space V , then every vector v in V can be expressed in
the form v = c1 v1 + c2 v2 + · · · + cn vn in exactly one way.

Definition. If S = {v1 , v2 , . . . , vn } is a basis for a vector

space V , and

v = c1 v1 + c2 v2 + · · · + cn vn

then the scalars c1 , c2 , . . . , cn are called coordinates of v

relative to the basis S.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 18 / 29
The vector (c1 , c2 , . . . , cn ) ∈ Rn constructed from these
coordinates is called the coordinate vector of v
relative to S; it is denoted by

(v)S = (c1 , c2 , . . . , cn )
Remark: Sometime we shall write a coordinate vector as
column matrix and denoted by [v]S , i.e.,
 
c1
 c2 
[v]S = 
 ... 


cn
Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 19 / 29
Example. Find the coordinate vector of the polynomial
p = 3 − x − 2x2 relative to the basis
S = {1 + x, 1 + x2 , x + x2 }.

Sol.

3 − x − 2x2 = c1 (1 + x) + c2 (1 + x2 ) + c3 (x + x2 )
= (c1 + c2 ) + (c1 + c3 )x + (c2 + c3 )x2

This leads to solve the system of equations

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 20 / 29
 c1 + c2 = 3
c1 + c3 = −1
c2 + c3 = −2

On solving, we get c1 = 2, c2 = 1, c3 = −3. Thus,

(p)S = (2, 1, −3).

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 21 / 29
Exercise
Find the coordinate vector of A relative to the basis
S = {A
 1 , A2, A3 , A4 }, where  
3 −2 1 −1 0 1
A= , A1 = , A2 = ,
0 1  0 0 1 0
1 0 0 1
A3 = , A4 =
0 0 0 1

Answer. (A)S = (3, 0, 0, 1).

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 22 / 29
Theorem. Let S = {v1 , v2 , . . . , vn } be a basis for a
vector space V . Let u, v ∈ V and let c be a scalar. Then

(u + v)S = (u)S + (v)S

(cu)S = c(u)S .

Theorem. Let S = {v1 , v2 , . . . , vn } be a basis for a

vector space V and let u1 , u2 , . . . , uk be vectors in V .
Then {u1 , u2 , . . . , uk } is linearly independent in V if and
only if {(u1 )S , (u2 )S , . . . , (uk )S } is linearly independent
in Rn .

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 23 / 29
Exercise

Using the previous theorem, show that

v1 = −1 + x − 2x2 , v2 = 3 + 3x + 6x2 , and v3 = 9
form a linearly independent subset in P2 .
Hint: Since S = {1, x, x2 } is a standard basis of P2 , we
have

(v1 )S = (−1, 1, −2), (v2 )S = (3, 3, 6); , (v3 )S = (9, 0, 0).

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 24 / 29
Results Related to Basis and
Dimension

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 25 / 29
Theorem. Let S = {v1 , v2 , . . . , vn } be a nonempty set
of vectors in a vector space V .
If S is a linearly independent and v ∈ V such that
v ̸∈ span(S), then S1 = {v, v1 , v2 , . . . , vn } is a
linearly independent set.
If v ∈ S such that it can be expressed as a linear
combination of other vectors in S, then

span(S) = span(S − {v}).

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 26 / 29
Theorem. Let V be an n-dimensional vector space, and
let S be a set in V with exactly n vectors.
S is a basis of V if and only if S spans V .
S is a basis of V if and only if S is linearly
independent.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 27 / 29
Examples. For a given vector space V and a given
subset S of V , determine which of following S form a
basis of the respective vector space V :
1 V = R3 , S = {(3, 1, −1), (−5, −2, 2), (2, 2, −1)}.
2 V = R4 , S = {(7, 1, 2, 0), (8, 0, 1, −1)}.
3 V = P2 , S = {1 + x, x + x2 , 1 + x2 }.
4 V = P2 , S = {1 − x, x − x2 , 1 − x2 }.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 28 / 29
Theorem

Let S be a finite set in a finite-dimensional vector space

V.
1 If S is a linearly independent set but is not a basis
for V , then S can be enlarged to a basis for V by
inserting appropriate vectors in S.
2 If S spans V but is not a basis for V , then S can be
reduced to a basis for V by removing appropriate
vectors from S.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 29 / 29
Exercises
1 Extend the set

S = {(0, 0, 0, 3), (1, 1, 0, 0), (0, 1, −1, 0)}

to form a basis of R4 .
2 Extend the set S = {(1, 1, 0)} to form two different
bases of R3 .

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 30 / 29
Exercises
1 Let S = {(4, 2, 1), (2, 6, −5), (1, −2, 3)} be a subset
of vector space R3 . Find dim(span(S)).
2 Find a basis for the subspace of P2 spanned by
v1 = −1 + x − 2x2 , v2 = 3 + 3x + 6x2 and v3 = 9.
3 Let U = {(a, b, c, d, e) ∈ R5 |a + c − 3d + e = 0}
and W = {(a, b, c, d, e) ∈ R5 |b − c − e = 0, a = d}
be the subspaces of R5 under usual operations. Find
a basis for U and for W and for U ∩ W .

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 31 / 29
Theorem. Let W be a subspace of a finite dimensional
vector space V . Then
1 W is also finite dimensional and dimW ⩽ dimV .
2 dimW = dimV if and only if W = V .

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 32 / 29
 Subspaces associated with
Matrices

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 33 / 29
Definitions
Let A be an m × n matrix.
The column space of A denoted by col(A), is the
subspace of Rm spanned by the column vectors of
A.
The row space of A, denoted by row(A), is the
subspace of Rn spanned by the row vectors of A.

row(A) = col(AT ).

The null space of A, denoted by null(A), is the

subspace of Rn consisting of solutions of the
homogeneous linear system Ax = 0.
Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 34 / 29
Row Equivalent Matrices
Matrices A and B are said to be row equivalent if A can
be obtained from B (or vice-versa) by a finite sequence
of elementary row operations.
Example. Matrices
   
3 2 7 3 2 7
A = −4 1 6 and B = −2 6 10
2 5 4 2 5 4

are row equivalent.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 35 / 29
 Every matrix is row equivalent to its row echelon
form.
If a matrix A is row equivalent to a matrix B, then
B is row equivalent to A.
Result. Let B be any matrix that is row equivalent to a
matrix A. Then row(B) = row(A). Is col(B) = col(A)?

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 36 / 29
Example. Find a basis for the row space, column space
and null space of
 
1 −3 2 4
0 1 −1 0
A=
0 0

1 3
0 0 0 1

Solution: Since given matrix is in row echelon form.

Hence, the set of row vectors
{(1, −3, 2, 4), (0, 1, −1, 0), (0, 0, 1, 3), (0, 0, 0, 1)}
is LI and forms a basis of row(A).

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 37 / 29
The vectors
       
1 −3 2 4
0 1 −1 0
c1 = 
0 , c2 =  0  , c3 =  1  , c4 = 3
      

0 0 0 1

form a basis of col(A).

The null space has only the zero vector, hence it has no
basis and dimension is zero.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 38 / 29
Theorem. If a matrix R is in row echelon form, then
the row vector with the leading 1’s (the nonzero row
vectors) form a basis for the row space of R, and the
column vectors with the leading 1’s of the row vector
form a basis for the column space of R.

Theorem. If A and B are row equivalent matrices,

then:
A given set of column vectors of A forms a basis for
the column space of A if and only if the
corresponding column vectors of B forms a basis for
the column space of B.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 39 / 29
Finding Row(A) and Col(A)

Let A be the given matrix and R be an REF of A. Then

Row vectors with the leading 1’s form a basis for
the row space of A.
Identify the columns of R that contain the leading
1’s. The corresponding column vectors of R form a
basis for Col(A).

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 40 / 29
Exercise

Find a basis for the row space, column space and null
space of  
1 4 5 6 9
3 −2 1 4 −1
A= −1

0 −1 −2 −1
2 3 5 7 8

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 41 / 29
Example
Find a basis for the row space, column space and null
space of  
1 4 5 6 9
3 −2 1 4 −1
A= −1

0 −1 −2 −1
2 3 5 7 8
Solution: Let B be the RREF of matrix A. Then
 
1 0 1 2 1
0 1 1 1 2
B= 0 0 0 0 0


0 0 0 0 0
Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 42 / 29
Example
Let S = {v1 , v2 , v3 , v4 }, where

v1 = (1, 2, 3, −1, 0), v2 = (3, 6, 8, −2, 0)

v3 = (−1, −1, −3, 1, 1), v4 = (−2, −3, −5, 1, 1)

be a subset of R5 . Find a basis for span(S).
Step 1:  
1 2 3 −1 0
 3 6 8 −2 0
A= −1 −1 −3 1 1


−2 −3 −5 1 1

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 43 / 29
Step 2:
 
1 0 0 2 −2
0 1 0 0 1
RREF(A) =  
0 0 1 −1 0 
0 0 0 0 0

Step 3:

B = {(1, 0, 0, 2, −2), (0, 1, 0, 0, 1), (0, 0, 1, −1, 0)}

is a basis for span(S).

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 44 / 29
Example
Let S = {v1 , v2 , v3 , v4 , v5 }, where
v1 = (1, 2, −2, 1), v2 = (−3, 0, −4, 3)
v3 = (2, 1, 1, −1), v4 = (−3, 3, −9, 6)
and v5 = (9, 3, 7, −6)
be a subset of R4 . Find a basis for span(S) comprising
of the elements of S.
Solution.
 
1 −3 2 −3 9
2 0 1 3 3
A= −2 −4 1 −9 7 


1 3 −1 6 −6
Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 45 / 29
  
1 0 1/2 3/2 3/2
0 1 −1/2 3/2 −5/2
RREF(A) = 
0

0 0 0 0 
0 0 0 0 0
The set of vectors corresponding to pivot columns is

B = {v1 , v2 } = {(1, 2, −2, 1), (−3, 0, −4, 3)}

forms a basis for the subspace span(S).

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 46 / 29
Basis for the Space Spanned by
{v1, . . . , vk }

Step 1. Form the matrix A whose columns are the

vectors in the set S = {v1 , v2 , . . . , vk }.
Step 2. Reduce the matrix A to reduced row echelon
form R.
Step 3. Denote the column vectors of R by
w1 , w2 , . . . , wk .
Step 4. Identify the columns of R that contain the
leading 1’s. The corresponding column
vectors of A form a basis for span(S).

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 47 / 29
Example

Find a basis for the null space of

 
1 4 5 6 9
3 −2 1 4 −1
A= −1

0 −1 −2 −1
2 3 5 7 8

We know that

null(A) = {x : Ax = 0}

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 48 / 29
  
1 0 1 2 1
0 1 1 1 2
RREF(A) = 
0

0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 49 / 29
null(A) = {(−r − 2s − t, −r − s − 2t, r, s, t) : r, s, t ∈ R}
= span(S), where

S = {(−1, −1, 1, 0, 0), (−2, −1, 0, 1, 0), (−1, −2, 0, 0, 1)}

Also, S is linearly independent (prove by yourself). Thus
S is a basis for null(A). Hence, dim(null(A)) = 3.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 50 / 29
Rank and Nullity of a Matrix
Theorem. The row space and column space of a matrix
have the same dimension.
Definition: The common dimension of row(A) and
col(A) of a matrix A is called the rank of A and is
denoted by rank(A);
dim(null(A)) is called the nullity of A and it is denoted
by nullity(A).
Result. For any matrix A, rank(A) = rank(AT ).
Dimension Theorem. If A is a matrix with n columns,
then
rank(A) + nullity(A) = n

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 51 / 29
Dimension Theorem for Matrices

If A is a matrix with n columns, then

rank(A) + nullity(A) = n

Example. Find the rank and nullity of the matrix

 
1 3 1 4
A =  2 4 2 0
−1 −3 0 5

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 52 / 29
  
1 3 1 4
REF(A) = 0 1 0 4
0 0 1 9

rank(A) = 3 =⇒ nullity(A) = 4 − 3 = 1.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 53 / 29
Theorem
Let A be an n × n matrix. The following statements are
equivalent:
A is invertible.
Ax = b has a unique solution for every b ∈ Rn .
The homogenous system Ax = 0 has only the trivial
solution.
The reduced row echelon form of A is In .
det(A) ̸= 0.
The column vectors of A are linearly independent.
The column vectors of A span Rn .

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 54 / 29
Theorem (contd.)
The column vectors of A form a basis of Rn .
The row vectors of A are linearly independent.
The row vectors of A span Rn .
The row vectors of A form a basis of Rn .
A has rank n.
A has nullity 0.

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 55 / 29
Conclusion

1 Vector Spaces
2 Subspaces
3 Span
4 Linear Independence
5 Basis and Dimension
6 Row space, Column Space, and Null Space
7 Rank and Nullity of a Matrix

Gaurav Dwivedi (BITS Pilani) MATH F112 (MATHEMATICS-II) February 15, 2024 56 / 29