MATH 236: Assignment 2

Due date: Monday Feb. 2, 1:35PM

1. (12 points) Find a basis for the following vector spaces (make sure to prove its a basis).
What is the dimension?
(a) {(x1 , . . . , x4 ) F4 | x1 + 3x2 x4 = x3 + x4 = 0}
(b) Mm,n (F), the space of m n matrices with entries in F
(c) {f F[x]4 | f (x) = f (x), f (1) = 0}
Solution:
(a) Let V = {(x1 , . . . , x4 ) F4 | x1 + 3x2 x4 = x3 + x4 = 0} F4 and suppose
v = (x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 ) V . The conditions given yield
x3 = x4

and

x1 = 3x2 + x4

so
v = (3x2 + x4 , x2 , x4 , x4 ) = x2 (3, 1, 0, 0) + x4 (1, 0, 1, 1).
This shows that V span ((3, 1, 0, 0), (1, 0, 1, 1)). On the other hand, since
both of those vectors are in V , we in fact have
V = span ((3, 1, 0, 0), (1, 0, 1, 1)) .
It remains to show these vectors are independent: suppose
(0, 0, 0, 0) = 1 (3, 1, 0, 0) + 2 (1, 0, 1, 1) = (31 + 2 , 1 , 2 , 2 ).
Looking at e.g. the second and third coordinates, we see 1 = 2 = 0, as
required.
The dimension is two, since we found a basis with two elements.
Note: there are many possible bases; solving for (say) x1 and x4 in terms of the
others in the above solution would yield a different, but equally valid, basis.

(b) For 1 i m and 1 j n, let Eij denote the matrix whose (i, j)th entry is
1 and all other entries are 0. Well show the set
{Eij }1im
1jn

is a basis. It is a spanning set, since if A = [aij ] Mm,n (F), where aij F,

A =

m X
n
X
i=1

aij Eij

j=1

so Mm,n (F) = span(Eij , 1 i m, 1 j n). It is also linearly independent,

since if
X
ij Eij = 0
i,j

(the zero matrix), then for any s and t,

0 = (s, t)th entry of

ij Eij = st ,

i,j

as required. Since there are mn elements in the set, we have

dim Mmn (F) = mn.
(c) Let f F[t]4 and write
f (t) = a0 + a1 t + a2 t2 + a3 t3 + a4 t4 .
We have
f (t) = a0 + a1 (t) + a2 (t)2 + a3 (t)3 + a4 (t)4
= a0 a1 t + a2 t2 a3 t3 + a4 t4
so comparing the coefficients above,
f (t) = f (t)

a1 = a3 = 0.

In other words, if we set V = {f F[x]4 | f (x) = f (x), f (1) = 0} to be the

space were interested in, then
V span(1, t2 , t4 ).
This means that dim(V ) 3, since {1, t2 , t4 } is linearly independent and hence
spans a three-dimensional space. Note that dim(V ) 6= 3 because the constant
polynomial 1 is not in V ( it doesnt vanish when evaluated at 1). But the
polynomials
f 1 = x2 1
and
f 2 = x4 1
are in V and are easily seen to be linearly independent (they have leading terms
of different degrees). Thus dim(V ) 2. Together we have dim(V ) = 2, and
since {f1 , f2 } is a linearly independent list of size the dimension of V , it is
automatically a basis.

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2. (5 points) Suppose v1 , . . . , vn V and w span(v1 , . . . vn ). Prove that

span(w, v1 , . . . , vn ) = span(v1 , . . . , vn ).

Solution: This becomes easy if we use the characterization of span that says that
for any set {x1 , . . . , xk }, the span span(x1 , . . . , xk ) is the smallest subspace containing
all the xi s.
Clearly v1 , . . . , vn span(w, v1 , . . . , vn ), so
span(v1 , . . . , vn ) span(w, v1 , . . . , vn ).
Conversely, we have v1 . . . , vn span(v1 , . . . , vn ) and w span(v1 , . . . , vn ) by assumption, so
span(w, v1 , . . . , vn ) span(v1 , . . . , vn ).
Thus span(w, v1 , . . . , vn ) = span(v1 , . . . , vn ) as required.
[Alternatively, since w span(v1 , . . . , vn ), there are scalars a1 , . . . , an such that
w = a1 v1 + + an vn .
Then for any
w0 = 0 w + 1 v1 + + n vn span(w, v1 , . . . , vn ),
we can write
w0 = 0 (a1 v1 + + an vn ) + 1 v1 + + n vn
= (0 a1 + 1 )v1 + + (0 an + n )vn
span(v1 , . . . , vn )
so span(w, v1 , . . . , vn ) span(v1 , . . . , vn ). ]
3. (8 points) (Axler 2.B.8) Suppose U and W are subspaces of a vector space V , and that
{u1 , . . . , un } and {w1 , . . . , wm } are bases of U and W respectively. Show that
{u1 , . . . , un , w1 , . . . , wm }
is a basis of V if and only if V = U W .
Solution: First, suppose that V = U W . To show that {u1 , . . . , un , w1 , . . . , wm }
is a spanning set for V , we note that
U = span(u1 , . . . , un )

and

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W = span(w1 , . . . , wm )

by assumption, since {u1 , . . . , un } and {w1 , . . . , wm } are bases of U and W respectively. Then
span(u1 , . . . , un , w1 , . . . wm ) = span(u1 , . . . , un ) + span(w1 , . . . , wm ) = U + W = V.
To show that {u1 , . . . , un , w1 , . . . , wm } is linearly independent, suppose
0 = 1 u1 + + n un + 01 w1 + + 0m wm
for some scalars 1 , . . . , n , 01 , . . . , 0n F. Let
v = 1 u1 + + n un U.
Observe that
v = 1 u1 + + n un = (01 w1 + + 0m wm ) W
so v U W . By assumption, the sum U + W is direct, so U W = {0}, i.e. v = 0.
Therefore
0 = 1 u1 + + n un = (01 w1 + + 0m wm ).
Since the ui s are linearly independent, we must have 1 = = n = 0, and since
the wi s are independent, we get 01 = = 0n = 0.
[Alternative proof of independence: We use the dim-sum formula: since V = U + W
is direct by assumption, we obtain
dim(V ) = dim(U W ) = dim(U ) + dim(W ) = m + n.
The set {u1 , . . . , un , w1 , . . . , wm } is a spanning set for V whose length is the same as
dim(V ), hence it is automatically independent, i.e. a basis. ]
Conversely, suppose {u1 , . . . , un , w1 , . . . , wm } is a basis of V . Then since it is a
spanning set,
V = span(u1 , . . . , un , w1 , . . . , wm ) = span(u1 , . . . , un ) + span(w1 , . . . , wm )
= U + W,
since by definition, the ui s span U and the wi s span W . To show that the sum is
direct, we argue in reverse: suppose v U W . Then there are scalars 1 , . . . , n
such that
v = 1 u1 + + n un
and scalars 01 , . . . , 0m such that
v = 01 w1 + + 0m wm .

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Taking the difference, we obtain

0 = 1 u1 + + n un 01 w1 0m wm
Now since {u1 , . . . , un , w1 , . . . , wm } is linearly independent by assumption, all the i
and 0i have to be zero; in particular v = 0. This proves U W = {0}.
Alternatively, we can use the dim-sum formula again:
dim(V ) = dim(U + W ) = dim(U ) + dim(W ) dim(U W ).
Since we assume that {u1 , . . . , un , w1 , . . . wm } is a basis, dim(V ) = n+m = dim(U )+
dim(W ). Hence by the dim-sum formula, we have dim(U W ) = 0, which means
U W = {0}.
4. (5 points) Show that the vector space F[x], consisting of all polynomials with coefficients
in F, does not have finite dimension; i.e. it cannot be spanned by finitely many vectors.
Solution: Let {f1 , . . . , fn } be a finite collection of polynomials, and let
N = max (deg fi )
i=1,...,n

denote the highest degree among the polynomials appearing in the list. Then any
linear combination of the fi s has degree less than or equal to N , i.e.
span(f1 , . . . , fn ) F[x]N .
In particular, the polynomial xN +1
/ span(f1 , . . . , fn ).
Thus for every finite set of polynomials {f1 , . . . , fn } , there is another polynomial g
that is not in the span of the fi s. Hence there cannot be a finite spanning set for all
of F[t].
5. (5 points) Let V be a vector space over the finite field Fp with p elements, where p is
a prime number. Suppose dim(V ) = n. What is the cardinality of V , i.e. how many
elements does V have? Hint: fix a basis of V and use coordinates.
Solution: Let = {v1 , . . . , vn } be a basis for V . Then the coordinate map T : V
(Fp )n that sends v to [v] is an isomorphism, and in particular is a bijection. So we
need to count the number of elements of
(Fp )n = {(1 , . . . , n ) | i Fp }.

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Since Fp has p elements, there are p choices for each i , and so

#V = #(Fp )n = pn .
6. (10 points) Let X be any set, and let V = {f : X F} be the vector space of functions
on X with pointwise operations.
(a) For each x X, define a vector fx V by
(
1 if y = x
fx (y) =
0 if y 6= x.
For any finite subset {x1 , . . . , xn } X, show that {fx1 , . . . , fxn } is linearly independent.
(b) When is V finite-dimensional? When it is finite-dimensional, what is its dimension?
Your answers should be stated in terms of X.

Solution:
(a) Let {x1 , . . . , xn } X, and suppose
0 = 1 fx1 + + n fxn
for some scalars 1 , . . . n F. For each i, we evaluate the previous expression
at xi :
0 = 1 fx1 (xi ) + + n fxn (xi )
= 1 0 + + i1 0 + i fxi (xi ) + i+1 0 + + n 0
= i 1 = i .
Hence all the i s must be zero, and so {fx1 , . . . , fxn } is linearly independent.
(b) We claim that V is finite-dimensional if and only if X is a finite set.
First, suppose V is finite dimensional. Then every linearly independent list of
vectors has length dim(V ). By part (a), this implies that there cannot be
more than dim(V ) elements in X; in particular, X is a finite set.
Conversely, suppose X = {x1 , . . . , xn } is a finite set and let V . Define
ai = (xi ) F
and consider
g = a1 fx1 + + an fxn V.

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For every xi X, we have

g(xi ) = a1 fx1 (xi ) + + an fxn (xi ) = ai = (xi ).
Therefore = g, since they give the same value at every point in X, and in particular span(fx1 , . . . , fxn ). We have thus proven that V = span(fx1 , . . . , fxn ),
and so V is finite-dimensional.
Moreover, by part (a) the set {fx1 , . . . , fxn } is linearly independent, and so is a
basis for V . Hence dim(V ) = n = #X.

7. (5 points) Suppose dim V = 2061, and U , W and Y are subspaces of V of dimension

1456, 1601 and 1682 respectively. Show that U W Y 6= {0}. Hint: use the dim-sum
formula twice.

Solution: First, we write the dim-sum formula for U + W :

dim(U + W ) = dim(U ) + dim(W ) dim(U W )
Since dim(U + W ) dim(V ) = 2061, we have
dim(U W ) = dim(U ) + dim(W ) dim(U + W ) 1456 + 1601 2061 = 996.
Now applying it again to (U W ) + Y :
dim((U W ) + Y ) = dim(U W ) + dim Y dim(U W Y )
Applying the lower bound for dim(U W ) 996 and the upper bound
dim((U W ) + Y ) dim(V ) = 2061,
we have
dim(U W Y ) = dim(U W ) + dim(Y ) dim((U W ) + Y )
996 + 1682 2061 > 0.
Therefore U W Y 6= {0}.

8. (10 bonus points) * This is a bonus question, and is quite challenging! Suppose F is an
infinite field, and that V is a finite-dimensional vector space over F. Show that V is not
the union of finitely many proper subspaces. (compare with Question 6 on Assigment 1)

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Solution: We proceed by (strong) induction on dim(V ).

Base case: Assume dim(V ) = 1. The statement is obvious, since the only proper subspace of V is {0}.
Induction step: Suppose the statement holds true for all vector spaces of dimension
strictly less than dim(V ), and suppose, by contradiction, that
V =

n
[

Ui

i=1

for some proper subspaces U1 , . . . , Un . Without loss of generality, we may suppose that
Ui 6 Uj for all i 6= j; if one subspace were contained in another, we can throw away the
smaller one without changing the union.
The goal will be to show that
()

U1 =

n
[

(Ui U1 );

i=2

if we can do this, then we are done for the following reasons. Each Ui U1 is a proper
subspace of U1 since U1 6 Ui . On the other hand since U1 is a proper subspace of V ,
we have dim(U1 ) < dim(V ), and our induction step assumes that the statement is true
for all vector spaces of smaller dimension than V . Therefore () is a contradiction, and
were done.
Now lets show () holds. Let u U1 and choose w V such that w
/ U1 . Let F be
any scalar, and consider the vector
w + u V.
S
Since V = Ui , the vector w + u is in one of the Ui s. However it cannot be in U1 ,
because w
/ U1 . Therefore, for every scalar ,
w + u

n
[

Ui

i=2

Now consider the set

{w + u | F}.
This set has infinitely many elements (since F is infinite) but all its elements land in
S
n
i=2 Ui . This means that one of the subspaces, say Uj will contain two distinct elements
w + 1 u and w + 2 u with 1 6= 2 . Therefore
(w + 1 u) (w + 2 u) = (1 2 )u Uj .

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Since 1 6= 2 , we can divide by 1 2 , and so u Uj . This shows that for every u U1 ,

there is a j such that u Uj , i.e.
U1

n
[

Ui ,

i=2

and so
U1 =

n
[

(Ui U1 )

i=2

as required.

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