Harvey Mudd College Math Tutorial:

Change of Basis
Let V be a vector space and let S = {v1 , v2 , . . . , vn } be a set of vectors in V . Recall that S
forms a basis for V if the following two conditions hold:

1. S is linearly independent.

2. S spans V .

If S = {v1 , v2 , . . . , vn } is a basis for V , then every vector v ∈ V can be expressed uniquely

as a linear combination of v1 , v2 , . . . , vn :

v = c1 v1 + c2 v2 + · · · + cn vn .
 
c1

 c2 

Think of  ..  as the coordinates of v relative to the basis S. If V has dimension n, then
.
 
 
cn
every set of n linearly independent vectors in V forms a basis for V . In every application,
we have a choice as to what basis we use. In this tutorial, we will desribe the transformation
of coordinates of vectors under a change of basis.

We will focus
nh i on vectors in R2 , although all of this generalizes to Rn . The standard basis
h io
2 1 0
in R is 0 , 1 . We specify other bases with reference to this rectangular coordinate
system.

Let B = {u, w} and B 0 = {u0 , w0 } be two bases for R2 . For a vector v ∈ V , given its
coordinates [v]B in basis B we would like to be able to express v in tems of its coordinates
[v]B 0 in basis B 0 , and vice versa.

Suppose the basis vectors u0 and w0 fo B 0 have the following coordinates relative to the basis
B:

" # This means that

0 a
[u ]B =
b u0 = au + bw
" #
c w0 = cu + dw
[w0 ]B = .
d
The change of coordinates matrix from B 0 to B
" #
a c
P =
b d

governs the change of coordinates of v ∈ V under the change of basis from B 0 to B.

" #
a c
[v]B = P [v]B 0 = [v]B 0 .
b d

That is, if we know the coordinates of v relative to the basis B 0 , multiplying this vector by
the change of coordinates matrix gives us the coordinates of v relative to the basis B.
Why?

The transition matrix P is invertible. In fact, if P is the change of coordinates matrix from
B 0 to B, the P −1 is the change of coordinates matrix from B to B 0 :

[v]B 0 = P −1 [v]B

Example
nh i h io nh i h io
Let B = 10 , 01 and B 0 = 31 , −2 1
.
0
The change of basis matrix form B to B
is " #
3 −2
P = .
1 1
h i
2
The vector v with coordinates [v]B 0 = 1
relative to the basis B 0 has coordinates
" #" # " #
3 −2 2 4
[v]B = =
1 1 1 3

relative to the basis B. Since

" #
1 2
−1 5 5
P = ,
− 15 3
5
we can verify that " #" # " #
1 2
5 5
4 2
[v]B 0 = =
− 15 3
5
3 1
which is what we started with.

In the following example, we introduce a third basis to look at the relationship between two
non-standard bases.
Example
nh i h io
Let B 00 = 21 , 14 . To find the change
of coordinates matrix from the basis B 0 of
00
the previous example to h iB , weh first
i ex-
press the basis vectors 1 and −2
3
1
of B 0
as
h ilinearhcombinations
i of the basis vectors
2 1 00
1
and 4
of B :

" # " # " #

3 2 1
Set = a +b
1 1 4
" # " # " #
−2 2 1
= c +d
1 1 4

and solve the resulting systems

of a, b, c, and d.

" # " # " #

11 2
3 1 1
= −
17 1 7 4
" # " # " #
−2 −9 2 4 1
= +
1 7 1 7 4

Thus, the transition matrix form B 0 to B 00 is

−9
" #
11
7 7 .
−1 4
9 7
h i
2
The vector v with coordinates 1
relative to the basis B 0 has coordinates

−9
" #" # " #
11 13
7 7
2 7
−1 4 = 2
9 7
1 7

relative to the basis B 00 . This is, back in the standard basis,

" # " # " #
13 2 2 1 4
[v]B = + = ,
7 1 7 4 3

which agrees with the results of the previous example.

Rotation of the Coordinate Axes

Suppose we obtain a new coordinate sys-

tem from the standard rectangular coordi-
nate system by rotating the axes counter-
clockwise by an angle θ. The new basis
B 0 = {u0 , v0 } of unit vectors along the x0 -
and y 0 -axes, respectively, has coordinates
" #
0 cos θ
[u ]B =
sin θ
" #
− sin θ
[v0 ]B =
cos θ

in the original coordinate system.

" # " #
cos θ − sin θ cos θ sin θ h i
Thus, P = and P −1 = . A vector xy in the original
sin θ cos θ − sin θ cos θ B
h 0i
coordinate system has coordinates xy0 0 given by
B
" # " #" #
x0 cos θ sin θ x
=
y0 B0
− sin θ cos θ y B

in the rotated coordinate system.

Example
h i
The vector [v]B = 32 in the original coor-
dinate system has coordinates
" √ √ #" # " √ #
2 2 5 2
2√ √2
3 2√
[v]B 0 = 2 2
=
− 2 2
2 − 22

in the coordinate system formed by rotat-

ing the axes by 45◦ .
In the following Exploration, set up your
own basis in R2 and compare the coordi-
nates of vectors in your basis to their co-
ordinates in the standard basis.

Exploration
 Key Concepts

h i h i
Let B = {u, v} and B 0 = {u0 , v0 } be two bases for R2 . If [u]B = ab and [v]B = dc , then
" #
a c
P = is the change of coordinates matrix from B 0 to B and P −1 is the change
b d
of coordinates matrix from B to B 0 . That is, for any v ∈ V ,

[v]B = P [v]B 0
[v]B 0 = P −1 [v]B .

[I’m ready to take the quiz.] [I need to review more.]

[Take me back to the Tutorial Page]