MATH 3A, REVIEW PROBLEMS

The problems below correspond to sections 1.1-3.2 in the book. Disclaimer: the
problems may look nothing like the actual midterm. I have not seen the exam nor will
I be writing any of the problems. I have tried to arrange them from least difficult to
most difficult. Some answers/hints will be provided.

Problem 1. State the definition of:

(1) A consistent system
(2) A subspace of Rn
(3) A basis of a subspace H
(4) col(A)
(5) rank(A)

Problem 2. True or False:

(1) Every n n matrix with n pivot positions is row equivalent to the n n identity
matrix.
(2) If A is invertible, then A is both one-to-one and onto.
(3) A system of linear equations can have exactly two solutions.
(4) If u, v, w are in Rn , then span{u, v, w} contains the vector 2u 3v.
(5) If u, v, w are in R4 , {u, v, w} is linearly independent if they are not multiples of
each other and do not contain the zero vector.
(6) The matrix equation A~x = ~b always has at least one solution.
(7) A basis for R3 can contain 4 vectors.
(8) The columns of a matrix A are linearly independent if ~x = ~0 is a solution to
A~x = ~0.
(9) If AB = AC then B = C.
(10) If A, B are n n matrices, then (A B)(A + B) = A2 B 2 .
(11) If A is n n and A~x = 0 has a unique solution, then A is invertible.
(12) If A is n n and A~x = 0 has a unique solution, then the columns of A are
linearly independent.
(13) If A is n n and A is onto, then its columns are linearly independent.
(14) A subspace of R3 contains infinitely many vectors.
(15) A basis of R3 contains infinitely many vectors.
(16) rank(A) + dim N ul(A) = n where A is an m n matrix.

Problem 3. Is the following system consistent? If so, find the solution.

x + 2y z
= 5
x y + 2z =7

x + 5y 4z = 17

1
2 MATH 3A, REVIEW PROBLEMS

Problem 4. Let

1 2 3   1
1 1 0
A = 0 2 1 , B = ,C = 0 .
0 2 3
3 5 5 4
Determine which of the following products is defined and compute them:
(1) AB
(2) BA
(3) B 2
(4) BB t
(5) AC
(6) CA
(7) C t A
Problem 5. Determine if A is invertible. If so, compute its inverse.
 
1 2
(1) A =
0 3

1 2 0
(2) A = 2 0 1
1 1 1
Problem 6. Find the standard matrix representation of the linear transformation T (x, y, z) =
(2x + y, x + 3y z).
Problem 7. Compute the determinants of the following matrices.
 
4 6
(1) A =
0 3

1 5 0
(2) A = 2 0 1
1 1 7

1 400 1
Problem 8. Consider the subset S = 2 , 500 , 1 . Is S linearly inde-
3 600 1

n
pendent? Is S a basis for R ?
Problem 9. Determine if the following transformations are linear. If they are, show
it. If not, provide a counter example.
(1) T (x, y, z) = (2x + y, z, 0, y + z)
(2) T (x, y, z) = (0, x y, 2z, z 2 )

1 0 1 3
1 0 2 4
Problem 10. Let A = 0 3 1 1

1 0 0 2
(1) Find a basis for col(A)
(2) What is the rank of A?
(3) What is dim N ul(A).
 MATH 3A, REVIEW PROBLEMS 3

(4) Find a basis for N ul(A).

(5) Is A invertible?
(6) Is A one-to-one? Is A onto?
Problem 11. Which of the following are subspaces 3
of R ? Justify your answer.
x
(1) S = y R3 : x + y = 0, 2x 3z = 0
z


x
(2) S = y R3 : (x y)(y + z) = 0
z

Problem 12. For what values of t are the vectors linearly independent?

1 t 0
t , 1 t
0 t 1

Problem 13. For what values of t is the matrix (tI A) invertible, where A is..
 
2 0
(1)
0 3
 
1 1
(2)
1 1
Problem 14. Suppose A, B are n n matrices. Is it true that AB = BA? Is it true
that |AB| = |BA|? Prove your answers or provide counter examples.
Problem 15. Show that if AAt = I, then |A| = 1.
Problem 16. If |A| = k and k 6= 0, is it true that |A1 | = 1/k? Prove your answer or
give a counter example.
Problem 17. Suppose A, B are square matrices. If the columns of B are linearly
dependent, are the columns of AB linearly dependent? Prove your answer or give a
counter example.
Problem 18. Let T be a linear transformation from R3 R2 .
(1) What is the image of (1, 2, 1) if T (x, y, z) = (x + y, 2z)?
(2) If T (u) = (1, 1) and T (v) = (2, 0), what is T (2u v)?

1 3 0
Problem 19. Let A = 1 1 4 Find all ~x whose image is ~b where
1 3 2
~
(1) b = (0, 0)
(2) ~b = (1, 0)
(3) ~b = (1, 3)
Problem 20. Solve for X, (X is a 2 2 matrix) if:
     
1 1 3 5 0 1
X =
0 1 1 2 1 0