Math 260 Exam 1 June 17, 2013

Answer the questions in the spaces provided on the question sheets. Please write in clear
handwriting. Show all work.

Name:

1. Write the definition of following terms:

(a) (3 points) A vector space V over a field K.

(b) (1 point) The dimension of a vector space V over a field K.

(c) (1 point) A subset S of a vector space V is a closed under addition if ...

(d) (1 point) A subset S of a vector space V is a subspace of V if ....

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(e) (1 point) A linearly independent subset S = {x1 , x2 , ..., xn } of a vector space V .

(f) (1 point) Span of a subset S of a vector space V .

(g) (1 point) If S is a subspace of a vector space V , then the subspace generated by S is ...

(h) (1 point) A basis of a vector space V .

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2. Prove the following two theorems in detail.

(a) (5 points) If a vector space V is generated by a finite set S, then some subset of S is a basis for V .
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(b) (5 points) Let V be a vector space that is generated by a set G containing exactly n elements. If
L is a linearly independent subset of V , then L is finite and #(L) n.
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3. (a) (5 points) Let V = R3 . Then V is a vector space over R. Let S = {x1 , x2 , x3 } be a subset of V ,
where x1 = (2, 3, 1), x2 = (1, 3/2, 2), and x3 = (0, 1/4, 0). Show that S is a basis of V . Also,
write ( 3, 4, ) as a linear combination of elements in set S.

(b) Determine whether the follwing statements are true or false. Each question is worth 1 point each.
i. If V is a vector space, then any singleton set consisting of a nonzero element in V is always
linearly independent.

ii. If W1 and W2 are subspaces of V , then W1 W2 and W1 W2 are always subspaces of V .

iii. Let V = R3 [X] = {f (X)|f (X) = a0 + a1 X1 + a2 X2 + a3 X3 , where ai R}. Then, the subset
{2, (X + 3), (5X 2 X + 1), (X 3 1), (X 3 + X 2 )} of V is a linearly independent over R.

iv. Any vector space has infinitely many distinct subspaces

v. If V is a vector space, and dim(V ) = n, then any linearly independent subset S of V satisfies
the inequality #(S) n.
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4. (a) (2 points) Let V be a vector space over a field K. Let S = {x1 , x2 , ..., xn } be a linear independent
subset of V , and x be a vector in V such that x
/ span(S). Show that S{x} is linearly independent.

(b) (2 points) Let V = R3 be a vector space over R. Let W = {(a, b, c)|b = 2a and c = 4a} be a
subset of V . Show that W is a subspace of V .
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(c) (3 points) Let V be a vector space over a field K. Let S = {x1 , x2 , ..., xn } be a subset of V . Let
: K n V be a function such that ((1 , 2 , ..., n )) = 1 x1 + 2 x2 + ... + n xn . Show that S is
linearly independent if and only if is injective.

(d) (3 points) Let u and v be two nonzero vectors in V . Show that {u, v} is not linearly independent
subset of V if and only if u span({v}) or v span({u}).