QUIZ 1 Solutions

MTH 311 - Advanced Linear Algebra - 25th August 2017

1. True or False with justification. [4 marks]

(i) Suppose the operations in R2 are defined as : for x = (x1 , x2 ), y = (y1 , y2 ) and
c = (c1 , c2 ) in R2 , x + y = (x1 + y1 , x2 + y2 ) and c · x = (c1 x1 , c2 x2 ). Is R2 a field?

Answer: False It is easy to see that (1, 1) is the multiplicative identity in R2 under
the given operation. However for any non-zero (a, 0) ∈ R2 and (0, b) ∈ R2 there
is no multiplicative inverse. Hence under the given operations R2 is not a field.
Thought!-(Can you think of any other operations on R2 such that it is a field?)

(ii) Let (V, F ) be an arbitrary infinite dimensional vector space with the basis B =
{vα }α∈Λ . Let the linear functionals φα be defined by extending φα (vβ ) = δαβ to
all v ∈ V . Does {φα }α∈Λ form a basis for the dual V ∗ of V ?

Answer: False. Consider the linear functional ψ defined as ψ(vα ) = 1 for all
vα ∈ B and extended for all v ∈ V . This cannot be expressed as a finite linear
combination of φα . Hence {φα }α∈Λ does not form a basis for the dual V ∗ of V .

2. Let (V, F ) be the vector space of all polynomials over the field F . Fix a, b ∈ F .
Consider the linear functional T defined on V by
Z b
T (p) = p(x)dx, ∀p ∈ V.
a

Let D denote the differential operator on V . What is Dt T ? [2 marks]

Answer: By the definition of transpose of a linear operator, (Dt T )(p) = T (D(p)) for
all p ∈ P
V . Given that D isP a differential operator. Hence for any p ∈ V , that is,
np i np
p(x) = i=0 ci x , D(p)(x) = i=1 ici xi−1 . By definition of T ,
np
Z bX
T (D(p)) = ici xi−1 dx
a i=1
np
X
= ci (bi − ai ) = p(b) − p(a)
i=1

Or you can also use Fundamental theorem of calculus –state it properly– to conclude
Dt T (p) = p(b) − p(a).
 3. Consider the vector space (R4 , R). Find the annihilator of the subspace W spanned
by (1, 0, −1, 2) and (2, 3, 1, 1) [4 marks]

Answer: The annihilator W 0 of W is a subspace of the dual V ∗ of R4 . Since

dim (V ∗ ) = dim V = 4,

we have V ∗ isomorphic to R4 . Hence T ∈ W 0 ⊂ V ∗ can be written in co-ordinate form:

(c1 , c2 , c3 , c4 ). We know that

dim W + dim W 0 = dim V.

Since the vectors (1, 0, −1, 2) and (2, 3, 1, 1) are linearly independent, dimW = 2 and
hence dimW 0 =dimV − 2 = 2. Let T ∈ W 0 and the co-ordinate system of T be
(c1 , c2 , c3 , c4 ). Then T (1, 0, −1, 2) = 0 and T (2, 3, 1, 1) = 0, that is,

c1 − c3 + 2c4 = 0 and
2c1 + 3c2 + c3 + c4 = 0
that is, c1 − c3 + 2c4 = 0 and
c2 + c3 − c4 = 0
that is, if c1 = a, c2 = b
then c4 = −a − b, c3 = a − 2b

Hence W0 is spanned by (1, 0, 1, −1) and (0, 1, −1, −2). (by substituting a = 1, b = 0
and a = 0, b = 1.)

Thought! Always remember to view finite dimensional vector spaces as isomorphic to F n ,

for easiness Rn . So dual of any Rn is pictured as Rn . Then because of dim W + dim W 0 =
dim V , annihilator of any k dimensional subspace W of Rn is n − k dimensional. We have
seen in the class that any linear functional is given by the equation of a plane. So picture
the basis of W 0 as the n − k equations of plane.