EXERCISES IN LINEAR ALGEBRA 1.

Matrix operations (1) Put D = diag(d

1

,d
2

,...,d
n

). Let A = (a
ij

) be an n n matrix. Find DA and AD. When is D invertible ? (2) An nn matrix A = (a

ij

) is called upper triangular if a

ij

= 0 whenever i > j. Prove that product of upper triangular matrices is upper triangular. (3) Let A be an m n matrix and B be an n p matrix. Let A
i

denote the ith row of A and Aj denote the jth column of A. Show that AB = (AB1, AB2,...,ABp) and AB = (A
1

B,A
2

B,...,A
m

B)t. (4) Prove that a matrix that has a zero row or a zero column is not invertible. (5) A square matrix A is called nilpotent if Ak = 0 for some positive integer k. Show that if A is nilpotent then I + A is invertible. (6) Find infinitely many matrices B such that BA = I
2

where A=

132 .25

Show that there is no matrix C such that AC = I

3

. (7) Let A and B be square matrices. Let tr(A) denote the trace of A which is the sum of its diagonal entries. Show that for two nn matrices A and B, tr(A+B) = tr(A)+ tr(B) and tr(AB) = tr(BA). Show that if B is invertible then tr(A) = tr(BAB1). (8) Show that the equation AB BA = I has no solutions in Rnn. (9) Show that for any matrix A, AAt is symmetric. Show that every square matrix is uniquely a sum of a symmetric and skew-symmetric matrix. (10) Show that every matrix in Cnn is uniquely a sum of a Hermitian and skew-Hermitian matrix. (11) Show that inverse of an invertible symmetric matrix is also symmetric. (12) Consider a system of linear equations Ax = b where A Rmn, x = (x
1

)t and b Rm. (a) Show that if Ax = b has more than one solution then it has infinitely many. (b) Prove that if there is a complex solution then there is a real solution. (13) Find all 2 2 matrices A such that A2 = I.
1

,x
2

,...,x
n

(14) Find all 2 2 matrices A such that A2 = 0. (15) Show that if A3 A + I = 0 then A is invertible. 2. Vector spaces, subspaces, basis and dimension (16) Determine which of the following subsets of Rn are subspaces ? (a) V
1

= {(x
1

,x
2

,...,x
n

)|x
1

= 1}. (b) V
2

= {(x
1

,x
2

,...,x
n

)|x
1

= 0}. (c) V
3

n i=1

) Rn} is a fixed vector. (17) Let V = C(R) = {f : R R | f is continuous}. Determine which of the following are subspaces of C(R). (a) V
4

= {(x
1

,x
2

,...,x
n

)| x
i

y
i

= 0}. Here (y
1

,y
2

,...,y
n

= {f V (b) V
5

= {f V | f(1/2) is a rational number}. (c) V

5

= {f V |
| ad2f 0 1 dt2

f(t)dt + bdf dt = 0}. (18) Find a basis of the subspace of + cf = 0}. Here a, b, c R are fixed. Rn of the solutions of the equation x
1

+x
2

++x
n

= 0. (19) Show that the vector space F[x] of all polynomials over a field F is not finitely generated. (20) Is the vector space C(R) finite dimensional ? (21) Show that the set {1,(x a),(x a)2,(x a)3,...,(x a)n} for a fixed a F is a basis of the vector space P
n

(F) of all polynomials with coefficients in F of degree atmost n. (22) Let u

1

,u
2

,...u
n

be linearly independent vectors in a vector space V. Show that any vector in L(u
1

,u
2

,...,u
n

) is unique linear combination of u

1

,u
2

,...,u
n

. (23) Describe all the subspaces of R3. (24) Let U and V be subspaces of a vector space W. Suppose that U V = (0) and dimW = dimU + dimV. Show that any w W there exist unique vectors u U and v V such that w = u + v. (25) What is the dimension of the Qvector space R ? (26) Determine whether (1,1,1) L{(1,3,4),(4,0,1),(3,1,2)}. (27) Prove that every subspace W of a finitely generated vector space V is finitely gener-

ated. Prove that dimW dimV with equality if and only if V = W. (28) Let F be a field with two elements. Let V be a two dimensional vector space over F. Count the number of elements of V, the number of subspaces of V and the number of different bases. (29) Let S and T be two dimensional subspaces of R3. Show that dim(S T) 1. (30) Find bases of the following vector spaces: (a) the vector space of all nn real upper triangular matrices, (b) the vector space of all real n n symmetric matrices, (c)

the vector space of all real n n skew-symmetric matrices and (d) the vector space of all homogeneous polynomials of degree d in n variables together with the zero polynomial. 3. Systems of linear equations, rank of a matrix (31) Test for solvability of the following systems of equations, and if solvable, find all the solutions. (a) x
1

+x
2

+x
3

=8 x
1

+x
2

+x
4

=1 x
1

+x
3

+x
4

= 14 x
2

+x
3

+x

= 14 (b) x
1

+ 2x
2

+ 4x
3

=1 2x
1

+x
2

+ 5x
3

=0 3x
1

x
2

+ 5x
3

=0 (32) For what vaules of a does the following system of equations have a solution ? 3x
1

x
2

+ ax
3

=1 3x

x
2

+x
3

=5 (33) Prove that a system of m homogeneous linear equations in n>m unknowns always has a nontrivial solution. (34) Show that a system of homogeneous linear equations in n unknowns has a nontrivial solution if and only if the coefficient matrix has rank less than n. (35) Find a basis of the solution space of the system 3x
1

x
2

+x
4

=0 x
1

+x
2

+x
3

+x
4

=0 (36) Find a point in R3 where the line joining the points (1,1,0) and (2,1,1) pierces the plane 3x
1

x
2

+x
3

 1=0. (37) Using row and column operations find the rank of the matrix

1 1 4 2 2 8 12 3 3

1 1 5

(38) Find the rank of an upper triangular matrix in terms of the diagonal entries. (39) Let A be an m n matrix and B be an n r matrix. (a) Show that the columns of AB are linear combinations of the columns A. Hence prove that rank(AB) rank(A). (b) Using (a) and the fact that rank of a matrix and its transpose are equal, prove that rank(AB) rank(B). (40) Let A be an n n matrix such that rank(A) = rank(A2). Find all the vectors in the column space of A which are solutions to Ax = 0. 4. Linear Transformations (41) Let F be a field and F n denote the vector space F n1. Let T : F 2 F 2 be the linear transformation T((x, y)t)=(3x + y,x y)t. Let U : F 2 F 2 be the linear transformation U((x, y)t)=(x + y,x)t. Describe the linear transformations UT,TU and T 2 + U. Is TU = UT ? (42) Test whether the linear transformations T : R2 R2,T((x
1

)t)=(y
1

)t defined below are one-to-one. (a) y

1

,x
2

,y
2

= 3x
1

x
2

,y
2

=x
1

+x
2

. (b) y
1

=x
1

+ 2x
2

+x
3

,y
2

=x 1 + (43) Let I x 2 , : R[x] R[x] be the linear map y 3 I(f(x)) = x

2

+=x
3

.
0 x

f(x)dx. Let D : R[x] R[x] be the linear map D(f(x)) = f (x). Show that DI = I but neither D nor I are isomorphisms. Is D (resp. I) one-to-one or onto ? Find the ranks and nullities of D and I. (44) Let S, T : R2 R2 be the linear maps defined by the equations S(u
1

)=u
1

u
2

, S(u
2

)=u
1

and T(u
1

)=u
2

, T(u
2

)=u
1

, where B = {u
1

,u
2

} is a basis of R2. Let C = {w

1

= 3u
1

u
2

,w
2

=u
1

+u
2

}. Show that C is a basis of R2. Find the matrices M B B (S),MB B (T), MC C (S),MC C (S). Find invertible matrices X in each case such that X1AX = A where A is the matrix of the transformation with respect to the old basis and A is the matrix of the transformation with respect to the new basis. (45) Let B = {u
1

} be a basis of R2. Let S and T be the linear maps defined by the equations S(u
1

,u
2

)=u
1

+u
2

, S(u
2

) = u
1

u
2

and T(u
1

)=u
1

u
2

, T(u
2

)=2u
2

. Find the rank and nullity of S and T. Which of these linear maps are invertible ? (46) Let V be a vector space of dimension n and T : V V be a linear map. Let A be the matrix of T with respect to any basis of V. Show that rank(T) = rank(A).

(47) Let V be an n-dimensional vector space. Let T : V V be a linear transformation such that the nullspace and the range of T are same. Show that n is even. Give an example of such a map for n = 2. (48) Let T be the linear operator on R3 defined by the equations: T((x
1

,x
2

,x
3

)t) = (3x
1

,x
1

x
2

,2x
1

+x
2

+x
3

)t. Is T invertible ? If so, find a formula for T 1. (49) Let V = C22 be the vector space of 2 2 complex matrices. Let B= [ 1 1 4 4 ] . Define T : V V by T(A) = BA. Find rank of T. Describe T 2. (50) Let V be vector space with dimV = n and T : V V be a linear map such that rankT 2 = rankT. Show that N(T) T(V ) = (0). Give an example of such a map. (51) Let

T be a linear operator on a finite-dimensional vector space V. Suppose that U is a linear operator on V such that TU = I. Prove that T is invertible and U = T 1. (52) Let W be the real vector space all 22 complex Hermitian matrices. Show that the map (x,y,z,t)t [ t + x y + iz y iz t x ] is an isomorphism of R4 onto W. (53) Let V and W be finite dimensional vector spaces over a field F. Show that V is isomorphic to W if and only if dimV = dimW. (54) Show that every matrix A F mn of rank one has the form A = uvt where u F m1 and v F n1. (55) Let V be the infinite-dimensional real vector space of all real sequences. Let R : V V be the right shift operator R((a
1

,a
2

,...)) = (0,a
1

,a
2

,...) and L : V V denote the left shift operator defined by L((a

1

,a
2

,...)) = (a
2

,a
3

,...). Show that R is one-toone but not onto and L is onto but not one-to-one. (56) Let V be an n-dimensional vector

space over a field F. Let B = {u

1

,u
2

,...,u
n

} be a basis of V. Define the linear transformation T : V V by T(u

i

)=u
i+1

for i = 1,2,...,n 1 and T(u

n

)=0. (a) Find the matrix A = M B B (T). (b) Show that T n1 = 0 but T n = 0. (c) Let S be any linear operator on V such that Sn = 0 but Sn1 = 0. Prove that there is a basis C of V such that M C C (S) = A. (d) Let M,N F nn and Mn = Nn = 0 but Mn1 = 0 and Nn1 = 0. Show that M and N are similar matrices.

(57) Let V be a two-dimensional vector space over a field F. Let T be a linear operator on V so that the matrix of T with [ respect to a basis B of V is abcd ] . Show that T 2 (a + d)T + (ad bc)I = 0. (58) Let T : V W be a linear map of vector spaces. Suppose V is infinite-dimensional. Prove that at least one of N(T) or T(V ) is infinite-dimensional. (59) Let V be the vector space of all real functions continuous on [a, b]. Define T : V V by the equation T(f(x)) =
b a

f(t) sin(x t)dt for a x b. Find the rank and nullity of T. (60) Let V denote the vector space of all real functions continuous on the interval [,]. Let S denote

the subspace of V consisting of all f satisfying

f(t)dt = 0, f(t) costdt = 0, f(t) sintdt = 0 . Prove that S contains the functions f(x) = sinnx and f(x) = cosnx for all n = 2,3,.... Show that S is infinite-dimensional. 5. Inner product spaces (61) Let V be the subspace spanned by the vectors u

= (1,1,1,1),u
2

= (1,1,1,1),u
3

= (1,1,1,1) in R
4

. Find an orthonormal basis of V by Gram-Schmidt process. (62) Find an orthonormal degree atmost 3 with basis of the vector space the inner product < f,g V >= = P
0 13

(R) f(t)g(t)dt. of all real Take polynomials {1, x, x2,x3} of as a basis of V. (63) Let V = C[,] be the vector space of all continuous real valued functions defined on <f,g>= the interval

[,]. Then V is an inner product space with the inner product f(t)g(t)dt. Show that the functions 1,sinnx,cosnx, n = 1,2,... form an orthogonal set. (64) Two vector spaces V and W with inner products < v
1

,v
2

> and [w
1

,w
2

] respec- tively, are said to be isometric if there is an isomorphism T : V W such that [T(v
1

),T(v

)] =< v
1

,v
2

> for all v

1

,v
2

V. Such a T is called an isometry. Let V be a finite-dimensional inner product space over a field F with inner product <u,v>. Let B = {v
1

,v
2

,...,v
n

} be an orthonormal basis of V. Let T : V F n be the linear map T(v) = M

B

(v). Consider F n with standard inner product. Show that T is an isometry.

(65) Let V be a finite-dimensional inner product space. Let W be a subspace. Show that the set W = {v V | < v,w >= 0 for all w W} is a subspace of V and dimW + dimW = dimV. (66) Show that every subspace of Cn with standard inner product is the subspace of all solutions to a system of homogeneous linear equations. (67) Let A = (a
ij

) R22. For u, v R2 define f

A

(u, v) = vtAu. Show that f

A

is an inner product on R2 if and only if A = At,a

11

> 0,a
22

> 0 and detA > 0. (68) Let V = Cnn with the inner product < A,B >= tr(AB). Let D be the subspace of diagonal matrices. Find D. (69) Let W be a finite-dimensional subspace of an inner product space V. Let E be the orthogonal projection of V onto W. Prove that < Eu,v >=< u,Eu > for all u, v V. (70) Let V be a finite-dimensional inner product space and let B = {u
1

,u
2

,...,u
n

} be a basis of V. Let T : V V be a linear map. Put M B B (T) = (a

ij

). Show that a
ij

=< Tu
j

,u
i

> . (71) Let A be a symmetric n n real matrix. Let u, v V = Rn1 \ {0} and , R such that Au = u and Av = v. Show that u v. In other words, eigenvectors for distinct eigenvalues of symmetric real matrices are orthogonal. (72) Let V. Show B = that {u
1

,u for 2 ,...,u any v n } be V, an orthonormal n i=1 set of vectors in an inner product space |2 ||v||2 and equality holds if and only if v L(B). (73) Let p,q,r Z. Show that the vectors (p,q,r)t,(q,r,p)t,(r, p, q)t R3 are mutually orthogonal if and only if pq + qr + rp = 0. Show that in this case, the length of each of these vectors in |p + q + r|. (74) Let U, V be subspaces of an inner product space W. Let dimU < dimV. Show that there is a nonzero vector in V lying in U . (75) Without using Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization process, find the orthogonal projection of (1,2,2,9)t R4 in the column space of the matrix A= |v,u
i

2 1 1 1 2 0

21 .

6. Determinants (76) Find the inverses of the following matrices by Gauss-Jordan method and the adjoint formula: [ abcd ]

, ad bc = 0

. (77) Find the ranks of the following matrices by using determinants: [ 1 2 3 4 1 2 1 0 3 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 2

. (78) Show that the equation of line through the distinct points (a, b) and (c, d) in R2 is given by ] , 1 0 1 2 1 1 3 0 1 2 4 1 xacybd111 = 0. (79) Show that the equation of the plane in R3 passing through three non-collinear

points (a, b, c); (d, e, f); (g,h,k) is given by xadgyzbcefhk1111 = 0. (80) Show that the area of the triangle with vertices (a, b); (c, d); (e, f) in the plane is given by the absolute value of 16 acebdf111 . (81) Show that the volume of the tetrahedron with vertices (a
1

,a
2

,a
3

), (b
1

,b
2

,b
3

), (c
1

,c
2

,c
3

), (d
1

,d
2

,d
3

) is given by the absolute value of 16 a 1b 1c

1

a 2b
2

a 3b
3

11

c
2

c
3

. d
1

d
2

(82) Prove the following formula for the van der Monde determinant: V
n

1a
1 a2 1

... an1 11a

2

= ... ... a2 . . .
2

... . . .
i<j an1 . . . 2

= (a
j

a
i

). 1a
n a2 n

... an1
n

[Hint: Use induction on n. Multiply each column by a

1

and subtract it from the next

column on the right, starting from the right hand side. Prove that V
n

= (a
n

a
1

)(a
n1

a
1

)...(a
2

a
1

)V
n1

. ] (83) If A Cnn is a skew-symmetric matrix where n is odd, then show that detA = 0. (84) Let A be an orthogonal matrix, that is, AAt = I. Show that for such a matrix, detA = 1. Give an example of an orthogonal matrix with determinant 1. (85) A complex n n matrix is called unitary if AA = I. Here A denotes the conjugate transpose of A. If A is unitary, show that |detA| = 1. (86) Let V = F nn. Let B V. Define T
B

: V V by T
B

(A) = AB BA. Show that detT

B

= 0. (87) Let A, B F nn where A is invertible. Show that there are atmost n scalars for which cA + B is not invertible. (88) Let V = F nn and B V. Define L
B

,R
B

: V V by L
B

(A) = BA and R
B

(A) = AB for all A V. Show that detR

B

= detL
B

= (detB)n. (89) Let V = F 1n and let T : V V be a linear operator. Define f(u

1

,u
2

,...,u
n

) = det(Tu
1

,Tu
2

,...,Tu
n

). (1) Show that f is multilinear and alternating. (2) Let B be any ordered basis of V and A = [T]
B

. Show that detA = detT = f(e

1

,e
2

,...,e
n

). (90) Let B V = Cnn. Define the linear operator M

B

(A) = BAB. Show that detM

B

: V V by M B = |detB|2n. 7. Diagonalization of matrices and operators Let V be an n-dimensional vector space over a field F and T be a linear operator on V in the following problems unless stated otherwise. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors (91) Show that similar matrices have same characteristic polynomials and hence have same eigenvalues and traces. (92) Find the eigenvalues and eigenspaces of the following matrices and determine if they are diagonalizable: [ 4 5 1 2 ] , [ 1 0 1 2 ] .

10

(93) Let f(x) F[x]. Show that is an eigenvalue of T if and only if f() is an eigenvalue of f(T). (94) Let A, B F nn. Prove that if I AB is invertible then I BA is invertible and (I BA)1 = I + B(I AB)1A. (95) Use the result of the above exercise to show that AB and BA have the same characteristic polynomials. (96) Let T be an invertible linear operator on a vector space V. Show that is an eigenvalue of T if and only if = 0 and 1 is an eigenvalue of T 1. (97) Let N C22 and N2 = 0. Prove [ that either N = 0 or N is similar over C to 0010 ] . (98) Let A C22. Show that A [ is similar over C to a matrix of one of the two types: a00b ] , [ a01a ] . (99) Let V Let T be denote the linear the vector operator space T(f(x)) of all continuous =
0 x

f(t)dt. real Show valued that functions T defined on R. has no eigenvalues. (100) Let A be an n n diagonal matrix with characteristic polynomial C

(x)=(x c
1

)d 1(x c
2

)d 2 ...(x c
k

)d
k

. where c
1

,c
2

,...,c
k

are distinct. Let V be the vector space of all n n matrices B such that AB = BA. Prove that dimV = d2 1 + d2 2 + + d2 k . Minimal polynomials (101) Find the minimal polynomials of [ 2 0 3 1

. (102) Find an n n nilpotent matrix with minimal polynomial x2. (103) Show that the following matrices have the same minimal polynomials:

] , 010001100 013002000 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0

0 0 0 1 2000 , 02000200 . 0 0 0 1 (104) Prove that a linear operator T defined on a finite dimensional vector space V is invertible if and only if its minimal polynomial has a nonzero constant term. Describe how to find T 1 from its minimal polynomial. (105) Let T be a nilpotent operator on V. Show that T n = 0.