4.

3 Linearly Independent Sets; Bases

Definition
A set of vectors v 1 , v 2 , … , v p  in a vector space V is said to be linearly independent if the
vector equation
c1v1 + c2v2 + ⋯ + cpvp = 0
has only the trivial solution c 1 = 0, … , c p = 0.
The set v 1 , v 2 , … , v p  is said to be linearly dependent if there exists weights c 1 , … , c p , not
all 0, such that
c 1 v 1 + c 2 v 2 + ⋯ + c p v p = 0.

The following results from Section 1.7 are still true for more general vectors spaces.

A set containing the zero vector is linearly dependent.

A set of two vectors is linearly dependent if

and only if one is a multiple of the other.

A set containing the zero vector is

linearly independent.

1 2 0 0 3 2
EXAMPLE: , , is a linearly __________________ set.
3 4 0 0 3 0

1 2 3 6 3 6
EXAMPLE: , is a linearly _________________ set since
3 4 9 11 9 11
1 2
is not a multiple of .
3 4

Theorem 4
An indexed set v 1 , v 2 , … , v p  of two or more vectors, with v 1 ≠ 0, is linearly dependent if
and only if some vector v j (j > 1) is a linear combination of the preceding vectors
v 1 , … , v j−1 .

EXAMPLE: Let p 1 , p 2 , p 3 be a set of vectors in P 2 where p 1 t = t, p 2 t = t 2 , and

p 3 t = 4t + 2t 2 . Is this a linearly dependent set?

Solution: Since p 3 = _____p 1 + _____p 2 , p 1 , p 2 , p 3 is a linearly ___________________ set.

1
A Basis Set

Let H be the plane illustrated below. Which of the following are valid descriptions of H?
(a) H =Spanv 1 , v 2  (b) H =Spanv 1 , v 3 
(c) H =Spanv 2 , v 3  (d) H =Spanv 1 , v 2 , v 3 

x3

v3

x2
v2 v1
x1

A basis set is an “efficient” spanning set containing no unnecessary vectors. In this case, we
would consider the linearly independent sets v 1 , v 2  and v 1 , v 3  to both be examples of basis
sets or bases (plural for basis) for H.

DEFINITION
Let H be a subspace of a vector space V. An indexed set of vectors β = b 1 , … , b p  in V is
a basis for H if
(i) β is a linearly independent set, and
(ii) H = Spanb 1 , … , b p .

1 0 0
EXAMPLE: Let e 1 = 0 , e2 = 1 , e3 = 0 . Show that e 1 , e 2 , e 3  is a basis for
0 0 1
R 3 . The set e 1 , e 2 , e 3  is called a standard basis for R 3 .

Solutions: (Review the IMT, page 129) Let

1 0 0
A= e1 e2 e3 = 0 1 0 . Since A has 3 pivots, the columns of A are linearly
0 0 1
______________________ by the IMT and the columns of A _____________ _________

by IMT. Therefore, e 1 , e 2 , e 3  is a basis for R 3 .

2
EXAMPLE: Let S = 1, t, t 2 , … , t n . Show that S is a basis for P n .

Solution: Any polynomial in P n is in span of S. To show that S is linearly independent, assume

c0 ⋅ 1 + c1 ⋅ t + ⋯ + cn ⋅ tn = 0

Then c 0 = c 1 = ⋯ = c n = 0. Hence S is a basis for P n .

1 0 1
EXAMPLE: Let v 1 = 2 , v2 = 1 , v3 = 0 .
0 1 3

Is v 1 , v 2 , v 3  a basis for R 3 ?

1 0 1
Solution: Again, let A = v 1 v 2 v 3 = 2 1 0 . Using row reduction,
0 1 3

1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1
2 1 0 ∽ 0 1 −2 ∽ 0 1 −2
0 1 3 0 1 3 0 0 5

and since there are 3 pivots, the columns of A are linearly independent and they span R 3 by the
IMT. Therefore v 1 , v 2 , v 3  is a basis for R 3 .

EXAMPLE: Explain why each of the following sets is not a basis for R 3 .

1 4 0 1 1 4
(a) 2 , 5 , 1 , −3 (b) 2 , 5
3 7 0 7 3 6

3
Bases for Nul A

3 6 6 3 9
EXAMPLE: Find a basis for Nul A where A = .
6 12 13 0 3

Solution: Row reduce A 0 :

x 1 = −2x 2 − 13x 4 − 33x 5
1 2 0 13 33 0
x 3 = 6x 4 + 15x 5
0 0 1 −6 −15 0
x 2 , x 4 and x 5 are free

x1 −2x 2 − 13x 4 − 33x 5 −2 −13 −33

x2 x2 1 0 0
x3 = 6x 4 + 15x 5 = x2 0 + x4 6 + x5 15
x4 x4 0 1 0
x5 x5 0 0 1

↑ ↑ ↑
u v w

Therefore u, v, w  is a spanning set for Nul A. In the last section we observed that this set is
linearly independent. Therefore u, v, w  is a basis for Nul A. The technique used here always
provides a linearly independent set.
The Spanning Set Theorem
A basis can be constructed from a spanning set of vectors by discarding vectors which are linear
combinations of preceding vectors in the indexed set.

−1 0 −2
EXAMPLE: Suppose v 1 = , v2 = and v 3 = .
0 −1 −3

Solution: If x is in Spanv 1 , v 2 , v 3 , then

x =c 1 v 1 + c 2 v 2 + c 3 v 3 = c 1 v 1 + c 2 v 2 + c 3 _____v 1 + _____v 2 

= _____________v 1 + _____________v 2
Therefore,
Spanv 1 , v 2 , v 3  =Spanv 1 , v 2 .

4
THEOREM 5 The Spanning Set Theorem
Let S = v 1 , … , v p  be a set in V and let H = Spanv 1 , … , v p .
a. If one of the vectors in S - say v k - is a linear combination of the remaining vectors in S,
then the set formed from S by removing v k still spans H.
b. If H ≠ 0 , some subset of S is a basis for H.

Bases for Col A

EXAMPLE: Find a basis for Col A, where

1 2 0 4
2 4 −1 3
A = a1 a2 a3 a4 = .
3 6 2 22
4 8 0 16

Solution: Row reduce:

1 2 0 4
0 0 1 5
a1 a2 a3 a4 ∼⋯ = b1 b2 b3 b4
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
Note that
b 2 = ____b 1 and a 2 = ____a 1

b 4 = 4b 1 + 5b 3 and a 4 = 4a 1 + 5a 3

b 1 and b 3 are not multiples of each other

a 1 and a 3 are not multiples of each other

Elementary row operations on a matrix do not affect the linear

dependence relations among the columns of the matrix.

Therefore Span a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , a 4 =Span a 1 , a 3 and a 1 , a 3 is a basis for Col A.

5
THEOREM 6
The pivot columns of a matrix A form a basis for Col A.

1 −2 3
EXAMPLE: Let v 1 = 2 , v2 = −4 , v3 = 6 . Find a basis for Spanv 1 , v 2 , v 3  .
−3 6 9

1 −2 3
Solution: Let A = 2 −4 6 and note that Col A = Spanv 1 , v 2 , v 3 .
−3 6 9

1 −2 0
By row reduction, A  0 0 1 . Therefore a basis
0 0 0

for Spanv 1 , v 2 , v 3  is , .

Review:

1. To find a basis for Nul A, use elementary row operations to transform A 0 to an equivalent
reduced row echelon form B 0 . Use the reduced row echelon form to find parametric form of
the general solution to Ax = 0. The vectors found in this parametric form of the general solution
form a basis for Nul A.

2. A basis for Col A is formed from the pivot columns of A. Warning: Use the pivot columns of
A, not the pivot columns of B, where B is in reduced echelon form and is row equivalent
to A.