Linear Algebra : Norms

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Linear Algebra

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #151 : Operations And Properties

Find the euclidean norm of .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the euclidean norm of , we take the sum of the entries squared and take the square root:

Example Question #152 : Operations And Properties

Find the euclidean norm of .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the euclidean norm of , we take the sum of the entries squared and take the square root:

Example Question #23 : Norms

.

Evaluate  to make  a unit vector.

Possible Answers:

 or  

 or 

 or 

 or 

 cannot be a unit vector regardless of the value of .

Correct answer:

 or 

Explanation:

 is a unit vector if and only if 

, the norm, or length, of  can be found by adding the squares of the entries and taking the square root of the sum:

Set this expression equal to 1:

or

Example Question #24 : Norms

Evaluate  (nearest hundredth of a radian) to make  a unit vector.

Possible Answers:

 cannot be a unit vector regardless of the value of .

Correct answer:

Explanation:

 is a unit vector if and only if 

, the norm, or length, of  can be found by adding the squares of the entries and taking the square root of the sum:

Set this value equal to 1:

We are looking for a value in radians , so 

.

Example Question #25 : Norms

.

To the nearest hundredth (radian), which of the following values of  would make  a unit vector? 

Possible Answers:

 cannot be a unit vector regardless of the value of .

Correct answer:

 cannot be a unit vector regardless of the value of .

Explanation:

 is a unit vector if and only if

, the norm, or length, of  can be found by adding the squares of the entries and taking the square root of the sum:

Since by a trigonometric identity, 

 for all ,

.

Therefore, for any value of  cannot be a unit vector.

Example Question #26 : Norms

True or false:  is a unit vector regardless of the value of .

Possible Answers:

True

False

Correct answer:

True

Explanation:

 is a unit vector if and only if 

, the norm, or length, of  can be found by adding the squares of the entries and taking the square root of the sum:

Applying a trigonometric identity:

.

Therefore,  is a unit vector regardless of the value of .

Example Question #27 : Norms

Express the distance between  and  in terms of .

Possible Answers:

None of the other choices gives the correct response.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The distance between the vectors  and  is , the norm of their difference. 

First, find  by elementwise subtraction:

, the norm of this difference, can be found by adding the squares of the elements, then taking the square root:

,

the correct choice.

Example Question #28 : Norms

 an integer.

For which values of  does it hold that  ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

, the norm, or length, of , can be calculated by adding the squares of the numbers and taking the square root of the sum;  can be calculated similarly.

We are seeking the real values of  so that ; since both norms must be nonnegative, it suffices to find  so that .

For  to hold, it must hold that 

, or

This is true if 

which in turn holds if

.

Since it is specified that  is an integer, it holds that .

Example Question #21 : Norms

Give the unit vector in the same direction as .

Possible Answers:

 is itself a unit vector.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The unit vector in the same direction as  is the vector 

,

where , the norm of , is the square root of the sum of the squares of its entries. 

 

The unit vector is therefore

,

or, simplified,

.

Example Question #30 : Norms

Which is a true statement?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

, the norm, or length, of , can be calculated by adding the squares of the numbers and taking the square root of the sum;  can be found similarly.

It is not necessary to actually calculate the norms. It can be observed that the five entries in  and the five entries in  have the same set of absolute values, and, consequently, the same squares. The sum of the squares of the five entries in  is therefore equal to the same sum for . It immediately follows that 

.

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors