Linear Algebra : Operations and Properties

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Linear Algebra

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Example Questions

Example Question #31 : Linear Mapping

 refers to the set of all functions that are continuous on 

Define the linear mapping  as follows:

True or false:  is in the kernel of .

Possible Answers:

True

False

Correct answer:

False

Explanation:

The kernel of a linear transformation  is the subset of the domain of  that maps into the zero of its range, so, by definition,  if and only if

To determine whether this is true or false, evaluate the integral:

, so .

Example Question #39 : Linear Mapping

 refers to the set of all functions that are continuous on

Define the linear mapping  as follows:

True or false:  is in the kernel of .

Possible Answers:

False

True

Correct answer:

True

Explanation:

The kernel of a linear transformation  is the subset of the domain of  that maps into the zero of its range. It follows that  if and only if

To determine whether this is true or false, evaluate the integral:

Therefore, .

Example Question #521 : Operations And Properties

True or false: If  is a linear mapping, and  is a vector space, then  is a subspace of .

Possible Answers:

False

True

Correct answer:

False

Explanation:

For example, if  is the space of all vectors in  of the form , and  is the space of all vectors in  the form , then  is a linear mapping, but  is not a subset of , let alone a subspace of .

Example Question #521 : Operations And Properties

True or false: The identity mapping , is also considered a linear mapping, regardless of the vector space .

Possible Answers:

False

True

Correct answer:

True

Explanation:

Verifying the conditions for a linear mapping, we have

Hence the identity mapping is closed under vector addition and scalar multiplication, and is therefore a linear mapping.

Example Question #42 : Linear Mapping

 is the set of all polynomials with degree  or less. 

Define a linear mapping  as follows:

Is this mapping one-to-one and onto?

Possible Answers:

No; it is neither. 

No; it is onto but not one-to-one.

No; it is one-to-one but not onto.

Yes.

Correct answer:

No; it is one-to-one but not onto.

Explanation:

 is a vector space of dimension  is a linear mapping of a four-dimensional vector space into a five-dimensional vector space; since the range has greater dimension than the domain,  cannot be onto. It remains to be determined whether it is one-to-one.

A transformation is one-to-one if and only if for any  in the domain, 

 implies that 

Suppose that  for some 

Since  are third-degree polynomials:

for some scalar .

, so

For these two polynomials to be equal, it must hold that all coefficients of the terms of equal degree are equal. We can immediately see from the first-degree terms that . Applying some simple algebra, it follows almost as quickly that , and . Thus, , and  is one-to-one.

The correct response is that  is one-to-one but not onto. 

Example Question #43 : Linear Mapping

 is the set of all polynomials with degree  or less. 

Define a linear mapping  as follows:

Is this mapping one-to-one and onto?

Possible Answers:

No; it is neither. 

Yes.

No; it is onto but not one-to-one.

No; it is one-to-one but not onto.

Correct answer:

Yes.

Explanation:

 is a linear mapping of a vector space into  itself, so it is possible for  to be both one-to-one and onto. 

A transformation is one-to-one if and only if for any  in the domain, 

 implies that 

Suppose that  for some 

Since  are third-degree polynomials:

for some scalar .

, so

For these two polynomials to be equal, it must hold that all coefficients of the terms of equal degree are equal. We can immediately see from the first-degree terms that . Applying some simple algebra, it follows almost as quickly that , and . Thus, , and  is one-to-one.

A transformation is onto if, for each  in the range, there exists  in the domain such that .

Let . Then 

for some scalar .

If , then, if  is defined as before, 

Therefore, 

Or, 

.

Thus, 

 is the polynomial in  that  maps into . Since such a polynomial exists in the domain for each range element, it follows that  is onto. 

The correct response is that  is one-to-one and onto.

Example Question #44 : Linear Mapping

 is the set of all real polynomials with degree 3 or less.

Define the linear mapping   as follows:

Is this linear mapping one-to-one and onto?

Possible Answers:

No; it is one-to-one but not onto.

Yes.

No; it is onto but not one-to-one.

No; it is neither. 

Correct answer:

No; it is onto but not one-to-one.

Explanation:

 is a linear mapping of a four-dimensional vector space into a one-dimensional vector space; it cannot be one-to-one. 

 is onto if, for every element  in its codomain, which here is , there exists at least one  in the domain  so that .

For each , we can choose the constant polynomial , so each  has at least one domain element that maps into it.

 is onto but not one-to-one.

Example Question #45 : Linear Mapping

 is the set of all polynomials with degree 3 or less.

Define the linear mapping   as follows:

Is this linear mapping one-to-one and onto?

Possible Answers:

Yes

No; it is one-to-one but not onto.

No; it is neither. 

No; it is onto but not one-to-one.

Correct answer:

No; it is neither. 

Explanation:

A linear mapping is one-to-one if, for every  in the domain such that , it must follow that  . We can show that  is not one-to-one by finding  such that . For example, let

 

Then 

Since there exists  such that  is not one-to-one.

 is onto if, for every element  in its codomain, which here is , there exists at least one  in the domain  so that 

Suppose . To find  such that , set:

 for some constant .

However, 

Therefore, there does not exist  such that .

The correct response is that  is not one-to-one or onto.

Example Question #46 : Linear Mapping

 is the set of all polynomials with degree  or less; 

Define a transformation  as follows:

True or false:  is an example of a linear mapping. 

Possible Answers:

True

False

Correct answer:

True

Explanation:

 is a linear mapping if and only if the following two conditions hold:

Additivity:  for all ,

Homogeneity:  for all  scalar.

We know from calculus that both properties hold for any definite integrals, so 

and 

This makes  a linear mapping. 

Example Question #521 : Operations And Properties

 is the set of all polynomials with degree 3 or less.

Define a transformation  as follows:

.

True or false:  is an example of a linear mapping. 

Possible Answers:

False

True

Correct answer:

True

Explanation:

 is a linear mapping if and only if the following two conditions hold:

Additivity:  for all ,

Homogeneity:  for all  scalar.

Let . Then

By distribution:

By the sum rule of derivatives:

Thus, 

,

proving that additivity holds. 

 

Let  and  be a scalar. Then 

By the scalar product rule of derivatives, 

,

and

,

proving that homogeneity holds. 

 

 is a linear mapping. 

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