What is the rank/dimension of a vector space?

Sarang S. Sane
Basis for a vector space (recall)
Basis for a vector space (recall)

A basis B of a vector space V is a linearly independent subset of

V that spans V .
Basis for a vector space (recall)

A basis B of a vector space V is a linearly independent subset of

V that spans V .

Equivalently : A basis B of a vector space V is a subset B ⊆ V

such that every element of V can be uniquely written as a linear
combination of elements of B.
Basis for a vector space (recall)

A basis B of a vector space V is a linearly independent subset of

V that spans V .

Equivalently : A basis B of a vector space V is a subset B ⊆ V

such that every element of V can be uniquely written as a linear
combination of elements of B.

i.e. if B = {v1 , v2 , . . . , vn } then for every v ∈ VP

, there is a unique
set of scalars a1 , a2 , . . . , an ∈ R such that v = ni=1 ai vi .
What is the rank/dimension of a vector space
What is the rank/dimension of a vector space

The dimension (or rank) of a vector space is the size (or cardinality)
of a basis of the vector space.
What is the rank/dimension of a vector space

The dimension (or rank) of a vector space is the size (or cardinality)
of a basis of the vector space.

for this course : if B is a basis of V , then the rank is the number

of elements in B.
What is the rank/dimension of a vector space

The dimension (or rank) of a vector space is the size (or cardinality)
of a basis of the vector space.

for this course : if B is a basis of V , then the rank is the number

of elements in B.

For every vector space there exists a basis,and all bases of a vector
space have the same number of elements (or cardinality) ;
What is the rank/dimension of a vector space

The dimension (or rank) of a vector space is the size (or cardinality)
of a basis of the vector space.

for this course : if B is a basis of V , then the rank is the number

of elements in B.

For every vector space there exists a basis,and all bases of a vector
space have the same number of elements (or cardinality) ; hence,
the dimension (or rank) of a vector space (say V ) is uniquely
defined and denoted by dim(V ) (or rank(V )) respectively.
Dimension of Rn

Recall the i th standard basis vector in Rn .

ei = (0, 0, . . . , 0, 1, 0, . . . , 0)
Dimension of Rn

Recall the i th standard basis vector in Rn .

ei = (0, 0, . . . , 0, 1, 0, . . . , 0)

i.e. the i-th co-ordinate is 1 and 0 elsewhere.

Dimension of Rn

Recall the i th standard basis vector in Rn .

ei = (0, 0, . . . , 0, 1, 0, . . . , 0)

i.e. the i-th co-ordinate is 1 and 0 elsewhere.

Recall that the set {e1 , e2 , . . . , en } is a basis of Rn called the stan-

dard basis.
Dimension of Rn

Recall the i th standard basis vector in Rn .

ei = (0, 0, . . . , 0, 1, 0, . . . , 0)

i.e. the i-th co-ordinate is 1 and 0 elsewhere.

Recall that the set {e1 , e2 , . . . , en } is a basis of Rn called the stan-

dard basis.

Hence the dimension of Rn is n.

Example

Let use calculate the dimension of the subspace W of R3 spanned

by {(1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (3, 5, 0)}.
Example

Let use calculate the dimension of the subspace W of R3 spanned

by {(1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (3, 5, 0)}.

Observe that, 3(1, 0, 0) + 5(0, 1, 0) = (3, 5, 0).

Example

Let use calculate the dimension of the subspace W of R3 spanned

by {(1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (3, 5, 0)}.

Observe that, 3(1, 0, 0) + 5(0, 1, 0) = (3, 5, 0).

Hence the set is not linearly independent.

Example

Let use calculate the dimension of the subspace W of R3 spanned

by {(1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (3, 5, 0)}.

Observe that, 3(1, 0, 0) + 5(0, 1, 0) = (3, 5, 0).

Hence the set is not linearly independent.

Hence we delete the vector (3, 5, 0) from this set.

Example

Let use calculate the dimension of the subspace W of R3 spanned

by {(1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (3, 5, 0)}.

Observe that, 3(1, 0, 0) + 5(0, 1, 0) = (3, 5, 0).

Hence the set is not linearly independent.

Hence we delete the vector (3, 5, 0) from this set.

The remaining two vectors form a linearly independent set.

Example

Let use calculate the dimension of the subspace W of R3 spanned

by {(1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (3, 5, 0)}.

Observe that, 3(1, 0, 0) + 5(0, 1, 0) = (3, 5, 0).

Hence the set is not linearly independent.

Hence we delete the vector (3, 5, 0) from this set.

The remaining two vectors form a linearly independent set.

Hence the set {(1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0)} forms a basis of the subspace W
spanned by {(1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (3, 5, 0)}.
Example

Let use calculate the dimension of the subspace W of R3 spanned

by {(1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (3, 5, 0)}.

Observe that, 3(1, 0, 0) + 5(0, 1, 0) = (3, 5, 0).

Hence the set is not linearly independent.

Hence we delete the vector (3, 5, 0) from this set.

The remaining two vectors form a linearly independent set.

Hence the set {(1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0)} forms a basis of the subspace W
spanned by {(1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (3, 5, 0)}.

Hence dimension of the subspace W is 2.

Example contd.

Geometrically the subspace W is the XY -plane.

5
−1 0
−5
0 −5
5
Example : in terms of matrices
Example : in terms of matrices
Write the vectors which span (or generate) W as rows of a matrix :
Example : in terms of matrices
Write the vectors which span (or generate) W as rows of a matrix :
 
1 0 0
0 1 0 .
3 5 0
Example : in terms of matrices
Write the vectors which span (or generate) W as rows of a matrix :
 
1 0 0
0 1 0 .
3 5 0

Apply row reduction to this matrix.

Example : in terms of matrices
Write the vectors which span (or generate) W as rows of a matrix :
 
1 0 0
0 1 0 .
3 5 0

Apply row reduction to this matrix.

     
1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
R3 −3R1 R3 −5R2
0 1 0 / 0 1 0 / 0 1 0
3 5 0 0 5 0 0 0 0
Example : in terms of matrices
Write the vectors which span (or generate) W as rows of a matrix :
 
1 0 0
0 1 0 .
3 5 0

Apply row reduction to this matrix.

     
1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
R3 −3R1 R3 −5R2
0 1 0 / 0 1 0 / 0 1 0
3 5 0 0 5 0 0 0 0

The final matrix is the row echelon form of the original matrix and
its rows form a basis of the subspace W .
Example : in terms of matrices
Write the vectors which span (or generate) W as rows of a matrix :
 
1 0 0
0 1 0 .
3 5 0

Apply row reduction to this matrix.

     
1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
R3 −3R1 R3 −5R2
0 1 0 / 0 1 0 / 0 1 0
3 5 0 0 5 0 0 0 0

The final matrix is the row echelon form of the original matrix and
its rows form a basis of the subspace W .

In particular, the number of non-zero rows is 2 = dim(W ).

Rank of a matrix
Let A be an m × n matrix.
Rank of a matrix
Let A be an m × n matrix.

I The column space of A is the subspace of Rm spanned by

the column vectors of A.
Rank of a matrix
Let A be an m × n matrix.

I The column space of A is the subspace of Rm spanned by

the column vectors of A.

I The row space of A is the subspace of Rn spanned by the

row vectors of A.
Rank of a matrix
Let A be an m × n matrix.

I The column space of A is the subspace of Rm spanned by

the column vectors of A.

I The row space of A is the subspace of Rn spanned by the

row vectors of A.

I The dimension of the column space of A is defined as the

column rank of A.
Rank of a matrix
Let A be an m × n matrix.

I The column space of A is the subspace of Rm spanned by

the column vectors of A.

I The row space of A is the subspace of Rn spanned by the

row vectors of A.

I The dimension of the column space of A is defined as the

column rank of A.

I The dimension of row space of A is defined as the row rank

of A.
Rank of a matrix
Let A be an m × n matrix.

I The column space of A is the subspace of Rm spanned by

the column vectors of A.

I The row space of A is the subspace of Rn spanned by the

row vectors of A.

I The dimension of the column space of A is defined as the

column rank of A.

I The dimension of row space of A is defined as the row rank

of A.

Fact : Column rank= Row rank and this number is called the
rank of A.
Example  
1 0 1
Let us find the rank of the matrix A = −2 −3 1 .
3 3 0
Example  
1 0 1
Let us find the rank of the matrix A = −2 −3 1 .
3 3 0
Reduce it to row echelon form:
Example  
1 0 1
Let us find the rank of the matrix A = −2 −3 1 .
3 3 0
Reduce it to row echelon form:

     
1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1
R2 +2R1 R3 −3R1
−2 −3 1 / 0 −3 3 / 0 −3 3 
3 3 0 3 3 0 0 3 −3

−R2 /3

   
1 0 1 1 0 1
R3 −3R2
0 1 −1 o 0 1 −1
0 0 0 0 3 −3

There are two non-zero rows. Hence rank(A) = 2.

Example  
1 0 1
Let us find the rank of the matrix A = −2 −3 1 .
3 3 0
Reduce it to row echelon form:

     
1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1
R2 +2R1 R3 −3R1
−2 −3 1 / 0 −3 3 / 0 −3 3 
3 3 0 3 3 0 0 3 −3

−R2 /3

   
1 0 1 1 0 1
R3 −3R2
0 1 −1 o 0 1 −1
0 0 0 0 3 −3

There are two non-zero rows. Hence rank(A) = 2.

Thank you