Mathematical Tools for Physics - Department of Physics - University

(nextflipdebug2) #1
6—Vector Spaces 136

Exercises

1 Determine if these are vector spaces with the usual rules for addition and multiplication by scalars.
If not, which axiom(s) do they violate?


(a) Quadratic polynomials of the formax^2 +bx


(b) Quadratic polynomials of the formax^2 +bx+ 1


(c) Quadratic polynomialsax^2 +bx+cwitha+b+c= 0


(d) Quadratic polynomialsax^2 +bx+cwitha+b+c= 1


2 What is the dimension of the vector space of (up to) 5th degree polynomials having a double root


atx= 1?


3 Starting from three dimensional vectors (the common directed line segments) and a single fixed


vectorB~, is the set of all vectors~vwith~v.B~= 0a vector space? If so, what is it’s dimension?


Is the set of all vectors~vwith~v×B~= 0a vector space? If so, what is it’s dimension?


4 The set of all odd polynomials with the expected rules for addition and multiplication by scalars. Is
it a vector space?


5 The set of all polynomials where the function “addition” is defined to bef 3 =f 2 +f 1 if the number


f 3 (x) =f 1 (−x) +f 2 (−x). Is it a vector space?


6 Same as the preceding, but for (a) even polynomials, (b) odd polynomials


7 The set of directed line segments in the plane with the new rule for addition: add the vectors
according to the usual rule then rotate the result by 10◦counterclockwise. Which vector space axioms
are obeyed and which not?

Free download pdf