Well, this is actually a non-linear function, and we can show that it is not a subspace pretty easily through a counterexample, by showing that the set is not closed under addition. What about things that are not subspaces? For instance: ( x, y, z ) : | x + y + z | = 1 ( x, y, z ) : | x + y + z | = 1
Therefore, as the subset defined by ( x, y, z ) : 2 x + 3 y = z ( x, y, z ) : 2 x + 3 y = zis a subspace of the volume defined by the three-dimensional real numbers. So if we multiply through α α: 2 α x + 3 α y = α z 2 α x + 3 α y = α zĪnd this is always true, since it is just a scalar. Again, we need to prove this by analysis: Now for being closed under multiplication.Which is always true, so we are closed under addition Now, if we recall that 2 x 1 + 3 y 1 − z 1 = 0 2 x 1 + 3 y 1 − z 1 = 0 and 2 x 2 + 3 y 2 − z 2 = 0 2 x 2 + 3 y 2 − z 2 = 0, so what we really have is: 0 = − 0 0 = − 0 Is it closed under addition? To work this out, we can take any two v 1 ∈ S v 1 ∈ S and v 2 ∈ S v 2 ∈ S and show that their sum, v 1 + v 2 ∈ S v 1 + v 2 ∈ S:.
We also often use letters from the greek alphabet to describe arbitrary constants, for instance alpha α α and beta β β. When we use ( x, y, z ) : z = C ( x, y ) ( x, y, z ) : z = C ( x, y ) we are describing a set containing all three dimensional vectors that satisfy the condition that z z equals some function C ( x, y ) C ( x, y ). To answer that question, it is worth defining what a subspace is in terms of its formal properties, then what it is in laymans terms, then the visual definition, showing why it is that those properties need to be satisfied.įor those unfamiliar, we will be using a little bit of set notation here - ∈ ∈ stands for is a member of.
Given some subset of numbers in an n-dimensional space, one of the questions you might get asked is whether or not those numbers make up a subspace.