Characteristic Polynomial, Eigenvalues, Diagonalization Problem (Princeton University Exam)

Problem 178

Let
\[\begin{bmatrix}
0 & 0 & 1 \\
1 &0 &0 \\
0 & 1 & 0
\end{bmatrix}.\]

(a) Find the characteristic polynomial and all the eigenvalues (real and complex) of $A$. Is $A$ diagonalizable over the complex numbers?

(b) Calculate $A^{2009}$.

(Princeton University, Linear Algebra Exam)
 
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Idempotent Matrix and its Eigenvalues

Problem 176

Let $A$ be an $n \times n$ matrix. We say that $A$ is idempotent if $A^2=A$.

(a) Find a nonzero, nonidentity idempotent matrix.

(b) Show that eigenvalues of an idempotent matrix $A$ is either $0$ or $1$.

(The Ohio State University, Linear Algebra Final Exam Problem)
 
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Prime Ideal is Irreducible in a Commutative Ring

Problem 173

Let $R$ be a commutative ring. An ideal $I$ of $R$ is said to be irreducible if it cannot be written as an intersection of two ideals of $R$ which are strictly larger than $I$.

Prove that if $\frakp$ is a prime ideal of the commutative ring $R$, then $\frakp$ is irreducible.

 
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Subspace of Skew-Symmetric Matrices and Its Dimension

Problem 166

Let $V$ be the vector space of all $2\times 2$ matrices. Let $W$ be a subset of $V$ consisting of all $2\times 2$ skew-symmetric matrices. (Recall that a matrix $A$ is skew-symmetric if $A^{\trans}=-A$.)

(a) Prove that the subset $W$ is a subspace of $V$.

(b) Find the dimension of $W$.

(The Ohio State University Linear Algebra Exam Problem)
 
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Vector Space of Polynomials and a Basis of Its Subspace

Problem 165

Let $P_2$ be the vector space of all polynomials of degree two or less.
Consider the subset in $P_2$
\[Q=\{ p_1(x), p_2(x), p_3(x), p_4(x)\},\] where
\begin{align*}
&p_1(x)=1, &p_2(x)=x^2+x+1, \\
&p_3(x)=2x^2, &p_4(x)=x^2-x+1.
\end{align*}

(a) Use the basis $B=\{1, x, x^2\}$ of $P_2$, give the coordinate vectors of the vectors in $Q$.

(b) Find a basis of the span $\Span(Q)$ consisting of vectors in $Q$.

(c) For each vector in $Q$ which is not a basis vector you obtained in (b), express the vector as a linear combination of basis vectors.

(The Ohio State University Linear Algebra Exam Problem)
 
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A Matrix Representation of a Linear Transformation and Related Subspaces

Problem 164

Let $T:\R^4 \to \R^3$ be a linear transformation defined by
\[ T\left (\, \begin{bmatrix}
x_1 \\
x_2 \\
x_3 \\
x_4
\end{bmatrix} \,\right) = \begin{bmatrix}
x_1+2x_2+3x_3-x_4 \\
3x_1+5x_2+8x_3-2x_4 \\
x_1+x_2+2x_3
\end{bmatrix}.\]

(a) Find a matrix $A$ such that $T(\mathbf{x})=A\mathbf{x}$.

(b) Find a basis for the null space of $T$.

(c) Find the rank of the linear transformation $T$.

(The Ohio State University Linear Algebra Exam Problem)
 
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Inner Product, Norm, and Orthogonal Vectors

Problem 162

Let $\mathbf{u}_1, \mathbf{u}_2, \mathbf{u}_3$ are vectors in $\R^n$. Suppose that vectors $\mathbf{u}_1$, $\mathbf{u}_2$ are orthogonal and the norm of $\mathbf{u}_2$ is $4$ and $\mathbf{u}_2^{\trans}\mathbf{u}_3=7$. Find the value of the real number $a$ in $\mathbf{u_1}=\mathbf{u_2}+a\mathbf{u}_3$.

(The Ohio State University, Linear Algebra Exam Problem)
 
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Give a Formula for a Linear Transformation if the Values on Basis Vectors are Known

Problem 159

Let $T: \R^2 \to \R^2$ be a linear transformation.
Let
\[
\mathbf{u}=\begin{bmatrix}
1 \\
2
\end{bmatrix}, \mathbf{v}=\begin{bmatrix}
3 \\
5
\end{bmatrix}\] be 2-dimensional vectors.
Suppose that
\begin{align*}
T(\mathbf{u})&=T\left( \begin{bmatrix}
1 \\
2
\end{bmatrix} \right)=\begin{bmatrix}
-3 \\
5
\end{bmatrix},\\
T(\mathbf{v})&=T\left(\begin{bmatrix}
3 \\
5
\end{bmatrix}\right)=\begin{bmatrix}
7 \\
1
\end{bmatrix}.
\end{align*}
Let $\mathbf{w}=\begin{bmatrix}
x \\
y
\end{bmatrix}\in \R^2$.
Find the formula for $T(\mathbf{w})$ in terms of $x$ and $y$.

 
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