(a) Prove that the matrix $A=\begin{bmatrix}
0 & 1\\
0& 0
\end{bmatrix}$ does not have a square root.
Namely, show that there is no complex matrix $B$ such that $B^2=A$.
(b) Prove that the $2\times 2$ identity matrix $I$ has infinitely many distinct square root matrices.
Let $A$ be an $n\times n$ invertible matrix. Then prove the transpose $A^{\trans}$ is also invertible and that the inverse matrix of the transpose $A^{\trans}$ is the transpose of the inverse matrix $A^{-1}$.
Namely, show that
\[(A^{\trans})^{-1}=(A^{-1})^{\trans}.\]
Let $A$ be a singular $2\times 2$ matrix such that $\tr(A)\neq -1$ and let $I$ be the $2\times 2$ identity matrix.
Then prove that the inverse matrix of the matrix $I+A$ is given by the following formula:
\[(I+A)^{-1}=I-\frac{1}{1+\tr(A)}A.\]
Using the formula, calculate the inverse matrix of $\begin{bmatrix}
2 & 1\\
1& 2
\end{bmatrix}$.
Let $T:\R^2 \to \R^2$ be a linear transformation of the $2$-dimensional vector space $\R^2$ (the $x$-$y$-plane) to itself which is the reflection across a line $y=mx$ for some $m\in \R$.
Then find the matrix representation of the linear transformation $T$ with respect to the standard basis $B=\{\mathbf{e}_1, \mathbf{e}_2\}$ of $\R^2$, where
\[\mathbf{e}_1=\begin{bmatrix}
1 \\
0
\end{bmatrix}, \mathbf{e}_2=\begin{bmatrix}
0 \\
1
\end{bmatrix}.\]
Let
\[D=\begin{bmatrix}
d_1 & 0 & \dots & 0 \\
0 &d_2 & \dots & 0 \\
\vdots & & \ddots & \vdots \\
0 & 0 & \dots & d_n
\end{bmatrix}\]
be a diagonal matrix with distinct diagonal entries: $d_i\neq d_j$ if $i\neq j$.
Let $A=(a_{ij})$ be an $n\times n$ matrix such that $A$ commutes with $D$, that is,
\[AD=DA.\]
Then prove that $A$ is a diagonal matrix.
Determine whether there exists a nonsingular matrix $A$ if
\[A^4=ABA^2+2A^3,\]
where $B$ is the following matrix.
\[B=\begin{bmatrix}
-1 & 1 & -1 \\
0 &-1 &0 \\
2 & 1 & -4
\end{bmatrix}.\]
If such a nonsingular matrix $A$ exists, find the inverse matrix $A^{-1}$.
(The Ohio State University, Linear Algebra Final Exam Problem)
You may use the following information without proving it.
The eigenvalues of $A$ are $-1, 0, 1$. The eigenspaces are given by
\[E_{-1}=\Span\left\{\, \begin{bmatrix}
3 \\
-1 \\
-5
\end{bmatrix} \,\right\}, \quad E_{0}=\Span\left\{\, \begin{bmatrix}
-2 \\
1 \\
4
\end{bmatrix} \,\right\}, \quad E_{1}=\Span\left\{\, \begin{bmatrix}
-4 \\
2 \\
7
\end{bmatrix} \,\right\}.\]
(The Ohio State University, Linear Algebra Final Exam Problem)
Let $P_2$ be the vector space of all polynomials with real coefficients of degree $2$ or less.
Let $S=\{p_1(x), p_2(x), p_3(x), p_4(x)\}$, where
\begin{align*}
p_1(x)&=-1+x+2x^2, \quad p_2(x)=x+3x^2\\
p_3(x)&=1+2x+8x^2, \quad p_4(x)=1+x+x^2.
\end{align*}
(a) Find a basis of $P_2$ among the vectors of $S$. (Explain why it is a basis of $P_2$.)
(b) Let $B’$ be the basis you obtained in part (a).
For each vector of $S$ which is not in $B’$, find the coordinate vector of it with respect to the basis $B’$.
(The Ohio State University, Linear Algebra Final Exam Problem)
(a) Let $S$ be the subset of $\R^4$ consisting of vectors $\begin{bmatrix}
x \\
y \\
z \\
w
\end{bmatrix}$ satisfying
\[2x+4y+3z+7w+1=0.\]
Determine whether $S$ is a subspace of $\R^4$. If so prove it. If not, explain why it is not a subspace.
(b) Let $S$ be the subset of $\R^4$ consisting of vectors $\begin{bmatrix}
x \\
y \\
z \\
w
\end{bmatrix}$ satisfying
\[2x+4y+3z+7w=0.\]
Determine whether $S$ is a subspace of $\R^4$. If so prove it. If not, explain why it is not a subspace.
(These two problems look similar but note that the equations are different.)
(The Ohio State University, Linear Algebra Final Exam Problem)
Let $T:\R^2 \to \R^3$ be a linear transformation given by
\[T\left(\, \begin{bmatrix}
x_1 \\
x_2
\end{bmatrix} \,\right)
=
\begin{bmatrix}
x_1-x_2 \\
x_2 \\
x_1+ x_2
\end{bmatrix}.\]
Find an orthonormal basis of the range of $T$.
(The Ohio State University, Linear Algebra Final Exam Problem)