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Reading Questions 20.4 Reading Questions
1. Why do the axioms of a vector space appear to only have four conditions, rather than the ten you may have seen the first time you saw an axiomatic definition?
2. The set
\(V={\mathbb Q}(\sqrt{11})=\{a+b\sqrt{11}\mid a,b\in{\mathbb Q}\}\) is a vector space. Carefully define the operations on this set that will make this possible. Describe the subspace spanned by
\(S=\{\mathbf{u}\}\text{,}\) where
\(\mathbf{u}=3+\frac{2}{7}\sqrt{11}\in V\text{.}\)
3. Write a long paragraph, or a short essay, on the importance of linear independence in linear algebra.
4. Write a long paragraph, or a short essay, on the importance of spanning sets in linear algebra.
5. “Linear algebra is all about linear combinations.” Explain why you might say this.
