Math 260, Fall 2019, Assignment 3

We admit, in geometry, not only infinite magnitudes, that is to say, magnitudes greater than any assignable magnitude, but infinite magnitudes infinitely greater, the one than the other. This astonishes our dimension of brains, which is only about six inches long, five broad, and six in depth, in the largest heads.

- Voltaire

Read:

1. Section 1.3.

Carefully define the following terms, then give one example and one non-example of each:

1. Rank (of a matrix).
2. Scalar.
3. Geometric vector.
4. Addition (of geometric vectors).
5. Scalar multiplication (of geometric vectors).
6. Zero (geometric) vector.
7. Length (of a geometric vector).
8. $n$-component algebraic vector.
9. Addition (of algebraic vectors).
10. Scalar multiplication (of algebraic vectors).
11. Zero (algebraic) vector.
12. Length (of an algebraic vector).
13. Dot product (of two algebraic vectors).

Carefully describe the following algorithms:

1. Procedure to write all solutions of a linear system, once it is in reduced row-echelon form.

Carefully state the following theorems (you do not need to prove them):

1. Numerical instability of Gauss-Jordan elimination. (This is not really a theorem, but please be able to give an example of an alarming loss of precision when this algorithm is used to solve a system of linear equations.)
2. Law of cosines.

Solve the following problems:

1. Section 1.3, problems 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 27, and 28.
2. Section 5.1, problems 1, 2, and 3.
3. In ordinary three-dimensional space, is it possible for two planes to intersect in exactly one point? Give a rigorous algebraic proof of your answer. (Hint: each plane is represented by an equation, so their intersection is the solution set of a $2\times 3$ system of linear equations. Think about all possible cursor paths through the augmented matrix of such a system.)

(N.B.: After we have studied the theory of dimension in chapter 3, we will see that it is possible for a pair of planes in $\mathbb{R}^4$ to intersect in exactly one point.)

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