Confused About Exercise 11 Answer Key

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around Exercise 11 from a textbook, where participants express confusion regarding the answer key's claims about the inclusion of vectors b and w in the column space of matrix A. The conversation includes attempts to clarify the problem, share solutions, and address potential errors in the answer key.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant initially claims that vector b is not in the column space of A while w is, contradicting the answer key which states that b is in and w is not.
  • Another participant suggests that sharing the solution could help clarify the misunderstanding.
  • There are multiple references to the term "facit," which is clarified to mean the answer key, with some participants expressing confusion about its correctness.
  • A participant provides a row-reduced form of the matrix and concludes that there are infinitely many solutions, suggesting that b is indeed in col(A).
  • One participant acknowledges a mistake in their matrix calculations, leading to a revised understanding of the problem.
  • Another participant presents a mathematical argument to show that b is in col(A) through a specific linear combination.
  • A philosophical point is raised about the nature of answer keys, arguing that they can be misleading and that understanding the reasoning behind answers is more important than simply obtaining them.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express disagreement regarding the status of vectors b and w in relation to the column space of A, with no consensus reached on the correctness of the answer key. Some participants revise their positions based on further analysis, while others maintain differing views.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved issues regarding the accuracy of the answer key and the participants' interpretations of the exercise, as well as potential errors in calculations that have not been fully clarified.

Petrus
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Hello,

in exercise 11, I get b is not and w is, but the answer key says b is and w is not...? I don't understand...have I misunderstood or is the answer key wrong?

View attachment 1379

Regrds,
$$|\pi\rangle$$
 

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I don't know who/what facit is, but he/she/it is correct. Perhaps if you post your solution, we can discuss it.
 
Petrus, I suggest if you are going to upload images that you use some sort of image editing software to rotate the image so that it is the right side up for ease of reading. :D
 
Evgeny.Makarov said:
I don't know who/what facit is, but he/she/it is correct. Perhaps if you post your solution, we can discuss it.

Somehow he is referring by facit to the textbook.
 
MarkFL said:
Petrus, I suggest if you are going to upload images that you use some sort of image editing software to rotate the image so that it is the right side up for ease of reading. :D
What do you mean by rotate? The picture seem nice to me
2zog2u1.jpg
 
Yes, the facit refers to the answer key (I have edited the post), and I have rotated, cropped, re-sized and uploaded the new image. (Sun)

edit: Petrus, on my computer, the image needed to be rotated clockwise 90 degrees.
 
Evgeny.Makarov said:
I don't know who/what facit is, but he/she/it is correct. Perhaps if you post your solution, we can discuss it.
If we start with col(a)

after row reduce we got 1 0 -1|3
----------------------------0 1 2|-1
that means we got infinity soloution, if we set $$x_3=t$$ we got $$x_2=-1-2t$$ and $$x_1= 3+t$$ it indeed got soloution so it is in col(A)
Right?

Regards,
$$|\pi\rangle$$

- - - Updated - - -

MarkFL said:
Yes, the facit refers to the answer key (I have edited the post), and I have rotated, cropped, re-sized and uploaded the new image. (Sun)

edit: Petrus, on my computer, the image needed to be rotated clockwise 90 degrees.
Strange and thanks for doing that! I did not know it needed to be rotated cause it showed correctly for me:S That is strange
 
Petrus said:
in exercise 11, I get b is not and w is, but the answer key says b is and w is not...?
Petrus said:
If we start with col(a)

after row reduce we got 1 0 -1|3
----------------------------0 1 2|-1
that means we got infinity soloution, if we set $$x_3=t$$ we got $$x_2=-1-2t$$ and $$x_1= 3+t$$ it indeed got soloution so it is in col(A)
Right?
Yes, but in post #1 you said that $b$ is not in $\text{col}(A)$.
 
Evgeny.Makarov said:
Yes, but in post #1 you said that $b$ is not in $\text{col}(A)$.
That'S cause I got actually wrong number in My matrice somehow.. Sorry My bad and now I correctly Solved it:)
Regards,
$$|\pi\rangle$$
 
Last edited:
  • #10
(3,2) = 3(1,1) + (-1)(0,1). This proves b is in col(A).

******

On the other question if a(1,0,-1) + b(1,1,1) = (a+b,b,b-a) = (-1,1,1), we must have

b = 1, leading to:

a+1 = -1 --> a = -2
1-a = 1 --> a = 0.

Since -2 is not 0 (unless you are in a field of characteristic two, and then there is no "3"), this is impossible.

******

Answer keys are evil...let me explain why: the point of learning math is not to get "answers" but rather, to be confident the answers you obtain are correct. Not only doesn't the "real world" come with an answer key, but one has only logical reasoning as a test of one's sanity. If one's only experience with riding a bike is with training wheels, one does not know how to ride a bike. Also, answer keys can be erroneous, and proof by authority is not a valid mathematical method.
 

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