Does eigenvalue 2 have two eigenvectors, making the matrix diagonalizable?

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hpayandah
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Homework Statement



I think my teacher made a mistake in his homework answer. I need to verify this for practice. The answer I got is below. The answer the teacher has is in the pdf.

Homework Equations



Please refer to attached pdf

The Attempt at a Solution



So there is two eigenvalues= 4 and 2
but the eigenvalue 2 has 2 eigenvectors [-1 1 0]T and [0 0 1]T but my teacher has only one [-1 1 0]T. That's why he says A is not diagonalizable. Do you think it's correct?
 
Attachments
  • Worked solution to a linear algebra problem: matrix A with rows (3,1,0), (0,2,1), (1,1,3), its characteristic polynomial, row reductions for eigenvalues 4 and 2, and eigenvector answers for parts a and b.
    A7-Answers-2.jpg
    25.7 KB · Views: 526


I get the same result as your teacher for [tex]\lambda = 2[/tex]

[tex]A= \begin{bmatrix}<br /> 3 & 1 & 0\\ <br /> 0 & 2 & 1\\ <br /> 1 & 1 & 3<br /> \end{bmatrix}[/tex]

so for lamda = 2,
[tex](A-2I)\vec{v}=\vec{0}[/tex]
[tex]\begin{bmatrix}<br /> 1 & 1 & 0\\ <br /> 0 & 0 & 1\\ <br /> 1 & 1 & 1<br /> \end{bmatrix}<br /> \begin{bmatrix}<br /> v_1\\ <br /> v_2\\ <br /> v_3<br /> \end{bmatrix}<br /> = \begin{bmatrix}<br /> 0\\<br /> 0\\<br /> 0\\<br /> \end{bmatrix}[/tex]
I've personally always found it easier to not do row operations here and just jump straight in. From that you get
[tex]v_3 = 0[/tex] and [tex]v_1 = -v_2[/tex]
so therefore [tex]\vec{v} = \begin{bmatrix}<br /> 1\\ <br /> -1\\ <br /> 0<br /> \end{bmatrix}[/tex]

Since it is a 3x3 matrix, it needs 3 eigenvectors to be diagonalizable.

Hope this helps.
 


Hi, thanks for replying. Attached is how I got my vectors, do you think my steps are correct.
 
Attachments
  • Handwritten linear algebra work: a 3x3 matrix times vector (v1, v2, v3) equals the zero vector, giving v1 + v2 = 0, v1 = -v2, v2 = s, v3 = 0, and the solution vector (v1, v2, v3) = (-1, 1, 0)s + (0, 0, 1)t with labels lambda 1 and lambda 2.
    Untitled-1.jpg
    10.1 KB · Views: 446


No. Why do you think (0, 0, 1) is an eigenvector? You seem to just pull that out of thin air.
 


You seem to have made a mistake in the step
[tex](A-2I)\vec{v}=\vec{0}[/tex]
Why is your second row 1 0 1 instead of 0 0 1 ?
Have you said [tex]v_2= \delta[/tex] ? I'm not sure if I have read that correctly. If it is a delta, you can't say that unless the whole row equals zero. i.e.
[tex]\begin{bmatrix}<br /> 0 & 0 & 0<br /> \end{bmatrix}<br /> \begin{bmatrix}<br /> v_1<br /> \end{bmatrix}<br /> = \begin{bmatrix}<br /> 0<br /> \end{bmatrix}[/tex]