Regarding $n$-tuples for defining points in $mathbb{R}^n$
Is there some way to prove that exactly $n$ numbers are needed to define a point in a space $mathbb{R}^n$?
Using Cartesian systems, this is intuitive for $n=2$ and $n=3$, but how can we prove it for higher dimensions?
linear-algebra
New contributor
add a comment |
Is there some way to prove that exactly $n$ numbers are needed to define a point in a space $mathbb{R}^n$?
Using Cartesian systems, this is intuitive for $n=2$ and $n=3$, but how can we prove it for higher dimensions?
linear-algebra
New contributor
2
read about basis
– Sandeep Silwal
Jan 4 at 5:03
What exactly do you mean by “a space $mathbb R^n$” here? Depending on how you do that, there might be nothing to prove. That aside, there are some basic theorems that make “dimension” a well-defined concept.
– amd
Jan 4 at 5:08
1
As far as I am concerned, the space $mathbb R^n$ is defined precisely as $underbrace{mathbb Rtimesmathbb Rtimesdotsmtimesmathbb R}_{ntext{ times}}$, which of course tells you that precisely $n$ numbers deetermine a point. Of course, to formally show that some smarter choice of representing variables won't be able to reduce the number or increase it, some linear algebra is required (in particular, the theorem that any basis of a finite dimensional vector space has the same number of vectors).
– YiFan
Jan 4 at 6:10
add a comment |
Is there some way to prove that exactly $n$ numbers are needed to define a point in a space $mathbb{R}^n$?
Using Cartesian systems, this is intuitive for $n=2$ and $n=3$, but how can we prove it for higher dimensions?
linear-algebra
New contributor
Is there some way to prove that exactly $n$ numbers are needed to define a point in a space $mathbb{R}^n$?
Using Cartesian systems, this is intuitive for $n=2$ and $n=3$, but how can we prove it for higher dimensions?
linear-algebra
linear-algebra
New contributor
New contributor
edited Jan 4 at 5:12
Eevee Trainer
5,0271734
5,0271734
New contributor
asked Jan 4 at 4:59
LeoValLeoVal
1
1
New contributor
New contributor
2
read about basis
– Sandeep Silwal
Jan 4 at 5:03
What exactly do you mean by “a space $mathbb R^n$” here? Depending on how you do that, there might be nothing to prove. That aside, there are some basic theorems that make “dimension” a well-defined concept.
– amd
Jan 4 at 5:08
1
As far as I am concerned, the space $mathbb R^n$ is defined precisely as $underbrace{mathbb Rtimesmathbb Rtimesdotsmtimesmathbb R}_{ntext{ times}}$, which of course tells you that precisely $n$ numbers deetermine a point. Of course, to formally show that some smarter choice of representing variables won't be able to reduce the number or increase it, some linear algebra is required (in particular, the theorem that any basis of a finite dimensional vector space has the same number of vectors).
– YiFan
Jan 4 at 6:10
add a comment |
2
read about basis
– Sandeep Silwal
Jan 4 at 5:03
What exactly do you mean by “a space $mathbb R^n$” here? Depending on how you do that, there might be nothing to prove. That aside, there are some basic theorems that make “dimension” a well-defined concept.
– amd
Jan 4 at 5:08
1
As far as I am concerned, the space $mathbb R^n$ is defined precisely as $underbrace{mathbb Rtimesmathbb Rtimesdotsmtimesmathbb R}_{ntext{ times}}$, which of course tells you that precisely $n$ numbers deetermine a point. Of course, to formally show that some smarter choice of representing variables won't be able to reduce the number or increase it, some linear algebra is required (in particular, the theorem that any basis of a finite dimensional vector space has the same number of vectors).
– YiFan
Jan 4 at 6:10
2
2
read about basis
– Sandeep Silwal
Jan 4 at 5:03
read about basis
– Sandeep Silwal
Jan 4 at 5:03
What exactly do you mean by “a space $mathbb R^n$” here? Depending on how you do that, there might be nothing to prove. That aside, there are some basic theorems that make “dimension” a well-defined concept.
– amd
Jan 4 at 5:08
What exactly do you mean by “a space $mathbb R^n$” here? Depending on how you do that, there might be nothing to prove. That aside, there are some basic theorems that make “dimension” a well-defined concept.
– amd
Jan 4 at 5:08
1
1
As far as I am concerned, the space $mathbb R^n$ is defined precisely as $underbrace{mathbb Rtimesmathbb Rtimesdotsmtimesmathbb R}_{ntext{ times}}$, which of course tells you that precisely $n$ numbers deetermine a point. Of course, to formally show that some smarter choice of representing variables won't be able to reduce the number or increase it, some linear algebra is required (in particular, the theorem that any basis of a finite dimensional vector space has the same number of vectors).
– YiFan
Jan 4 at 6:10
As far as I am concerned, the space $mathbb R^n$ is defined precisely as $underbrace{mathbb Rtimesmathbb Rtimesdotsmtimesmathbb R}_{ntext{ times}}$, which of course tells you that precisely $n$ numbers deetermine a point. Of course, to formally show that some smarter choice of representing variables won't be able to reduce the number or increase it, some linear algebra is required (in particular, the theorem that any basis of a finite dimensional vector space has the same number of vectors).
– YiFan
Jan 4 at 6:10
add a comment |
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This generally follows from the fact that an $n$-dimensional vector space needs a basis set of $n$ vectors to span it. $mathbb{R}^n$ is, of course, $n$ dimensional. The related proofs can be found in any half-decent introductory text on linear algebra.
The end result is that any point in the vector space, such as the $n$-tuples in $mathbb{R}^n$ you're concerned with, can be considered as a vector, and, as that vector is in the span of the basis set, then you can write it as a linear combination of those basis vectors.
As a simple example that touches on what I mean by this, we typically we represent points in $mathbb{R}^n$ by the $n$-tuple $(x_1, x_2, ..., x_n)$. This can be translated as being the sum of the usual basis for $mathbb{R}^n$, which is a unit vector along each axis:
- $e_1 = (1, 0, 0, ..., 0)$
- $e_2 = (0, 1, 0, ..., 0)$
- $e_3 = (0, 0, 1, ..., 0)$
- $e_k = text{vector of n components, all zero except for a 1 at the k-th place}$
- $e_n = (0, 0, 0, ..., n)$
Thus, considering the $n$ tuple $(x_1, ..., x_n)$ as a vector,
$$(x_1, ..., x_n) = x_1e_1 + x_2e_2 + ... x_ne_n$$
Of course, this is just one way of presenting this $n$-tuple, dependent on this basis. Change the basis set - the $e_k$'s above - and you will need a different calculation. But since
$$dim(V) = n iff text{V's basis set requires n vectors}$$
for any vector space $V$ (here, $V = mathbb{R}^n$), then each point will always be the linear combination of $n$ vectors.
add a comment |
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This generally follows from the fact that an $n$-dimensional vector space needs a basis set of $n$ vectors to span it. $mathbb{R}^n$ is, of course, $n$ dimensional. The related proofs can be found in any half-decent introductory text on linear algebra.
The end result is that any point in the vector space, such as the $n$-tuples in $mathbb{R}^n$ you're concerned with, can be considered as a vector, and, as that vector is in the span of the basis set, then you can write it as a linear combination of those basis vectors.
As a simple example that touches on what I mean by this, we typically we represent points in $mathbb{R}^n$ by the $n$-tuple $(x_1, x_2, ..., x_n)$. This can be translated as being the sum of the usual basis for $mathbb{R}^n$, which is a unit vector along each axis:
- $e_1 = (1, 0, 0, ..., 0)$
- $e_2 = (0, 1, 0, ..., 0)$
- $e_3 = (0, 0, 1, ..., 0)$
- $e_k = text{vector of n components, all zero except for a 1 at the k-th place}$
- $e_n = (0, 0, 0, ..., n)$
Thus, considering the $n$ tuple $(x_1, ..., x_n)$ as a vector,
$$(x_1, ..., x_n) = x_1e_1 + x_2e_2 + ... x_ne_n$$
Of course, this is just one way of presenting this $n$-tuple, dependent on this basis. Change the basis set - the $e_k$'s above - and you will need a different calculation. But since
$$dim(V) = n iff text{V's basis set requires n vectors}$$
for any vector space $V$ (here, $V = mathbb{R}^n$), then each point will always be the linear combination of $n$ vectors.
add a comment |
This generally follows from the fact that an $n$-dimensional vector space needs a basis set of $n$ vectors to span it. $mathbb{R}^n$ is, of course, $n$ dimensional. The related proofs can be found in any half-decent introductory text on linear algebra.
The end result is that any point in the vector space, such as the $n$-tuples in $mathbb{R}^n$ you're concerned with, can be considered as a vector, and, as that vector is in the span of the basis set, then you can write it as a linear combination of those basis vectors.
As a simple example that touches on what I mean by this, we typically we represent points in $mathbb{R}^n$ by the $n$-tuple $(x_1, x_2, ..., x_n)$. This can be translated as being the sum of the usual basis for $mathbb{R}^n$, which is a unit vector along each axis:
- $e_1 = (1, 0, 0, ..., 0)$
- $e_2 = (0, 1, 0, ..., 0)$
- $e_3 = (0, 0, 1, ..., 0)$
- $e_k = text{vector of n components, all zero except for a 1 at the k-th place}$
- $e_n = (0, 0, 0, ..., n)$
Thus, considering the $n$ tuple $(x_1, ..., x_n)$ as a vector,
$$(x_1, ..., x_n) = x_1e_1 + x_2e_2 + ... x_ne_n$$
Of course, this is just one way of presenting this $n$-tuple, dependent on this basis. Change the basis set - the $e_k$'s above - and you will need a different calculation. But since
$$dim(V) = n iff text{V's basis set requires n vectors}$$
for any vector space $V$ (here, $V = mathbb{R}^n$), then each point will always be the linear combination of $n$ vectors.
add a comment |
This generally follows from the fact that an $n$-dimensional vector space needs a basis set of $n$ vectors to span it. $mathbb{R}^n$ is, of course, $n$ dimensional. The related proofs can be found in any half-decent introductory text on linear algebra.
The end result is that any point in the vector space, such as the $n$-tuples in $mathbb{R}^n$ you're concerned with, can be considered as a vector, and, as that vector is in the span of the basis set, then you can write it as a linear combination of those basis vectors.
As a simple example that touches on what I mean by this, we typically we represent points in $mathbb{R}^n$ by the $n$-tuple $(x_1, x_2, ..., x_n)$. This can be translated as being the sum of the usual basis for $mathbb{R}^n$, which is a unit vector along each axis:
- $e_1 = (1, 0, 0, ..., 0)$
- $e_2 = (0, 1, 0, ..., 0)$
- $e_3 = (0, 0, 1, ..., 0)$
- $e_k = text{vector of n components, all zero except for a 1 at the k-th place}$
- $e_n = (0, 0, 0, ..., n)$
Thus, considering the $n$ tuple $(x_1, ..., x_n)$ as a vector,
$$(x_1, ..., x_n) = x_1e_1 + x_2e_2 + ... x_ne_n$$
Of course, this is just one way of presenting this $n$-tuple, dependent on this basis. Change the basis set - the $e_k$'s above - and you will need a different calculation. But since
$$dim(V) = n iff text{V's basis set requires n vectors}$$
for any vector space $V$ (here, $V = mathbb{R}^n$), then each point will always be the linear combination of $n$ vectors.
This generally follows from the fact that an $n$-dimensional vector space needs a basis set of $n$ vectors to span it. $mathbb{R}^n$ is, of course, $n$ dimensional. The related proofs can be found in any half-decent introductory text on linear algebra.
The end result is that any point in the vector space, such as the $n$-tuples in $mathbb{R}^n$ you're concerned with, can be considered as a vector, and, as that vector is in the span of the basis set, then you can write it as a linear combination of those basis vectors.
As a simple example that touches on what I mean by this, we typically we represent points in $mathbb{R}^n$ by the $n$-tuple $(x_1, x_2, ..., x_n)$. This can be translated as being the sum of the usual basis for $mathbb{R}^n$, which is a unit vector along each axis:
- $e_1 = (1, 0, 0, ..., 0)$
- $e_2 = (0, 1, 0, ..., 0)$
- $e_3 = (0, 0, 1, ..., 0)$
- $e_k = text{vector of n components, all zero except for a 1 at the k-th place}$
- $e_n = (0, 0, 0, ..., n)$
Thus, considering the $n$ tuple $(x_1, ..., x_n)$ as a vector,
$$(x_1, ..., x_n) = x_1e_1 + x_2e_2 + ... x_ne_n$$
Of course, this is just one way of presenting this $n$-tuple, dependent on this basis. Change the basis set - the $e_k$'s above - and you will need a different calculation. But since
$$dim(V) = n iff text{V's basis set requires n vectors}$$
for any vector space $V$ (here, $V = mathbb{R}^n$), then each point will always be the linear combination of $n$ vectors.
answered Jan 4 at 5:11
Eevee TrainerEevee Trainer
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2
read about basis
– Sandeep Silwal
Jan 4 at 5:03
What exactly do you mean by “a space $mathbb R^n$” here? Depending on how you do that, there might be nothing to prove. That aside, there are some basic theorems that make “dimension” a well-defined concept.
– amd
Jan 4 at 5:08
1
As far as I am concerned, the space $mathbb R^n$ is defined precisely as $underbrace{mathbb Rtimesmathbb Rtimesdotsmtimesmathbb R}_{ntext{ times}}$, which of course tells you that precisely $n$ numbers deetermine a point. Of course, to formally show that some smarter choice of representing variables won't be able to reduce the number or increase it, some linear algebra is required (in particular, the theorem that any basis of a finite dimensional vector space has the same number of vectors).
– YiFan
Jan 4 at 6:10