Suppose that $y_1(t), \ldots, y_n(t)$ are solutions of $\frac{d^n y}{dt} + p_{n-1}(t) \frac{d^{n-1} y}{dt} + \cdots + p_1(t) \frac{dy}{dt} + p_0(t) y = 0$, and suppose that their Wronskian is zero for $t = t_0$, i.e.
\begin{equation*}
\left|
\begin{array}{cccc}
y_1(t_0) & y_2(t_0) & \cdots & y_n(t_0) \\
y_1'(t_0) & y_2'(t_0) & \cdots & y_n'(t_0) \\
\vdots & \vdots & \ddots & \vdots \\
y_1^{(n-1)}(t_0) & y_2^{(n-1)}(t_0) & \cdots & y_n^{(n-1)}(t_0)
\end{array}
\right| = 0.
\end{equation*}
Then the corresponding matrix is not invertible, and the system of equations
\begin{array}{c}
c_1 y_1(t_0) &+& c_2 y_2(t_0) &+& \cdots &+& c_n y_n(t_0) &=& 0 \\
c_1 y_1'(t_0) &+& c_2 y_2'(t_0) &+& \cdots &+& c_n y_n'(t_0) &=& 0 \\
\vdots &+& \vdots &+& \ddots &+& \vdots &=& 0 \\
c_1 y_1^{(n-1)}(t_0) &+& c_2 y_2^{(n-1)}(t_0) &+& \cdots &+& c_n y_n^{(n-1)}(t_0) &=& 0 \\
\end{array}
has a nontrivial solution for $c_1, c_2, \ldots, c_n$ not all zero.
Let $y(t) = c_1 y_1(t) + \cdots + c_n y_n(t)$. Because $y(t)$ is a linear combination of solutions of the differential equation, $y(t)$ is also a solution of the differential equation. Additionally, because the weights satisfy the above system of equations, we have $y(t_0) = y'(t_0) = \cdots = y^{(n-1)}(t_0) = 0$.
These initial conditions and the original differential equation define an initial-value problem, of which $y(t)$ is a solution. If $p_0(t), p_1(t), \ldots, p_{n-1}(t)$ are continuous, then any initial-value problem associated with the differential equation has a unique solution. Obviously $y^*(t) = 0$ is a solution of the initial-value problem; since we know that $y(t)$ is also a solution of the same initial-value problem, it follows that $y(t) = 0$ for all $t$, not just $t = t_0$.
We now have $c_1 y_1(t) + \cdots + c_n y_n(t) = 0$ for all $t$, where $c_1, \ldots, c_n$ are not all zero. Thus the functions $y_1(t), \ldots, y_n(t)$ are linearly dependent.
Conversely, if the functions $y_1(t), \ldots, y_n(t)$ are linearly dependent, then the system of equations
\begin{array}{c}
c_1 y_1(t) &+& c_2 y_2(t) &+& \cdots &+& c_n y_n(t) &=& 0 \\
c_1 y_1'(t) &+& c_2 y_2'(t) &+& \cdots &+& c_n y_n'(t) &=& 0 \\
\vdots &+& \vdots &+& \ddots &+& \vdots &=& 0 \\
c_1 y_1^{(n-1)}(t) &+& c_2 y_2^{(n-1)}(t) &+& \cdots &+& c_n y_n^{(n-1)}(t) &=& 0 \\
\end{array}
has a nontrivial solution for every $t$, the corresponding matrix is not invertible for any $t$, and $W[y_1, \ldots, y_n](t) = 0$.
"Identically zero" means "equal to zero for all values of $x$".
The function $-x^2$ is not identically zero, because there are values of $x$ (such as $1,2,3,\dots$) for which it's nonzero.
Since the Wronskian of linearly dependent functions is identically zero, the functions whose Wronskian is $-x^2$ are not linearly dependent.
As an aside: there is a scenario in which $W$ is either always zero or never zero: it happens when the two functions are solutions of the ODE of the form $y''+p(x)y'+q(x)y=0$. For such solutions, the Wronskian satisfies the identity $W(t)=W(s)\exp\left(-\int_s^t p(x)\,ds\right)$ which implies that if $W$ is zero at some point, it is zero everywhere.
Best Answer
Hint:
The theorem is:
The contraposition is: