Verify that the following set is a subspace

linear algebravector-spaces

I would like to check that the following set is a subspace:

$$S=\{(x,y,z)\in\mathbb{R}^3:z=0,xy\geq0\}$$

To do so, I need to check for three conditions: non-emptiness, closure under addition and closure under scalar multiplication.

It is easy to see that $(0,0,0)$ belongs to the set, so the first condition is verified. Then, I proceed to check for closure under addition by considering generic vectors $u=(a,b,c)$ and $v=(d, e,f)$. We have:

$$(a,b,c)+(d,e,f)=(a+d,b+e,c+f)$$

$(a+d)(b+e)\ge0$ isn't necessarily true? I'm not too sure about this part.

To check for scalar multiplication I'm going to assume there exists a generic vector $v=(a,b,c)$ and a scalar $m$ so that the product $mv \in S$.

$$m(a,b,c)=(ma,mb,mc)$$

We have

$$(ma)(mb)\ge0\rightarrow m^2(ab)\ge0$$

which should be true for all $m$. Therefore this should be a subspace, however, my textbook says it's not. Any hints on why?

Best Answer

Hint: Let $u=(1,0,0), v=(0,-1,0)$. Then $u,v \in S$. Does $u+v \in S$?

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