Is the set of all exponential functions a subspace of the vector space of all continuous functions?












0












$begingroup$


Given the vector space, $ C(-infty,infty)$ as the set of all continuous functions that are always continuous, is the set of all exponential functions, $U={a^xmid a ge 1 }$, a subspace of the given vector space?



As far as I'm aware, proving a subspace of a given vector space only requires you to prove closure under addition and scalar multiplication, but I'm kind of at a loss as to how to do this with exponential functions (I'm sure it's way simpler than I'm making it).



My argument so far is that the set $U$ is a subset of the set of all differentiable functions, which itself is a subset of $C(-infty,infty)$, but I doubt that argument would hold up on my test, given how we've tested for subspaces in class (with closure).










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    If you say exponential functions, did you mean to write $a^x$ instead of $x^a$?
    $endgroup$
    – StackTD
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:55










  • $begingroup$
    I did and I've corrected that, thank you!
    $endgroup$
    – jeanquilt
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:56










  • $begingroup$
    The zero in $C(-infty,infty)$ is the constant function the always returns zero. That function is not in $U$.
    $endgroup$
    – user463383
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:58






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    What is $a^x$ at $x=0$? What is $a^x+b^x$ at $x=0$? Can it equal some $c^x$?
    $endgroup$
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:58


















0












$begingroup$


Given the vector space, $ C(-infty,infty)$ as the set of all continuous functions that are always continuous, is the set of all exponential functions, $U={a^xmid a ge 1 }$, a subspace of the given vector space?



As far as I'm aware, proving a subspace of a given vector space only requires you to prove closure under addition and scalar multiplication, but I'm kind of at a loss as to how to do this with exponential functions (I'm sure it's way simpler than I'm making it).



My argument so far is that the set $U$ is a subset of the set of all differentiable functions, which itself is a subset of $C(-infty,infty)$, but I doubt that argument would hold up on my test, given how we've tested for subspaces in class (with closure).










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    If you say exponential functions, did you mean to write $a^x$ instead of $x^a$?
    $endgroup$
    – StackTD
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:55










  • $begingroup$
    I did and I've corrected that, thank you!
    $endgroup$
    – jeanquilt
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:56










  • $begingroup$
    The zero in $C(-infty,infty)$ is the constant function the always returns zero. That function is not in $U$.
    $endgroup$
    – user463383
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:58






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    What is $a^x$ at $x=0$? What is $a^x+b^x$ at $x=0$? Can it equal some $c^x$?
    $endgroup$
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:58
















0












0








0


1



$begingroup$


Given the vector space, $ C(-infty,infty)$ as the set of all continuous functions that are always continuous, is the set of all exponential functions, $U={a^xmid a ge 1 }$, a subspace of the given vector space?



As far as I'm aware, proving a subspace of a given vector space only requires you to prove closure under addition and scalar multiplication, but I'm kind of at a loss as to how to do this with exponential functions (I'm sure it's way simpler than I'm making it).



My argument so far is that the set $U$ is a subset of the set of all differentiable functions, which itself is a subset of $C(-infty,infty)$, but I doubt that argument would hold up on my test, given how we've tested for subspaces in class (with closure).










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$




Given the vector space, $ C(-infty,infty)$ as the set of all continuous functions that are always continuous, is the set of all exponential functions, $U={a^xmid a ge 1 }$, a subspace of the given vector space?



As far as I'm aware, proving a subspace of a given vector space only requires you to prove closure under addition and scalar multiplication, but I'm kind of at a loss as to how to do this with exponential functions (I'm sure it's way simpler than I'm making it).



My argument so far is that the set $U$ is a subset of the set of all differentiable functions, which itself is a subset of $C(-infty,infty)$, but I doubt that argument would hold up on my test, given how we've tested for subspaces in class (with closure).







linear-algebra vector-spaces






share|cite|improve this question















share|cite|improve this question













share|cite|improve this question




share|cite|improve this question








edited Dec 10 '18 at 10:49









José Carlos Santos

157k22126227




157k22126227










asked Jul 15 '17 at 14:54









jeanquiltjeanquilt

289212




289212












  • $begingroup$
    If you say exponential functions, did you mean to write $a^x$ instead of $x^a$?
    $endgroup$
    – StackTD
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:55










  • $begingroup$
    I did and I've corrected that, thank you!
    $endgroup$
    – jeanquilt
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:56










  • $begingroup$
    The zero in $C(-infty,infty)$ is the constant function the always returns zero. That function is not in $U$.
    $endgroup$
    – user463383
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:58






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    What is $a^x$ at $x=0$? What is $a^x+b^x$ at $x=0$? Can it equal some $c^x$?
    $endgroup$
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:58




















  • $begingroup$
    If you say exponential functions, did you mean to write $a^x$ instead of $x^a$?
    $endgroup$
    – StackTD
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:55










  • $begingroup$
    I did and I've corrected that, thank you!
    $endgroup$
    – jeanquilt
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:56










  • $begingroup$
    The zero in $C(-infty,infty)$ is the constant function the always returns zero. That function is not in $U$.
    $endgroup$
    – user463383
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:58






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    What is $a^x$ at $x=0$? What is $a^x+b^x$ at $x=0$? Can it equal some $c^x$?
    $endgroup$
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Jul 15 '17 at 14:58


















$begingroup$
If you say exponential functions, did you mean to write $a^x$ instead of $x^a$?
$endgroup$
– StackTD
Jul 15 '17 at 14:55




$begingroup$
If you say exponential functions, did you mean to write $a^x$ instead of $x^a$?
$endgroup$
– StackTD
Jul 15 '17 at 14:55












$begingroup$
I did and I've corrected that, thank you!
$endgroup$
– jeanquilt
Jul 15 '17 at 14:56




$begingroup$
I did and I've corrected that, thank you!
$endgroup$
– jeanquilt
Jul 15 '17 at 14:56












$begingroup$
The zero in $C(-infty,infty)$ is the constant function the always returns zero. That function is not in $U$.
$endgroup$
– user463383
Jul 15 '17 at 14:58




$begingroup$
The zero in $C(-infty,infty)$ is the constant function the always returns zero. That function is not in $U$.
$endgroup$
– user463383
Jul 15 '17 at 14:58




3




3




$begingroup$
What is $a^x$ at $x=0$? What is $a^x+b^x$ at $x=0$? Can it equal some $c^x$?
$endgroup$
– Hagen von Eitzen
Jul 15 '17 at 14:58






$begingroup$
What is $a^x$ at $x=0$? What is $a^x+b^x$ at $x=0$? Can it equal some $c^x$?
$endgroup$
– Hagen von Eitzen
Jul 15 '17 at 14:58












3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















0












$begingroup$

As originally written, no, since $0notin U.$ In addition, your $U$ seems to be the set of monic monomials in $x,$ not exponential functions, which would instead have the form $a^x$ for some positive constant $a.$ Even then, this would not be a subspace, for exactly the same reason.



Edit: Another simple approach would be to show that $U$ (in either version) is not closed under scalar multiplication.



Showing failure to be closed under addition is more difficult in both cases, but not too tricky for the original $U.$






share|cite|improve this answer











$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    Didn't think about it not being closed under scalar multiplication--thanks for that. I wasn't super confident about the logic I was using, thank you for the explanation!
    $endgroup$
    – jeanquilt
    Jul 15 '17 at 17:17










  • $begingroup$
    You're very welcome. It's good to keep in mind that some sets may be closed under one, but not the other. For example, the set $bigl{(x,y)inBbb R^2:x>0bigr}$ is closed under addition, but not scalar multiplication; the set $bigl{(x,y)inBbb R^2:x=0text{ or }y=0bigr}$ is closed under scalar multiplication, but not addition.
    $endgroup$
    – Cameron Buie
    Jul 15 '17 at 17:33



















1












$begingroup$

Not, it is not a subspace. For instance the null function does not belong to $ U$.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$





















    0












    $begingroup$


    (...) but I doubt that argument would hold up on my test, given how we've tested for subspaces in class (with closure).




    Hint: closure under addition means that if you would take two such functions, say $a^x$ and $b^x$, then their sum $a^x+b^x$ should be in the set as well. That function is only in the set if $a^x+b^x = c^x$ for some $c$; is that possible (in general)?



    Or the fast and simple test: does the set contain the zero element (in this case: the zero function)?






    share|cite|improve this answer









    $endgroup$













      Your Answer





      StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
      return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
      StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
      StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
      });
      });
      }, "mathjax-editing");

      StackExchange.ready(function() {
      var channelOptions = {
      tags: "".split(" "),
      id: "69"
      };
      initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

      StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
      // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
      if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
      StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
      createEditor();
      });
      }
      else {
      createEditor();
      }
      });

      function createEditor() {
      StackExchange.prepareEditor({
      heartbeatType: 'answer',
      autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
      convertImagesToLinks: true,
      noModals: true,
      showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
      reputationToPostImages: 10,
      bindNavPrevention: true,
      postfix: "",
      imageUploader: {
      brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
      contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
      allowUrls: true
      },
      noCode: true, onDemand: true,
      discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
      ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
      });


      }
      });














      draft saved

      draft discarded


















      StackExchange.ready(
      function () {
      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmath.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f2359700%2fis-the-set-of-all-exponential-functions-a-subspace-of-the-vector-space-of-all-co%23new-answer', 'question_page');
      }
      );

      Post as a guest















      Required, but never shown

























      3 Answers
      3






      active

      oldest

      votes








      3 Answers
      3






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      0












      $begingroup$

      As originally written, no, since $0notin U.$ In addition, your $U$ seems to be the set of monic monomials in $x,$ not exponential functions, which would instead have the form $a^x$ for some positive constant $a.$ Even then, this would not be a subspace, for exactly the same reason.



      Edit: Another simple approach would be to show that $U$ (in either version) is not closed under scalar multiplication.



      Showing failure to be closed under addition is more difficult in both cases, but not too tricky for the original $U.$






      share|cite|improve this answer











      $endgroup$













      • $begingroup$
        Didn't think about it not being closed under scalar multiplication--thanks for that. I wasn't super confident about the logic I was using, thank you for the explanation!
        $endgroup$
        – jeanquilt
        Jul 15 '17 at 17:17










      • $begingroup$
        You're very welcome. It's good to keep in mind that some sets may be closed under one, but not the other. For example, the set $bigl{(x,y)inBbb R^2:x>0bigr}$ is closed under addition, but not scalar multiplication; the set $bigl{(x,y)inBbb R^2:x=0text{ or }y=0bigr}$ is closed under scalar multiplication, but not addition.
        $endgroup$
        – Cameron Buie
        Jul 15 '17 at 17:33
















      0












      $begingroup$

      As originally written, no, since $0notin U.$ In addition, your $U$ seems to be the set of monic monomials in $x,$ not exponential functions, which would instead have the form $a^x$ for some positive constant $a.$ Even then, this would not be a subspace, for exactly the same reason.



      Edit: Another simple approach would be to show that $U$ (in either version) is not closed under scalar multiplication.



      Showing failure to be closed under addition is more difficult in both cases, but not too tricky for the original $U.$






      share|cite|improve this answer











      $endgroup$













      • $begingroup$
        Didn't think about it not being closed under scalar multiplication--thanks for that. I wasn't super confident about the logic I was using, thank you for the explanation!
        $endgroup$
        – jeanquilt
        Jul 15 '17 at 17:17










      • $begingroup$
        You're very welcome. It's good to keep in mind that some sets may be closed under one, but not the other. For example, the set $bigl{(x,y)inBbb R^2:x>0bigr}$ is closed under addition, but not scalar multiplication; the set $bigl{(x,y)inBbb R^2:x=0text{ or }y=0bigr}$ is closed under scalar multiplication, but not addition.
        $endgroup$
        – Cameron Buie
        Jul 15 '17 at 17:33














      0












      0








      0





      $begingroup$

      As originally written, no, since $0notin U.$ In addition, your $U$ seems to be the set of monic monomials in $x,$ not exponential functions, which would instead have the form $a^x$ for some positive constant $a.$ Even then, this would not be a subspace, for exactly the same reason.



      Edit: Another simple approach would be to show that $U$ (in either version) is not closed under scalar multiplication.



      Showing failure to be closed under addition is more difficult in both cases, but not too tricky for the original $U.$






      share|cite|improve this answer











      $endgroup$



      As originally written, no, since $0notin U.$ In addition, your $U$ seems to be the set of monic monomials in $x,$ not exponential functions, which would instead have the form $a^x$ for some positive constant $a.$ Even then, this would not be a subspace, for exactly the same reason.



      Edit: Another simple approach would be to show that $U$ (in either version) is not closed under scalar multiplication.



      Showing failure to be closed under addition is more difficult in both cases, but not too tricky for the original $U.$







      share|cite|improve this answer














      share|cite|improve this answer



      share|cite|improve this answer








      edited Jul 15 '17 at 16:05

























      answered Jul 15 '17 at 15:00









      Cameron BuieCameron Buie

      85.2k771155




      85.2k771155












      • $begingroup$
        Didn't think about it not being closed under scalar multiplication--thanks for that. I wasn't super confident about the logic I was using, thank you for the explanation!
        $endgroup$
        – jeanquilt
        Jul 15 '17 at 17:17










      • $begingroup$
        You're very welcome. It's good to keep in mind that some sets may be closed under one, but not the other. For example, the set $bigl{(x,y)inBbb R^2:x>0bigr}$ is closed under addition, but not scalar multiplication; the set $bigl{(x,y)inBbb R^2:x=0text{ or }y=0bigr}$ is closed under scalar multiplication, but not addition.
        $endgroup$
        – Cameron Buie
        Jul 15 '17 at 17:33


















      • $begingroup$
        Didn't think about it not being closed under scalar multiplication--thanks for that. I wasn't super confident about the logic I was using, thank you for the explanation!
        $endgroup$
        – jeanquilt
        Jul 15 '17 at 17:17










      • $begingroup$
        You're very welcome. It's good to keep in mind that some sets may be closed under one, but not the other. For example, the set $bigl{(x,y)inBbb R^2:x>0bigr}$ is closed under addition, but not scalar multiplication; the set $bigl{(x,y)inBbb R^2:x=0text{ or }y=0bigr}$ is closed under scalar multiplication, but not addition.
        $endgroup$
        – Cameron Buie
        Jul 15 '17 at 17:33
















      $begingroup$
      Didn't think about it not being closed under scalar multiplication--thanks for that. I wasn't super confident about the logic I was using, thank you for the explanation!
      $endgroup$
      – jeanquilt
      Jul 15 '17 at 17:17




      $begingroup$
      Didn't think about it not being closed under scalar multiplication--thanks for that. I wasn't super confident about the logic I was using, thank you for the explanation!
      $endgroup$
      – jeanquilt
      Jul 15 '17 at 17:17












      $begingroup$
      You're very welcome. It's good to keep in mind that some sets may be closed under one, but not the other. For example, the set $bigl{(x,y)inBbb R^2:x>0bigr}$ is closed under addition, but not scalar multiplication; the set $bigl{(x,y)inBbb R^2:x=0text{ or }y=0bigr}$ is closed under scalar multiplication, but not addition.
      $endgroup$
      – Cameron Buie
      Jul 15 '17 at 17:33




      $begingroup$
      You're very welcome. It's good to keep in mind that some sets may be closed under one, but not the other. For example, the set $bigl{(x,y)inBbb R^2:x>0bigr}$ is closed under addition, but not scalar multiplication; the set $bigl{(x,y)inBbb R^2:x=0text{ or }y=0bigr}$ is closed under scalar multiplication, but not addition.
      $endgroup$
      – Cameron Buie
      Jul 15 '17 at 17:33











      1












      $begingroup$

      Not, it is not a subspace. For instance the null function does not belong to $ U$.






      share|cite|improve this answer









      $endgroup$


















        1












        $begingroup$

        Not, it is not a subspace. For instance the null function does not belong to $ U$.






        share|cite|improve this answer









        $endgroup$
















          1












          1








          1





          $begingroup$

          Not, it is not a subspace. For instance the null function does not belong to $ U$.






          share|cite|improve this answer









          $endgroup$



          Not, it is not a subspace. For instance the null function does not belong to $ U$.







          share|cite|improve this answer












          share|cite|improve this answer



          share|cite|improve this answer










          answered Jul 15 '17 at 14:58









          José Carlos SantosJosé Carlos Santos

          157k22126227




          157k22126227























              0












              $begingroup$


              (...) but I doubt that argument would hold up on my test, given how we've tested for subspaces in class (with closure).




              Hint: closure under addition means that if you would take two such functions, say $a^x$ and $b^x$, then their sum $a^x+b^x$ should be in the set as well. That function is only in the set if $a^x+b^x = c^x$ for some $c$; is that possible (in general)?



              Or the fast and simple test: does the set contain the zero element (in this case: the zero function)?






              share|cite|improve this answer









              $endgroup$


















                0












                $begingroup$


                (...) but I doubt that argument would hold up on my test, given how we've tested for subspaces in class (with closure).




                Hint: closure under addition means that if you would take two such functions, say $a^x$ and $b^x$, then their sum $a^x+b^x$ should be in the set as well. That function is only in the set if $a^x+b^x = c^x$ for some $c$; is that possible (in general)?



                Or the fast and simple test: does the set contain the zero element (in this case: the zero function)?






                share|cite|improve this answer









                $endgroup$
















                  0












                  0








                  0





                  $begingroup$


                  (...) but I doubt that argument would hold up on my test, given how we've tested for subspaces in class (with closure).




                  Hint: closure under addition means that if you would take two such functions, say $a^x$ and $b^x$, then their sum $a^x+b^x$ should be in the set as well. That function is only in the set if $a^x+b^x = c^x$ for some $c$; is that possible (in general)?



                  Or the fast and simple test: does the set contain the zero element (in this case: the zero function)?






                  share|cite|improve this answer









                  $endgroup$




                  (...) but I doubt that argument would hold up on my test, given how we've tested for subspaces in class (with closure).




                  Hint: closure under addition means that if you would take two such functions, say $a^x$ and $b^x$, then their sum $a^x+b^x$ should be in the set as well. That function is only in the set if $a^x+b^x = c^x$ for some $c$; is that possible (in general)?



                  Or the fast and simple test: does the set contain the zero element (in this case: the zero function)?







                  share|cite|improve this answer












                  share|cite|improve this answer



                  share|cite|improve this answer










                  answered Jul 15 '17 at 15:00









                  StackTDStackTD

                  22.6k2049




                  22.6k2049






























                      draft saved

                      draft discarded




















































                      Thanks for contributing an answer to Mathematics Stack Exchange!


                      • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                      But avoid



                      • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                      • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                      Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


                      To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                      draft saved


                      draft discarded














                      StackExchange.ready(
                      function () {
                      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmath.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f2359700%2fis-the-set-of-all-exponential-functions-a-subspace-of-the-vector-space-of-all-co%23new-answer', 'question_page');
                      }
                      );

                      Post as a guest















                      Required, but never shown





















































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown

































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown







                      Popular posts from this blog

                      Wiesbaden

                      Marschland

                      Dieringhausen