Linear Independence
For some sets of vectors v1,...,vn, a single vector can be written in two different ways as a linear combination of them:
Equivalently, by subtracting these a non-trivial combination is zero:
If that is possible, then v1,...,vn are called linearly dependent; otherwise, they are linearly independent. Similarly, we can speak of linear dependence or independence of an arbitrary set S of vectors.
If S is linearly independent and the span of S equals V, then S is a basis for V.
Read more about this topic: Linear Combination
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—Charles Louis de Secondat Montesquieu (16891755)