Mathematics I / Basis and Dimension
Practice question · True or false

Because {1,x,x2}\{1, x, x^{2}\} is a basis for polynomials of degree at most 2, every such polynomial has exactly one expression in terms of it.

Hints
  1. What does a basis guarantee beyond spanning?
  2. Independence forces the coefficients to be unique.
Show the answer

True

Why

True. Spanning gives at least one expression; independence gives at most one, and together exactly one. That uniqueness is what makes coordinates meaningful, it is why ax2+bx+cax^{2}+bx+c can be identified with the triple (c,b,a)(c,b,a) and why the space is 3-dimensional.

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