Rank-Nullity Theorem

Pub May 14, 2026 Up Jun 20, 2026

Proposition 1 (Rank-Nullity Theorem). Let $V$, $W$ be vector spaces over a field $F$. For any linear function $f : V \to W$,

\[\rank f + \null f = \dim V.\]

As a corollary:

Proposition 2. Let $V$, $W$ be vector spaces over a field $F$, $f : V \to W$ be a linear function and $w \in W$. By LF > Proposition 4, $f^{-1}[\{w\}]$ is a subspace. We have

\[\rank f + \dim f^{-1}[\{w\}] = \dim V.\]