5. Prove that if the set of \( n \)-vectors \( \left\{x_{i}\right\} \) is a basis for a vector space \( V \), then the set \( \left\{c_{i} x_{i}\right\} \) is also a basis for \( V \), where the \( c_{i} \) are arbitrary nonzero scalars. Interpret this geometrically.
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To prove that the set \( \left\{c_{i} x_{i}\right\} \) is a basis for the vector space \( V \), we first note that the \( n \)-vectors \( \left\{x_{i}\right\} \) span \( V \) and are linearly independent. When we scale each vector \( x_{i} \) by a nonzero scalar \( c_{i} \), the linear combinations of \( \left\{c_{i} x_{i}\right\} \) can produce all vectors that were previously achieved with \( \left\{x_{i}\right\} \). This is because any linear combination of the new basis can be expressed as a linear combination of the original vectors by simply dividing by \( c_{i} \), thus preserving the span. Hence, the set \( \left\{c_{i} x_{i}\right\} \) retains linear independence and spans \( V \), making it a basis. Geometrically, scaling vectors does not change their direction (provided the scalar is positive) but alters their length. Imagine your original vectors as arrows in space pointing towards various directions. By multiplying these arrows by nonzero scalars, you're either stretching or shrinking them but still pointing the same way! Therefore, the new set of arrows still explores the same space, maintaining the original structure and dimensionality of the vector space \( V \).