Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2017 / ib / Paper 1 / 1F / iii / Solution

If $S$ spans and has $n$ elements but is linearly dependent, a nontrivial linear combination equal to zero lets us remove one member without changing the span. This produces $n-1$ spanning vectors, whereas the standard basis contains $n$ linearly independent vectors, contradicting the Steinitz exchange lemma. Therefore $\boxed{S\text{ is linearly independent}}$. Together the three deductions establish that any two of the three properties imply the third. For $n=0$, the only independent or zero-element family is the empty basis, and the same conclusions hold.

Relative to the given basis $e_1,e_2$, the proposed vectors are the columns ofThe determinant is nonzero exactly when the columns form a basis. Thus $\boxed{\lambda \ne \pm 1}$. At $\lambda =1$ the vectors coincide, and at $\lambda =-1$ they are negatives of one another.