For
u∈U, the
vector Tu already belongs to
imT, so
Therefore
ker(ST)=T−1(kerS′). Since
kerS′=kerS∩imT, its intersection with
imT is itself. Applying
a with
X=kerS′ yields
The inequality follows from the inclusion
kerS′⊆kerS and monotonicity of
dimension for
vector subspaces.