What is basis?

Basis refers to the starting point or foundation of something. It is the underlying support or fundamental principle that sets the standard of something. In finance, basis refers to the price difference between a cash commodity and a futures contract. For taxation purposes, basis refers to the cost of an asset which is used to determine the gain or loss when the asset is sold. In chemistry, basis is the substance that is used to neutralize an acid. A strong basis is a substance that is capable of accepting protons, while a weak basis has a limited capacity to do so. In mathematics, basis refers to a set of linearly independent vectors that form the space of a given dimension. These vectors can be used to express any other vector in the space. Basis is a crucial concept in various fields and helps establish a standard or support structure for various processes and calculations.