Topic 4: Vectors: Summary Information

LINES IN 3 DIMENSIONS
Consider a line in 3 dimensions passing through the point (a, b, c) parallel to the vector
l
m
n
_



,
Cartesian equation of a line:
x a y b z c
l m n


Vector equation of a line
a l
b t m
c n
_ _

+


, ,
r

or r = (ai + bj + ck) + t(li + mj + nk)
Example:
Find the equation of the line passing through the points A(3, 5, 2) and B(2, -4, 5).
Solution:
Find the direction of the line: One possible direction vector is
2 3 1
4 5 9
5 2 3
AB
_ _ _




, , ,
uuur
The Cartesian equation of this line is
3 5 2
1 9 3
x y z


(using the coordinates of point A).
The equivalent vector equation is
3 1
5 9
2 3
x
y t
z
_ _ _

+


, , ,
.
PLANES IN 3 DIMENSIONS
There are various alternative ways to write the equation of a plane:
The equation of a plane passing through the point
1 2 3
( , , ) a a a
, in the direction of the two vectors
1
1
2 2
3 3
and
c
b
b c
b c
_
_






,
,
is
Vector equation of a plane
1 1 1
2 2 2
3 3 3
a b c
r a t b s c
a b c
_ _ _

+ +


, , ,
or r = a + tb + sc
The equation of a plane perpendicular to the vector
e
f
g
_

,
n
, is
(n is called the normal vector)
Cartesian equation of a plane
ex + fy + gz = d
or
. d r n
The equation of a plane perpendicular to the vector
e
f
g
_

,
n
and passing through the point
1 2 3
( , , ) a a a
is
( ). 0 r a n
or
. . r n a n
THE SCALAR PRODUCT (or DOT PRODUCT)
The scalar product is a way of combining two vectors together to get a scalar quantity.
Key formula:
. cos ab a b
where a is the magnitude of vector a
b is the magnitude of vector b
is the angle between vectors a and b.
The scalar product is found using
1 1
2 2 1 1 2 2 3 3
3 3
.
a b
a b a b a b a b
a b
_ _

+ +


, ,
Properties of the scalar product:
1) a . b = b . a
2) If a and b are perpendicular then a . b = 0 (and vice versa)
THE VECTOR PRODUCT (or CROSS PRODUCT)
The vector product is a way of combining two vectors together to get another vector quantity.
Key formula:
( sin ) ab a b n where n is a vector perpendicular to both a and b
a is the magnitude of vector a
b is the magnitude of vector b
is the angle between vectors a and b.
The vector product is found using
1 1
1 1
2 2 2 2
3 3
3 3
det
a b
a b
a b a b
a b
a b
_ _
_






,
, ,
i
j
k
Properties of the scalar product:
1) a b = - b a
2) a b gives a vector perpendicular to both of the original vectors.
Example:
Find a vector perpendicular to both
1 2
4 and 0
2 3
_ _

, ,
.
Solution:
We find the vector product of these two vectors:
1 2
1 2 12
4 0 1 2 1 2
4 0 det 4 0 7
2 3 2 3 4 0
2 3 8
2 3
_ _
_ _


+




, ,
, ,
i
j i j k
k
.
We can check our answer by finding the scalar product of the answer with each of the original
vectors. We should get 0.
COMMON QUESTIONS
FINDING THE CARTESIAN EQUATION OF A PLANE GIVEN 3 POINTS
Example: Find the Cartesian equation of the plane passing through the points (2, 0, -1), (3, 1, 2)
and (1, 2, 5).
Solution: There are 2 methods we can use:
Method 1: Finding the vector equation and then eliminating the parameters
Two possible direction vectors are:
3 2 1
1 0 1
2 1 3
_ _ _

, , ,
and
1 2 1
2 0 2
5 1 6
_ _ _

, , ,
Therefore a possible vector equation is:
2 1 1
0 1 2
1 3 6
x
y
z

_ _ _ _

+ +

, , , ,
To find this equation in Cartesian form, we eliminate the parameters from the equations.
We first form 3 equations:
2 . . 2 (1)
0 2 . . 2 (2)
1 3 6 . . 1 3 6 (3)
x i e x
y i e y
z i e z



+
+ + +
+ + + +
We can eliminate by finding (2) (1): y x + 2 = 3
i.e.
1 1 1 2
( 2)
3 3 3 3
y x y x + +
From equation (2), we have:
1 1 2 1 2 4
2 2
3 3 3 3 3 3
y y y x y x
_
+ +

,
Substituting into equation (3) gives:
1 2 4 1 1 2
1 3 6 3
3 3 3 3 3 3
z y x y x y
_ _
+ + + +

, ,
This gives the equation of the planes as 3y z = 1
Method 2: Finding a normal vector using the vector product
We start by finding the vector product of the two direction vectors:
1
1
3
_



,
1
2
6
_

,
=
0
1 1
1 2 1 1 1 1
det 1 2 0 9 3 9
3 6 3 6 1 2
3 6
3
_
_



+ +



,
,
i
j i j k i j k
k
This normal vector gives the coefficients of x, y and z in the equation of the plane. Therefore we
know that the plane has equation
0x 9y + 3z = d.
Substitute in the coordinates of one of the points, e.g. (1, 2, 5), to get -18 + 15 = d
i.e. d = -3
So the planes has equation -9y + 3z = -3
OR 3y z = 1
FINDING THE LINE OF INTERSECTION OF TWO PLANES
Two non-parallel planes intersect to form a line. We can find the equation of that line as follows:
Example: Find the line of intersection of the planes 2x y + 2z = -6
x + 2y + z = 2
Solution:
Because there are 3 unknowns but only two equations, we introduce a parameter t. The equations
then are
2x y + 2z = -6
x + 2y + z = 2
z = t
Substituting the 3
rd
equation into the top two equations and rearranging gives:
2x y = -6 2t (1)
x + 2y = 2 t (2)
Multiply the top equation by 2:
4x 2y = -12 4t
x + 2y = 2 t
Add to eliminate y:
5x = -10 5t i.e. x = -2 t.
Substitute this into equation (1):
2(-2 t) y = -6 2t
-4 2t = -6 2t + y
y = 2.
The solutions therefore are x = -2 - t, y = 2 and z = t.
Writing this in vector form, we get:
2 2 1
2 2 0
0 1
x t
y t
z t
_ _ _ _

+


, , , ,
i.e.
2 1
2 0
0 1
t
_ _

+


, ,
r
This is the equation of a line through the point (-2, 2, 0), in the direction of the vector
1
0
1
_



,
.
FINDING THE INTERSECTION OF A PLANE AND A LINE
There are several possibilities:
the line could lie within the plane;
the line could intersect the plane at a single point;
the line could be parallel to the plane.
Example: Investigate which of the three situations above applies with the line
5 9 1
1 6 2
x y z

and the plane 2x y + 4z = 5.

Solution: To investigate this situation, it is simplest if we have the equation of the line in vector
form and the equation of the plane in Cartesian form (which it is already).
The vector equation of the line is:
5 1
9 6
1 2
x
y t
z
_ _ _

+


, , ,
i.e. x = 5 t
y = 9 + 6t
z = 1 + 2t
Substituting these into the equation of the plane gives:
2x y + 4z = 5
2(5 t) (9 + 6t) + 4(1 + 2t) = 5
10 2t 9 6t + 4 + 8t = 5
5 = 5
This equation is true for all values of t. Therefore the line must lie within the plane.
Note 1: If when we attempt to solve the equations, we get an equation which is true for no values of
t (such as 4 = -2), we know that the plane and the line do not intersect, i.e. are parallel.
Note 2: If when we attempt to solve the equations, we get an equation which is true for a single
value of t, we know that the plane and the line intersect at a single point. We can find the point of
intersection by substituting the value of t into the vector equation of the line.
FINDING THE ANGLE BETWEEN TWO PLANES
The angle between two planes is the same as the angle between the two normal vectors.
Example: Find the acute angle between the planes with equations:
3 1
. 0 2 and . 2 1
1 5
_ _

, ,
r r
Solution: The equations of the planes are 3x + 0y z = 2 and x + 2y + 5z = -1.
The normal vectors are
3 1
0 and 2
1 5
_ _

, ,
.
The scalar product is:
3 1
0 . 2 (3 1) (0 2) ( 1 5) 2
1 5
_ _

+ +

, ,
The magnitudes are:
3 1
0 9 0 1 10 and 2 1 4 25 30
1 5
_ _

+ + + +

, ,
Substituting into the formula a.b=abcos gives:
2
2 10 30 cos cos 96.6
10 30

o
The acute angle between these planes therefore is:
180 96.6 = 83.4

.
FINDING THE ANGLE BETWEEN A PLANE AND A LINE
To find the angle between a plane and a line, there are 2 steps:
Step 1: Find the angle between the normal vector and the direction vector of the line;
Step 2: Subtract the angle from step 1 from 90 in order to get the angle required.
Example: Find the angle between the line
2 3
2 1 1
x y z +

and the plane

4
. 3 5
2
_

,
r
.
Solution:
First we find the angle between the vectors
2 4
1 and 3
1 2
_ _




, ,
:
2 4
1 . 3 8 3 2 13
1 2
_ _

+ +



, ,
2
1 4 1 1 6
1
+ +

4
3 16 9 4 29
2
+ +

Therefore: 13 6 29 cos 9.76

o
So the angle between the plane and the line is 90 9.76 = 80.2.
FINDING THE PERPENDICULAR DISTANCE FROM A POINT TO A LINE
Example: Find the perpendicular distance from the point P(3, 5, 2) to the line with equation
2 1
3 1
1 4
t
_ _

+

, ,
r
.
Solution:
The line passes through the point A(2, 3, -1) and has direction i j + 4k.
Let Q be the closest point on the line to P.
Then PQ is perpendicular to the direction of the line.
As Q lies on the line, the position vector of Q will take the form:
2 1 2
3 1 3
1 4 1 4
t
OQ t t
t
+ _ _ _

+


+
, , ,
uuur
for some t.
Therefore
2 3 1
3 5 2
1 4 2 3 4
t t
PQ t t
t t
+ + _ _ _




+ +
, , ,
q p
uuur
.
Since PQ
uuur
is perpendicular to the direction of the line, we have:
1 1
2 . 1 0
3 4 4
1 2 12 16 0
18 11
11
18
t
t
t
t t t
t
t
+ _ _




+
, ,
+ + + +


So, by substituting this value for t into the expression for PQ
uuur
, we get
11
18
11
18
44
18
1 7
1
2 47
18
10 3
PQ
+ _ _







+
,
,
uuur
The shortest distance from point P to the line is the magnitude of this vector:
7
1 1
47 49 2209 100 2.70
18 18
10
PQ

+ +

uuur
P(3, 5, 2)
Q
A(2, 3, -1)

1
1
4 ,
_

P(3, 5, 2)
Q (x, y, z)
3x - 2y + z = 4
FINDING THE PERPENDICULAR DISTANCE FROM A POINT TO A PLANE
Example: Find the perpendicular distance from the point P(3, 5, 2) to the plane with equation
3x 2y + z = 4
Solution:
Let Q be the foot of the perpendicular from point P to the plane.
Then PQ will be perpendicular to the plane.
However, the normal vector
3
2
1
_

,
is a vector
perpendicular to the plane. So
3
2
1
PQ t
_




,
uuur
.
Therefore the equation of the line PQ is
3 3
5 2
2 1
t
_ _

+


, ,
r
.
We can find the coordinates of Q by seeing where this line intersects the plane 3x 2y + z = 4.
Substituting x = 3 + 3t, y = 5 2t, z = 2 + t into the equation of the plane, gives:
3(3 + 3t) 2(5 2t) + (2 + t) = 4
9 + 9t 10 + 4t + 2 + t = 4
1 + 14t = 4
So
3
14
t .
So the vector PQ
uuur
is
3
14
3
2
1
PQ
_




,
uuur
.
Therefore the perpendicular distance from P to the plane is

3 3
14 14
3
2 9 4 1 0.802.
1
PQ + +
uuur
Note: There is a formula (quoted in the formula book) which can also be used to find the
perpendicular distance from a point to a line. See the next page.
FINDING THE PERPENDICULAR DISTANCE FROM A POINT TO A PLANE
(FORMULA BOOK METHOD)
Formula quoted in the OCR formula book:
The perpendicular distance of
( , , )
from
1 2 3
0 x y z d + + +
is
1 2 3
2 2 2
1 2 3
d

+ + +
+ +
Example (continued): Find the perpendicular distance from the point P(3, 5, 2) to the plane with
equation
3x 2y + z = 4
Solution:
( , , )
= (3, 5, 2).
The equation of the plane is 3x 2y + z 4 = 0.
Therefore the perpendicular distance is:
1 2 3
2 2 2
1 2 3
d

+ + +
+ +
=
2 2 2
(3 3) ( 2 5) (1 2) 4 3
0.802
14
3 ( 2) 1
+ +

+ +
FINDING THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO SKEW LINES
You need to learn the following formula for finding the shortest distance between two skew lines:
If two lines
1 2
and l l
are given by
1 1 2 2
and t s + + r a b r a b
respectively, the shortest distance
d between
1 2
and l l
is given by:
2 1
( ).
d

a a n
n
where
1 2
n b b
Example: Find the shortest distance between the lines
2 1 3 2
3 1 and 1 2
5 2 1 3
t s
_ _ _ _

+ +



, , , ,
r r
Solution:
1 2 1
1 2
1 2 1 2 1 2
1 2 1 2 7
2 3 2 3 1 2
2 3
2 3 4
_ _ _

, , ,
i
n j i j k
k
2 1
3 2 1 1 1
( ). 1 3 . 7 4 . 7 1 28 24 53
1 5 4 6 4
1 _ _ _ _ _
1

1

1
, , , , ,
]
a a n
Therefore the shortest distance is
53
53
6.52
1 49 16 66

+ +