Vector Operations Exercises

Vector Operations and its Applications

Mathematics 54 - Elementary Analysis 2

Institute of Mathematics
University of the Philippines-Diliman

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 Vector Operations Exercises Dot Product Cross Prod. Triple Prod.

Vector Operations
Dot Product

Definition (Dot Product)

Let ~
A = a1 , a2 , a3 and ~
B = b1 , b2 , b3 . We define their dot product as

~
A ~
B = a1 b1 + a2 b2 + a3 b3

Note: ~
A ~
BR

Example
Let ~ B = 3, 2, 0 and ~
A = 2, 1, 4, ~ C = 7, 4, 1
1 ~ ~
A B = (2)(3) + (1)(2) + (4)(0) = 8
2 ~
C ~
B = (7)(3) + (4)(2) + (1)(0) = 13
~
A +~B ~

3 C = 1, 1, 4 7, 4, 1 = (1)(7) + (1)(4) + (4)(1) = 1

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Theorem (Properties of the dot product)

Let ~
A,~B and ~
C be vectors in R3 and c R.
1 ~A ~
B =~
B ~
A

~
A c~
B =c ~
A ~

2 B

~
A~ B ~
C = ~A ~
B ~A ~

3 C

4 ~
A ~0 = 0
2
5 ~
A ~A = ~A

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 Vector Operations Exercises Dot Product Cross Prod. Triple Prod.

Angle Between Vectors

We define the angle between two vectors ~ A and ~

B to be the angle [0, ]
formed by the two vectors in their position representation.

If = 0 or = , then the vectors are said to be parallel.

If = 2 , then the vectors are said to be perpendicular.

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Theorem
If is the angle between the two vectors ~
A and ~
B, then

~
A ~
B = ~
A ~
B cos .

2
Proof: Consider ~
A ~

B .
2
~
A ~ (~
A ~ B) (~
A ~

B = B)
= A (A B) B (~
~ ~ ~ ~ A ~B)
= ~
A ~A ~A ~B ~ B ~
A +~ B ~
B
2 2
= ~A 2~
A ~
B+ ~ B

By cosine law:

~
A ~
B
2 2 2
~
A ~
B = ~
A + ~
B 2 ~
A ~
B cos

~
B ~
A

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Examples

Example
1 Find the angle between ~
A = 3 2 + 3k and ~
B = 3 + 5k

Solution:
3, 2, 3 1, 3, 5
cos =
k3, 2, 3k k1, 3, 5k
3 + 6 + 15
= p p
22 35
24
= p
770

24
= cos1 p 88.21
770

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 Vector Operations Exercises Dot Product Cross Prod. Triple Prod.

Examples

Example
2 Find the angle between ~
A = 3 2 + 3k and ~
B = 3 3k

Solution:
3, 2, 3 1, 3, 3
cos =
k3, 2, 3k k1, 3, 3k
3+69
= p p
22 19
= 0

=
2
Hence, the two vectors are perpendicular.

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Examples

Example
3 F ) Displacement (~
In Physics, Work (W ) = Force (~ d).
Find the work done by a man carrying a load of 100 N, while walking
across a 10 meter, level surface.

Solution:

W F ~
= ~ d = kFkkdk cos
= (100)(10) cos 90

= 0 N m = 0 Joules

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Remarks
Two vectors ~A and ~
B are parallel if and only if ~
A = c~
B for some nonzero
scalar c.
~
A and ~B are perpendicular or orthogonal if and only if ~ A ~
B = 0.

Indeed, if = is the angle between them, then
2

~A ~
B = kAk kBk cos =0
2

and conversely if ~
A ~
B, then cos = 0, so = .
2

Note.
The zero vector is perpendicular to any vector.

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 Vector Operations Exercises Dot Product Cross Prod. Triple Prod.

Projections
A nice application of the dot product is with projections.

Definition
For non-zero vectors~a and ~b, with to be the angle between them. The
vector projection of ~b onto~a, denoted by proj~a~b is the perpendicular
projection of the position representation of ~b onto the line containing the
position representation of~a.

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Projections

Remark

1 Given two non-zero vectors~a and ~b, the projection of ~b onto the~a is
illustrated below

2 proj~a~b is parallel to~a.

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Projection

The magnitude of proja~b is given by k~bk |cos |, where is the angle

between~a and ~b.
Moreover,

k~akk~bk cos
!
~a
~ ~

proj~a b = kbk cos = ~a
k~ak k~ak2
~a ~b
!
= ~a
k~ak2

Hence, given two non-zero vectors~a and ~b, the vector projection of ~b onto
~a is given by the following formula:

~a ~b
proj~a~b = ~a
k~ak2

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Projection

Example

1 Determine the projection of ~

A = 2, 1, 1 onto ~
B = 1, 0, 2.

(~
A ~
B)~B
Solution. The projection is given by proj~B~
A = 2
~B
We need the dot product of ~ A and ~
B and the magnitude of ~
B.
2
~
A ~
B = 2+0+2 = 4 ~
B = 1 + 0 + 4 = 5
Then,

4 4 8
proj~B~
A = 1, 0, 2 = , 0,
5 5 5

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Projection

Example

2 Determine the projection of~a = 1, 0, 2 onto ~b = 2, 1, 1.

Solution. Solving for~a ~b and the magnitude of ~b.

2
~a ~b = 2 + 0 + 2 = 4
~
b = 4 + 1 + 1 = 6

The projection is then,

(~a ~b)~b 4
projb~a = 2 = 2, 1, 1
~ 6
b

4 2 2
= , ,
3 3 3

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Projection

Example

3 Express ~
A = 2, 3, 5 as a sum of a vector parallel to ~
B = 2, 1, 2 and
a vector perpendicular to ~ B.

Solution. Note that proj~B~

A is parallel to ~
B. Thus,

(~
B ~
A)~B (4 3 10)2, 1, 2
proj~B~
A = 2 = = 2, 1, 2 .
~B 4+1+4

Moreover, based from the construction of the vector projection, we can let
~
C =~ A, then one can verify that ~
Aproj~B~ C and ~ A are perpendicular.
Hence,
~
C = 2, 3, 5 2, 1, 2 = 4, 2, 3 .

~A = 2, 1, 2 + 4, 2, 3 .

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Vector Operations
Cross Product

Definition
Let ~
A = a1 , a2 , a3 and ~
B = b1 , b2 , b3

~
A ~
B = a2 b3 a3 b2 , a3 b1 a1 b3 , a1 b2 a2 b1

Note:
~
A ~
B is a vector.

Moreover, we can write ~

A ~
B as

k


~
A ~
B = det a1 a2 a3
b1 b2 b3

a2 a3 a1 a3 a1 a2
= det det + det k
b2 b3 b1 b3 b1 b2

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Determinant of a 2 2 matrix

a1 a2
Note that for the matrix A = ,
b1 b2
det A = a1 b2 a2 b1 .

Example

2 0
1 det = 2(3) 0(1) = 6
1 3

5 2
2 det = 5(1) 2(4) = 13
4 1

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 Vector Operations Exercises Dot Product Cross Prod. Triple Prod.

Cross Product

Example
1 Let ~
A = 1, 3, 4 and ~
B = 2, 7, 5. Find ~
A ~
B.

Solution:

k

~
A ~
B = det 1 3 4
2 7 5

3 4 1 4 1 3
= det det + det k
7 5 2 5 2 7
= (15 28) (5 8) + (7 6)k
= 43 + 13 + k

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Theorem (Properties of the cross product)

Let ~
A,~B and ~C be vectors in R3 and c R.
1 ~A ~B = ~B ~A
~A c~B =c ~ A ~

2 B
~A ~ B ~C = ~ A ~B ~A ~

3 C
4 ~
A ~0 =~0

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Examples
Example
1 Suppose ~
A = 1, 0, 1 and ~
B = 2, 0, 1. Find ~
A ~
B and ~
B ~
A.

k

~
A ~
B = det 1 0 1
2 0 1

0 1 1 1 1 0
= det det + det k
0 1 2 1 2 0
= 3
While,
k

~
B ~
A = det 2 0 1
1 0 1

0 1 2 1 2 0
= det det + det k
0 1 1 1 1 0
= 3 = (~
A ~
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 Vector Operations Exercises Dot Product Cross Prod. Triple Prod.

Examples

Example
2 Show that ~
A ~
A =~0.

Let ~
A = a, b, c, then

k

~
A ~
A = det a b c
a b c

b c a c a b
= det det + det k
b c a c a b
= (bc bc) (ac ac) + (ab ab)k
= 0 + 0 + 0k
= ~0

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 Vector Operations Exercises Dot Product Cross Prod. Triple Prod.

Theorem

is the
If angle
between the two vectors ~
A and ~
B, then
~ B = ~
A ~ A ~
B sin .

Proof: Let ~
A = a1 , a2 , a3 and ~
B = b1 , b2 , b3 .
2
~
A ~

B = a2 b3 a3 b2 , a3 b1 a1 b3 , a1 b2 a2 b1
= (a2 b3 a3 b2 )2 + (a3 b1 a1 b3 )2 + (a1 b2 a2 b1 )2
= (a12 + a22 + a32 )(b21 + b22 + b23 ) (a1 b1 + a2 b2 + a3 b3 )2
2 2 2
= ~
A ~ B ~ A ~B
2 2 2 2
= ~
A ~ B ~ A ~ B cos2
2 2 2 2
= ~
A ~ B (1 cos2 ) = ~ A ~ B sin2

Since [0, ], then sin 0. Thus proving the equality that we need.

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Vector Cross Product

Remark
If ~
A ~
B =~0, then the vectors are parallel.

Indeed, two vectors are parallel if and only = 0, or = .

In either case, sin = 0.
Thus, ~A ~B = 0 or that ~
A ~
B =~0.

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The last theorem can be geometrically interpreted as a formula for the

area of a parallelogram, defined by two vectors.

Let~a and ~b be represented by directed line segments with same initial

point, and angle in between.
They then determine a parallelogram with
base k~ak and altitude ~b sin , thus the area of the parallelogram is given

by,
Area = k~ak ~b sin = ~a ~b

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Examples

Example
1 Find the area of the parallelogram defined by the vectors
~ ~ = j + k.
G = 3i + j 7k and H

Solution:

i j k

~ ~ = det 3
GH 1 7 = 8 + 3 3k
0 1 1
p p
Area = 8 + 3 3k = 64 + 9 + 9 = 82

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Examples

Example
2 Find the area of the triangle with vertices A(1, 2, 4), B(2, 1, 6) and
C(1, 1, 3).

Solution:
while
AB = 3 + 2k,

AC = 3 k.


k


So AB AC = det 3 1 2 = 7 3 + 9k.
0 3 1

The area of the parallelogram with adjacent sides AB and AC is

p p
AB AC = 7 3 + 9k = 49 + 9 + 81 = 139

The area of the triangle ABC is half the area of this parallelogram, that is
p
139
.
2
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 Vector Operations Exercises Dot Product Cross Prod. Triple Prod.

Theorem
The vector ~
A ~
B is orthogonal to both ~
A and ~
B.

Proof:
Let ~
A = a1 , a2 , a3 and ~
B = b1 , b2 , b3 , then

~
A ~
B ~

A = a2 b3 a3 b2 , a3 b1 a1 b3 , a1 b2 a2 b1 a1 , a2 , a3
= (a1 a2 b3 a1 a3 b2 ) + (a2 a3 b1 a2 a1 b3 )
+(a3 a1 b2 a3 a2 b1 )
= a1 a2 b3 a2 a1 b3 + a2 a3 b1 a3 a2 b1 + a3 a1 b2 a1 a3 b2
= 0

A similar computation will show that ~

A ~
B ~B = 0. Therefore ~
A ~

B is
~ ~
orthogonal to both A and B.

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If~a and ~b are vectors with the same initial point, then the cross product
points in a direction perpendicular to both~a and ~b. It turns out that the
direction of a b is given by the right-hand rule.

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Theorem
If ~ B and ~
A,~ C are vectors in R3 , then
~ B ~
A ~ C = ~A ~B ~

C

These equalities can be proven by letting

~
A = a1 , a2 , a3 ,
~
B = b1 , b2 , b3 , and
~
C = c1 , c2 , c3
and using the definition of the cross and dot products.
Moreover, the quantity ~ B ~
A ~ C is called the scalar triple product of the
vectors ~ B and ~
A,~ C.

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The geometric significance of the scalar triple product can be seen by

considering the parallelepiped determined by the vectors~a,~b, and~c.

The area of the base parallelogram is A = ~b ~c. If is the angle between

~a and ~b ~c, then the height h of the parallelepiped is h = k~ak | cos |.

Therefore, the volume of the parallelepiped is

V = Ah = ~b ~c k~ak | cos | = ~a ~b ~c

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Examples

1 Find the volume of the parallelipiped defined by the vectors

~ v = 2 + 2k and ~
u = 3 + 4k,~
w = 5 k.
Solution.

3 1 4
~
u ~v ~

w = det 2 1 2
5 0 1

1 2 2 2 2 1
= 3 det (1) det + 4 det
0 1 5 1 5 0
= 3 + 8 20
= 15

Therefore Volume = ~
u ~v ~

w = 15

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Examples

2 Use the scalar triple product to show that the vectors

~ B = 2, 1, 4 and ~
A = 1, 4, 7 ,~ C = 0, 2, 4 are coplanar.
Solution.

1 4 7
~ B ~
A ~

C = det 2 1 4
0 2 4

1 4 2 4 2 1
= 1 det 4 det 7 det
2 4 0 4 0 2
= 4 + 32 28 = 0

Therefore, the volume of the parallelepiped determined by ~

A,~
B, and
~ ~ ~ ~
C is 0. This means that A, B, and C are coplanar.

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 Vector Operations Exercises

Exercises

1 If ~
u = 2, 3, 1,~v = 1, 0, 1 and ~
w = 1, 3, 2, find:
1 u ~v
2~
2 ~
u ~v + ~
w
~

3 w 0.5~ u + 1.5~v
2 Determine whether the following vectors are parallel
1 ~
u = 3, 2, 1 and ~v = 9, 6, 3

1 1 1
2 ~
A = 4 + 2k and ~
B= , ,
2 8 4
3 Find a unit vector that points in the same direction as ~
T = 3 5 + k.
4 Find a vector of length 3 that is parallel to the vector from (2, 0, 1) to
(3, 2, 3).

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 Vector Operations Exercises

Exercises

5 Let ~ v = 4 + 3k and ~
u = 2 + k,~ Find
w = 2 k.
1 ~
u ~v
2 ~
u ~v
3 ~
w ~
u
4 ~
u ~v ~
w
5 ~
u~
w ~v
6 A unit vector that lies in the xy-plane that is orthogonal to ~
u.
6 The area of the parallelogram having 3 of its vertices to be the points
(0, 1), (4, 3) and (1, 6).
7 Find a vector of length 5 that is orthogonal to both the vectors
4, 1, 0 and 3, 2, 1.
8 Find the volume of a parallelipiped defined by the vectors
~ ~
A = 2 + + 2k, B = + 3 2k and ~
C = 5 .

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