MATH197 Mathematics for Engineers Vector Algebra

Scalar and Vector Quantities Many physical quanties in 3-dimensional physical space are characterised simply by a numerical value (real number), for example: mass, density, temperature, energy, electric charge.

These are called scalar quantities.

Physical quantities such as displacement, are characterised both by (i) (ii) a scalar magnitude, a direction. velocity, force, acceleration, heat flux

These are called vector quantities.

Vector quantities are usually written in bold type, e.g., a, u, F, or underlined, e.g., a, u, F. The magnitude of a vector a is written a . Geometrically the vector a can be represented by a directed line segment PQ of length a with the same direction as a. The location of the line segment is immaterial, so that any other line segment P Q is an equally valid representation of a.

Q Q a a

P P

The zero vector, written 0 or 0, is defined to be a special vector with zero magnitude.

Addition and Multiplication by a Scalar The sum of two vectors a and b is defined to be the vector a + b such that if a and b are represented by the line segments OA and OB then a + b is the vector represented by the diagonal OC of the completed parallogram OACB.

C A a a+b

The product of the vector a and a scalar quantity a = a

is the vector a of magnitude

which is parallel to a or opposite to a according to whether

is positive or negative.

a, ( >0)

a, (

0)

-a

We write a for the vector of magnitude a but in the opposite direction to a. The difference between a and b is defined to be the vector a b = a + ( b).

a-b

a+b

Rules of Vector Algebra The vectors obey many of the algebraic rules that are in many respects similar to those of the algebra of real numbers. It is readily shown that (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) a+b=b+a (a + b) + c = a + (b + c) a+0=a a + (-a) = 0 ( a) = ( )a (commutative law) (associative law)

a= a+ a (a + b) = a + b 1a = a

Components of Vectors If a is a vector lying in the 2d plane defined by orthogonal Cartesian axes OXY, and i and j are unit vectors parallel to OX and OY respectively, the vector a can be written a = ax i + ay j where the unique numbers ax and ay are the lengths of the projections of the line segment OA representing a onto the axes OX and OY respectively. The numbers ax and ay are called the components of a relative to the Cartesian axes OXY.
Y ay a j O i ax X

From the theorem of Pythogoras it is clear that a = (ax2+ ay2). Further, if a = ax i + ay j b = bx i + by j then a + b = (ax + bx) i + (ay + by) j

a= If

ax i +

ay j.

is the angle that a makes with the axis OX then ax = a cos , ay = a sin ,

and tan = ay/ax. It follows that all calculations concerning a vector can be made in terms of its components.

Using 3d Cartesian axes OXYZ, vectors in 3 dimensions can similarly be expressed in the form a = ax i + ay j + az k where i, j and k are unit vectors parallel to OX, OY and OZ respectively, the unique components ax, ay, az (relative to these axes) are the lengths of the projections of the line segment OA representing a onto the axes OX, OY, OZ.
Z az

a k O i ax X j ay Y

From the theorem of Pythagoras we again have a = (ax2+ ay2 + az2). Further, if a = ax i + ay j + az k b = bx i + by j + bz k then a + b = (ax + bx) i + (ay + by) j + (az + bz) k, a= ax i + ay j + az k.

Scalar Products of Vectors The scalar product of two vectors a and b is defined to be the scalar quantity a b = a b cos , where is the angle between the directions of a and b. For example, if a body acted on by a force F moves through a displacement r, the work done by the force is Work done = component of force in direction of motion times displacement = F cos r = F r.

F cos

The scalar product can be used to test whether two vectors are orthogonal. If a and b are both non-zero then a b = 0 if, and only if cos = 0, i.e., = /2.

The scalar product obeys many of the usual rules of algebra: (i) (ii) (iii) a b= b a a ( b + c) = a b + a c a ( b) = a b) (commutative law) (distributive law)

(for any scalar

The proofs of (i) and (iii) are obvious. To prove (ii) we note that a ( b + c) = a = a = a projection of b + c onto a (projection of b onto a + projection of c onto a) projection of b onto a + a projection of c onto a

=a b+a c

If a and b are 2-d vectors written in component form a = ax i + ay j, b = bx i + by j, applying the above rules of algebra, since i i = i2 = 1, j j = j2 = 1, i j = 0, we have a b = ax bx + ay by. In three dimensions, if a = ax i + ay j + az k b = bx i + by j + bz k then a b = ax bx + ay by + az bz.

The scalar product provides a simple proof of the cosine rule.

c = a +b b a

For the triangle shown above, c2 = (a+b)2 = a2 + 2a b + b2 = a2 + 2 a b cos ( + b2

= a2 - 2 a b cos + b2, so that

cos

a 2 b2 c2 . 2ab

Note also that the angle between two vectors can also be calculated using the formula
cos a b ab a x bx
2 ax 2 ay

a y by

a z bz

2 a z2 bx2 by bz2

Applications to Geometry Let O be a fixed origin in 3d space. Relative to O, the position of any fixed point P is uniquely defined by the vector p = OP . We call p the position vector of P. If P has Cartesian coordinates (x, y, z) relative to Cartesian axes OXYZ, then
Z z

P(x,y,z) p k O i x X j y Y

Many calculations in 3d geometry can be simplified using position vectors. Consider for example the calculation of the point C that divides the line AB in the ratio :1- .

C c B b

The position vector of C is c = OA AC = a + AB = a + b a) = (1- )a + b.

To test whether three arbitrary points A, B, C are collinear, we consider the differences b a and c a. The points are collinear if AB AC , i.e., or for some scalar quantity (b a) (c a) c a = (b a)

Equation of a Line

P A t a r L

A line in 3-d space can be determined either by fixing two points on the line, or by fixing one point and a direction vector. In the case of the line L passing through the fixed point A parallel to the direction vector t, a general point P will lie on L if, and only if
AP // t

i.e., i.e., i.e.

AP = t for some scalar ,

r a = t, r = a + t,

We call this equation the vector equation of the line L. L is the locus of the set of points P which satisfy this equation as takes different values.

If A has coordinates (x0, y0, z0), and t = l i + m j + n k, the coordinates of an arbitrary point P(x, y, z) on the line will satisfy the three scalar equations x = x0 + l, y = y0 + m, z = z0 + n, or equivalently
x y z x0 y0 z0 l m . n

Equation of a Plane

n P A

r O

A plane in 3-d space can be determined either by fixing three points, or by fixing one point and a normal vector to the plane defining its orientation. In the case of the plane passing through the fixed point A normal to the direction vector n, a general point P will lie on if, and only if
AP

i.e., i.e., or where d = a n is a constant. The plane equation.

AP n = 0,

(r a) n = 0, r n = d, is the locus of the set of points P which satisfy this

If A has Cartesian coordinates (x0, y0, z0), and n = l i + m j + n k, the equation of the plane can also be written l(x x0) + m(y y0) + n(z z0) = 0, or lx + my + nz = d. If the plane is not vertical (so that n point (x0, y0, z0) can also be written z = z0 + p(x x0) + q(y y0). We will meet this equation later in topic 5 when we discuss tangent planes to graphs of functions of two variables. 0), the equation of a plane passing through the

Vector Product The vector product of two vectors a and b is defined to be the vector quantity a b = a b sin c where is the angle between the directions of a and b, and c is a unit vector normal to both a

and b and in the direction such that a, b, c form a right handed set.
a b

c b a

b a

Geometrically, the magnitude of the vector product is the area of the parallelogram determined by a and b. The vector product obeys the following rules of algebra: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) a b= b a, (multiplication is anti-symmetric) (distributive law) (for any scalar

a ( b + c) = a b + a c, a ( b) = a b=0

a b) = ( a) b,

if, and only if, a // b.

Writing a = ax i + ay j + az k b = bx i + by j + bz k where i, j, k are a right handed set, since i i i=j j=k k = 0, i = j,

j = k, j

k = i, k

applying the above rules of algebra we obtain the following formula for calculating the vector product in terms of its components: a b = (ay bz az by)i + (az bx ax bz)j + (ax by ay bx)k

ay by

az bz

az

ax

bz bx

ax bx

ay

i k = ax by bx

j ay by

k az . bz

Forces and Moments Forces acting on a structure are vector quantities, but must also be characterised by a line of action. The line of action will usually be defined by the direction of the force, and its point of application. A force F acting at a point P on a solid body whose line of action does not pass through the origin will have a turning effect about the origin. This turning effect is called the moment of the force. The moment is itself a vector quantity, which we denote by M. The magnitude of M is defined to be the product of the magnitude of F and the perpendicular distance d of the line of action of F from the origin. If r denotes the position vector of P, since d = |r|sin, where is the angle between r and F, it follows that |M| = |F|d = |F||r|sin = | r F|.

M=rF

O P r r sin F

The direction of M is defined to be perpendicular to the plane of r and F, and such that r, F, and M form a right hand set. It follows that M = r F.
F P r O c O s

The moment of a force depends on the choice of origin (or pivot point). If O is a second origin, the position vector of P relative to O will be s= r + c, where c is the position vector of O relative to O . The moment of F about O is thus M = s F = (r + c) F = M + c F.

Equilibrium of a System of Forces Consider a body subject to a system of forces F1, F2, F3, etc. acting at points r1, r2, r3, etc. The resultant force acting on the body is F = F1+ F2+ F3+. The resultant moment about the origin O is M = M1+ M2+ M3+ = r1 F1+ r2 F2+ r3 F3 +. For the body to be in equilibrium the resultant force and moment must both be zero, i.e., we must have F1+ F2+ F3+=0 and r1 F1+ r2 F2+ r3 F3 +=0. There are two important cases to consider. Forces with a common point of intersection If the lines of the forces all intersect at a common point P with position vector r, the resultant moment acting on the body is M = r (F1+ F2+ F3 +) = r F. In this case, for equilibrium it is sufficient that the resultant force is zero, i.e., F1+ F2+ F3+.=0. Couples If the resultant force is zero, but the resultant moment is non-zero, the system is said to form a couple. The simplest couple consists of two forces F and F whose lines of actions are a distance d apart.

F d -F
The moment of a couple is independent of the choice of origin. To show this, let M be the moment of the system about a second origin O . Since the position vectors of points of application of the forces relative to O are s1= r1+c, s2= r2+c, etc., where c is the position vector of O relative to O , M = s1 F1+ s2 F2+ s3 F3 += (r1+c) F1+(r2+c) F2+(r3+c) F3 + =r1 F1+r2 F2+r3 F3 ++c (F1+ F2+ F3+)= M+c F. Since F = 0, it follows that M =M.

Scalar Triple Product The scalar triple product of three vectors a, b, c is defined to be the scalar quantity a (b c) = a b c cos sin where is the angle between b and c, and is the angle between a and b c.

bc a c

Geometrically, the magnitude of a (b c) is the volume of the parallelepiped defined by a, b, c. Its value is positive if a, b, c is a right-handed set, and negative if a, b, c is a lefthanded set. It follows that a (b c) = b (c a) = c (a b), i.e., the scalar triple product is invariant under cyclic rotation of the vectors. Writing a = ax i + ay j + az k, b = bx i + by j + bz k, c = cx i + cy j + cz k, it is clear that a (b c) = ax (by cz bz cy) + ay (bz cx bx cz) + az (bx cy by cx)

by = ax cy

bz cz

ay

bz cz

bx cx

bx az cx

ax by = bx cy cx

ay by cy

az bz . cz