Vectors

CHAPTER 3

VECTORS

BASIC CONCEPTS

What is scalar?
- a quantity that has only magnitude

What is vector?
- a quantity that has magnitude and direction

A vector can be represented by a directed

line segment where the
i) length of the line segment represents
the magnitude of the vector
ii) direction of the line segment represents
the direction of the vector

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 Vectors
Q
PQ Terminal Point

P
Initial point


A vector can be written as PQ , or a . The

order of the letters is important. PQ means
the vector is from P to Q, QP means vector
is from Q to P.

If P x1 , y1  is the initial point and

Q  x 2 , y 2  is the terminal point of a directed
line segment, PQ, then component form of
vector v that represents PQ is
 x 2  x1 
v1 , v 2  x x  x1 , y 2  y1   
 y 2  y1 
and the magnitude or the length of v is

v  x2  x1 2   y 2  y1 2
 c12  c 22

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 Vectors

Example:
Find the component form and length of the
vector v that has initial point 3,7  and
terminal point  2,5  .

Example:
Given v   2,5 and w  3,4 , find each of the
following vectors.
1
a) 2 v b) w  v c) v  2 w

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 Vectors

Any vector that has magnitude of 1 unit is

called unit vector.

Theorem
If a is a non-null vector and if â is a unit
vector having the same direction as a, then
a
aˆ 
a

Example:
Find a unit vector in the direction of v   2,5
and verify that it has length 1.

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 Vectors

STANDARD UNIT VECTORS

Three standard unit vectors are: i, j dan k

Vectors i, j and k can be written in

components form:
i = < x, 0, 0 >, j = < 0, y, 0 >, k = < 0, 0, z >

and can interpreted as

a = <x, y, z>
= xi + yj + zk

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 Vectors


The vector PQ with initial point
P x1, y1, z1 and terminal point Q x2 , y2 , z2 
has the standard representation

PQ  ( x2  x1 )i  ( y2  y1 ) j  ( z2  z1 )k
or
PQ  x2  x1, y2  y1, z2  z1 

Example:
Let u be the vector with initial point (2,-5) and
terminal point (-1,3), and let v  2i  j . Write
each of the following vectors as a linear
combination of i and j.

a) u
b) w  2u  3 v

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 Vectors

Example:
The vector v has a length of 3 and makes an
 
angle of 30 
6 with the positive x-axis. Write
v as a linear combination of the unit vectors i
and j.

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 Vectors

PROPERTIES OF VECTORS IN SPACE

Let v  v1 , v 2 , v3 and w  w1 , w2 , w3 be
vectors in 3 dimensional space and k is a
constant.
1. v  w if and only if
v1  w1 , v 2  w2 , v3  w3 .

2 2 2
2. The magnitude of v is v  v1  v 2  v3

3. The unit vector in the direction of v is

v v1 , v 2 , v3

v v

4. v  w  v1  w1 , v 2  w2 , v3  w3

5. kv  kv1 , kv 2 , kv3

6. Zero vector is denoted as 0  0,0,0 .

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 Vectors

Example:
Express the vector PQ if it starts at point
P  (6,5,8) and stops at point Q  ( 7,3,9) in
components form.

Example:
Given that a  3,1,2 , b   1,6,4 . Find
(a) a  3b (b) b
(c) a unit vector which is in the direction of b.
(d) find the unit vector which has the same
direction as a  3b .

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 Vectors

Example: (PARALLEL VECTORS)

Vector w has initial point (2,-1,3) and terminal
point (-4,7,5). Which of the following vectors is
parallel to w?

Example: (COLLINEAR POINTS)

Determine whether the point P 1,2,3, Q 2,1,0  and
R 4,7,6  lie on the same line.

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 Vectors

THE DOT PRODUCT

(THE SCALAR PRODUCT)

The scalar product between two vectors

v =  v1, v2 , v3  and w =  w1, w2 , w3  is
v  w  v w cos
where  is the angle between v and w.

Example:
If v = 2i-j+k, w = i+j+2k and the angle
between v and w is 60  , find v  w .

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 Vectors

Theorem : (The Dot Product)

If v  v1 , v 2 , v3 and w  w1 , w2 , w3 , then the
scalar product v  w is
vw  v1 , v 2 , v3  w1 , w2 , w3
 v1 w1  v 2 w2  v3 w3

Example:
Given that u  2,2,3 , v  5,8,1 and
w   4,3,2 , find
(a) u  v (b) u  v w (c) u   v  w 
(d) the angle between u and v
(e) the angle between v and w.

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 Vectors

Example:
Let A=(4,1,2), B=(3,4,5) and C=(5,3,1) are the
vertices of a triangle. Find the angle at vertex A.

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 Vectors

Theorem :(Angle between two vectors)

The nature of an angle  , between two vectors
u and v.
1.  is an acute angle if and only if u  v  0
2.  is an obtuse angle if and only if u  v  0
3.  = 90  if and only if uv  0

Example:
Show that the given vectors are perpendicular to
each other.
(a) i and j
(b) 3i-7j+2k and 10i+4j-k

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Theorem (Properties of Dot Product)

If u,v, and w are nonzero vectors and k is a
scalar,
1. u  v  v  u
2. u   v  w   u  v  u  w
3. ku  v  u  kv
2
4. v  v  v
5. u  0  0  u  0

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 Vectors

THE CROSS PRODUCTS

(VECTOR PRODUCTS)

The cross product (vector product) u  v is a

vector perpendicular to u and v whose
direction is determined by the right hand rule
and whose length is determined by the
lengths of u and v and the angle between
them.

u v v

u
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 Vectors

Definition : (Cross Product)

If u and v are nonzero vectors, and  ( 0     )
is the angle between u and v, then
u  v  u v sin  ,

Theorem (Properties of Cross Product)

The cross product obeys the laws
(a) u  u  0
(b) u  v   v  u 
(c) u   v  w   u  v  u  w
(d) ku   v  u  kv   k u  v 
(e) u // v if and only if u  v  0
(f) u  0  0  u  0

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 Vectors

Theorem
If u  u1i  u 2 j  u 3 k and v  v1i  v 2 j  v3 k ,
then
i j k
u  v  u1 u 2 u3
v1 v 2 v3
 (u 2 v3  u3 v 2 )i  (u1v3  u3 v1 ) j  (u1v 2  u 2 v1)k

Example:
1. Given that u  3,0,4 and v  1,5,2 , find
(a) u  v (b) v  u

2. Find two unit vectors that are perpendicular

to the vectors u  2i+2j-3k and v = i+3j+k.

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 Vectors

THE LENGTH OF THE CROSS

PRODUCT AS AN AREA
B C
u

A D
v

Area of a parallelogram  u v sin   u  v

1
Area of triangle = u  v
2

Example:
(a) Find an area of a parallelogram that is
formed from vectors u = i + j - 3k and
v = -6j + 5k.
(b) Find an area of a triangle that is formed
from vectors u = i + j - 3k and
v = -6j + 5k.
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 Vectors

SCALAR TRIPLE PRODUCT

Theorem
If a  x1 , y1 , z1 , b  x2 , y2 , z2 and c  x3 , y3 , z3 ,
then
x1 y1 z1
a  b  c   x2 y2 z2
x3 y3 z3

Note: a  b  c   a  b   c

Example:
If a = 3i + 4j - k, b = -6j+5k and c = i+j-k,
evaluate

(a) a  b  c  (b) a  b   c

(c) c  a   b (d) b  a  c 
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 Vectors

LINES IN SPACE

In this section we use vectors to study lines in

three-dimensional space.
.

HOW LINES CAN BE DEFINED USING

VECTORS?

The most convenient way to describe a line in

space is to give a point on it and a nonzero vector
parallel to it.

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 Vectors

Suppose L is a straight line that passes through

P ( x0 , y0 , z 0 ) and is parallel to the vector
v  ai  bj  ck .

Thus, a point Q ( x, y , z ) also lies on the line if


PQ  t v .

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 Vectors

Say r0  OP and r  OQ

 PQ  r  r0

r  r0  tv

r  r0  tv

 x, y, z  x0 , y0 , z 0  t  a, b, c 

Theorem (Parametric Equations for a Line)

The line through the point P( x0 , y 0 , z 0 ) and

parallel to the nonzero vector A  a, b, c has the
parametric equations

x  x0  at , y  y 0  bt , z  z 0  ct , (1)

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 Vectors

If we let R 0  x0 , y 0 , z 0 denote the position

vector of P( x0 , y 0 , z 0 ) and R  x, y, z the
position vector of the arbitrary point Q(x,y,z) on
the line, then we write equation (1) in the vector
form
R  R 0  tA

Example:
Give the parametric equations for the line
through the point (6,4,3) and parallel to the
vector 2,0,7 .

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 Vectors

Theorem (Symmetric Equations for a line)

The line through the point P( x0 , y 0 , z 0 ) and

parallel to the nonzero vector A  a, b, c has
the symmetrical equations

x  x0 y  y 0 z  z 0
 
a b c

Example:
Given that the symmetrical equations of a line in
2x  1 3  y z  4
space is   , find
3 4 2
(a) a point on the line.
(b) a vector that is parallel to the line.

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 Vectors

ANGLE BETWEEN TWO LINES

Consider two straight lines

x  x1 y  y1 z  z1
l1 :  
a b c
and
x  x2 y  y 2 z  z 2
l2 :  
d e f
The line l1 parallel to the vector u  ai  bj  ck
and the line l 2 parallel to the vector
v  di  ej  fk . Since the lines l1 and l 2 are
parallel to the vectors u and v respectively, then
the angle,  between the two lines is given by

uv
cos  
uv

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 Vectors

Example:
Find an acute angle between line
l1 = i + 2j + t(2i – j + 2k)
and line
l 2 = 2i – j + k + s(3i – 6j + 2k).

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 Vectors

INTERSECTION OF TWO LINES

In three dimensional coordinates (space), two

line can be in one of the three cases as shown
below

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Example:

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 Vectors

SHORTEST DISTANCE

a) Distance From A Point To A Line


d  PQ sin 

where  is the angle between v and vector


PQ .

since
 
v  PQ  v PQ sin  ,

we have the shortest distance of Q from L

as

v  PQ
d
v

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 Vectors

Example:
Find the shortest path from the point Q(2, 0, -2)
to the line
x  2 y 1 z 1
l :  
3 1 2

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 Vectors

PLANES IN SPACES

Suppose that  is a plane. Point P ( x0 , y0 , z 0 )

and Q ( x, y , z ) lie on it. If N  ai  bj  ck is a
non-null vector perpendicular (ortoghonal) to  ,
then N is perpendicular to PQ .

Thus, PQ  N  0
 x  x0 , y  y0 , z  z 0    a, b, c  0
a ( x  x0 )  b( y  y 0 )  c ( z  z 0 )  0

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 Vectors

Conclusion:
The equation of a plane can be determined if a
point on the plane and a vector orthogonal to the
plane are known.

Theorem (Equation of a Plane)

The plane through the point P( x0 , y 0 , z 0 ) and

with the nonzero normal vector N  a, b, c has
the equation

Point-normal form:
a  x  x 0   b y  y 0   c  z  z 0   0

Standard form:
ax  by  cy  d with d  ax0  by 0  cz 0

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 Vectors

Example:

1. Give an equation for the plane through the

point (2, 3, 4) and perpendicular to the vector
 6,5,4 .

2. Give an equation for the plane through the

point (4, 5, 1) and parallel to the vectors
A=  2,0,1 and B  0,1,4 .

3. Give parametric equations for the line through

the point (5, -3, 2) and perpendicular to the
plane 6 x  2 y  7 z  5.

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INTERSECTION OF TWO PLANES

Intersection of two planes is a line. (L)

To obtain the equation of the intersecting line,

we need
1) a point on the line L which is given by
solving the equations of the two planes.
2) a vector parallel to the line L which is
N1  N 2

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 Vectors

If N1  N 2  a, b, c  , then the equation of the

line L in symmetrical form is
x  x0 y  y 0 z  z 0
 
a b c

Example:

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 Vectors

ANGLE BETWEEN TWO PLANES

Properties of two planes

(a) An angle between the crossing planes is an
angle between their normal vectors.
N1  N 2
cos 
N1 N 2
(b) Two planes are parallel if and only if their
normal vectors are parallel, N1  N 2
(c) Two planes are orthogonal if and only if
N1  N 2  0 .

Example:
Find the angle between plane 3 x  4 y  0 and
plane 2 x  y  2 z  5.

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 Vectors

ANGLE BETWEEN A LINE AND A

PLANE

Let  be the angle between the normal vector N to a

plane  and the line L. Then we have
vN
cos 
vN

where v is vector parallel to L. Furthermore, if the

angle between the line L and the plane  , then
 
      
2 2

 
sin   sin      cos 
2 

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 Vectors

vN
sin  
vN

Example:
Find the angle between the plane 3x  2 y  z  5
x3 y 2 z 3
and the line 2   1  3 .

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 Vectors

SHORTEST DISTANCE FROM A

POINT TO A PLANE

(a) From a Point To a Plane

Theorem
The distance D between a point Q ( x 1 , y 1 , z 1 )
and the plane ax  by  cz  d is

N  PQ ax1  by1  cz1  d

D 
N a2  b2  c2

Where P( x0 , y 0 , z 0 ) is any point on the plane.

N
Q ( x1 , y 1 , z 1 )



D  D


P( x0 , y 0 , z 0 )
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 Vectors

Example
Find the distance D between the point (1, -4, -3)
and the plane 2 x  3 y  6 z  1

Example
(a) Show that the line
x 1 y z 1
 
3 2 1
is parallel to the plane 3x  2 y  z  1 .
(b) Find the distance from the line to the plane
in part (a)

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(b) Between two parallel planes

The distance between two parallel planes

ax  by  cz  d1 and ax  by  cz  d 2 is given by

d1  d 2
D
a2  b2  c2

Example
Find the distance between two parallel planes
x  2 y  2 z  3 and 2 x  4 y  4 z  7 .

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 Vectors

(c) Between two skewed lines

Remark:
Both formula can also be used to compute the
distance between 2 skewed lines.

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Example:

1. Find the shortest distance from P(1, -1, 2) to

the plane 3x – 7y + z = 5.

2. Find the shortest distance between the skewed

lines.
l1 : x = 1+2t, y = -1+ t , z = 2 + 4t

l2 : x = -2+4s, y = -3s , z = -1+s

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