Vectors

Mathematics 1
Level 4

University of Wales Newport 2009 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.

The following presentation is on the basis of Vectors one part for level 4 Mathematics. This resources is a part of the
2009/2010 Engineering (foundation degree, BEng and HN) courses from University of Wales Newport (course codes
H101, H691, H620, HH37 and 001H). This resource is a part of the core modules for the full time 1 st year
undergraduate programme.
The BEng & Foundation Degrees and HNC/D in Engineering are designed to meet the needs of employers by placing
the emphasis on the theoretical, practical and vocational aspects of engineering within the workplace and beyond.
Engineering is becoming more high profile, and therefore more in demand as a skill set, in todays high-tech world. This
course has been designed to provide you with knowledge, skills and practical experience encountered in everyday
engineering environments.
Contents
Introduction
Vector Addition and Resolution
Vector Subtraction
The Unit Triad
The Scalar Product of Two Vectors
The Vector Product of Two Vectors
Credits
In addition to the resource below, there are supporting documents which should be used in combination with this
resource. Please see:
KA Stroud & DJ Booth, Engineering Mathematics, 8 th Editon, Palgrave 2008.
http://www.mathcentre.ac.uk/
Derive 6

Vectors

Introduction
Definitions of Vectors and Scalars
Physical quantities can be classified under two main
headings -- Vectors and Scalars.
A vector quantity is any quantity that has both
magnitude (size) and direction.
E.g., velocity, acceleration, force, momentum.
A scalar quantity is any quantity that has magnitude only,
while direction is not taken into account.
E.g., speed, pressure, temperature, energy.

Vectors

Vector Addition and Resolution

Vectors are represented by lines with arrow. The length
of the line indicates the magnitude of the vector, and the
direction of the line indicates the vector's direction. An
arrow is used to denote the sense of the vector, i.e. for a
horizontal vector, say, whether it acts from left to right
or vice versa. The arrow is positioned at the end of the
vector and its position is called the nose of the vector.
A vector of 20kN
acting at an angle of
45 to the horizontal
may be depicted by:
oa = 20kN at 45 to
the horizontal

a
20kN

Vectors

45
4

To distinguish between vector and scalar quantities,

different conventions are used. The one these notes will
adopt is to denote vector quantities in bold print. (Note in
these presentations they will also be in blue while the
scalar will be in plain text and red the colour will not
help with the copied notes).
Thus oa represents the vector quantity but oa is the
magnitude of vector oa. Also the convention is that
positive angles will be measured in an anticlockwise
direction from the horizontal right facing line and
negative angles clockwise from this line.
Thus 90 is a line vertically upwards and -90 is a line
vertically downwards
Vectors

F1

Let us say we want to add two

vectors together, say F1 at angle
1 and F2 at angle 2 as shown.

The resultant can be obtained by

drawing oa to represent F1 and
then drawing ar to represent F2.
The resultant of F1 and F2 is given
by or. This is called the nose-totail method of vector addition.

Vectors

F1 a

F2

F2
r

Alternatively, by drawing lines

parallel to F1 and F2 from the
noses of F2 and F1 respectively,
and letting the intersection of
these lines be R, gives OR as the
magnitude and direction of the
resultant of adding F1 and F2. This
is called the parallelogram method
of vector addition.

F1
R
O
F2

These two methods are graphical and rely on the

accuracy of the drawing of the lines. There is a purely
mathematical method for adding these vectors and it is
shown on the next slide.
Vectors

A vector can be resolved into two component parts such

that the two new vectors are equal to the original vector.
The two components are normally a horizontal component
and a vertical component.
a
F sin

Consider the vector F.

o

F cos

If we need to sum a number of vectors then if each is

resolved into two directions then the resultant vertical
and horizontal components can then be conventionally
summed as they are in the same direction.
Vectors

Vectors F1 and F2 are to be summed.

F2

F2 sin2

F1

F1 sin1
2

The two horizontal

vectors sum to give:

F2 cos2

F1 cos1

H = F1 cos1 + F2 cos2
The two vertical vectors
sum to give:
V = F1 sin1 + F2 sin2

Once we have the two resultant vectors V and H we can

determine the single resultant by using Pythagoras and
trig: Magnitude of the resultant
R H2 V 2
Angle to the horizontal is given by

V
tan
H
1

Note
Resolving the vectors may result in vertical and
horizontal components which are either up or down (for
the vertical) or to the left or right (for the horizontal).
To the right and up are taken as the positive direction
and to the left and down as negative. If the angle is
measured anticlockwise from the axis to the right then
modern calculators will automatically generate the
correct sign.
The angle that would be
used is 120
10N

V = 10 sin 120 = 8.66

H = 10 cos 120 = -5

60
Vectors

10

Vector Subtraction
It must be remembered that the subtraction F1 F2 can
be thought of as F1 + (-F2).
So how do we find the negative of a vector?
In the diagram F is
represented by oa.
The vector oa can be
obtained by drawing a
vector from o in the
opposite sense to have
the same magnitude,
shown as ob. ob = -oa

o
-F
b
Vectors

Note
-F is the same as F
but with an angle
11
increase of 180

For two vectors acting at a

point the resulting vector
addition is os = oa + ob
If we now want ob + (-oa)
or ob oa then we will
have od = ob - oa

-a

Comparing od with the first diagram, it is the same as the

line ab. Therefore when we complete the parallelogram
the two diagonals give us the sum and the difference
vectors.
Vectors

12

Example
1.

Vector F1 has magnitude 8, with direction =30;

vector F2 has magnitude 12, with direction =60.
Use (1) vector diagram, (2) vector resolution
to get the resultant force F=F1+F2

2.

Vector F1 has magnitude 6, with direction =120;

vector F2 has magnitude 10, with direction =-30.
Use (1) vector diagram, (2) vector resolution
to get the resultant force F=F1+F2

3.

Vector F1 has magnitude 9, with direction =240;

vector F2 has magnitude 18, with direction =-60.
Use (1) vector diagram, (2) vector resolution
to get the resultant force F=F1+F2

13

The Unit Triad.

When a vector x of magnitude x and direction is
divided by the magnitude of the vector the result is a
vector of unit length at an angle . The unit vector of a
velocity 10 m/s at 50 is 10 m/s at 50
10 m/s

i .e . 1 at 50

In general the unit vector for oa is: oa/|oa|

oa being a vector with both magnitude and direction and
|oa| being the magnitude of the vector only.

Vectors

14

One method of completely specifying the direction of a

vector in space relative to some reference point is to use
three unit vectors mutually at right angles to each other.
z

k
i o

This is called a unit triad.

The next slide shows how this is used to specify a three

dimensional vector.

Vectors

15

In the diagram below one way of getting from o to r is to

move x units in the i direction, to a point a, y units in the
j direction to get to b and z units in the k direction to
get to r.
The vector or is specified
as: xi + yj + zk

r
k
x
a

o
i
y

x r cos sin
y r cos cos
z r sin

Vectors

16

Example
1.

A spatial vector r has magnitude of 10 at direction

=60 and =30.
Re-write the vector in the form of xi + yj + zk.

2.

A spatial vector r has magnitude of 8 at direction

=120 and =-30.
Re-write the vector in the form of xi + yj + zk.

3.

A spatial vector r has magnitude of 12 at direction

=240 and =-60.
Re-write the vector in the form of xi + yj + zk.

Vectors

17

The Scalar Product of Two Vectors

When a vector oa is multiplied by a scalar quantity k, the
magnitude of the resultant vector will be k times the
magnitude of oa and its direction will remain the same.
Thus 2 x 5N at 20 results in a vector 10N at 20.
One of the products of two vector quantities is called the
scalar or dot product of the two vectors and is defined as
the product of their magnitudes multiplied by the cosine
of the angle between them The scalar product of oa and
ob is shown as oa ob. For vectors oa = oa at 1, and
ob = ob at 2, where 2> 1, the scalar product is:
oa ob = oa ob cos(2 - 1)
Vectors

18

For the vectors v1 and v2

shown, the scalar product is
v1 v2 = v1 v2 cos
The cumulative law of
algebra, a x b = b x a, applies
to the scalar product.

v2

v1

If v1 is oa and v2 is ob then this is shown below:

b v
2

v2 cos

v1

By geometry it can be seen that the

projection of ob on oa is v2 cos. But
we know that:
v1 v2 = v1 v2 cos = v1 (v2 cos)

v1 v2 = v1 times the projection of v2 on v19

1

Similarly:

b v
2

v1 cos
o

v1

By geometry it can be seen that the

projection of oa on ob is v1 cos. But
we know that:
v1 v2 = v1 v2 cos = v2 (v1 cos)

v1 v2 = v2 times the projection of v1 on v2

This shows that the scalar product of two vectors is the
product of the magnitude of one vector and the
magnitude of the projection of the other vector on it.
The angle between the two vectors can be expressed in
terms of the vector constants as follows:
a b
Because a b ab cos then cos
ab
Vectors

20

Three dimensional space:

Let a = a1i + a2j + a3k and b = b1i + b2j + b3k
ab = (a1i + a2j + a3k) (b1i + b2j + b3k)
ab = a1b1ii + a1b2ij + a1b3ik + a2b1ji + a2b2jj +
a2b3jk + a3b1ki + a3b2kj + a3b3kk
The unit vectors i, j and k have length 1 and are at 90
to each other and so any unit vector when scalar
product combined with itself will give:
ii = 1 x 1 x cos 0 = 1
Whilst any unit vector when scalar product combined
with a different one will give: ij = 1 x 1 x cos 90 = 0
Therefore

ab = a1b1 + a2b2 + a3b3

Vectors

21

Three dimensional space:

From the diagram the length of OP

in terms of the side lengths can be
determined as follows:
OP2 = OB2 + BP2 and OB2 = OA2 + AB2

Thus OP2 = OA2 + AB2 + BP2

a

A
b

OP2 = a2 + b2 + c2

OP a2 b2 c2

For our two vectors: a a12 a22 a32 and b b12 b22 b32

a b
cos

Using,
ab

a1b1 a2b2 a3b3

a12 a22 a32 b12 b22 b32
Vectors

22

Example
1. For a = 2i - 3j + 4k, b = 5i + 2j + 6k,
find a b and cos .
2. For a = -5i + 3j -6 k, b = 2i - 2j + 3k,
find a b and cos .
3. For a = 7i - j + 3k, b = i + 3j - 4k,
find a b and cos .
4. For a = 2i + 3j + 5k, b = 4i + 2j - 3k,
find a b and cos .
Vectors

23

The Vector Product of Two Vectors

The second product of two vectors is called the vector
product or cross product and is defined in terms of its
modulus and the magnitudes of the two vectors and the
sine of the angle between them. The vector product of
vectors oa and ob is written as oa x ob and is defined by:
|oa x ob| = oa ob sin, where is the angle between the
two vectors. The direction of oa x ob is perpendicular to
both oa and ob as shown:
b

oa x ob

ob x oa
a
Vectors

24

The direction is obtained by considering that a right

handed screw is screwed along oa x ob with its head at
the origin and if the direction of oa x ob is correct, the
head should rotate from oa to ob (left hand diagram
previous slide). If the vector product is reversed then
the direction of ob x oa is reversed (right hand diagram).
This oa x ob ob x oa. The magnitudes are the same (oa
ob sin) but their directions are 180 displaced i.e.
oa x ob = - ob x oa

Vectors

25

Three dimensional space:

Once again let a = a1i + a2j + a3k and b = b1i + b2j + b3k
axb = (a1i + a2j + a3k) x (b1i + b2j + b3k)
axb = a1b1ixi + a1b2ixj + a1b3ixk + a2b1jxi + a2b2jxj +
a2b3jxk + a3b1kxi + a3b2kxj + a3b3kxk
The unit vectors i, j and k have length 1 and are at 90
to each other and so any unit vector when vector
product combined with itself will give:
ixi = 1 x 1 x sin 0 = 0
Whilst any unit vector when vector product combined
with a different one will give: ixj = 1 x 1 x sin 90 = 1
Vectors

26

Three dimensional space:

The direction will be the same as the thirds
unit vector:
i x j=k
j x i = -k
j x k = i
k x j = -i
k x i = j
i x k = -j

Therefore
axb = a1b2k - a1b3j - a2b1k + a2b3i + a3b1j - a3b2i
axb = (a2b3 - a3b2)i + (a3b1 - a1b3)j + (a1b2 - a2b1)k
The magnitude of the vector product of two vectors can
be found by expressing it in scalar product form and then
using the relationship ab = a1b1 + a2b2 + a3b3
Vectors

27

Express the cross-product of two vectors in a

determinant form

i
a b a1
b1

j
a2
b2

Vectors

k
a3
b3

28

Three dimensional space:

Squaring both sides of the vector product equation gives:
|a x b| = a b sin so

(|a x b|)2 = a2 b2 sin2

sin2 + cos2 = 1
So

so

sin2 = 1 - cos2

(|a x b|)2 = a2 b2 (1 - cos2)

(|a x b|)2 = a2 b2 - a2 b2 cos2

But we know that

ab = a b cos
a b
And cos ab

therefore

aa = a2 cos0 = a2

square this then multiply by a2b2

b
2
a2b2cos2 a2b2 2 2 a b

ab

Vectors

29

Three dimensional space:

Using (|a x b|)2 = a2 b2 - a2 b2 cos2
And substituting in gives us
(|a x b|)2 = (a a)(b b) (a b)2

a b (a a)(b b) (a b) 2
Example for the vectors:
a = i + 4j 2k

and

b = 2i j + 3k

Determine a x b and |a x b|

Vectors

30

Example
1. For a = 2i - 3j + 4k, b = 5i + 2j + 6k,
find a b and a b .
2. For a = -5i + 3j -6 k, b = 2i - 2j + 3k,
find a b and a b .
3. For a = 7i - j + 3k, b = i + 3j - 4k,
find a b and a b .
4. For a = 2i + 3j + 5k, b = 4i + 2j - 3k,
find a b and a b .
Vectors

31

This resource was created by the University of Wales Newport and released as an open educational resource
through the Open Engineering Resources project of the HE Academy Engineering Subject Centre. The Open
Engineering Resources project was funded by HEFCE and part of the JISC/HE Academy UKOER programme.

2009 University of Wales Newport

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.

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Vectors

32