MATH 2023 • Spring 2015-16 • Multivariable Calculus
Problem Set #0 • Dot and Cross Products (Review)
1. (F) Given three points in R3 :
A(1, 2, 3), B(4, 0, 5) and C ( x, 6, 4)
Determine the number of possible value(s) of x such that the triangle ABC has a right
angle.
2. (FF) Let u = 2i + j − 2k, v = i + 2j + 2k and w = u × v. [Typo in previous version]
(a) Show that u, v and w are mutually orthogonal (i.e. u ⊥ v, v ⊥ w and w ⊥ u).
(b) Given any vector r = xi + yj + zk in R3 , show that:
r·u r·v r·w
r= 2
u+ 2
v+ w.
|u| |v| | w |2
[Hint: You may use the fact that since u, v and w are mutually orthogonal and
non-zero, the vector r can be expressed as a linear combination of u, v and w, i.e.
r = au + bv + cw.
Solve for the scalars a, b and c.]
(c) Express the vector i as a linear combination of u, v and w.
3. (F) The figure below shows two vectors a and b which span a parallelogram. The vectors
in blue and red represent the two diagonals of the parallelogram.
(a) Express the red and the blue vectors in terms of a and b.
(b) By considering the dot product, show that: |a| = |b| if and only if the diagonals of
the parallelogram are orthogonal to each other.
4. (F) Let u = xi + yj + zk be a variable unit vector in R3 and v = i + 2j + 3k.
(a) Find x, y and z such that u · v is the maximum possible. Explain your answer.
(b) Find x, y and z such that |u × v| is the maximum possible. Explain your answer.
5. (FF) Given two vectors a and b in R3 , prove the following:
(a) Cauchy-Schwarz’s Inequality: |a · b| ≤ |a| |b|
(b) Triangle Inequality: |a + b| ≤ |a| + |b|
(c) If a and b are orthogonal, show that |a + b|2 = |a|2 + |b|2 .
6. (F) Let A, B and C be the points ( a, 0, 0), (0, b, 0) and (0, 0, c) respectively in the three
dimensional space, and O be the origin (0, 0, 0). Denote [ ABC ] the area of the triangle
with vertices A, B and C (analogously for [OAB], [OBC ], etc.). Show that:
[ ABC ]2 = [OAB]2 + [OBC ]2 + [OCA]2 .
With the help of a diagram, explain why this result can be regarded as the three-dimensional
analogue of the Pythagoreas’ Theorem.
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MATH 2023 Dot and Cross Products (Review) Problem Set #0
7. (FF) Given three non-zero vectors u, v and w in R3 , provide a geometric explanation to
each of the following facts:
(a) u × u = 0
(b) (u × v) · u = (u × v) · v = 0
(c) (u × v) × w is a vector on the plane spanned by u and v.
−→
8. (FFF) The diagram below shows a circle with radius r centered at O. Let a = OA,
−→ −→
b = OB and c = OC. The purpose of the problem is to use dot products to show that
the angle at the center of a circle is twice the corresponding angle at the circumference.
Precisely, with the notations in the diagram below, we want to show ∠ BOA = 2∠ BCA.
We will prove this by showing ϕ1 = 2θ1 , and ϕ2 = 2θ2 can be proved in a similar way.
Follow the steps structured below:
θ1
c θ2
O
b ϕ1
ϕ2 a
−c
B
A
b·c
(a) Show that cos ϕ1 = − . Recall that r is the radius of the circle.
r2
r2 − b · c
(b) Show that cos θ1 = .
|b − c| |c|
(c) Showing that |b − c|2 = 2(r2 − b · c).
r2 − b · c
(d) Using the result proved in the previous parts, show that cos2 θ1 = .
2r2
(e) Finally, find a relation between cos2 θ1 and cos ϕ1 , and conclude that ϕ1 = 2θ1 .
[Hint: Double angle formula for cos.]
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