VECTORS
INTRODUCTION
Scalars: Scalars are quantities that can be completely specified by magnitude (size) and a unit.
Examples of scalar quantities: Speed, time, density, energy, area, temperature,
length, etc
Vectors: Some physical quantities need to be expressed more definitely by specifying magnitude
and direction. Vector quantities have both magnitude and direction.
Examples of vector quantities: Force, displacement, velocity, momentum, impulse,
etc
VECTOR NOTATION
AB AB Vector AB whose dircetion is from A to B
BA AB Vector BA whose dircetion is from B to A
A Vector A
a Vector a
In print vectors may be indicated by boldface such as:
AB Vector AB. Direction from A to B
A Vector A
a Vector a
ADDITION OF VECTORS (CONCURRENT, COPLANAR VECTORS)
Vectors may be added using the following methods:
Graphical (placing the vectors nose-to-tail) using
- parallelogram of forces
- triangle & polygon of forces
Analytical
- Component method
- Sine & cosine rules
Y r 2 x2 y2 Pythagoras' Th m
y
Tan 1 inclination to the x axis
r x
y
x rCos and y rSin
X
0 x
Horizontal & vertical components
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UNIT VECTORS ( i, j and k OR iˆ, ˆj and kˆ )
Components in perpendicular directions can be expressed more simply if we use the symbols
iˆ, ˆj and kˆ where:
iˆ unit vector of magnitude one along 0X
ĵ unit vector of magnitude one along 0Y
k̂ unit vector of magnitude one along 0Z
VECTORS IN TWO DIMENSIONS
Y Vector F can be written as:
F ( F , ) Polar coordinates
b
F F ( a, b ) Rectangular Coordinates
ĵ
a X a
0
iˆ F Column vector form
b
Or F aiˆ bˆj In terms of unit vectors
where F F a 2 b 2 magnitude of vector F
VECTORS IN THREE DIMENSIONS
The axes x, y and z below are mutually perpendicular.
Z Vector r can also be written as:
a
c r b
c
(a, b, c)
r
Y
d b Or r aiˆ bˆj ckˆ
a
r d 2 c2
X
a 2 b 2 c 2 sin ce d 2 a 2 b 2
ADDITION OF VECTORS (IN TERMS OF UNIT VECTORS)
If F 1 a1i a2 j a3k and F 2 b1i b2 j b3k
then F 1 F 2 (a1i a2 j a3 ) (b1i b2 j b3k )
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F 1 F 2 ( a1 b1 )i ( a2 b2 ) j ( a3 b3 ) k
and F 1 F 2 ( a1 b1 )i ( a2 b2 ) j ( a3 b3 ) k
Example 1 Given that F 1 4i 3 j k and F 2 i 2 j 3k , find:
(a) F1 F 2 (b) F1 F 2 (c) F1 F 2
Solution
(a) F 1 F 2 (4i 3 j k ) (i 2 j 3k ) 5i j 4 j
(b) F 1 F 2 (4i 3 j k ) (i 2 j 3k ) 3i 5 j 2 j
(c) F 1 F 2 32 52 22 38 6.16 units
UNIT VECTOR (along vector F denoted by F̂ )
Vector
Unit vector
Magnitude of the vector
ai bj
For F ai bj , Fˆ
a2 b2
ai bj ck
For F ai bj ck , Fˆ
a2 b2 c2
Where Fˆ unit vector along vector F
6i
Examples 6i : Unit vector i
6
10k
10k : Unit vector k
10
F 1 4i 3 j and F 2 16i 12 j have the same unit vector
12 (16, 12) Vectors F 1 & F 2 are parallel
4i 3 j 1
8 F1 4i 3 j
2
4 3 2 5
16i 12 j 4
4 F2 4i 3 j
(3, 4) 16 2 12 2 20
1
4i 3 j
4 8 12 16 5
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Parallel vectors have the same unit vector
Example 2 If v , of magnitude 26 units, is in the direction of the vector 5i 12 j , calculate
v.
Solution
Let d 5i 12 j
5i 12 j 1
dˆ 5i 12 j direction vector
52 122 13
v
vˆ
v
v vˆ v
1
dˆ v 5i 12 j 26
13
10i 24 j
Example 3 A particle whose speed is 50 ms-1 moves along the vector AB from A(2, 1) to
B(9, 25). Find its velocity vector.
Solution
AB OB OA Or AB OA OB
(9i 25 j ) (2i j ) 7i 24 j
30
AB 1
ABˆ 7i 24 j
AB 25 25 B
direction vector 20
v v ABˆ
15
1
50 7i 24 j 10
25
5
14i 48 j ms 1
A
0 4 8
1 2 3 5 6 7 9 10
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SCALAR PRODUCT OF VECTORS
The scalar product of two vectors A and B (also known as the dot product) is defined as:
B
A B A B Cos
A B ABCos
A
0
Where is the angle between the two vectors.
If A a1i a 2 j a 3 k and B b1i b2 j b3 k
Then A B (a1i a 2 j a 3 k ) (b1i b2 j b3 k )
a1i b1i a1i b2 j a1i b3k
a2 j b1i a2 j b2 j a2 j b3k
a3k b1i a3k b2 j a3i b3k
a1b1i i a1b2i j a1b3i k
a2b1 j i a2b2 j j a2b3 j k
a3b1k i a3b2 k j a3b3k k
But i j i k j k (1)(1)Cos90o 0
and i i j j k k (1)(1)Cos 0o 1
A B a1 b1 a 2 b 2 a 3 b3
DIRECTION COSINES
The direction cosines of a vector in three dimensions are determined by the angles which the
vector makes with the three axes of reference.
Z
Let OP ai bj ck
a
P
Then Cos a rCos
r r
b
Y
Cos b rCos
O r
c
X Cos c rCos
r
Also a2 b2 c2 r2
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i.e. r 2Cos 2 r 2Cos 2 r 2Cos 2 r 2
Cos 2 Cos 2 Cos 2 1
If l Cos , m Cos , n Cos
then l 2 m2 n 2 1
where l , m and n are direction cosines for the axes x, y and z respectively.
Therefore for r ai bj ck
l a/r, m b/r , nc/r
and r a2 b2 c2
Example 4 Find the direction cosines of the vector r 3i 2 j 6k
Solution
r a 2 b 2 c 2 32 ( 2) 2 6 2 49 7
3 2 6
l , m , n
7 7 7
THE ANGLE BETWEEN 2 VECTORS
F 1 F 2 F 1 F 2 Cos
F1 F 2
Cos where = angle between F1 & F 2 .
F1 F 2
Example 5 Find the angle between F 1 4i 3 j k and F 2 i 2 j 3k in example 1.
Solution
F 1 F 2 (4)(1) (3)(2) (1)(3) 4 6 3 5
F 1 4 2 32 (1) 2 26
F 2 12 (2) 2 32 14
5
Cos 0.2621
26 14
Cos 1 (0.2621) 105.2o
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Work Done (Application of the scalar product)
The amount of work done is the product of the applied force and the distance in the direction of
the applied force
If a point A moves to B, through d, by
d applying a force F at AB
then work done W Fx
F B
W FdCos
A
x W F d
Example 6
Find the work done by a force F Newtons acting at a point A on a body, when A is displaced to
B, the coordinates A and B being (3, 1, -3) and (4, -1, 0) metres respectively and when
F i 2 j k Newtons.
Solution
d AB OB OA
(4i j ) (3i j 2k )
i 2 j 2k
Work done, W F d
= (-1)(1) + (-2)(-2) + (-1)(2)
= 1 J (Nm)
Evaluation Exercise 4.1
1. Points A, B and C have position vectors 4i 2 j 0k , 2i j 0k and 5i 3 j 0k
respectively. Show that triangle ABC is right-angled.
2. Find the direction cosines of the vectors whose direction ratios are (3, 4, 5) and (1, 2,
-3). Hence find the acute angle between the vectors.
1 1
50 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 85o5'
14
3. Find the modulii and direction cosines of the vectors 3i 7 j 4k , i 5 j 8k and
6i 2 j 12k .
1
Moduli : 74 , 3 10 , 2 46 , Direction Co sin es : 3, 7, 4
74
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4. If OA 4i 3 j , OB 6i 2 j , OC 2i j , find AB, BC and CA and deduce
the lengths of the sides of the triangle ABC.
2i 5 j, 4i j , 2i 4 j , AB 29 , BC 17 , CA 20
5. The centroid of the triangle ABC is denoted by G. If O is the origin and
OA 4i 3 j and OB 6i j , find OG in terms of the unit vectors i and j .
1
OG 3 10i 2 j
6. Given the points A(1, -1, 2), B(-1, 2, 2) and C(4, 3, 0), find the direction cosines of
BA and BC , and hence show that the angle ABC 69o14' .
2 3 1
13 , , 0; 5, 1, 2
13 30
7. Find the work done by a constant force F Newton acting on a body at a point A,
when A is displaced to point B, in metres:
(a) F i 2 j k , A(2, 0, 0), B(1, 2, 3) 2 J
(b) F 4i 5 j , A(2, 1, - 3), B(4, 4, 1) 7 J
(c) Comment on the answer in (b)
8. A body of mass 3 kg is acted upon by two forces F1 3i j 4k and
F 2 2i 3 j 2k respectively. Find:
(a) the acceleration of the body
1 o
(b) the angle between the two forces 3 5i 4 j 2k , 87.3
9. A force of F = -4i +6j + 2k Newtons displaces a body from A(5, 3, 2) metres to B(6,
5, -1) metres.
(a) Find the acute angle between the force and the displacement.
(b) Find the work done by the force
x 1 3
10. Find the coordinates of the point where the line y 2 1 meets the plane
z 1 4
x 2 y 3 z 26 .
11. At noon, two boats P and Q at points where position vectors are 4i 8 j and 4i 3 j
respectively. Both vectors are moving with constant velocity. The velocity of P is 4i j
and the velocity of Q is 2i 5 j (all distances are in kilometres and time is in hours).
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Find the position vector of P and Q , and PQ between the boats in terms of time t .
Show that the least distance between the boats is 5 km.
Additional Problems
12. A man can row a boat at 5 km/h in still water. He wishes row North when the current is
running in a direction due East at 2 km/h. In which direction should he point the boat?
23.58
o
13. An aircraft is capable of flying at 500 km/h. It is required to fly 300 km SW when the
wind is blowing at 60 km/h from due West. In what direction should the pilot set course?
S 49.87 W
o
14. Find the value of b such that the vectors p 2i j 2k and q i bj k are
orthogonal. Find the angle between q and the vector v 3i j k .
b 0 & 64.79 o
15. A ship A is sailing South at 18 km/h and another ship B is sailing NE at 22 km/h. An
observer on ship A first sees B when it is at a distance 12 km due South. Find the
velocity of A relative to B. How close are they when they pass each other and how long is
this after the first sighting?
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VECTOR PRODUCT OF VECTORS
The vector product of two vectors A and B (also known as the cross product) is A B
(pronounced as “ A cross B ”) and is defined as a vector a vector having magnitude ABSin ,
where is the angle between the two given vectors. The product vector acts in a direction
perpendicular to A and B in such a sense that A , B and A B form a right-handed set
in that order
A B
A
A B A B Sin
A B ABSin
B
0
Note that B A reverses the direction of rotation
and the product vector would now sct downward,
i.e. B A
B A B A
If A a1i a 2 j a 3 k and B b1i b2 j b3 k
Then A B (a1i a 2 j a 3 k ) (b1i b2 j b3 k )
a1i b1i a1i b2 j a1i b3 k
a 2 j b1i a 2 j b2 j a 2 j b3 k
a 3 k b1i a 3 k b 2 j a 3 i b3 k
a1b1i i a1b2 i j a1b3 i k
a 2 b1 j i a 2 b2 j j a 2 b3 j k
a 3 b1 k i a 3 b2 k j a 3 b3 k k
But i i j j k k (1)(1) Sin0 o 0 (i)
and i j k
jk i (ii)
k i j
Therefore
i j ( j i )
j k ( k j ) since the sense of rotation is reversed.
k i (i k )
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The vector products of the unit vectors above can easily be remembered by using the circle
below:
k
Examples
i j k j is equal to the next letter i.e. k . The result is ve because
( i cross
movement is in the ve direction)
k j i j is equal to the next letter i.e. i . The result is ve because
( k cross
movement is in the ve direction)
A B a1 b1 0 a1 b 2 k a1 b3 ( j ) 3
a 2 b1 ( k ) a 2 b 2 0 a 2 b 3 i
a3b1 j a3b2(i) a3b30
( a 2 b3 a 3 b1 )i ( a 3 b1 a1 b3 ) j ( a 1 b 2 a 2 b1 ) k
We could rearrange the middle term a little as follows:
A B ( a 2 b3 a 3 b1 )i ( a1 b3 a 3 b1 ) j ( a1 b 2 a 2 b1 ) k
This pattern can be recognised as the expansion of a determinant’
If A a1i a 2 j a 3 k and B b1i b2 j b3 k
i j k
then A B a1 a2 a 4 (a 2 b3 a 3 b1 )i (a1b3 a 3 b1 ) j (a1b2 a 2 b1 )k
b1 b2 b4
This is the easiest way to determine the vector product of two vectors where:
(i) the top row consists of the unit vectors in order i, j , k
(ii) the second row consists of the coefficients of A
(iii) the third row consists of the coefficients of B
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Example 6
Find the vector product of A 4i 3 j k and B i 2 j 3k
Solution
i j k
3 1 4 1 4 3
A B 4 3 1 i j k
2 3 1 3 1 2
1 2 3
(3)(3) (2)(1)i (4)(3) (1)(1) j (4)(2) (1)(3)k
7i 13 j 11k
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