Ministry of Higher Education
Higher Technological Institute
Department of Basic Sciences
Mathematics (3)
MTH 101
For
Engineering Students
(Oct. 2023 / Jan. 2024)
By
Dr. Mohamed A. Essawy, (Ph.D)
(Applied Mathematics)
Lecture Two
Lines In The Space
Continued...
Symmetric form for a line
➢ Another way of describing a line L is to eliminate the
parameter t from its parametric equations.
➢ If non of a, b, or c is 0, we can solve each
of the parametric equations for t, equate the results,
and obtain the following equations.
x − x0 y − y0 z − z0
= =
a b c
➢ These equations are called symmetric equations of L.
➢ Notice that the numbers a, b, and c that appear in the
denominators are direction numbers of L. That is, they are
components of a vector parallel to L.
Example (4)
a. Find the parametric and symmetric equations for the line L that passes
through the points A(2,4,-3) and B(3,-1,1) .
b. At what point does this line intersect the xy-plane?
Solution uuur
(a) The vector v which corresponds to AB is given by:
v = 3 − 2, −1 − 4,1 − −3 = (1, −5,4)
➢ Taking the point A(2, 4, –3) as P0, we see that:
▪ Parametric Equations are:
x=2+t y = 4 – 5t z = –3 + 4t
▪ Symmetric Equations are:
x−2 y−4 z +3
= =
1 −5 4
(b) The line intersects the xy-plane when z = 0.
➢ So, we put z = 0 in the symmetric equations and
obtain:
x−2 y−4 3
= =
1 −5 4
11 1
➢ This gives x = and y = 4 .
4
➢ The line intersects the xy-plane
at the point: , , 0
11 1
4 4
Definition
If the lines l1 and l2 are parallel to the vectors u and v
where 𝜽 is the angle between u and v , then:
✓ The angles between l1 and l2 are 𝜽 and π- 𝜽 .
✓ The lines l1 and l2 are parallel iff the vectors u and v
are parallel, i.e., v = c u, for some scalar c.
✓ The lines l1 and l2 are orthogonal iff the vectors u and
v are also orthogonal, i.e., u . v = 0 .
Example (5)
If the lines l1 and l2 have the parametric equations:
1 : x = 1 + 2t, y = 3 − 4t, z = −2 + t,
𝑡∈ℝ
2 : x = 5 − t, y = 2 − 3t, z = 4 + 3t,
Find the angles between l1 and l2 .
Solution:
➢ Referring to the coefficients of t, we see that the lines l1 and
l2 are parallel to the vectors u = (2, -4, 1) and v = (-1, -3, 3),
respectively .
➢ If 𝜽 is the angle between u and v , then:
uv 2(− 1) + (− 4)(− 3) + 1(3) 13
cos = = =
u v 4 + 16 + 1 1 + 9 + 9 399
➢ Hence, the angles between l1 and l2 are given by:
13
= cos −1
0.86 radian 49 o ; − = 2.28 radians 131o
399
Example (6)
Let l be the line of intersection of the two planes:
2x − y + 4z = 4 & x + 3y − 2z =1
Find the parametric equation of l .
Solution:
➢ A point P (x, y, z) is on l if and only if P is on each of the planes,
that is, if and only if P (x, y, z) is a solution of the system of
equations :
2 x − y + 4 z = 4 2 x − y = 4 − 4 z
x + 3 y − 2z = 1 x + 3 y = 1 + 2 z
➢ This is a system of 2 equations in x and y.
➢ By eliminating y, we can express x in terms of z.
➢ Also, eliminating x leads to a formula for y in terms of z.
13 10 2 8
➢ Now, we get: x = − z, y=− + z
7 7 7 7
➢ Let z = t, (the parameter),
➢ Thus the parametric equations for the line l are:
13 10 2 8
x = − t, y = − + t, z = t; t R
7 7 7 7
Definition
Two lines are skew if they are not parallel and
do not intersect.
Example (7)
Show that the lines L1 and L2 are skew lines.
L1: x = 1 + t , y = –2 + 3t , z = 4 – t
L2: x = 2s , y=3+s , z = –3 + 4s ; 𝑡, 𝑠 ∈ ℝ
Solution:
We need to show that these lines
do not intersect and are not parallel,
and therefore do not lie in the same plane.
❑ The lines are not parallel because the corresponding vectors
<1, 3, –1> and <2, 1, 4> are not parallel (Their components
are not proportional).
❑ If L1 and L2 had a point of intersection, there would be values
of t and s such that:
1 + t = 2s & –2 + 3t = 3 + s & 4 – t = –3 + 4s
❑ However, if we solve the first two equations, we get:
11 8
t= 5 and s = 5
(These values don’t satisfy the third equation).
➢ Thus, there are no values of t and s that satisfy the three
equations ( So, L1 and L2 do not intersect).
➢ Hence, L1 and L2 are skew lines.
Note
The shortest distance d between two skew lines l1 =
P1Q1 and l2 = P2Q2 is given by:
1 → →
→
d= → →
P1Q1 P2 Q2 P1 P2
P1Q1 P2 Q2
Example (7)
Let l1 be the line through A(l,3,0) and B(0,4,5). Also, let l2 be the
line through C(-2,-l,2) and D(5,l,0). Find the shortest distance
between l1 and l2 .
Solution:
➢ According to the previous formula,
P1 (1,3,0), Q1 (0,4,5), P2 (− 2,−1,2), Q2 (5,1,0),
→ → →
P1Q1 = (−1,1, 5), P2 Q2 = (7, 2, − 2), P1 P2 = (−3, − 4, 2)
i j k
→ →
P1Q1 P 2 Q2 = − 1 1 5 = −12i + 33 j − 9k
7 2 −2
→ →
P1Q1 P 2 Q2 = 144 + 1089 + +81 = 1314
→ →
→
P1Q1 P 2 Q2 P1 P2 = 36 − 132 − 18 = − 114 = 114
1
d= 114 3.145
1314
