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Distances To Planes and Lines

This document discusses methods for calculating distances between geometric objects in 3D space, including: 1) The distance from a point to a plane is the length of the perpendicular line segment between the point and the plane. This can be calculated using a formula involving the normal vector and a point on the plane. 2) The distance from a point to a line is the length of the perpendicular line segment between the point and the line. This can be calculated using a formula involving the direction vector of the line and a point on the line. 3) The distance between parallel planes is the same as the distance between any point on one plane and the other plane, since they are parallel. 4) The

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183 views

Distances To Planes and Lines

This document discusses methods for calculating distances between geometric objects in 3D space, including: 1) The distance from a point to a plane is the length of the perpendicular line segment between the point and the plane. This can be calculated using a formula involving the normal vector and a point on the plane. 2) The distance from a point to a line is the length of the perpendicular line segment between the point and the line. This can be calculated using a formula involving the direction vector of the line and a point on the line. 3) The distance between parallel planes is the same as the distance between any point on one plane and the other plane, since they are parallel. 4) The

Uploaded by

sushrut12345
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Distances to planes and lines

In this note we will look at distances to planes and lines. Our approach is geometric. Very broadly, we will draw a sketch and use vector techniques. Please note is that our sketches are not oriented, drawn to scale or drawn in perspective. Rather they are a simple cartoon which shows the important features of the problem. 1. Distance: point to plane: Ingredients: i) A point P ,
ii) A plane with normal N and containing a point Q. N The distance from P to the plane is d =
|
|
cos =
PQ PQ .
|N|
We will explain this formula by way of the following example.
Example 1: Let P = (1, 3, 2). Find the distance from P to the plane x + 2y = 3.
Answer: First we gather our ingredients.
Q = (3, 0, 0) is a point on the plane (it is easy to nd such a point).
N = normal to plane = i + 2j.
R = point on plane closest to P (this is point unknown and we do
not need to nd it to nd the distance). The gure shows that
N
PQ .
distance = |P R| =


cos =

PQ |N|

Computing PQ = 2i 3j 2k gives N
4
PQ =
2, 3, 2 1, 2, 0
=
.
distance =




|N|
5
5

P N R Q

2. Distance: point to line:


Ingredients: i) A point P ,
ii) A line with direction vector v and containing a point Q. v .
The distance from P to the line is d = |QP| sin =
QP |v|
We will explain this formula by way of the following example. Example 2: Let P = (1, 3, 2), nd the distance from the point P to the line through (1, 0, 0) and (1, 2, 0). Answer: First we gather our ingredients. Q = (1, 0, 0) (this is easy to nd).
v = 1, 2, 0 1, 0, 0 = 2j is parallel to the line.
R = point on line closest to P (this is point is unknown).
Using the
relation
|
B|
=
|
B| sin , the gure shows that
A A|| v .
PQ distance = |
R
=
sin =
QP P | v
Q |v|
v Computing:
PQ = 3j + 2k, which implies

QP |v|
= |(3j + 2k) j| = | 2i| = 2.
P

3. Distance between parallel planes: The trick here is to reduce it to the distance from a point to a plane.
Example 3: Find the distance between the planes x + 2y z = 4 and x + 2y z = 3.
Both planes have normal N = i + 2j k so they are parallel.
Take any point on the rst plane, say, P = (4, 0, 0).
Distance between planes = distance from P to second plane.
Choose Q = (1, 0, 0) = point on second plane
N d = |QP |N| | = |3i (i + 2j k)|/ 6 = 6/2. 4. Distance between skew lines: We place the lines in parallel planes and nd the distance between the planes as in the previous example As usual its easy to nd a point on each line. Thus, to nd the parallel planes we only need to nd the normal. N = v1 v2 , where v1 and v2 are the direction vectors of the lines.

MIT OpenCourseWare http://ocw.mit.edu

18.02SC Multivariable Calculus


Fall 2010

For information about citing these materials or our Terms of Use, visit: http://ocw.mit.edu/terms.

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