Applications of Vectors in Mechanics

Type – 1
Choose the most appropriate option (a, b, c or d).
Q 1. P is a point in the plane of the ABC whose orthocenter is H and the circumcentre is O. Forces
   
AP,BP,CP and PH act at P. The force that will keep the given forces in equilibrium is
  
(a) 2OP (b) 3OP (c) 2PO (d) none of these
  
Q 2. Three forces P,O and R each of 15 units, act along AB, BC and CA respectively. The position
        
vectors of A, B and C are OA  2 i  j  3 k , OB  5 i  3j  2k and OC  2 i  2j  3 k . The

resultant force vector is

 9  
 15  
(a)  12  7 3  i  (9  6 2  3) j   5 3  k
 2   2

 9  
 15 
(b)  12   7 3  i  (9  6 2  3) j    5 3 k
 2   2 
  
(c) 75 i  60 j  60 k

(d) none of these

Q 3. A ship is sailing towards north at a speed of 1.25 m/s. The current is taking it towards east at the
rate of 1 m/s. A sailor is climbing a vertical pole on the ship at the rate of 0.5 m/s. The magnitude
of the velocity of the sailor in space is

3 5 3 5
(a) 2.75 m/s (b) m/s (c) m/s (d) none of these
4 2
  
Q 4. A force 10 i  5 j  7 k displaces a particle from the point A to the point B. The position vectors of
     
A and B are 3 i  j  2 k and i  3 j  2 k respectively. Then the work done is

(a) 40 (b) 20 (C) 60 (d) none of these

           
Q 5. Constant forces P  i  2 j  3 k,Q   i  3 j  k and R  2 i  4 j  3 k act on a particle. The work
     
4 i  3 j  2 k to the point B with position vector 6 i  j  3 k is

(a) 15 (b) 13 (c) 13 (d) none of

these
Q 6. The vertices of a triangle ABC are A(–1, 0, 2), B(1,2, 0) and C(2, 3, 4). The moment of a force of
magnitude 10 acting at A along AB about C is

50 6 50
(a) (b) 20 6 (c) (d) none of these
3 3
      
Q 7. The vector moment about the point i  2 j  3 k of the resultant of the forces i  2 j  5 k and
    
3 j  4 k acting at the point 2 i  3 j  k is
        
(a) 5 i  j  4 k (b) 5 i  j  4 k (c) 3 i  j  4 k (d) none of these

Q 8. A rigid body is rotating at 5 radians per second about an axis AB, where A and B are points
     
whose position vectors are 2 i  j  k and 8 i  2 j  3 k respectively. The velocity of the particle of
  
the body at the point whose position vector is 5 i  2 j  k is

15    5    15   
(a) (2 i  6 j  3 k) (b) (4 i  6 j  3 k) (c) (4 i  6 j  3 k) (d) none of these
7 7 7

Type 2
Choose the correct options. One or more options may be correct.
Q 9. A particle is in equilibrium when the forces
     
u     v   
F1  10 k, F2  (4 i  12 j  3 k ),F3  ( 4 i  12 j  3 k ) and F  w(cos  i  sin  j ) act on it.
13 13
Then
65
(a) u = 65(1 – 3cot ) (b) v   65 cot  (c) w = 40cosec  (d) none of these
3
  
Q 10. The resolved parts of the force vector 5 i  4 j  2 k along and perpendicular to the vector
    
3 i  4 j  5 k are u and v respectively. Then
    
21    21
(a) u  (3 i  4 j  5 k) (b) u  (3 i  4 j  5 k)
50 5 2
    1   
1
(c) v  (187 i  116 j  5 k) (d) ( i  2 j  k)
50 5 2

Answers
1c 2a 3b 4a 5b 6a 7b 8a 9b,c 10a,c