VECTORS

MULTIPLICATION IN VECTORS:
Multiplying or Dividing a Vector by a Scalar

Multiplying or dividing a vector by a scalar gives a vector. For example, if vector A is multiplied by the scalar
 
number 3, the result ,3 A , is a vector with a magnitude three times that of A and pointing in the same

direction. If we multiply vector A by the scalar –3, the result

is -3 A , a vector with a magnitude three times that of A and pointing in the opposite direction (because of the
negative sign).

Product of Two Vectors

Vector products are of two types
i) Dot product or scalar product.
ii) Cross product or vector product.

Dot Product or Scalar Product


The dot product of two vectors b
       
a . b = | a || b | cos q where | a | and | b | are the magnitudes of a and b

respectively and q is the angle between them. 
a bcos

     
a . b =| a || b | cos q, where b cosq is the magnitude of the component of vector b along a .
 
  a.b 
Component of vector b along a is given by b1   aˆ , where â is the unit vector along a .
|a|

Important Points About Scalar Product

i) It is always scalar and is positive if the angle between the vectors is acute (q < 90°) and negative if
angle between them is obtuse (i.e. 90° < q < 180°)
ii) It is commutative
   
i.e. A .B = B.A
iii) It is distributive
      
i.e. A .( B + C ) = A . B + A . C

iv) As by definition
   
A . B = | A || B | cosq
 
A.B
 
\ q = cos-1 | A || B |
v) The Scalar product of a vector by itself is termed as self dot product and is given by
     
( A )2 = A . A = | A || A | cosq = | A |2
  
\ A = | A | = A.A

vi) In case of unit vector n̂

n̂ . n̂ = 1´ 1 ´ cos0° = 1
so, n̂ . n̂ = î . î = ĵ . ĵ = k̂ . k̂ = 1

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CFY(X)-PH(IV)-VT-154

vii) In case of orthogonal unit vectors î , ĵ , k̂

î . ĵ = ĵ . k̂ = k̂ . î = 1 ´ 1 ´ cos90° = 0

viii) In terms of components

 
A . B = ( î Ax + ĵ Ay + k̂ Az) . ( î Bx + ĵ By + k̂ Bz)
 
Þ A . B = (Ax Bx+ Ay By+ AzBz).

ix) Scalar product of two vectors will be maximum when cosq = 1, i.e. q = 0°, i.e. vectors are parallel.
   
( A . B )max= | A || B |

x) Scalar produced of two vectors will be zero when cosq = 0, i.e. q = 90°, i.e. vector are
perpendicular.

Examples of dot product

   
i) Work W = F . s where F is the force and s is the displacement.
   
ii) Power = F . v where F is the force and v is the velocity.
 
Illustration–1: Find the angle between the vectors, A  iˆ  2jˆ  kˆ and B   iˆ  jˆ  2 kˆ .
 
Solution: A .B = 1 ´ (–1) + 2 ´1 + (–1) ´ (–2)
= – 1+2+2 = 3

| A | = 12  2 2    1 2 = Ö6

| B | =   1 2  1 2    2 2 = Ö6
 
A.B 3 1
cosq =   Þ q = 60°
| A || B | 6 6 2

   
Illustration–2: If A and B are two mutually perpendicular vectors, where A = 5i  7jˆ  3kˆ and
 
B = 2i  2jˆ  akˆ , then the value of a is
(A) -2 (B) 8
(C) -7 (D) -8
 
Solution: (B). A ^ B
   
A . B = 0 = ( 5 i  7ˆj  3kˆ )·( 2 i  2ˆj  akˆ ) = 10 + 14 - 3a
\ 3a = 24 Þ a = 8

Cross Product or Vector Product

The vector product or cross product of two vectors is defined as a vector having magnitude equal to the
product of the magnitudes of two vectors with the sine of angle between them, and direction perpendicular to
the plane containing the vectors in accordance with right hand screw rule.
    
C = A ´ B = | A || B | sinq n̂
 
where n̂ is the unit vector perpendicular to the plane containing A and B

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 CFY(X)-PH(IV)-VT-155

M
The cross-product of two vectors represent the area of the parallelogram L

formed by them. 
 B
Consider the parallelogram OKLM, whose adjacent sides OK and OM are B sin 
 
represented by the vectors A and B respectively. 

O N K
A
Now the area of the parallelogram
= height ´ length of the parallel sides
= Bsinq ´ A = AB sinq
   
Since magnitude of A ´ B = AB sinq, it follows that | A ´ B | represents the area of a parallelogram formed
by them.

Important Points about Vector Product

i) Vector product of two vectors is always a vector perpendicular to the plane containing the two
   
vectors, i.e. orthogonal to both the vectors A and B , though the vectors A and B may not be
orthogonal
ii) Vector product of two vectors is not commutative.
       
i.e A ´ B ¹ ( B ´ A ); A ´ B = - B ´ A
iii) The vector product is distributive, when the order of the vectors is strictly maintained i.e.
      
A ´( B + C ) = ( A ´ B + A ´ C )
iv) By definition
 
 A B 
\ q = sin-1    
 A B 
 

v) The vector product of two vectors will be zero when,

sinq = 0, i.e. = q = 0° or 180°
   
A ´ B = | A || B | sin0° n̂ = 0
This means that the vector product of two vectors vanishes if they are collinear.
ix) The self cross product i.e. product of a vector by itself vanishes i.e. a null vector.
   
( A ´ A ) = | A || A | sin0 n̂ =0
x) In case of unit vector n̂
n̂ ´ n̂ = 0
so, î ´ î = ĵ ´ ĵ = k̂ ´ k̂ = 0
xi) In case of orthogonal unit vectors î , ĵ , k̂ in accordance with right hand screw rule,
^
j
î ´ ĵ = k̂ and ĵ ´ î = - k̂
ĵ ´ k̂ = î and k̂ ´ ĵ = - î ^
^
k i
k̂ ´ î = ĵ and î ´ k̂ = - ĵ

Examples of cross product

    
i) Torque  = r ´ F where r is the force arm and F is the force.
    
ii) Velocity v =  ´ r where  is the angular velocity and r is the radius vector.

TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING – 1

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Having read the above text, let’s check your comprehensive ability.
1. If one component of a vector is not zero, can the magnitude of the vector be zero?
 
2. If A  B =0, what can you say about the components of the two vectors?


3. The unit vector of A  2iˆ  3 ˆj  5kˆ is ……………………….

 
4. | a  b |max = …………………

5. ˆi.jˆ  ˆj.kˆ  k.i

ˆ ˆ = ………………..

6. kˆ  ˆj  ……………….

7. Is it possible that the resultant of two equal forces is equal to one of the forces?

8. Can three vectors, not in one plane, give a zero resultant? Can four vectors do?

 
Illustration–3: What is the value of linear velocity, if ω = 3iˆ  4jˆ  kˆ and r = 5iˆ  6jˆ  6kˆ ?
 
(A) 6i  2jˆ  3kˆ (B) 18i  13jˆ  2kˆ
 
(C) 4i  13jˆ  6kˆ (D) 6i  2jˆ  8kˆ
  
Solution: (B). v = tangential velocity =  ´ r
   
v = ( 3 i  4ˆj  kˆ ) x ( 5 i  6ˆj  6kˆ ) = 18 i  13ˆj  2kˆ

Exercise 1:
   
(I) Find the angle between the vectors A and B where A  iˆ  2 ˆj  kˆ and B  ˆi  ˆj  2kˆ .
     
(ii) If A  B  3 .A.B then find the value of A  B .
 
(iii) Find the area of the parallelogram formed from the vectors A  iˆ  2 ˆj  3kˆ and B  3iˆ  2 ˆj  kˆ as
adjacent sides

A  B2  AB
2 1/ 2
Answers (i) 60o (ii) (iii) 4 6

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SOLVED EXAMPLES
   
Example 1: If A  3iˆ  7ˆj and B  2iˆ  5ˆj , find the angle between A and B .

   
Solution: A . B = | A |.| B|cosq

A.B 6  35
Or, cosq =    = 0.9997
| A |.| B| 58 29
 
[Q | A | = 9  49 & | B | = 4  25 ]
\ q = 1°24¢
 
Example 2: If A  3iˆ  2 ˆj  4kˆ and B  4iˆ  2ˆj  kˆ , find the magnitude and direction cosines of
 
( A + B ).

Solution:
 
    
A + B = 3 î  2 ĵ 4 k̂ + 4 î  2 ĵ k̂ = 7 iˆ  4 ˆj  5 kˆ  R (say)
 
\ | A + B | = 7 2  4 2  5 2 = 90
 
\ The direction cosines of A + B are
Rx 7
cosa =    90
AB
Ry 4
cosb =   
AB 90
RZ 5
cosg =   
AB 90

 
Example 3: Prove that the vectors A  2iˆ  3 ˆj - kˆ and B   6 iˆ  9ˆj  3kˆ are parallel.


Solution: The given vectors will be parallel if their cross product is zero. Because if the two vector A

and B respectively then
  
A ´ B = ABsinq n̂ = ABsin 0° n̂ [if they are parallel then the angle between A

and B is 0°]
 
\ A ´B =0
Now,  2 î  3 ĵ k̂  ´   6 î  9 ĵ 3 k̂  =  9  9 î   6  6 ĵ 18  18 k̂  0
 
Hence the two vectors A and B are parallel to each other.

     
Example 4: Given A . B = A . C . Is it correct to conclude B = C ?
   
Solution: A .B = A .C
 
i.e. AB cosq1 = ACcosq2 [where q1 and q2 are the angles formed by B and C

respectively with A .]
or, Bcosq1 = Ccosq2
 
Now, if q1 = q2 then B = C
 
But if q1 ¹ q2 then B ¹ C
 
So, we can’t conclusively say that B = C .

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CFY(X)-PH(IV)-VT-158

Example 5:

Find the component of a vector A = 3iˆ  2ˆj along the direction of  iˆ  ˆj  .
î  ĵ î  ĵ
Unit vector along  î ĵ is n̂ = 
1 
Solution: 2 12
2
1 2
\

The magnitude of the component of vector A along the  î ĵ is
î  ˆj 1 5

  
A . î ĵ = 3 î  2 ĵ .  = (3+2) =
2 2 2
\

The component vector of A along the î  ĵ is  
 5  î  ˆj  5 5
A1     î  ˆj
2 2  2 2

Example 6: Find the area of a parallelogram whose diagonals are represented by ( 3iˆ  ˆj  kˆ ) and (
iˆ  ˆj  kˆ ).
 
Solution: Let A and B be the two adjoining sides of the parallelogram drawn from a point. The
 
area of the parallelogram = A  B
 
Given that A + B = 3 î  ĵ k̂
 
and A - B = î  ˆj k̂

     
Now, ( A + B ) ´ ( A - B ) = -2( A ´ B )


  1     A
B
\ A´ B =- [( A + B ) ´ ( A - B )]
2  
A B
î ˆj k̂
1 
A+ B


=-2 3 1 1
1 1 1 

B
A

=-
1
2
 0 î  4 ĵ 4 k̂  = -2 ĵ + 2 k̂
Hence area of the parallelogram = 2 2 unit.
   
Example 7: At what angle do the forces ( A + B ) and ( A - B ) act so that the magnitude of
their resultant is 3A 2  B 2 ?
Solution: R2 = 3A2 + B2 = (A + B)2 + (A - B)2 + 2(A2 - B2) cos q
[where q is the angle between (A + B) and (A-B)]
or, A2 - B2 = 2(A2 - B2)cosq
or, cosq = 1/2 Þ q = 60°
 
Example 8: If vectors A and B are perpendicular to each other, then which of the following statements
is valid?
     
(A) A ´ B = A . B (B) A ´ B=0
     
(C) A . B = 0 (D) A . B=| A||B|
 
Solution: A ^ B . Then.
 
A . B = |A||B|cos90° = 0
Hence (C) is correct.

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 CFY(X)-PH(IV)-VT-159

   
Example 9: If A and B are two mutually perpendicular vectors, where A = 5i  7ˆj  3kˆ and

B = 2i  2ˆj  akˆ , then the value of a is
(A) -2 (B) 8
(C) -7 (D) -8
 
Solution: A^ B
   
A . B = 0 = ( 5 i  7 ĵ  3k̂ )( 2 i  2 ĵ  ak̂ ) = 10 + 14 - 3a
\ 3a = 24 Þ a = 8
Hence (B) is correct.

 
Example 10: The unit vector perpendicular to i  2ˆj  kˆ and 3i  ˆj  2kˆ is
 
5i  3ˆj  7kˆ 3i  5ˆj  7kˆ
(A) (B)
83 83
 
5i  3ˆj  7kˆ 3i  5ˆj  7kˆ
(C) (D)
83 83
   
Solution: A ´ B is a vector ^ to both A and B
    
Now, A ´ B = ( i  2 ĵ  k̂ ) ´ ( 3 i  ĵ  2k̂ ) = 3 i  5 ĵ  7 k̂
 
AB
Now, n̂ =  
| AB|
 
3 i  5 ĵ  7k̂ 3 i  5ˆj  7k̂
= 
32  5 2  7 2 83
Hence (B) is correct.

        
Example 11: For any two vectors A and B if A . B =| A ´ B |, the magnitude of C = A + B is
equal to
(A) A 2  B 2 (B) A + B
12
 2 AB 
(C) 2
A  B  2 
(D) (A2 + B2 +
2
´ AB)
1/2
 
  
Solution: A . B =AB cosq . . . (1) B
  
| A ´ B |= AB sinq n̂ . . . (2) C
\ AB cosq = AB sinq Þ q = 45° 45
  
Again given C = A + B 
A

\ | C | = (A2 + B2 + 2ABcos45°)1/2
= (A2 + B2 + Ö2AB)1/2
Hence (D) is correct.

        
Example 12: For any two vectors A and B if A . B =| A ´ B |, the magnitude of C = A + B is equal to
(A) A2  B 2 (B) A + B
12
 2 2 AB 
1/2
A  B  2 
(C) (D) (A2 + B2 + ´ AB)
2
 

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CFY(X)-PH(IV)-VT-160

  
Solution: A . B =AB cosq . . . (1) B
  
| A ´ B |= AB sinq n̂ . . . (2) C

\ AB cosq = AB sinq Þ q = 45° 45

   
Again given C = A + B A

\ | C | = (A2 + B2 + 2ABcos45°)1/2
= (A2 + B2 + Ö2AB)1/2
Hence (D) is correct.

ASSIGNMENTS
SUBJECTIVE

LEVEL I
   
    
1. What is the angle between A and the resultant of A  B and A  B ?
 
2. A vector A points vertically upward and B points towards north. What is the direction of vector
 
product AxB ?
     
3. If A  B  A  B then what is the angle between vectors A and B ?
     
4. What is the area of a parallelogram with sides as A  2 i  3 j and B  2 i  5 j ?

5. What is the angle between ˆi  ˆj  kˆ and î is

LEVEL II
 
1. What is the dot product of the vectors A = 2 î - 3 ĵ + k̂ and B = 3 ĵ + 2 k̂ ?


2. What is the direction cosines of A = î + 2 ĵ + 3 k̂ ?

3. At what angle should the two forces 2P and 2 P act so that the resultant force is P 10 ?
y
4. What is the component of the vector as shown in the figure along the x
+ve x-axis?
1200

10 units

5. Find the value of c if A = 0.4 î + 0.3 ĵ + c k̂ is a unit vector.

OBJECTIVE

LEVEL I

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 CFY(X)-PH(IV)-VT-161

1. Which of the following operations between any two vectors can yield a vector perpendicular two
either of them?
(A) addition (B) multiplication (C) subtraction (D) division
 
2. If A and B are two vectors, then wrong statement out of the following is
           
(A) A.  B  B  A (B) A  B  B  A (C) A  B  B  A (D) none of these

    
3. Two vectors A and B are such that A  B  C and A2 + B2 = C2. Which of the following statements
is correct
   
(A) A and B are parallel (B) A is perpendicular to B
 
(C) A and B are equal in magnitude (D) none of these

4. Resultant of which of the following may be zero?

(A) 10N, 10 N, 30N (B) 10N, 20N, 30N, 40N (C) 5N, 10N, 20N, 30N (D) All of these

5. Which of the following statements is correct?

(A) The resultant of two equal oblique vectors may be equal to zero
(B) The resultant of four non-coplanar vectors may be equal to zero.
(C) The resultant of three mutually perpendicular vectors may be equal to zero.
(D) Both (a) and (b)

6. Moment of inertia is
(A) scalar (B) polar vector (C) axial vector (D) none of these

7. Which of the following operations will not change a vector?

(A) Rotation in its own plane (B) Rotation perpendicular to its plane
(C) Rotation about the tail (D) None of these
     
8. The points with position vectors a  b, a  b and a  kb where k is a real constant are
(A) always collinear (B) never collinear
(C) may or may not be collinear (D) cannot be coplanar

9. The vector sum of two forces is perpendicular to their vector difference. In that case, the forces
(A) cannot be predicted (B) are perpendicular to each other
(C) have equal magnitude (D) None of the above

10. Which of the following is not a vector quantity?

(A) Force (B) Energy (C) Linear momentum (D) None of these
   
11. The resultant of A and B makes an angle a with A and b with B then
(A) a < b (B) a < b if A < B (C) a < b if A > B (D) a < b if A = B
   
12. If P  ˆiP cos   ˆjP sin  be any vector. Another vector Q is perpendicular to P if Q =

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CFY(X)-PH(IV)-VT-162

(A) ˆiQ cos   ˆjQ sin  (B) ˆiQ cos   ˆjQsin  (C) ˆiQ sin   ˆjQ cos  (D) ˆiQsin   ˆjQ cos 

13. In the given figure what is the value of w2? P

(A) 100 N
0
(B) 50 2 N 450 45

(C) 25 2 N A W1=50N

(D) 25 N
W2

14. What is the component of 3iˆ  4 ˆj along ˆi  ˆj

(A)
2

1 ˆ ˆ
i j  (B)
3ˆ ˆ
2
i j (C)
2

5 ˆ ˆ
7 ˆ ˆ
i j
2

i j (D)  
  
15. The direction of a vector A is reversed. What are the values of  A and  A ?
    
(A) 2A , 0 (B) 2A,  2 A (C) A, 0 (D) 2A, 0

LEVEL II
 
1. Consider a vector F =4 î - 3 ĵ . Another vector that is perpendicular to F is
(A) 4 î + 3 ĵ (B) 6 î (C) 7 k̂ (D) 3 î + 4 ĵ

   
2. The resultant of A & B makes an angle a with A and b with B than
(A) a < b (B) a > b if A < B (C) a < b if A = B (D) a < b if A < B .

3. Two billiard balls are rolling on a flat table. One has velocity component v x = 1 m/sec,
vy = 3 m/s and the other has components vx’ = 2 m/s, vy’ = 2 m/s along two perpendicular direction.
If both the balls start moving form same point, then angle between their path is
(A) 60° (B) 45° (C) 22.5° (D) 15°

 
4. Which of the following is a unit vector in the direction of A . where A  (iˆ  ˆj) . ( î and ĵ are unit
vectors along x and y axes respectively
1
(A) (iˆ  ˆj) (B) (iˆ  ˆj) (iˆ  ˆj) (C) (D) 2 (iˆ  ˆj)
2
   
5. Find the angle between two vectors A and B , where A = ( ĵ ) and B = (iˆ  ˆj) .
(A) 450 (B) 1350 (C) 900 (D) 1200

  
6. If a vector P = 3iˆ  3 ĵ then what is the value of | P | and also find the inclination of P with x-axis.
(A) 2 3 , -300 (B) 6 , + 300 (C) 3 2 , + 300 (D) 2 3 , - 600

     
7. If A + B + C = O and | A | = 2; | B | = 4, Which of the following can’t be correct?
   
(A) | C | = 2 (B) | C | = 6 (C) | C | = 8 (D) | C | = 4

    
8. A vector P = 3iˆ  2 ˆj  akˆ is perpendicular to the vector Q = 2 i  j  k . The value of ‘a’ is

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 CFY(X)-PH(IV)-VT-163

(A) 2 (B) 1 (C) 4 (D) 3

9. A vector having magnitude 30 unit makes equal angles with each of X- ,Y- & Z- axes. The
components of vector along each of X-,Y-,& Z- axes are
(A) 10Ö3 unit (B) 30Ö3 unit (C) 15Ö3 unit (D) 20Ö3 unit

 
10. If A = 3 î + 2 ĵ + k̂ and B = 2 î - 3 ĵ , then their dot product will be
(A) 0 (B) 12 (C) 8 (D) 16

     
11. If A  B = 0 and B  C  0 then C  A
(A) will always be a null vector.
(B) may be a null vector.
(C) can never be a null vector.
 
(D) will be a null vector only if A & B both are null vectors.

12. If a vector is equally inclined to each axis. Then value of each direction cosine is
1 1
(A) 1 (B) (C) (D) 0
2 3
13. Two forces F1 and F2 are acting on a particle and the angle between them is q. The angle between
the resultant force and F1 is a , then tan a is equal to
F2 sin  F1 sin  F2 sin  F2 cos 
(A) (B) (C) (D)
F1  F2 cos  F2  F1 cos  F1  F2 sin  F2  F1 sin 
14.  
ˆi.jˆ  kˆ is

(A) zero (B) null vector (C) 1 (C) meaningless

15. î ´( ĵ ´ k̂ ) is
(A) î + ĵ + k̂ (B) î + ĵ + k̂ (C) zero vector (D) unit vector.

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CFY(X)-PH(IV)-VT-164

ANSWERS

SUBJECTIVE

LEVEL I


1.zero 2. Towards west 3.
4
4.4 units 5. cos-1(1/√2)

LEVEL II

1 2 3
1. -7 2. , , 3. 45°
14 14 14
4. – 5 units 5. Ö0.75

OBJECTIVE

LEVEL I

1. B 2. C 3. D 4. B
5. B 6. D 7. D 8. A
9. C 10. D 11. C 12. C
13. B 14. D 15. D

LEVEL II

1. A 2. B 3. D 4. C
5. B 6. A 7. C 8. C
9. A 10. A 11. B 12. C
13. A 14. C 15. C

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