1.

5 Vectors and Vector Algebra

Definition: A vector is a geometric object that has magnitude (also called length or norm) and a
⃗ ‖ 𝑜𝑟 | 𝒂
⃗ , for the magnitude‖𝒂
direction. Notation: for vectors we will use 𝒂 ⃗|

Examples of vectors are velocity, acceleration, force, momentum etc.

Vectors can be added and subtracted. Let a and b be two vectors. To get the sum of the two vectors, place the
tail of b onto the head of a and the distance between the tail of a and b is a+b.

Properties of vectors addition:

⃗ , ⃗𝒃, 𝒄
Let 𝒂 ⃗ be vectors then:

 ⃗ + ⃗𝟎 = 𝒂
𝒂 ⃗ (neutral element)
 ⃗ + (−𝒂
𝒂 ⃗ ) = ⃗𝟎 (inverse of a vector)
 ⃗ +𝒃
𝒂 ⃗ =𝒃 ⃗ +𝒂 ⃗ (commutative)
 ⃗ + ⃗𝒃) + 𝒄
(𝒂 ⃗ =𝒂 ⃗ +𝒄
⃗ + (𝒃 ⃗ ) (associative)

 ⃗ − ⃗𝒃 = 𝒂
The subtraction of two vectors 𝒂 ⃗)
⃗ + (−𝒃
Multiplication of a vector by a positive scalar k multiplies the magnitude but leaves the direction unchanged.
Example: If k=2 then the magnitude of a doubles but the direction remains the same.

⃗ are vectors, 𝒌 𝝐 𝑹 (𝒌 is a scalar) then:

⃗ and 𝒃
If 𝒂

If 𝒌 > 𝟎:

⃗ and magnitude is 𝒌. | 𝒂
⃗ denotes a vector with the same direction as 𝒂
Then k. 𝒂 ⃗|

If 𝒌 < 𝟎:

⃗ denotes a vector with magnitude 𝒌. | 𝒂

then 𝒌. 𝒂 ⃗ |and direction opposite to 𝒂
⃗ .

Note: the definition could be applied if we have two scalars 𝒌, 𝒍 𝝐 𝑹 then

⃗ = 𝒍. 𝒌. 𝒂
𝒌. 𝒍. 𝒂 ⃗ = 𝒍. (𝒌. 𝒂
⃗)

(𝒌 + 𝒍). 𝒂
⃗ = 𝒌. 𝒂
⃗ + 𝒍. 𝒂
⃗

⃗⃗⃗⃗ = 𝒌.⃗⃗⃗⃗𝒂 + 𝒌.⃗⃗⃗⃗𝒃

⃗ + 𝒃)
𝒌. (𝒂

⃗ =𝒂
𝟏. 𝒂 ⃗
Definition: (Unit vector)
⃗
𝒂
The vector ⃗⃗⃗⃗ ⃗
𝒆𝒂 = |𝒂⃗| is called the unit vector of 𝒂

𝟏
|𝒂
⃗ ( the reciprocal of |𝒂
is called the normalizing factor of 𝒂 ⃗ |)
⃗|

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
Notice that: | ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝒆𝒂 | = ||𝒂⃗| 𝒂
⃗ | = ||𝒂⃗|| |𝒂
⃗ | = |𝒂⃗| |𝒂
⃗|=𝟏

Definition (Linear combination)

⃗ 1, 𝒂
Let 𝑘1 , 𝑘2 , … , 𝑘𝑛 ∈ 𝑅 and 𝒂 ⃗ 2, … , 𝒂
⃗ 𝑛 be vectors. Then

⃗ = 𝑘1 𝒂
𝒃 ⃗ 1 + 𝑘2 𝒂
⃗ 2 + ⋯ + 𝑘𝑛 𝒂
⃗ 𝑛 is called a linear combination of 𝒂
⃗ 1, 𝒂
⃗ 2, … , 𝒂
⃗ 𝑛

Definition: (generating system)

⃗ 1, 𝒂
The set Ц of all linear combinations of 𝒂 ⃗ 2, … , 𝒂
⃗ 𝑛 is called generation of 𝒂
⃗ 1, 𝒂
⃗ 2, … , 𝒂
⃗ 𝑛

⃗ | ⃗𝒃 =∝1 𝒂
Ц = {𝒃 ⃗ 1 + ∝2 𝒂
⃗ 2 + ⋯ + ∝𝑛 𝒂
⃗ 𝑛}

= 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛 { 𝒂
⃗ 1, 𝒂 ⃗ 𝑛}
⃗ 2, … , 𝒂

⃗ 1, 𝒂
If Ц = 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛 { 𝒂 ⃗ 2, … , 𝒂
⃗ 𝑛 } then { 𝒂
⃗ 1, 𝒂
⃗ 2, … , 𝒂
⃗ 𝑛 } is called the generation system of Ц.

Example: consider the Euclidean space 𝑹𝟑 , ⃗⃗⃗𝒂 ∈ 𝑹𝟑

The vectors ⃗𝒆 1 = (1,0,0), ⃗𝒆 2 = (0,1,0) 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ⃗𝒆 3 = (0,0,1).

Then⃗⃗⃗𝒂 = (𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 ) = (𝑎1 , 0,0) + (0, 𝑎2 , 0) + (0, 0, 𝑎3 )

= 𝑎1 (1,0,0) + 𝑎2 (0,1,0) + 𝑎3 (0,0,1)

⃗ 1 + 𝑎2 𝒆
= 𝑎1 𝒆 ⃗ 2 + 𝑎3 𝒆
⃗ 3

⃗ 1, 𝒆
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑡 { 𝒆 ⃗ 3 }𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑟 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑹𝟑 .
⃗ 2, 𝒆

Definition: (Linear independence)

⃗ 1, 𝒂
The vectors 𝒂 ⃗ 2, … , 𝒂 ⃗ 𝑖 ≠ 0 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖 = {1,2, … , 𝑛} are called linear independent if
⃗ 𝑛 with 𝒂
 ⃗ 1 + ∝2 𝒂
[∝1 𝒂 ⃗ 2 + ⋯ + ∝𝑛 𝒂
⃗ 𝑛 = 0] ⟹ ∝1 = 0, ∝2 = 0, … , ∝𝑛 = 0.

Otherwise they are linear dependent.

Example:

1) Any vector ⃗⃗⃗𝒂 ∈ 𝑹𝟐 is linear independent since: 𝑘. ⃗⃗⃗𝒂 = 0 ⟹ 𝑘 = 0.

2) Any three vectors in the XY-plane (rectangular coordinate system) cannot be linearly
independent. Given any vectors a, ⃗ , c,
⃗⃗ b ⃗ then c can be written as a linear combination of
𝑎 and 𝑏⃗: 𝑐 = 𝑘.⃗⃗⃗𝑎 + 𝑙. 𝑏⃗ with k, l ∈ 𝐑.
3) ⃗⃗⃗𝐚, ⃗⃗⃗𝐛, 𝐜 ∈ 𝐑𝟑 are linear independent if they are not located on the same plane. If they are
located on the same plane, say XY-plane, then they are linear dependent (compare to 2).

⃗ 1, 𝒂
Note: 𝒂 ⃗ 2, … , 𝒂
⃗ 𝑛 are linear dependent if from ∝1 . 𝒂
⃗ 1 + ∝2 . 𝒂
⃗ 2 + ⋯ + ∝𝑛 . 𝒂
⃗ 𝑛 = 0 ⟹ at
least one ∝𝑖 ≠ 0. In this case we can write:

1
⃗ 𝑖=
𝒂 ⃗ + ∝2 . 𝒂
(∝ . 𝒂 ⃗ 2 + ⋯ +∝𝑖−1 . 𝒂
⃗ 𝑖−1 +∝𝑖+1 . 𝒂
⃗ 𝑖+1 + ⋯ + ∝𝑛 . 𝒂
⃗ 𝑛)
∝𝑖 1 1

⃗ 𝑖 can be written as a linear combination of the others.

This means 𝒂

Linear dependent vectors:

𝒌
 ⃗ = 𝟎, and both 𝑘, 𝑙 ≠ 0 ⟹ ⃗⃗⃗𝒂 = − . 𝒃
If 𝑘. ⃗⃗⃗𝒂 + 𝑙. 𝒃 ⃗ ⟹ ⃗⃗⃗𝒂 is parallel to 𝒃
⃗.
𝑙
𝒍 𝑚
 𝑘. ⃗⃗⃗𝒂 + 𝒍. ⃗𝒃 + 𝑚. 𝒄
⃗ = 𝟎, 𝑘, 𝑙, 𝑚 ≠ 0 ⟹ ⃗⃗⃗𝒂 = − . ⃗𝒃 − . 𝒄
⃗ ⟹ ⃗⃗⃗𝒂 is located on the same
𝑘 𝑘
⃗ and 𝒄
plane as 𝒃 ⃗.

⃗ , 𝑣 vectors in 𝑹𝟐 with
Example: Let 𝑎1 , 𝑎2 be two scalars (i.e. here two real numbers), 𝑢

Then
Definition: (Dot product or inner product)

Dot Product of two vectors is defined by: 𝑎. 𝑏⃗ = |𝑎||𝑏⃗| 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃, where 𝜃 is the smaller angle (inner angle) between
the two vectors.

Notice that the Dot product of two vectors is the product of a vector to the projection of the other vector on the
vector.

If the two vectors are parallel, then 𝑎. 𝑏⃗ = |𝑎||𝑏⃗|. If the two vectors are perpendicular (orthogonal) to each other,
then: 𝑎. 𝑏⃗ = 0.

Definition: (Cross Product or Vector product)

Cross Product of two vectors is defined by: 𝑎 × 𝑏⃗ = 𝑐 =|𝑎||𝑏⃗| sin 𝜃, is a VECTOR 𝒄 ⃗ the magnitude of which is
|𝒂 ⃗ | 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽. 𝒄
⃗ ||𝒃 ⃗ is pointing perpendicular to the plane formed by the vectors 𝑎 and 𝑏⃗. But as there are two
directions perpendicular to any plane, the ambiguity is resolved by the right hand rule: let your fingers point in
the direction of the first vector and curl around (via the smaller angle) towards the second; then your thumb
indicates the direction of 𝒄⃗.
Agreement:

As defined earlier, a unit vector is a vector whose magnitude is 1 and point is a particular direction.
Without loss of generality, we can assume iˆ, ˆj , kˆ to be three distinct unit vectors along the x, y, and z-axis
relatively.

Then,

iˆ  iˆ  ˆj  ˆj  kˆ  kˆ  1 and iˆ  ˆj  ˆj  kˆ  kˆ  iˆ  0

Also,

iˆ  iˆ  ˆj  ˆj  kˆ  kˆ  0

iˆ  ˆj   ˆj  iˆ  kˆ

ˆj  kˆ  kˆ  ˆj  iˆ

kˆ  iˆ  iˆ  kˆ  ˆj

There are several applications of cross product in physics, for example as shown in the figure, the torque
⃗ (also called momentum) is evaluated as 𝐿
𝐿 ⃗ = 𝐹 × 𝑑.
 Triple vector products:

Let 𝑎 = (𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 ); 𝑏⃗ = (𝑏1 , 𝑏2 , 𝑏3 ) be vectors in 𝑅 3. The dot and cross products are evaluated as:

𝑎. 𝑏⃗= ∑3𝑖=1 𝑎𝑖 . 𝑏𝑖 = 𝑎1 . 𝑏1 + 𝑎2 . 𝑏2 + 𝑎3 . 𝑏3

𝑖 𝑗 𝑘
𝑎 × 𝑏⃗ = 𝑑𝑒𝑡 |𝑎1 𝑎2 𝑎3 | = (𝑎2 𝑏3 − 𝑎3 𝑏2 )𝑖 + (𝑎3 𝑏1 − 𝑎1 𝑏3 )𝑗 + (𝑎1 𝑏2 − 𝑎2 𝑏1 )𝑘
𝑏1 𝑏2 𝑏3

1. The triple product: 𝑎. (𝑏⃗ × ⃗⃗𝑐 ):

Let 𝑎 = (𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 ); 𝑏⃗ = (𝑏1 , 𝑏2 , 𝑏3 ); 𝑐 = (𝑐1 , 𝑐2 , 𝑐3 ) be vectors in 𝑅 3.

The volume of the parallelepiped with sides 𝑎, 𝑏⃗ and 𝑐 is the area of its base (the parallelogram 𝑏⃗ × 𝑐 )
multiplied by ℎ, the component of 𝑎 in the direction of 𝑏⃗ × 𝑐 .

𝑉 = 𝑎 . (𝑏⃗ × ⃗⃗𝑐 );

This product could be used to show that the vectors are linear dependent or independent as
follows:

0, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡

𝑎 . (𝑏⃗ × ⃗⃗𝑐 ) = {≠ 0 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡,
 ⃗⃗⃗ × ⃗⃗𝑏) × ⃗⃗𝑐 ∶
2. (𝑎

is a vector, it is normal (orthogonal) to 𝑎 ⃗⃗⃗ × ⃗⃗𝑏 which means it is in the

⃗⃗⃗ and normal (orthogonal) to 𝑎
⃗⃗⃗ and⃗⃗𝑏. It is computed using the so called “bac minus cab” rule as follows:
plane of 𝑎

⃗⃗⃗ × ⃗⃗𝑏) × ⃗⃗𝑐 = 𝑏⃗ . (𝑎 · 𝑐 ) − 𝑐 . (𝑎 · 𝑏⃗).

(𝑎