EGM 212: ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS

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Lecture Notes
Vectors in Three Dimension

By Mr E Malichi
Dr
February 10, 2022

By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 1 / 18

Outline

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1 The Scalar Triple Product

2 The Vector Triple Product

3 Area and Volume Using a Cross Product

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4 Summary of Vector Rules

By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 2 / 18

The Scalar Triple Product

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The scalar triple product, as its name may suggest, results in a scalar as
its result. It is a means of combining three vectors via cross product and a
dot product. Given the vectors

A = A1 i + A2 j + A3 k
B = B1 i + B2 j + B3 k
Dr C = C1 i + C2 j + C3 k

a scalar triple product will involve a dot product and a cross product

A · (B × C )

By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 3 / 18

It is necessary to perform the cross product before the dot product when

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computing a scalar triple product,
 
 i j k       
  B B   B B   B B 
 2 3 1 3 1 2 
B × C =  B1 B2 B3  = i   − j +k
     
 C2 C3   C1 C3   C1 C2 

 
 C1 C2 C3 

since A = A1 i + A2 j + A3 k one can take the dot product to find that

Dr      
 B B3   B B3   B B2 
A · (B × C) = (A1 )  2
 1  1
 − (A2 )   + (A3 ) 
   
 C2 C3  C1 C3  C1 C2

  

By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 4 / 18

 aft
which is simply Important Formula.
 
 A A2 A3 
 1
A · (B × C) =  B1 B2 B3 
 
 
 C1 C2 C3 

The usefulness of being able to write the scalar triple product as a

determinant is not only due to convenience in calculation but also due to
the following property of determinants
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Note. Exchanging any two adjacent rows in a determinant changes the
sign of the original determinant.

By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 5 / 18

 aft
Thus,
   
 B B2 B3   A A A 
 1  1 2 3 
B · (A × C) =  A1 A2 A3  = −  B1 B2 B3  = −A · (B × C)
   
   
 C1 C2 C3   C1 C2 C3 

Formula
Dr B · (A × C ) = −A · (B × C )

By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 6 / 18

 aft
Example 1
Given,

A = 2i + 3j − 1k
B = −i + j
C = 2i + 2j
Find Dr A · (B × C)

By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 7 / 18

Solution.
. Method 1: Begin by finding

aft
 
 i j k       
   1 0   −1 0   −1 1 
B × C =  −1 1 0  = i  − j  + k
       
 2 0  2 0  2 2

    
 2 2 0 
= ((1)(0) − (0)(2))i − ((−1)(0) − (0)(2))j + ((−1)(2
= 0i + 0j − 4k.

... example continued Take the dot product with A to find

DrA · (B × C ) = (2)(0) + (3)(0) + (−1)(−4)
=4

By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 8 / 18

Solution Continu’d.

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Method 2 : Evaluate the determinant
 
 2 3 −1 
 
A · (B × C ) =  −1 1 0 
 
 
 2 2 0 
     
 1 0   −1 0   −1 1 
= (2)   − (3)   + (−1) 
     
 2 0   2 0  2 2

 
= (2)((1)(0) − (0)(0)) − (3)((−1)(0) − (0)(2)) + (−1)((−1)(2) −
=4
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By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 9 / 18
The Vector Triple Product

The vector triple product, as its name suggests, produces a vector. It is

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the result of taking the cross product of one vector with the cross product
of two other vectors.
Important Formula (Vector Triple Product).

A × (B × C ) = (A · C )B − (A · B)C

Proving the vector triple product formula can be done in a number of

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ways. The straightforward method is to assign

A = A1 i + A2 j + A3 k
B = B1 i + B2 j + B3 k
C = C1 i + C2 j + C3 k

By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 10 / 18

and work out the various dot and cross products to show that the result is
the same. Here we shall however go through a slightly more suitable but

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less calculation heavy proof.
Note The vector A × (B × C) must be in the same plane as B and C.
This is due to fact that the vector that results from the cross product is
perpendicular to both the vectors whose product has just been taken.
Since one can say that A × (B × C ) is on the same plane as B and C it
follows that
Dr A × (B × C) = αB + βC

where α and β are scalars. We introduce a new coordinate system with

the unit vector i0 along the vector B, j0 a unit vector (orthogonal to i0 ),
which is on the same plane as the both the vectors B and C, and k0 a unit
vector orthogonal to both i0 and j01 .

By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 11 / 18

 aft
Using this basis allows one to write the vectors B and C as

B = B1 i0 + 0j0 + 0k0
C = C1 i0 + C2 j0 + 0k0

however there is no special reduction to the representation of the vector A

in terms of this new basis thus,
Dr A = A1 i0 + A2~0 + A3 k0

By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 12 / 18

We know that the vector B × C must be of the form of 0i0 + 0j0 + γk0 for
some scalar γ. We find the value of γ by taking the cross product
 
 i0 j0 k0 

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 0 0   B 0   B
 1 0
 
1
B×C =  B1 0 0  = i0  −j0  +k0   = 0i0 +0j0 +
      
   C2 0   C1 0   C1 C2 
 C1 C2 0 

We have now found that

B × C = B1 C2 k0

Now examining the final cross product

Dr
 
 i0 j0 k0 
 
A × (B × C) =  A1 A2 A3  = A2 B1 C2 i0 − A1 B1 C2 j0 + 0k0
 
 
 0 0 B1 C2 

thus,
A × (B × C) = A2 B1 C2 i0 − A1 B1 C2 j0

By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 13 / 18

 aft
Here a clever addition of zero is useful
A × (B × C) = A2 B1 C2 i0 − A1 B1 C2 j0 +A1 B1 C1 i0 − A1 B1 C1 i0
| {z }
0
= (A2 C2 + A1 C1 ) B1 i0 − A1 B1 C1 i + C2 j0
0

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By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 14 / 18
This is the desired result as returning to our definitions of A, BandC in
this basis,

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A = A1 i0 + A2 j0 + A3 k0
B = B1 i0
C = C1 i0 + C2 j0
one finds that,
A · B = A1 B1
A · C = A1 C1 + A2 C2
Hence,
Dr
A × (B × C) = (A2 C2 + A1 C1 ) B1 i0 − A1 B1 C1 i0 + C2 j0
= (A · C)B − (A · B)C.

By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 15 / 18

Area and Volume Using a Cross Product
1 The area of a parallelogram The area of a parallelogram is simply
given by the product of the base and the height of the parallelogram.

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Here this is given by

Area of parallelogram = h|B|

= (|A| sin(θ))|B|
= |A||B| sin(θ)
= |A × B|

the height.
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The area of a triangle. The area of a triangle is half the base times

1 1
Area of triangle = |B|h = |B|(|A| sin(θ))
2 2
1
= |A × B|
2
By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 16 / 18
Summary of Vector Rules

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Here we list most of the main results concerning vectors

A · A = A2 ≡ |A|2 A×A=0
A·B=B·A A × B = −B × A
A · (αB) = α(A · B) A × (αB) = α(A × B)
A · (B × C) = (A × B) · C A × (B × C) = (A · C)B − (A · B)C
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By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 17 / 18
.

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

END OF LECTURE ON VECTORS

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By Mr E Malichi (MU/SSET) MSM 132-MATHEMATICS II February 10, 2022 18 / 18