National University of Computer & Emerging
Sciences – FAST
Department of Electrical Engineering
Course Code : NS 1002
Course Title : Physics For Engineer
Instructor: Engr. Muhammad Ahsan Khan
Fall Semester 2022
Laws of Vector Algebra
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Properties of Vector Operations
Equality of Two Vectors
Commutative property
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Position & Distance Vectors
Position Vector: From origin to point P
Distance Vector: Between two points
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So far, we have added two vectors and multiplied a vector by
a scalar
The question arises:
Is it possible to multiply two vectors
so that their product is a useful quantity?
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One such product is the
DOT PRODUCT,
which we will discuss
in this section.
Another is the cross product,
which we will discuss later.
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Fundamental concept of
DOT PRODUCT
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The Scalar Product
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Vector Multiplication: Scalar Product or ”Dot
Product”
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Method to find DOT PRODUCT
If a = ‹a1, a2, a3› and b = ‹b1, b2, b3›, then
the dot product of a and b is the number a • b given by:
a • b = a1b1 + a2b2 + a3b3
Thus, to find the dot product of a and b, we multiply
corresponding components and add Thus, to find the dot
product of a and b, we multiply corresponding components
and add
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Vector Multiplication: Scalar Product or ”Dot Product”
Hence:
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Example to solve dot product
‹2, 4› ∙ ‹3, – 1› = 2(3) + 4(–1) = 2
‹–1, 7, 4› ∙ ‹6, 2, –½› = (–1)(6) + 7(2) + 4(–½)
=6
(i + 2j – 3k) ∙ (2j – k) = 1(0) + 2(2) + (–3)(–1)
= 7
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Example 2
Solve:
If the vectors a and b have lengths 4
and 6, and the angle between them is π/3,
find a ∙ b
Ans : 12
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Example 3
Solve:
Find the angle between the vectors
a = ‹2, 2, –1› and b = ‹5, –3, 2›
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Example 3: Solution
| a |= 2 + 2 + ( −1)
2 2 2
=3
and
| b |= 5 + ( −3) + 2
2 2 2
= 38
Also, a ∙ b = 2(5) + 2(–3) +(–1)(2) = 2
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Example 3 Solution:Cont’d
a b 2
cos = =
| a || b | 3 38
So, the angle between a and b
is: −1 2
= cos 1.46 (or 84 )
3 38
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Orthogonal Vectors
Two nonzero vectors a and b are called
perpendicular or orthogonal if the angle between
them is θ = π/2.
a ∙ b = |a||b| cos(π/2) = 0
• Conversely, if a ∙ b = 0, then cos θ = 0;
so, θ = π/2.
Two vectors a and b are orthogonal
if and only if a ∙ b = 0
The zero vector 0 is considered to be
perpendicular to all vectors.
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THE DOT PRODUCT
The dot product a ∙ b is:
Positive, if a and b point in the same general direction
Zero, if they are
perpendicular
Negative, if they point
in generally opposite
directions
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Properties of Dot Product
The dot product obeys many of the laws that
hold for ordinary products of real numbers.
These are stated as follows
If a, b, and c are vectors in V3 and c is
a scalar, then
1. a a=|a| 2
2. a b = b a
3. a (b + c) = a b + a c
4. (ca) b = c(a b) = a (cb)
5. 0 a = 0
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Proofs
These properties are easily proved:
For example
*a ∙ a = |a|2
= a 12 + a 22 + a 32
= |a|2
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a • (b + c)
= ‹a1, a2, a3› ∙ ‹b1 + c1, b2 + c2, b3 + c3›
= a1(b1 + c1) + a2(b2 + c2) + a3(b3 + c3)
= a1b1 + a1c1 + a2b2 + a2c2 + a3b3 + a3c3
= (a1b1 + a2b2 + a3b3) + (a1c1 + a2c2 + a3c3)
=a∙b+a∙c
Task: The proofs of the remaining
properties are left as exercises
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Direction Angles
The direction angles of a nonzero vector a
are the angles α, β, and γ (in the interval
[0, π]) that a makes with the positive x-, y-, and z-axes.
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Direction Cosine
The direction cosine of a vector are the cosines of
the angles between the vector and the three co
ordinate axis.
The cosines of these direction angles—cos α, cos β, and cos
γ
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a b
As cos =
| a || b |
b replaced by i, we obtain:
ai a1
cos = =
| a || i | | a |
Similarly we also will have ,
a2 a3
cos = cos =
|a| |a|
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