ES202 – Mathematics for Engineers

Murat Büyük, PhD

Introduction to Vectors

We have two kinds of quantities: scalars and vectors

A Scalar is a quantity that is determined by its magnitude (number of units measured on a suitable
scale) (i.e., length, volume, temperature, time, mass, etc.)

A Vector is a quantity that is determined by both its magnitude and direction. So, it is an array or
directed line segment. (i.e., force, velocity, acceleration, etc.)

⃗⃗⃗ 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦,
Vectors are shown with bold letters in literature with an arrow on the letter : 𝑉:
⃗⃗⃗
𝑎: 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
Length or magnitude or norm of a vector is denoted by: |𝑎 |

We often use Cartesian Coordinate System

Let 𝑎 be a given vector in Cartesian Coordinate System with initial point P(x1, y1, z1) and terminal
point Q(x2, y2, z2), then the components of the 𝑎 are 𝑎(𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 ), where

a1=(x2-x1)

a2=(y2-y1)

a3=(z2-z1)

Two vectors 𝑎 and 𝑏⃗ are equal if they have the same length and direction regardless of their initial
points.

Let, 𝑎(𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 ) and 𝑏⃗(𝑏1 , 𝑏2 , 𝑏3 )

If 𝑎 = 𝑏⃗ → 𝑎1 = 𝑏1 , 𝑎2 = 𝑏2 , 𝑎3 = 𝑏3

Unit Vectors: A vector of magnitude = 1 or unity are unit vectors.

̂ ….
Notation for unit vectors : 𝑖̂, 𝑗̂, 𝑘,

where,

𝑖̂ = (1,0,0) , 𝑗̂ = (0,1,0), 𝑘̂ = (0,0,1)

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|𝑖̂| = |𝑗̂| = |𝑘̂ | = 1

𝑖̂, 𝑗̂, 𝑘̂ are the unit vectors in the positive direction of the 3 coordinate axes of cartesian coordinate
system.

𝑖̂, 𝑗̂, 𝑘̂ are in the 3-D Space; R3

𝑒̂
1, ̂ 𝑒3, … , 𝑒̂𝑛, in n-D Space; Rn
𝑒2, ̂

(1, 0, 0, …, 0) (0, 1, 0, …, 0) (0 ,0 ,1,…., 0),…, (0 ,0 ,0 ,…, 1)

Thus, vectors can also be shown as;

𝑎 = 𝑎1 𝑖̂ + 𝑎2 𝑗̂ + 𝑎3 𝑘̂ = 𝑎1 (1,0,0) + 𝑎2 (0,1,0) + 𝑎3 (0,0,1)

Zero Vector: ⃗0 = (0,0,0) has a length of ‘0’ and has no direction.

Remember the magnitude of a vector is: |𝑎| = √𝑎12 + 𝑎22 + 𝑎32 : Pythagorean Theorem

Position Vector: 𝑟 : is the vector with the origin at (0,0,0) as the initial point and the terminal point
at 𝐴(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) . So, 𝑟 = (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧)

Note: if we transfer a vector 𝑎(𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 ) , with initial point ‘P’ and terminal point ‘Q’ ; then,
corresponding coordinates of P and Q change by the same amount if we move the vector. So, their
difference will be the same and give the same components for vector (𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 ):

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Vector Addition

Geometric addition of vectors

𝑐 = 𝑎 + 𝑏⃗

Let, 𝑎(𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 ) and 𝑏⃗(𝑏1 , 𝑏2 , 𝑏3 )

𝑐 = (𝑎1 + 𝑏1 , 𝑎2 + 𝑏2 , 𝑎3 + 𝑏3 )
𝑐 = (𝑐1 , 𝑐2 , 𝑐3 )
The addition of vectors can also give a parallelogram

Properties of Addition:

• 𝑎 + 𝑏⃗ = 𝑏⃗ + 𝑎 (commutativity)
• (𝑎 + 𝑏⃗) + 𝑐 = 𝑎 + (𝑏⃗ + 𝑐) (associativity)
• 𝑎+0 ⃗ =0 ⃗ +𝑎 =𝑎
• 𝑎 + (−𝑎) = 0⃗ (−𝑎 has the same magnitude but opposite direction with 𝑎)
• 𝑎 + 𝑎 = 2𝑎
• 𝑎 − 𝑏⃗ = 𝑎 + (−𝑏⃗) (difference)

Multiplication of a Vector by A Scalar (by a number)

Scalar Multiplication

Let, 𝑎(𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 ) and c: any scalar number (real number)

𝑐𝑎 = (𝑐𝑎1 , 𝑐𝑎2 , 𝑐𝑎3 )

If, 𝑎 ≠ 0 and c>0 then, 𝑐𝑎 has the same direction with 𝑎

If, 𝑎 ≠ 0 and c<0 then, 𝑐𝑎 has opposite direction with 𝑎

Length of 𝑐𝑎 is defined as |𝑐𝑎| = |𝑐||𝑎|

Properties of Scalar Multiplication:

• 𝑐(𝑎 + 𝑏⃗) = 𝑐𝑎 + 𝑐𝑏⃗ (Distributivity)

• (𝑐 + 𝑘)𝑎 = 𝑐𝑎 + 𝑘𝑎 (Distributivity)
• 𝑐(𝑘𝑎) = (𝑐𝑘)𝑎 (Associativity)
• 1𝑎 = 𝑎 and −1𝑎 = −𝑎

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 • 0𝑎 = 0

Examples:

Let, 𝑎(4,0,2)

|𝑎| = √42 + 02 + 22 = √20 = 2√5

Let, 𝑎(4,0,1) , 𝑏⃗(2, −5,1/3) ,

−𝑎 = (−4,0, −1)
7𝑎 = (28,0,7)

𝑎 + 𝑏⃗ = (6, −5,4/3)

2(𝑎 − 𝑏⃗) = 2(2,5,2/3) = (4,10,4/3) = 2𝑎 − 2𝑏⃗

Dot Product (Inner Product) of Vectors

𝑎. 𝑏⃗ = |𝑎||𝑏⃗| cos 𝜃 where, 0 ≤ 𝜃 ≤ 𝜋 and 𝜃 is the angle between the vectors 𝑎 and 𝑏⃗

𝑎. 𝑏⃗ = (𝑎1 𝑏1 + 𝑎2 𝑏2 + 𝑎3 𝑏3 )
The result of a dot product is a scalar

𝑎. 𝑏⃗ = 0 if, 𝑎 = 0 or 𝑏⃗ = 0 or cos 𝜃 = 0

𝜃 < 𝜋/2

𝑎. 𝑏⃗ > 0

𝜃 = 𝜋/2

𝑎. 𝑏⃗ = 0

𝜃 > 𝜋/2

𝑎. 𝑏⃗ < 0

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Let ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑥1 and ⃗⃗⃗⃗ 𝑥1 = (1,2,3) and ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑥2 be vectors: ⃗⃗⃗⃗ 𝑥2 = (4,5,6)

- Dot product ⃗⃗⃗⃗ 𝑥2 = (1,2,3)(4,5,6) = 4 + 10 + 18 = 32

𝑥1 . ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑇
- Dot product by using matrix rotations, dot product of two vectors: ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑥1 . ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑥2 =
4
[1 2 3]1𝑥3 [5] = [32]1𝑥1
6 3𝑥1
𝑇
- Dyadic product, Tensor product, outer product of two vectors: ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑥1 ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑥2 = ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑥1 ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑥2 [No dots in
representation]
1 1 4 5 6
[2] [2] [4 5 6]1𝑥3 = [ 8 10 12] → 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑥 (2𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑟)
3 3𝑥1 3 3𝑥1 12 15 18 3𝑥3
- Multiplication of a matrix with a vector
3 1 10 33
Let 𝐴 = [ ] , 𝑥 = [ ] : 𝐴𝑥 = [ ]
2 7 2𝑥2 3 2𝑥1 41 2𝑥1
- Multiplication of a vector by a matrix
10 3 1
[ ] [ ] = 𝑈𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑
3 2𝑥1 2 7 2𝑥2
- With 𝑥 𝑇 = [10 3]1𝑥2 (depending on the application) (otherwise non commutative)

[10 3]1𝑥2 [3 1
] = [36 31]1𝑥2
2 7 2𝑥2

Orthogonality

vectors 𝑎 and 𝑏⃗ are orthogonal (⊥) if 𝑎. 𝑏⃗ = 0 provided that 𝑎 ≠ 0 or 𝑏⃗ ≠ 0 (for non-zero

vectors)
𝜋
Hence, cos 𝜃 = 0 : 𝜃 = = 90𝑜
2

𝑎⊥𝑏⃗ orthogonal vectors

Note:

If, 𝜃 = 0𝑜 , cos 𝜃 = 1

For 𝑎 , 𝑎. 𝑎 = |𝑎||𝑎|1 = |𝑎|2 → |𝑎| = √𝑎. 𝑎

|𝑎| = √𝑎12 + 𝑎22 + 𝑎32

𝑎. 𝑏⃗ = |𝑎||𝑏⃗| cos 𝜃

𝑎. 𝑏⃗ 𝑎. 𝑏⃗
cos 𝜃 = =
|𝑎||𝑏⃗| √𝑎. 𝑎√𝑏⃗. 𝑏⃗

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Example:

Let, 𝑎 = (1,2,0) , 𝑏⃗ = (3, −2,1)

Find the angle between 𝑎 and 𝑏⃗

𝑎. 𝑏⃗ = (1.3) + (2. −1) + (0.1) = −1

|𝑎| = √𝑎. 𝑎 = √12 + 22 + 02 = √5

|𝑎| = √𝑏⃗. 𝑏⃗ = √14

𝑎. 𝑏⃗
𝜃 = 𝑎𝑟𝑐 cos = 𝑎𝑟𝑐 cos(−0.1195)
|𝑎||𝑏⃗|

𝜃 = 96.86𝑜
Properties of Dot Product:

• (𝑞1 . 𝑎 + 𝑞1 . 𝑏⃗). 𝑐 = 𝑞1 . 𝑎. 𝑐 + 𝑞2 . 𝑏⃗. 𝑐 (Linearly distributed)

• (𝑎. 𝑏⃗) = (𝑏⃗. 𝑎) (Symmetry)
• 𝑎. 𝑎 ≥ 0, if and only if, 𝑎 = 0 and 𝑎. 𝑎 = 0 (Positive definiteness)
• If, cos 𝜃 ≤ 1, |𝑎. 𝑏⃗| ≤ |𝑎|. |𝑏⃗| (Cauchy-Schwarz inequality)
• |𝑎 + 𝑏⃗| ≤ |𝑎| + |𝑏⃗| (Triangle inequality) (The sides of triangle must be shorter than the sum
of the other two sides)
2 2 2
• |𝑎 + 𝑏⃗| + |𝑎 − 𝑏⃗| = 2(|𝑎|2 + |𝑏⃗| ) (Parallelogram inequality)
• As, 𝑖̂⊥ 𝑗̂⊥ 𝑘̂ ,

𝑖̂. 𝑖̂ = |𝑖̂|. |𝑖̂| cos 0 = 1.1.1 = 1 = 𝑗̂. 𝑗̂ = 𝑘̂ . 𝑘̂ = 1

𝑖̂. 𝑗̂ = 𝑖̂. 𝑘̂ = 𝑗̂. 𝑘̂ = 0

Then, 𝑎. 𝑏⃗ = (𝑎1 . 𝑏1 )(𝑖̂. 𝑖̂) + (𝑎1 . 𝑏2 )(𝑖̂. 𝑗̂) + ⋯ + (𝑎3 . 𝑏3 )(𝑘̂ . 𝑘̂ )

𝑎. 𝑏⃗ = (𝑎1 . 𝑏1 ) + (𝑎2 . 𝑏2 ) + (𝑎3 . 𝑏3 )

Directional Angles

The angles: 𝛼, 𝛽 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝛾 (between 0 and ) that a non-zero vector 𝑎 makes with the positive x, y and
z axes, correspondingly.

𝑎 = (𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 ) = (𝑎1 𝑖̂, 𝑎2 𝑗̂, 𝑎3 𝑘̂ )

𝑎1 . 𝑖̂ 𝑎1
𝑎. 𝑖̂ = |𝑎|. |𝑖̂| cos ∝= |𝑎|. cos ∝= 𝑎1 → cos ∝= =
|𝑎| |𝑎|

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 𝑎2 𝑗̂ 𝑎2
𝑎. 𝑗̂ = |𝑎|. |𝑗̂| cos 𝛽 = |𝑎| . cos 𝛽 = 𝑎2 → cos 𝛽 = =
|𝑎| |𝑎|

𝑎3 𝑘̂ 𝑎3
𝑎. 𝑘̂ = |𝑎|. |𝑘⃗̂ | cos 𝛾 = |𝑎|. cos 𝛾 = 𝑎3 → cos 𝛾 = =
|𝑎| |𝑎|

𝑎 = (|𝑎|. cos ∝)𝑖̂ + (|𝑎|. cos 𝛽)𝑗̂ + (|𝑎|. cos 𝛾)𝑘̂

𝑎 = |𝑎|(cos ∝ 𝑖̂ + cos 𝛽 𝑗̂ + cos 𝛾 𝑘̂ )

Example:

Let, 𝑝 : constant force acting on a body

𝑑 : displacement

Work done by a force is expressed as an inner product.

𝑊 = |𝑝||𝑑| cos 𝜃 = 𝑝. 𝑑

If, 𝜃 < 90𝑜 ; 𝑊 > 0

If, 𝜃 = 90𝑜 ; 𝑊 = 0

If, 𝜃 > 90𝑜 ; 𝑊 < 0 [Work done is against the force]

Example:

Find the force on the rope necessary to hold the vehicle with a weight of 5000 kg’s in equilibrium on
the inclined plane shown in the Figure.

Weight: 𝑎 = (0, −5000) :in -y direction

𝑎 =𝑐+𝑝
𝑐 : force acting towards the inclined plane, we are not interested in

𝑝 : force in the direction, parallel to, the rope

Direction of the unit vector 𝑢̂ opposite to the direction of the rope: 𝜃 = 90𝑜 − 25𝑜 = 650

|𝑝| = |𝑎| cos 𝜃 = 5000 cos 65 = 2113𝑘𝑔

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Let a vector 𝑏⃗ in the direction of the rope is : 𝑏⃗ =(-1, tan25) = (-1,0.46631) , thus|𝑏⃗| = 1.10338
1
So that, 𝑢̂ = − ⃗|
𝑏 = (0.90631, −0.42262]
|𝑏

⃗
𝑎⃗ .𝑏 5000 . 0.46631
Since, |𝑢
⃗ | = 1 and cos 𝜃 > 0 , |𝑝| = (|𝑎| cos 𝜃)|𝑢
⃗ | = 𝑎. 𝑢
⃗ =− ⃗
= = 2113𝑘𝑔
|𝑏| 1.10338

Vector Product (Cross Product) of Vectors

For some applications like rotations, the product of vectors needs to be a vector.

𝑎𝑥𝑏⃗ = 𝑉
⃗ (a cross b) (result is a vector)

If, 𝑎 = 0 or 𝑏⃗ = 0 or 𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏⃗ have the same or opposite directions (𝛾 = 0𝑜 𝑜𝑟 𝛾 = 180𝑜 )

⃗ | = |𝑎𝑥𝑏⃗| = |𝑎||𝑏⃗|𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛾
⃗ = 0 ,where |𝑉
Then, 𝑉

⃗ is perpendicular to plane formed by 𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏⃗

𝑉

If,

𝑎 = (𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 )

𝑏⃗ = (𝑏1 , 𝑏2 , 𝑏3 )
⃗ = (𝑉1 , 𝑉2 , 𝑉3 )
𝑉

For right-handed c.c.s.

All unit vectors are on the positive direction of the axis

𝑖̂ 𝑗̂ 𝑘̂ 𝑎2 𝑎3 𝑎1 𝑎3 𝑎1 𝑎2
⃗ = 𝑎𝑥𝑏⃗ = |𝑎1
𝑉 𝑎3 | = | 𝑏 ̂
𝑎2
2 𝑏3 | 𝑖̂ − | 𝑏1 𝑏3 | 𝑗̂ + | 𝑏1 𝑏2 | 𝑘
𝑏1 𝑏2 𝑏3

⃗ = (𝑎2 𝑏3 − 𝑎3 𝑏2 )𝑖̂ − (𝑎1 𝑏3 − 𝑎3 𝑏1 )𝑗̂ + (𝑎1 𝑏2 − 𝑎2 𝑏1 )𝑘̂

𝑉
𝑉1 = 𝑎2 𝑏3 − 𝑎3 𝑏2
𝑉2 = 𝑎1 𝑏3 − 𝑎3 𝑏1
𝑉3 = 𝑎1 𝑏2 − 𝑎2 𝑏1

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For left-handed c.c.s.

+z is in the reverse direction

Cross Products of the Standard Basis Vectors

𝑖𝑥𝑗 = 𝑘⃗ , 𝑗𝑥𝑖 = −𝑘⃗ , 𝑗𝑥𝑘⃗ = 𝑖 , 𝑘⃗ 𝑥𝑗 = −𝑖 , 𝑘⃗ 𝑥𝑖 = 𝑗 , 𝑖𝑥𝑘⃗ = −𝑗

General Properties of Vector (Cross) Products:

• For scalar 𝑙, 𝑙(𝑎)𝑥(𝑏⃗) = 𝑙(𝑎𝑥𝑏⃗) = 𝑎𝑥𝑙(𝑏⃗)

• 𝑎𝑥(𝑏⃗ + 𝑐) = (𝑎𝑥𝑏⃗) + (𝑎𝑥𝑐) (distributivity over addition)

(𝑎 + 𝑏⃗)𝑥𝑐 = (𝑎𝑥𝑐) + (𝑏⃗𝑥𝑐)

• 𝑏⃗𝑥𝑎 = −(𝑎𝑥𝑏⃗) (noncommutative) unticommutative

• 𝑎𝑥(𝑏⃗𝑥𝑐) ≠ (𝑎𝑥𝑏⃗)𝑥𝑐 (nonassociative)

Triple Products

𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 , 𝑏⃗ , 𝑐 vectors

(𝑎𝑥(𝑏⃗x𝑐 )) → Triple Vector Product → result is a vector

𝑎. (𝑏⃗x𝑐 ) , (𝑎𝑥𝑏⃗). 𝑐 ) → Triple Scalar Product → result is a scalar

Triple Scalar Product

𝑎1 𝑎2 𝑎3
⃗
𝑎. (𝑏x𝑐 ) = |𝑏1 𝑏2 𝑏3 | = 𝑎1 | 𝑏2 𝑏3 𝑏
| + 𝑎2 | 3
𝑏1 𝑏
| + 𝑎3 | 1
𝑏2
|
𝑐1 𝑐2 𝑐3 𝑐2 𝑐3 𝑐3 𝑐1 𝑐1 𝑐2

𝑉 = |𝑎. (𝑏⃗x𝑐 )| → gives volume of a parallelepiped with 𝑎 , 𝑏⃗ , 𝑐 as edge vectors

Volume = h x area

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ℎ = |𝑎| cos 𝛼 , 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 = |𝑏⃗x𝑐|

𝑉 = |𝑎||𝑏⃗x𝑐| cos 𝛼 = |𝑎. (𝑏⃗x𝑐 )|

Example:

If a tetrahedron is given by 3 edge vectors that meet one vertex, find its volume

𝑎 = (2,0,3)

𝑏⃗ = (0,4,1)
𝑐 = (5,6,0)
2 0 3
4 1 0 4
𝑉 = 𝑎. (𝑏⃗x𝑐 ) = |0 4 1|=2 | |+ 3| | = −12 − 60 = −72 for the parallelepiped
6 0 5 6
5 6 0
(negative due to c.c.s.)
1
𝑉𝑡𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎ℎ𝑒𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑛 = = 72/6 = 12
6𝑉

Notes:

• There vectors in R3 are linearly independent if and only if their scalar triple product is NOT
‘0’.
1 1
• Area of triangle formed by 𝑎 , 𝑏⃗ vectors: |𝑎𝑥𝑏⃗| = |𝑎||𝑏⃗|𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
2 2
• Remember for the area of parallelogram: |𝑎𝑥𝑏⃗| = |𝑎||𝑏⃗|𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃

Example:

Let,

𝑎=2𝑖+𝑗-𝑘⃗ = (2,1, −1)

𝑏⃗=𝑖-3𝑗+2𝑘⃗ = (1, −3,2)

𝑐=4𝑖-3𝑘⃗ = (4,0, −3)

Find the volume of the parallelopiped

+ + + − − −
2 1 −1
⃗ 2 1 −1 2 1 −1
𝑉 = 𝑎. (𝑏x𝑐 ) = |1 −3 2 | = | | |
1 −3 2 1 −3 2
4 0 −3
4 0 −3 4 0 −3
= (2. −3. −3) + (1.2.4) + (−1.1.0) − (2.2.0) − (1.1. −3) − (−1. −3.4)
= 18 + 8 + 0 − 0 + 3 − 12 = 17

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