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Scalar projection is a mathematical concept that describes the component of one vector in the direction of another vector. It is calculated as the dot product of the two vectors, divided by the length of the second vector. This quantity represents the length of the orthogonal projection of the first vector onto the second. It can be either positive or negative depending on the angle between the vectors. The scalar projection is often used to decompose one vector into components parallel and perpendicular to another vector.

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59 views8 pages

Ghru

Scalar projection is a mathematical concept that describes the component of one vector in the direction of another vector. It is calculated as the dot product of the two vectors, divided by the length of the second vector. This quantity represents the length of the orthogonal projection of the first vector onto the second. It can be either positive or negative depending on the angle between the vectors. The scalar projection is often used to decompose one vector into components parallel and perpendicular to another vector.

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Rohit Raj
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Scalar projection

In mathematics, the scalar projection of a


vector on (or onto) a vector also
known as the scalar resolute of in the
direction of is given by:

If 0° ≤ θ ≤ 90°, as in this case, the scalar projection


of a on b coincides with the length of the vector
projection.
Vector projection of a on b (a 1),
and vector rejection of a from b
(a 2).

where the operator denotes a dot


product, is the unit vector in the direction
of is the length of and is the
angle between and .

The term scalar component refers


sometimes to scalar projection, as, in
Cartesian coordinates, the components of
a vector are the scalar projections in the
directions of the coordinate axes.
The scalar projection is a scalar, equal to
the length of the orthogonal projection of
on , with a negative sign if the
projection has an opposite direction with
respect to .

Multiplying the scalar projection of on


by converts it into the above-mentioned
orthogonal projection, also called vector
projection of on .

Definition based on angle θ

If the angle between and is known,


the scalar projection of on can be
computed using
( in the
figure)

The formula above can be inverted to


obtain the angle, θ.

Definition in terms of a and b

When is not known, the cosine of can


be computed in terms of and by the
following property of the dot product
:

By this property, the definition of the scalar


projection becomes:
Properties

The scalar projection has a negative sign if


. It coincides with the
length of the corresponding vector
projection if the angle is smaller than 90°.
More exactly, if the vector projection is
denoted and its length :

if
if
See also

Scalar product
Cross product
Vector projection

Sources

Dot products - www.mit.org (http://www.


mit.edu/~hlb/StantonGrant/18.02/detail
s/tex/lec1snip2-dotprod.pdf)
Scalar projection - Flexbooks.ck12.org
(https://flexbooks.ck12.org/cbook/ck-1
2-college-precalculus/section/9.6/prima
ry/lesson/scalar-and-vector-projections-
c-precalc#:~:text=The%20definition%20
of%20scalar%20projection%20is%20th
e%20length%20of%20the%20vector%20
projection.&text=A%20scalar%20projecti
on%20is%20given,is%20less%20than%2
090%E2%88%98.)
Scalar Projection & Vector Projection -
medium.com (https://medium.com/linea
r-algebra-basics/scalar-projection-vecto
r-projection-5076d89ed8a8)
Lesson Explainer: Scalar Projection |
Nagwa (https://www.nagwa.com/en/ex
plainers/792181370490/)

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This page was last edited on 7 October 2023, at


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