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Module 2 Vector Multiplication

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9 views

Module 2 Vector Multiplication

Uploaded by

Mike Dexter Patacsil
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LESSON II VECTOR MULTIPLICATION

A. Dot Product of Two Vectors


The dot product of two vectors is defined as the product of magnitude of the two
vectors and cosine of the angle between them.

where,  is the angle between directions of vectors A and B. Instead of representing


magnitude as |A|or simply represented as A. In vector notations, one can rewrite the
above equation as

B. Cross Product of Two Vectors


The cross product of two vectors A and B is defined as the product of magnitude of two vectors, sine of
the angle between the vectors and unit vector perpendicular to both A and B.

where θ is the angle between directions of two vectors A and B.

In the geometrical interpretation of the cross product, the magnitude of the cross
product (ABsinθ) represents the area of the parallelogram (see Fig. 2-1). While, the
vector area is represented by the direction perpendicular to the surface. Thus, the
cross product of two vectors represents the vector area.

Fig 2-1. Cross Product of Two Vectors


C. Scalar Triple Product
Given three vectors A, B, and C, we define the scalar triple product as:

A • (B X C) = B • (C X A) = C • (A X B)
Which is obtained through cyclic permutation. If A = (Ax, Ay, Az), B = (Bx, By, Bz), and
C = (Cx, Cy, Cz), then A • (B X C) is the volume of a parallelepiped having A, B, and C
as edges and is easily obtained by finding the determinant of the 3 X 3 matrix formed
by A, B, and C; that is:

Where the result of this vector multiplication is scalar.

D. Vector Triple Product


For vectors A, B, and C, we define the vector triple product as:

A X (B X C) = B(A • C) - C(A • B)
It should be noted that

(A • B)C ≠ A(B • C)
but (A • B)C = C(A • B)
E. Components of a Vector
A direct application of vector product is its use in determining the projection (or
component) of a vector in a given direction. The projection can be scalar or vector.
Given a vector A, we define the scalar component AB of A along vector B as:

or
The vector component AB of A along B is simply the scalar component multiplied by a
unit vector along B; that is:

Both the scalar and vector components of A are illustrated in Figure 2-2. Notice from
Figure 2-2(b) that the vector can be resolved into two orthogonal components: one
component AB parallel to B, another (A - AB) perpendicular to B. In fact, our Cartesian
representation of a vector is essentially resolving the vector into three mutually
orthogonal components as in Figure 2-2(b).

a b

Components of A along B: (a) scalar component AB, (b) vector component AB


We have considered addition, subtraction, and multiplication of vectors. However,
division of vectors A/B has not been considered because it is undefined except when A
and B are parallel so that A = kB, where k is a constant.
SAMPLE PROBLEMS:
1. Given vectors A = 3ax + 4ay + az and B = 2ay - 5az, find the angle between A and B.

2.

Find:
(c)
3. Show that the points P1 (5, 2, -4), P2 (1, 1, 2), and P3 (-3, 0, 8) all lie on a straight line. Determine
the shortest distance between the line and point P4 (3,-1,0).
This is the vector equation of the straight line joining P1 and P2. If P3 is on this line, the position
vector of P3 must satisfy the equation; r3 does satisfy the equation when λ = 2.

Figure 2-3. Diagram for Example 3

Any point on the line may be used as a reference point. Thus, instead of using P1 as a reference point, we
could use P3 so that

The shortest distance between the line and point P4 (3, -1 ,0) is the perpendicular distance from
the point to the line. From the given, it is clear that;
ACTIVITY NO. 02-M
Solve the following problems. Write your detailed solutions on a standard size yellow paper (strictly NO
erasures).

1. Given the following: P = 2ax-ay-2az

Q = 4ax+3y+2az
R = -ax+ay+az
find: (a) |P + Q - R|, (b) P • Q X R, (c) Q X P • R, (d) (P X Q) • (Q X R), (e) (P X Q) X (Q X
R), (f) cos θPR, and (g) sin θPQ.

2. If A = - ax + 6ay + 5az and B = ax + 2ay + 3ax, find: (a) the scalar projections of A on B, (b)
the vector projection of B on A, (c) the unit vector perpendicular to the plane containing A and
B.
3. The vertices of a triangle are located at (4, 1, -3), (-2, 5, 4), and (0,1,6). Determine the three
angles of the given triangle.
4. Points P, Q, and R are located at (-1 , 4, 8), (2,-1 , 3), and (-1 , 2, 3), respectively. Determine:
(a) the distance between P and Q, (b) the distance vector from P to R, (c) the angle between QP
and QR, (d) the area of triangle PQR, (e) the perimeter of triangle PQR.
5. Given A = 𝑥 2 yax — yzay + y𝑧 2 az , determine:
(a) The magnitude of A at point T (2, -1,3)
(b) The distance vector from T to S if S is 5.6 units away from T and in the same direction as
A at T.
(c) The position vector at S.

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