Remedial Course in Mathematics

MAT 092

Lecture Notes
 Acknowledgements

Written by
Sajib Rahman Sarker

Reference Books:
• Precalculus - The Art of Problem Solving by Richard Rusczyk
Contents
7 Vectors in Two Dimensions 2
7.1 What’s a Vector? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
7.2 The Dot Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

1
Chapter 7

Vectors in Two Dimensions

7.1 What’s a Vector?
In a two dimensional
  space, a vector is considered to be an ordered pair of numbers
x
denoted by , where the numbers x and y are called components of the vector.
y
Vectors have the following operations:

• Vector addition: We can add vectors by adding the corresponding compo-

nents.      
a c a+c
+ =
b d b+d

• Multiplication of a vector by a constant: We can multiply a vector by a

constant by multiplying each component of the vector by the constant.
   
a ka
k =
b kb
 
a
The product k is commonly referred to as scalar multiplication; be-
b
cause when we speak of vectors, we often refer to real numbers as scalars.

We can denote a vector by giving it a label instead of referring to it by it’s

components:

• A bold lowercase letter - not italicized, like v.

• Other notations to denote a vector are →

−
v or v̂.

Geometrically, a vector can be represented as an arrow. In figure 7.1,

 
1
• The arrow from (0, 0) to (1, 3) represents the vector .
3
 
1
• And the arrow from (2,-4) to (3,-1) also represents the same vector .
3

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Figure 7.1:

 
1
These arrows represent the same vector , because any arrow that depicts
3
right 1 unit, up 3 units represents the same vector, does not matter where the vec-
tor locates in a coordinate system.

In this text,
  we will refer to an arrow that represents a vector as simply a vector.
1 ~ and AB
~ in figure 7.1 are v, and so we can write
Letting v = , we see both A
3
~ = BC
A ~ = v.
 
x
A vector with magnitude 1 is called a unit vector. The vector can also be
  y  
1 0
written as xi + yj, where i is the unit vector and j is the unit vector . The
0 1
zero vector is a vector in which both components are zero. We denote this vector
as simply 0.

The set of all vectors in two dimensions is denoted by R2 . Since R is a set of

all real numbers, the symbol R2 indicates the set of all ordered pairs of real numbers.

Norm of a vector: The norm or magnitude or length of a vector is given

by
p
kvk = x2 + y 2
Example 7.1  
x
We define the norm of a vector to be the distance from (x, y) to the origin
y  
x
in the Cartesian plane. We denote the norm of a vector v as kvk. Find in
y
terms of x and y.

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Solution: Using the formula we introduced for the norm of a vector, we have
 
x p p
= (x − 0)2 + (y − 0)2 = x2 + y 2
y

Example 7.2
v
(a) If v = 3i − 4j, then what is kvk ?
 
7 v
(b) If , then what is kvk ?
 −7 
0.5 v
(c) If , then what is kvk ?
−0.2
(d) Generalize your results from the first three parts. That is, what can we say
v
about kvk when v is a nonzero vector?

Solutions: p v
(a) We have kvk = 32 + (−4)2 = 5, so kvk = 15 v = 35 i − 45 j.
Therefore, we have s 
2  2
v 3 4
= + − =1
kvk 5 5
√ 
√

p
2 2 v 1/ √2
(b) We have kvk = 7 + (−7) = 7 2, so kvk = and
−1/ 2
r
v 1 1
= + =1
kvk 2 2
√
√
 
p v 0.5/ √0.2
(c) We have kvk = (0.5)2 + (−0.2)2 = 0.29, so kvk
= .
−0.2/ 1.29
v
Instead of rationalizing the denominator, we forge ahead finding kvk
:
s 2  2 r
v 0.5 0.2 0.25 + 0.04
= √ + −√ = =1
||v|| 0.29 0.29 0.29
 
x p
(d) Let v = . We have kvk = x2 + y 2 , which is nonzero because v 6= 0, so
y
v !2 !2 s
u
v u x y x2 + y 2
= t p + p = =1
kvk x2 + y 2 x + y2
2 x2 + y 2

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In this problem, we showed that the result of dividing a nonzero vector by it’s
v
magnitude is a unit vector. Since kvk is a unit vector, when we write v as

v
v = kvk · ,
kvk

we express v as the product of it’s magnitude and a unit vector.

Example 7.3
Let xi + yj be a nonzero vector, and let (r, θ), where r > 0, be the polar coordinates
of the point with rectangular coordinates (x, y). How are r and θ related to the
vector xi + yj ?

Solution: Since x = r cos θ and y = r sin θ, we have

xi + yj = (r cos θ)i + (r sin θ)j = r((cos θ)i + (sin θ)j)

We have p
r= x2 + y 2 = kxi + yjk
so r is the magnitude of xi + yj. Since
p
k(cos θ)i + (sin θ)jk = (cos θ)2 + (sin θ)2 = 1

we see that (cos θ)i + (sin θ)j is a unit vector, so θ can be used to describe the di-
rection of the vector.

Example 7.4 Let v be a nonzero vector.

(a) Geometrically speaking, how are v and 3v related?
(b) Let −v = (−1)v for any v. Geometrically speaking, how are v and −v related?

Solution   
a 3a
(a) Let v = , so we have 3v = . The origin, the point (a, b), and the
b 3b
point (3a, 3b) are on the line through the origin with slope ab , so they are collinear.

Figure 7.2:

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√
We have kvk = a2 + b2 and
p √
k3vk = (3a)2 + (3b)2 = 3 a2 + b2 ,so
√
 
a b
v = a2 + b 2 √ i+ √ j
a 2 + b2 a 2 + b2
√
 
3a 3b
3v = 3 a2 + b2 √ i+ √ j
3 a 2 + b2 3 a 2 + b2
√
 
a b
=3 a +b √
2 2 i+ √ j
a2 + b 2 a2 + b 2
We expressed each as the product of its magnitude and direction. We see that the
vector 3v has same direction as v, but has three times the magnitude. That is, 3v
is a "scaled" version of v.
   
a −a
(b) If v = , then −v = . The point (a, b) and the point (−a, −b)
b −b
are on the line through the origin with slope ab .

Figure 7.3:

The origin is equidistant from (a, b) and (−a, −b), and the vector from (0, 0) to
(a, b) is in the opposite direction as the vector from (0, 0) to (−a, −b). Therefore, v
and −v have the same magnitude, but opposite direction.
   
5 2
Example 7.5: Let v = and w =
1   4
x
(a) Find x and y such that v + w =
y
(b) Let O be the origin, let A be the point (5, 1), let B be the point (2,4) , and
let C be the point (x, y), where x and y are your answers from part (a). What are
~ OB,
OA, ~ OC, ~ and AC~ in terms of v and w? What type of quadrilateral is OACB?
(c) Use your answers to part (b) to give a geometric description for adding two
vectors.

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Solution:
(a) According to the rule for vector addition, we have
       
5 2 5+2 7
+ = =
1 4 1+4 5

(b) The  from O to A indicates going

 arrow up 1,
 to the right 5 and   we have
~ = 5 ~ = 2 ~ = 7
OA = v. Similarly, we have OB = w, and OC = v+w.
1 4   5
~ = 2 , which is w.
To get from A to C, we go right 2 and up 4, so AC
4

Figure 7.4:

~ = w = OB
Therefore, we have AC ~ with AC~ and OB ~ in the same direction;
which means sides AC and OB of OACB are parallel and we also have the same
~ and OB
length, since AC ~ have the same magnitude. So, OACB is a parallelogram.

(c) In ∆OAC as shown in figure 7.4, we see that OA ~ = v, AC~ = w, and

~ = v + w, We start at the origin and draw the arrow corresponding to v. Then,
OC
starting from where this arrow ends, we draw the arrow corresponding to w. The
arrow from the origin to the end of this second arrow corresponds to v + w, which
we can also view as the diagonal of the parallelogram with v and w as consecutive
sides.
We can also see in our diagram that vector addition is commutative. That is, we
have v + w = w + v where v + w corresponds to the path O → A → C and w + v
corresponds to the path O → B → C.

Important:
   
a c
1. For any vectors and , we have 1
b d
     
a c a−c
− =
b d b−d

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This also means that we can view vector subtraction as a combination of vector
addition and scalar multiplication:
             
a c a c a −c a−c
− = + (−1) = + =
b d b d b −d b−d

2. For any points A and B, we have AB ~ =B ~ − A.~

   
5 2
Example 7.6: Let v = and w =
1 4
(a) We define vector subtraction to fit with our definition of vector addition. The
vector w − v is the vector u such that
 w− v. Use the definition of vector addition
x
to find x and y such that w − v = .
y
(b) Let O be the origin, let A be the point (5, 1), let B be the point (2, 4), and let
C be the point (x, y), where x and y are your answers from part (a). What are
~ OB,
OA, ~ OC,~ and AB ~ in terms of v and w ?
(c) Show that for any points P and Q in the Cartesian plane, we have P~Q = Q ~ − P~ .
(d) How are P~Q and QP ~ related?

Solution    
x x
(a) If w − v = , then w = + v.
y y
       
2 x 5 x+5
= + =
4 y 1 y+1
Therefore, x + 5 = 2 and y + 1 = 4, so x = 2 − 5 = −3 and y = 4 − 1 = 3.
         
x 2 5 2−5 −3
=w−v = − = =
y 4 1 4−1 3

~
(b) From example 7.5, wehave OA ~
 = v and OB = w. Since (x, y) = (−3, 3)
~ = −3 = w − v.
from part (a), we have OC
3

Figure 7.5:

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~ = −3
Since point B is 3 to the left and 3 above A, we have AB , so
3
~ = w − v.
AB

(c) Let O be the origin in figure 7.6. According to the definition of vector sub-
~ − P~ is the vector we must add to P~ to get Q.
traction, the vector Q ~

Figure 7.6:

Consider the vector sum P~ + P Q.

~ since P~ is the vector from the origin to P, and
~
the vector P Q is the vector from P to Q when we perform head-to-tail addition to
get P~ + P Q,
~ we go from the origin to P, and then from P to Q. So, the vector sum
P~ + P Q
~ equals Q.
~

Therefore, P~Q is indeed the vector we must add to P~ to get Q,

~ which means
~ =Q
PQ ~ − P~ .

(d) Using the relationship from part (c), we have P~Q = Q−

~ P~ and QP
~ = P~ − Q,
~
so P~Q = −QP ~ . We could also have noted that the vector from P to Q (the vector
~
P Q ) has the same length but opposite direction as the vector from Q to P (the
~ ), so we have P~Q = −QP
vector QP ~ .

7.2 The Dot Product

In this section, we define a special product of two vectors, the dot product.
  We
v1
denote the dot product of vectors v and w as v · w. Letting v = and
  v2
w1
w= , we define the dot product v · w as
w2
   
v1 w1
· = v1 w1 + v2 w2
v2 w2

The dot product is also sometimes referred to as the inner product.

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4 5 −2
Example 9.7: Let p = ,q = , and r =
−3 2 7
(a) Evaluate p · q and q · p
(b) Evaluate p · (2r) and 2(p · r)
(c) Evaluate p · (q + r) and p · q + p · r
(d) Generalize your results from parts (a), (b), and (c). That is, show that for all
vectors u, v, w and all scalars a, we have u · v = v · u, u · (av) = a(u · v) and
u · (v + w) = u · v + u · w.

Solution:
(a) We have p · q = (4)(5) + (−3)(2) = 14
and q · p = (5)(4) + (2)(−3) = 14, therefore, p · q = q · p
(b) We have
   
4 −4
p · (2r) = · = (4)(−4) + (−3)(14) = −58
−3 14
and    
4 −2
2(p · r) = 2 · = 2(4(−2) + (−3)(7)) = −58
−3 7
Therefore, we have p · (2r) = 2(p · r).
(c) We have
         
4 5 −2 4 3
p · (q + r) = · + = · = (4)(3) + (−3)(9)
−3 2 7 −3 9
Hence, p · (q + r) = −15 and
      
4 5 4 −2
p·q+p·r= · + = 14 − 29 = −15
−3 2 −3 7
· (q + 
Therefore, p  r) = p ·q + p· r  
u1 v1 w1
(d) Let u = ,v = , and w = . We then have
u2 v2 w2
u · v = u1 v1 + u2 v2
v · u = v1 u1 + v2 u2 = u1 v1 + u2 v2
which means that the dot product is commutative: we have u · v = v · u for all
vectors u and v. We also have
   
u1 av1
u · (av) = · = (u1 ) (av1 ) + (u2 ) (av2 ) = a (u1 v1 + u2 v2 )
u2 av2
and    
u1 v1
a(u · v) = a · = a (u1 v1 + u2 v2 )
u2 v2
Therefore, we have u · (av) = a(u · v) for all scalars a and vectors u and v. Turning
to u · (v + w) and u · v + u · w, we have
   
u1 v1 + w 1
u · (v + w) = · = u1 (v1 + w1 ) + u2 (v2 + w2 )
u2 v2 + w 2

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and
       
u1 v1 u1 w1
u·v+u·w = · + · = u1 v1 + u2 v2 + u1 w1 + u2 w2
u2 v2 u2 w2

As expected, u · v + u · w = u1 (v1 + w1 ) + u2 (v2 + w2 )

Therefore, we have u · (v + w) = u · v + u · w

Important: For any scalar a and vectors u, v, and w, we have

u·v =v·u
u · (av) = a(u · v)
u · (v + w) = u · v + u · w

Sidenote: We say that the function g(u, v) = u · v is bilinear because it is

linear in both u and v.

2
Example 7.8 Show  for any vector v, we have v · v = kvk .
 that
v1
Solution: Let v = , so that
v2
   
v1 v1
v·v = · = v12 + v22 = kvk2
v2 v2

Important:

1. For any vector v, we have v · v = kvk2

2. If θ is the angle between nonzero vectors v and w, then

v · w = kvkkwk cos θ

Example 7.9 Let θ be the angle between nonzero vectors v and w. Show that
v · w = kvkkwk cos θ.

Solution: We can infer that it would be a geometric approach seeing the pres-
ence of kvk, kwk and cos θ. In figure 7.7, we have points V and W , where V~ = v
and W~ = w, and we let the origin be O. We therefore have OV = kvk, OW = kwk,
and W V = kW~V k = kv − wk.

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Figure 7.7:

We try the Law of Cosines, since this will produce a term of the form kvkkwk cos θ.
The Law of Cosines gives us W V 2 = OV 2 + OW 2 − 2(OV )(OW ) cos θ, or

kv − wk2 = kvk2 + kwk2 − 2kvkkwk cos θ

To introduce dot products, we apply the relationship we proved in example 7.8,

which gives us kvk2 = v · v, kwk2 = w · w, and kv − wk2 = (v − w) · (v − w), so
we can write the Law of Cosines equation above as

(v − w) · (v − w) = v · v + w · w − 2kvkkwk cos θ

This equation doesn’t have v · w, yet. Applying the fact that the dot product is
distributive, we have

(v − w) · (v − w) = (v − w) · v − (v − w) · w
=v·v−w·v−v·w+w·w

Since v · w = w · v, our Law of Cosines equation now is

v · v − 2v · w + w · w = v · v + w · w − 2kvkkwk cos θ

Simplifying this equation gives

v · w = kvkkwk cos θ

Rearranging this equation gives

v·w
cos θ =
kvkkwk

We can use this relationship to find the angle between two vectors.

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Example
 7.10:Find the
 angle between each pair of vectors below.
−1
√ 0
(a) and
3 −2
   
12 2
(b) and
−8 3
   √ 
2 −2 − √3
(c) and
1 −1 + 2 3
Solution: Let θ be the angle between the two given vectors in each parts.
(a) We have
√ √ √
(−1)(0) + ( 3)(−2) −2 3 3
cos θ = q √ √ = = −
4 2
(−1)2 + ( 3)2 · 02 + 22

so θ = 150◦
(b) We have
cos θ = √ (12)(2)+(−8)(3)
√ =0
12 +(−8) · 2 +32
2 2 2
◦
so θ = 90

(c) We have
√ √
(2)(−2 − 3) + (1)(−1 + 2 3) −5 1
cos θ = √ q √ √ =√ √ =−
5·2 5 2
22 + 12 · (−2 − 3)2 + (−1 + 2 3)2

so θ = 120◦

Example 7.11: We say that two vectors are orthogonal if their dot product
is zero. Suppose we draw arrows representing two nonzero vectors from the same
point. If these vectors are orthogonal, then how are the arrows that represent them
related geometrically?
Solution: Let the vectors be v and w. Since v and w are nonzero, we have
kvkkwk cos θ = 0 if and only if cos θ = 0, which means the angle between the vec-
tors is 90◦ . Therefore, the arrows representing the vectors are perpendicular if and
only if the vectors are orthogonal.

So, we can interpret "orthogonal" geometrically to mean "perpendicular." Since

these concepts are so closely related, they share a symbol. We can write that v and
w are orthogonal as v ⊥ w.

Important: If the dot product of two vectors is 0, then then the vectors are said
to be orthogonal to each other. Geometrically speaking, two nonzero orthogonal
vectors are perpendicular. The vector 0 is orthogonal to all vectors.

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Example 7.12: If p · q = p · r for a nonzero vector p, then must we have q = r?

Solution: No. Rearranging the equation p · q = p · r gives p · q − p · r = 0, which we
can "factor n as p · (q − r) = 0, because the dot product is distributive. Therefore,
if p · q = p · r, all we know is that the vector q − r is orthogonal to p. We cannot
conclude that q = r.

Now that we know what to look for,  we can

 quickly find an example for which
2
p · p = p · r, but q 6= r. Let p = . Then, we find x and y such that
    −1
2 x
· = 0.
−1 y
 
1
One such pair is (x, y) = (1, 2). Therefore, if q − r = then we have
2
p · q = p · r. We can choose
 any vector for r andsolve for the corresponding
 q.
3 1 4
Specifically, suppose r = , then we have q = +r = , and indeed
2 2 4
we have p · q = p · r = 4, but q 6= r.

WARNING! We cannot "divide" vectors from dot products. For example, if

u · v = u · w then we cannot deduce that v and w are the same.

Example 7.13: Use the dot product to prove that

(x1 y1 + x2 y2 )2 ≤ x21 + x22 y12 + y22

for all real x1 , x2 , y1 , and y2 . When does equality hold?

Solution: The expression on the lesser side looks like the square of a dot prod-
uct and the expression on the greater side looks like the product of the squares of
vector norms.
   
x1 y1
So, we let x = and y = . Then, we have
x2 y2

x · y = x1 y1 + x2 y2

and
kxk2 kyk2 = x21 + x22 y12 + y22

We also have x · y = kxkkyk cos θ, where θ is the angle between x and y. We must
have | cos θ| ≤ 1, so
x·y
= | cos θ| ≤ 1
kxkkyk
Squaring the left and right ends of this, multiplying both sides by kxk2 kyk2 , and
substituting our expressions for x · y and kxk2 kyk2 from above gives the desired

(x1 y1 + x2 y2 )2 ≤ x21 + x22 y12 + y22

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We have equality if and only if | cos θ| = 1, which means θ = 0◦ or θ = 180◦ .

This occurs if and only if x and y are in the same direction, or in opposite directions.

In either case, we must have x = cy for some nonzero constant. Conversely, if

x = cy for some nonzero constant c, then θ = 0◦ or θ = 180◦ , in which case we have
| cos θ| = 1, so equality holds.

Finally, equality holds if either vector is the vector 0. Therefore, equality holds
in the inequality if and only if y is 0 or if x = cy for some constant c. This result
is called the Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality.

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