Super Vectors Part 2

7.
More on Vectors
We have unfinished business with vector operations; we must look at the

dot product, cross product and triple product of vectors.
The Dot Product
The dot product of two vectors s, t, signified by st, is an ordinary scalar

(not another vector). It is found by multiplying each corresponding
element and adding these together. E.g.
In the 3D case,
The scalar product is used to find the angle between any two vectors.
That is, the angle between them when they are moved so that their tails
are on the same point) Divide the scalar product of the two vectors by the
product of their magnitudes, and take arccosine of the result. That is, for
vectors s, t, the angle between them will be
Visually, we can judge that this is about right; it’s certainly an acute
angle.
1
In three dimensions,
Visually;
If the angle between u and v is , then the dot product uv is also given by
|u||v|cos. This will be handy to know when we tackle geometry with
vectors.
Exercise 1. Find the dot product of the following vectors.
1. a) , b) , c) d)
2. Find the angle between each of the above vectors.
Unit Vectors
To find the Cross Product and the Triple Product, we first need to
understand unit vectors.
2
Recall that rectangular coordinates just measure distances from a central
point, the origin. We have seen that vectors contain the idea of motion in
a straight line from some point, and that if this point is the origin of a set
of coordinates, the vector is a position vector. So why not measure the
distances in vectors one unit long along x, y, and z (or however many axes
you have)?
A vector 1 unit long is a unit vector. A unit vector in the x direction is

called i (remember we use italicised letters for vectors), a unit vector in
the y direction is called j, and one in the z direction is called k.
With the unit vectors giving our rectangular coordinates, we can write
vectors in a new way. If a vector is in our usual notation, we can now
call it 6i +4j +0k. Read this as “6 unit vectors along the x direction, 4
along the y direction and zero along the z direction”. It’s important to put
in that k because the cross product brings in another dimension- we’ll
come to that in a minute. Similarly becomes 6i +4j +9k. This way

happens to be convenient for the cross and triple products.
Exercise 2. Convert the following bracketed vectors to their equivalents
in unit-vector notation.
1. a) , b) , c) d)
Unit vectors in Other Directions
Suppose we require a unit vector in the same direction as u = ? Since a

a unit vector has magnitude zero, whereas u has magnitude
3
,
simply divide u throughout by its magnitude. That is,
Exercise 3. Find the unit vector in the same direction as the following.
1. a) , b) , c) d)
Components
Because the values in i, j and k make up a given vector, we say that these
values are the components of the vector. For instance, 6i, 4j and 9k are
the components of vector .
Cross Product
The cross product multiplies two vectors to get a third vector. As usual
this is a lot more complicated than multiplying two numbers. The
technique is to set the two vectors into a matrix underneath the unit
vectors, and work out the determinant of the vector.
Remember s = And t = ? Now we have s = 2i +4j +0k, t = 4i +3j +0k.
The cross product of these is
4
Think about that. We started with two vectors that lay in the xy plane (that
only had i and j components), and ended up with a vector that lay along
the z direction (that had only a k component). The cross product of the
two vectors is at right angles to the plane in which the original two
vectors lay; the cross product operation brings in another dimension.
In the 3D case, take the familiar u and v;
This new vector -2i +16j -8k is again at right angles to the plane in which
the first couple lies. It’s easier to see if we rotate the axes.
If the angle between u and v is , then the modulus of the vector u  v is |

u||v|sin. So the cross product is also described as a vector of modulus |
u||v|sin at right-angles to the plane of u and v (this will be handy to
5
know when we tackle geometry with vectors).
Exercise 4. Find the cross product of the following vectors.
1. a) , b) , c) d)
Triple Product
The triple product is the dot product of a vector with the vector formed
by a cross product. That is, the triple product takes three vectors and
obtains a scalar from them.
Take vectors u, v, and a third we’ll call w,
Then the triple product of u, v, and w is w(uv).
Handedness
The axes in the xyz coordinate system are right-handed. That

is to say, the cross product of the unit vectors i  j is a vector at right
angles to this plane and positive along the z direction (in fact it’s the unit
vector k).
Visually, anticlockwise motion from a vector u in the xy plane to a vector

v in the xy plane results in a vector moving up the z axis, as though you
were unscrewing a right-handed screw.
6
The triple product w(uv) is always positive in a right-handed system.
Exercise 5. Find the triple product of the following vectors.
1. a) , b)

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7.

We have unfinished business with vector operations; we must look at the

The Dot Product

The dot product of two vectors s, t, signified by st, is an ordinary scalar

Exercise 1. Find the dot product of the following vectors.

A vector 1 unit long is a unit vector. A unit vector in the x direction is

come to that in a minute. Similarly becomes 6i +4j +9k. This way

Unit vectors in Other Directions

Suppose we require a unit vector in the same direction as u = ? Since a

the components of vector .

Remember s = And t = ? Now we have s = 2i +4j +0k, t = 4i +3j +0k.

The cross product of these is

In the 3D case, take the familiar u and v;

If the angle between u and v is , then the modulus of the vector u  v is |

Exercise 4. Find the cross product of the following vectors.

Take vectors u, v, and a third we’ll call w,

Then the triple product of u, v, and w is w(uv).

The axes in the xyz coordinate system are right-handed. That

Visually, anticlockwise motion from a vector u in the xy plane to a vector

Exercise 5. Find the triple product of the following vectors.

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