Part 4
Part 4
Part 4
Distance in Space
The formula for the distance between two points in the xy-plane extends to
points in space.
-24-
The Distance Between P1(x1, y1, z1) and P2(x2, y2, z2) is
Example 1: Finding the Distance Between Two Points The distance between P1(2,
1, 5) and P2(-2, 3, 0) is
Vectors
A Vector is an object with length (magnitude) and direction. The direction of a
vector is determined by the vector’s start (initial) point and end (terminal) point.
Two vectors are equal if they have the same length and direction. Changing the
position of the vector’s start point does not change the vector, therefore, vectors are
typically drown with their start point at origin. Vectors with start points at origin
are called Position Vectors.
We can specify v by writing the coordinates of its terminal point (v1, v2, v3)
when v is in the standard position. If v is a vector in the plane its terminal point (v1,
v2) has two coordinates.
-25-
Component Form and Length of a Vector
The Component Form of the vector in a three-dimensional equal to the vector with
the initial point at the origin and terminal point (v1, v2, v3), then the component form
of v is
v= v1, v2, v3
Given the points P (x1, y1, z1) and Q (x2, y2, z2) the standard position vector v = (v1,
v2, v3 equal to PQ is
If v is two-dimensional with P (x1, y1) and Q (x2, y2) as points in the plane, then
v= (𝑥2 − 𝑥1, 𝑦2 − 𝑦1). There is no third component for planar vectors.
Two vectors are equal if and only if their standard position vectors are identical.
Thus u1, u2, u3 and (v1, v2, v3 are equal if and only if u1 = v1, u2 = v2, and u3 = v3.
The magnitude or length of the vector PQ is the length of any of its equivalent
directed line segment representations. In particular, if v= (𝑥2 − 𝑥1, 𝑦2 − 𝑦1, 𝑧2 − 𝑧1
is the standard position vector for 𝑃𝑄⃗ then the distance formula gives the magnitude
or length of v, denoted by the symbol |v| or ||v||.
The only vector with length 0 is the zero vector 0 = (0,0,0). This vector is also the
only vector with no specific direction.
-26-
Example 2: Find the (a) component form and (b) length of the vector with initial
point P (-3, 4, 1) and terminal point Q (-5, 2, 2).
Solution:
The definition of vector addition is illustrated geometrically for planar vectors in the
following Figures, where the initial point of one vector is placed at the terminal point
of the other in the first, while the parallelogram law of addition in the second.
-27-
A geometric interpretation of the scalar multiplication ku of the scalar k and vector
u is illustrated in the following Figure. If k > 0, then ku has the same direction as u;
if k < 0, then the direction of ku is opposite to that of u. Comparing the lengths of u
and ku, we see that
The length of ku is the absolute value of the scalar k times the length of u.
The vector (-1) u = - u has the same length as u but points in the opposite direction.
Example :
-28-
Properties of Vector Operations
Any vector can be written as follows: v = (v1, v2, v3 = v1i+ v2j + 3k.
We call the scalar (or number) v1 the i-component of the vector v, v2 the j-
component, and v3 the k-component.
In component form, the vector from P1(x1, y1, z1) to P2(x2, y2, z2)
-29-
Whenever v ≠ 0, its length v is not zero and
That is, v/|v| is a unit vector in the direction of v, called the direction of the nonzero
vector v.
In summary:
Example 4: Find a unit vector u in the direction of the vector from P1(1, 0, 1) to
P2(3, 2, 0).
Example
A force of 6 newtons is applied in the direction of the vector v = 2i + 2j - k. Express
the force F as a product of its magnitude and direction.
Sol
-30-
2.3 Midpoint of a Line Segment
Vectors are often useful in geometry. For example, the coordinates of the midpoint
of a line segment are found by averaging. The midpoint M of the line segment
joining points P1(x1, y1, z1) and P2(x2, y2, z2) is the point
Example
-31-
Dot products are also called inner or scalar products because the product results in
a scalar, not a vector. It is used to calculate the angle between two vectors directly
from their components; show whether two vectors are orthogonal or not; find the
projection vector.
The dot product u ● v (u dot v) of vectors u = (u1, u2, u3〉 and v = (v1, v2, v3〉 is
-32-
Example
Find the angle between u = i - 2j - 2k and v = 6i + 3j + 2k.
Example
Find the angle u in the triangle ABC determined by the vertices A = (0, 0), B = (3,
5), and C = (5, 2)
Solution
The angle u is the angle between the vectors 𝐶𝐴⃗ and 𝐶𝐵⃗ . The component forms of
these two vectors are:
-33-
2.5 Perpendicular (Orthogonal) Vectors
Vectors u and v are orthogonal (or perpendicular) if and only if u ● v = 0.
-34-
2.6 Vector Projections
The vector projection of u onto a nonzero vector v is
Example
Solution:
-35-