Study Guide for Exam 1

Version: Feb. 2, 17:00 PM

1. You are supposed to know the basics of the description of the geo-
metric objects in the 2-dimensional/3-dimensional coordinate system.
(1) You are supposed to be able to determine the center and radius
of a sphere by “completing the square”, given the equation of
the form
x2 + y 2 + z 2 + ax + by + cz + d = 0.
(2) You are also suppoed to be able to compute the distance be-
tween two given points.
(3) You are supposed to be able to describe the region defined by
some inequalities.
Example Poblems:
1.1.
(i) Compute the distance from the point P = (2, 1, −5) to the
closest point on the sphere defined by the equation
x2 + y 2 + z 2 + 2x − 6y + 9 = 0.
(ii) Let the situation be as above, and let Q be the furthest point
−→
on the sphere from P . Compute P Q.
1.2. Find the center and radius of the sphere defined by the equation
x2 − 6x + y 2 + 10y + z 2 + 2z = 1.
1.3.
(i) Consider the sphere given by the following equation:
x2 − 6x + y 2 + 8y + z 2 − 4z = a.
Find the value of a so that the sphere has radius 5.
(ii) Consider the sphere given by the following equation:
x2 − 6x + y 2 + 2ay + z 2 − 4z = −4.
The sphere has radius 5. Find the y-coordinate of the center.

1
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1.4. Write inequalities which describe the geometric objects below.

(i) The solid cylinder whose central axis is the line given by the
equations x = 3, y = −5, and the cross section perpendicular
to the axis is a disk of radius 2.
(ii) The solid upper hemisphere of the sphere of radius 7 centered
at (1, −2, 3). (We choose the z-axis to be the verical one, while
the xy-plane is horizontal. The word “upper” is with respect
to the vertical z-axis.)
2. You are supposed to be able to carry out the basic operations
among the vectors, addition, subtraction, scalar multiplication, and
understand the geometric meaning of each operation.
Example Poblems:
2.1. Let P and Q be the following two points in the 3-space

P = (3, −1, 4)
Q = (7, 2, −5).
(i) Find a vector
−→
(a) that has the same direction as the vector P Q, and
(b) has length 5.
(ii) Find a vector
−→
(a) that has the opposite direction to the vector P Q, and
(b) has length 3.
2.2. A 500lb load hangs from three cables of equal length that are
anchored at the points
 √
 B = (1, −
√ 3, 0)
C = (1, 3, 0)
D = (−2, 0, 0).


The load is located at

√
A = (0, 0, −4 2).
Find the vector describing the force on the cable anchored at B (resp.
C, D), i.e., the force the cable is exerting to pull the point B (resp. C,
D) in the direction of the point A.
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3. You are supposed to be able to compute the dot product ~a · ~b of two

vectors ~a and ~b.
(1) You are supposed to understand the geometrical interpretation
of the dot product ~a·~b = |~a||~b| cos θ, where θ is the angle between
the two vectors.
(2) You should be able to use the orthogonality criterion in terms
of the dot product
~a ⊥ ~b ⇐⇒ ~a · ~b = 0.
Example Poblems:
3.1. Determine the numbers α and β so that ~a = h 31 , 13 , αi is a unit
√
vector and that ~a is orthogonal to ~b = hβ, 0, 2i.
3.2. Determine the angle between the following two tangent lines:
one is to the curve y = 3x at point (1, 3) and the other is to the curve
y = 3x5 at point (1, 3).
4. You are supposed to be able to compute the (orthogonal) projection
Proj~v ~u of a vector ~u onto ~v , and scalar component Scal~v ~u of ~u in the
direction of ~v , by the formulas
~u · ~v

 Proj~v ~u =
 ~v
~v · ~v
~u · ~v
 Scal~v ~u = √

~v · ~v
WARNING: Make a clear distiction between Proj~v ~u and Scal~v ~u.
Example Poblems:
4.1. Compute Proj~v ~u and Scal~v ~u, given

~u = h−8, 0, 2i
~v = h1, 3, −3i

5. You are supposed to be able to compute the cross product ~a × ~b of

two vectors ~a and ~b.
(1) You are supposed to understand the geometrical characteriza-
tion of the cross product ~a ×~b as the vector orthogonal to both ~a
and ~b, where the direction is determined by the right hand rule,
with the magnitude being equal to the area of the parallelogram
fromed by the two vectors ~a and ~b.
(2) As an application of the characterization above, you should be
able to use the criterion for two vectors to be parallel in terms
of the cross product
~a k ~b ⇐⇒ ~a × ~b = ~0.
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(3) You should be able to compute the scalar triple product ~a ·(~b×~c)
as the determinant of 3 × 3 matrix formed by the vectors ~a, ~b, ~c.
You are also supposed to know its geometrical interpretation
as the volume of the parallelepiped formed by the the three
vectors.
Example Poblems:
5.1. Find the cross product ~a × ~b where

~a = 2~i + ~j − ~k,

~b = ~i + 3~j + 2~k.

5.2. Let ~a = h3, −1, 5i. Find a vector ~v such that

(i) ~v is perpendicular to ~a, and
(ii) ~a × ~v = h−1, 2, 1i.
5.3. 
We have the following 4 points A,B,C,D in the 3-space:

 A = (1, −2, 3)
B = (4, −1, 3)


 C = (5, −2, 4)
 D = (6, −3, 5)
Determine whether these 4 points are coplanar or not.
5.4. Determine the constant c so that the following three vectors are
coplanar:

 ~a = h7, c, 1i
~b = h0, 3, −1i
~c = h−3, 4, −2i .


5.5. Find the area of the triangle formed by the following three points

P = (1, 0, 1),
Q = (−2, 1, 3),
R = (4, 2, 5).

5.6. What is the distance from the point (2, 3, 1)

to the line given by the parametric equation

hx, y, zi = h1, 7, 0i + t h1, −1, 1i

with −∞ < t < ∞ being the parameter ?

5.7. Find the volume of the parallelepiped formed by the following
three vectors:
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 −→
 OP = h7, 2, 1i


−→
OQ = h0, 3, −1i
 −→


OR = h−3, 4, −2i .
6. You are supposed to be able to find an equation of a plane satisfy-
ing certain conditions as an application of the dot product andd cross
product.
Example Poblems:
6.1. Find an equation of the plane passing through the following
three points

 P (1, 1, 1)
Q (2, 1, 0)
 R (1, 0, 2) .
6.2. Find an equation of the plane
• passing through the point P (3, 2, −5), and
• perpendicular to the planes 4x + y − 3z = 2 and − x + 2y + 5z = 9.
6.3. Find an equation of the plane
• passing through thepoint P (7, −1, 5), and 
 x = 7+t  x = 7+t
• including two lines y = −1 + 2t and y = −1 + 5t
 z = 5 + 3t  z = 5 + 3t

7. You are suppoesed to be able to compute the area of the region

bounded by some curves, taking the integration
(i) in terms of x, and
(ii) in terms of y.
Example Poblems:
7.1. Consider the region in the 3rd quadrant bounded by the
curves y = x, y = x2 − 6 and y = 0.
Write down the right formulas to compute the area of the region,
taking the integration
(i) in terms of x, and
(ii) in terms of y.
7.2. Consider the region bounded by the curves x = 3y, x = −y 2 +10.
Write down the formulas to compute the area of the region, taking
the integration
(i) in terms of x, and
(ii) in terms of y.
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8. You are supposed to be able to compute the volume of a solid

obtained by rotating the region enclosed by some curves around a fixed
axis , using
(i) the washer method, and
(ii) the method of cylindrical shells.
Example Poblems:
8.1. Write down the formulas to compute the volume of the solid
obtained from rotating about the line y = −3 the region bounded by
the curves y = x2 and x = y 2 , using
(i) the washer method, and
(ii) the method of cylindrical shells.
8.2. Write down the formulas to compute the volume of the solid
obtained from rotating about the line x = 5 the region bounded by the
curves y = x2 , y = 0 and x = 3, using
(i) the washer method, and
(ii) the method of cylindrical shells.
8.3. Find the volume of the solid obtained by rotating around y-axis
the region bounded by the curves y = 3 + 2x − x2 and x + y = 3 using
the method of cylindrical shells.
8.4. Find the volume of the solid obtained by rotating about the
y-axis the region bounded by y = sin x, y = 0, x = π/2.
9. You are supposed to be able to compute the volume of a solid, given
the description of its base and its cross sections.
Example Poblems:
9.1. Find the volume of the solid S described below:
(i) The base of S is a circular disk of radius 1 with the origin being
the center.
(ii) The cross sections perpendicular to the base and x-axis are
squares with one side on the base.
9.2. The base of a solid is the region bounded by the parabolas
y = x2 and y = 5 − x2 .
Find the volume of the solid if the cross-sections perpendicular to
the base and parallel to the y-axis are equilateral triangles with one
side lying along the base.
9.3. Find the volume of the solid S described below:
(i) The base of S is a triangle in the 1st quadrant whose vertices
are (0, 0), (0, 1), (1, 0).
(ii) The cross section perpendicular to the base and x-axis are equi-
lateral triangles with one side on the base.
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10. You are supposed to be able to compute the length of a curve by

the formula
Z bp Z dp
0 2
1 + {f (x)} dx or 1 + {g 0 (y)}2 dy.
a c

Example Poblems:
ex + e−x
10.1. Find the length of the curve y = f (x) = on the
2
interval [− ln 2, ln 3].
1
10.2. Find the length of the curve f (x) = 2ex + e−x on the interval
8
[0, ln 2].
10.3. Find the length of the curve
x3 1
y = f (x) =
+ on [1, 4].
3 4x
2 3
10.4. Find the arc length of the curve y = x 2 between x = 0 and
3
x=8
11. You are supposed to be able to compute the area of a surface
obtained by revolution around the x-axis (or y-axis) by the formula
Z b p Z d p
0 2
2πf (x) 1 + {f (x)} dx (or 2πg(y) 1 + {g 0 (y)}2 dy).
a c
Example Poblems:
11.1.
(i) Compute the surface area of a northern cap of a sphere with
radius 2 and height 1.
(ii) Consider the above northern cap of height 1 and the rest of the
northern hemisphere. Which one has the bigger area ?
11.2. Find the area of the surface generated when the given curve is
1
revolved about the given axis: y = (e3x +e−3x ) on [0, 3] about the x-axis.
6
11.3. Find the surface area of the solid generated by revolving the
x3
curve y = about the x-axis between x = 0 and x = 2.
3
11.4. Compute the area of the surface obtained by rotating the graph
of √
y = g(x) = 1 + 1 − x2 over − 1 ≤ x ≤ 1
about x-axis.
HINT: Set
√
f (x) = 1 − x2 over − 1 ≤ x ≤ 1.
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Then the surface area S we want to compute is given by

Z 1 p
S = 2πg(x) 1 + {g 0 (x)}2 dx
Z−11 p
= 2π{1 + f (x)} 1 + {f 0 (x)}2 dx
−1
( since g 0 (x) = (1 + f (x))0 = f 0 (x))
Z 1 p Z 1 p
= 0
2π 1 + {f (x)} dx +2 2πf (x) 1 + {f 0 (x)}2 dx
−1 −1

Now the second part is

Z 1 p
2πf (x) 1 + {f 0 (x)}2 dx = 4π,
−1

since it is the area of a sphere of radius 1.

Now what does the 1st part without 2π represent, i.e., what is
Z 1p
1 + {f 0 (x)}2 dx ?
−1

12. You are suppoesed to be able to compute the amount of work

required to carry out a task and/or the total amount of exerted on the
surface.
Typical examples are:
• work needed to stretch a spring
• work needed to lift a chain
• work needed to pumping the water from a tank in various shape
(inverted circular cone, cylinder etc.)
• force on the face of a dam
Example Poblems:
12.1. If the work required to stretch a spring 2 ft beyond its natural
length is 18 ft-lb, how much work is needed to stretch it 4 inches beyond
natural length ?
12.2. A chain of length 8 m is hanging from the ceiling of 10 m high.
The density of the chain is 1.5kg/m. Find the amount of work to lift
the bottom tip of the chain to the ceiling so that the chain is folded in
half. Use g m/s2 for the acceleration due to the gravity.
12.3. Write down the formula for the work required to empty the
water from the reversed conical tank, where the radius of the top is
3 m and the height is 7 m. The original depth of the water is 5 m
and you are only allowed to throw away the water from the top of the
tank. Use ρ kg/m3 for the density of the water, and g m/sec2 for the
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acceleration constant by the gravity. Choose the coordinate system so

that the vertex at the bottom is the origin of the y-axis.
12.4. Find the formula for the work needed to pump all the water
out of a cylindrical tank with a height of 10 m and a radius of 5 m
? The water is pumped to an outflow pipe 15 m above the bottom of
the tank. Let ρ kg/m3 denote the density of water, and g m/sec2 the
acceleration by the gravity.
12.5. A vertical dam is shaped like the area between the curves
y = x2 and y = 36. The unit for the length is given by the meter m.
Find the formula for the total force on the face of the dam when the
dam’s reservoir is completely full ?
Let ρ kg/m3 denote the density of water, and g m/sec2 the acceler-
ation by the gravity.
13. You are supposed to be able to carry out “Integration by Parts”:
Z Z
udv = uv − vdu.

Example Poblems:
Z
13.1. Compute x7 ln x dx.
Z π
4
13.2. Evaluate x cos(2x) dx.
0
Z 1
13.3. Evaluate tan−1 x dx.
Z0
13.4. Compute x2025 ln x dx.