Unit-I : Introduction

Module 1 : Coordinate system transformations

Up until now our discussion has been has been restricted to the use of Cartesian
coordinates defined by coordinate axes x, y and z. Very often the symmetry of the
problem suggests the use of a different set of coordinates. Besides Cartesian
coordinate system, there are two other coordinate systems known as Cylindrical
and Spherical coordinate systems. These two systems belong to a more general
class of coordinate system called ‘Curvilinear Coordinate systems’.
When a calculation in physics, engineering or geometry involves a cylinder, cone
or sphere the problem can be simplified by using cylindrical or spherical
coordinates.
The equations of physics should remain valid if we change coordinate systems.
Thus, we often use the symmetry of a problem to determine our choice of
coordinate systems
i) The problems dealing with a central potential such as Newtonian gravitation or
electrostatics, both of which vary as 1/r, suggest that we should use a coordinate
system, where one of the coordinates is the radial distance from the origin ‘r’.
Thus, we should use spherical polar coordinates rather than Cartesian coordinates.
ii) Since the ground state of the hydrogen atom is spherically symmetric, it seems
logical that we should use spherical coordinates to describe its solution.
We obtain cylindrical coordinates for space by combining polar coordinates in
xy-plane with the usual z-axis.

Polar Coordinates :
To define polar coordinates, first we have to fix a point called origin O and an
initial ray from this point O . This point is also known as the pole. There will be
two varying parameters r and θ in polar coordinate system and are called polar
coordinates. The parameter r indicate the directed distance of the point P from
origin. The parameter θ indicate the angle from the axis of reference ( called the
initial ray later in this notes) to the line joining the origin to the point. Then every
point (P) can be located by assigning to it a polar coordinate pair in which r gives
the directed distance from O to P and gives the directed angle from the initial ray
to ray OP as shown in Fig-1.
 Fig-1

We can relate the polar and Cartesian coordinates as follows.

When we use both polar and Cartesian coordinates in a plane, we place the two
origins together and take the initial polar ray as the positive x-axis. The ray θ = π/2,
and r > 0 becomes the positive y-axis as shown in Fig-2.

Fig-2

So the position coordinates of a point P(x,y) in XY-plane are given as

x = r cos(θ) -------- (1)
y = r sin(θ) ------- (2) and
x2 + y2 = r2 ---------(3)
The first two of these equations uniquely determine the Cartesian coordinates
x and y given the polar coordinates r and On the other hand, if x and y are
given, the third equation gives two possible choices for r (a positive and a
negative value).
The area of a closed and bounded region R in the polar coordinate plane is

The procedure for changing a Cartesian equations in to polar equations

involve 2 steps.
i) Substitute x = r cos(θ) and y = r sin(θ) and replace (dx)(dy) by (rdr)(dθ ) in
the Cartesian equations.
ii) Then apply polar limits for the boundary
For example: The area given in its integral form in Cartesian coordinate
system is

Now the same area expressed in polar coordinates will be

CYLINDRICAL COORDINATES:
We obtain cylindrical coordinates for space by combining polar coordinates in the
XY-plane with the usual z-axis. So in addition to polar coordinates r and θ we
have z coordinate and hence there will be three variables. therefore the cylindrical
coordinates represent a point P in space by ordered triple variables r , θ, and z in
which
i) r and θ are polar coordinates for the vertical projection of point P on the
XY-plane
ii) z is the rectangular vertical coordinate of the point.

Cylindrical coordinates are good for describing cylinders whose axes run along the
z-axis and planes that either contain the z-axis or lie perpendicular to the z-axis.
Problem 1: Calculate the volume of the cylinder of radius R and height h?
Solution:
SPHERICAL COORDINATES:
Spherical Coordinates are those which locate points in space with two angles
and one distance as shown in Fig-3 below. Spherical coordinates simplify the
equations of spheres and cones.

Figure 3: Spherical coordinate system

The set of equations relating spherical coordinates to Cartesian and Cylindrical

coordinates
x = ρ sin Φ cos θ r = ρ sin Φ
y = ρ sin Φ sin θ θ=θ
z = ρ cos Φ z = ρ cos Φ

The first coordinate ( ρ ) is the point distance from the origin and is never negative
(unlike r in other coordinate systems). The second coordinate (φ) is the angle
which the distance vector ρ makes with positive Z-axis and can take values
between 0 and π. The third coordinate (θ) is the angle which the projection of the
position vector of point P makes with positive X-axis ( same angle as in cylindrical
coordinate system) So the spherical coordinates in order are (ρ,φ, θ).
Spherical coordinates are good for describing spheres centered at the origin, half
planes hinged along the z-axis and cones whose vertices lie at the origin and whose
axes lie along the z-axis.
Problem 2: calculate the volume of the sphere of radius R?
Solution :

EQUATIONS RELATING CARTESIAN, CYLINDRICAL

AND SPHERICAL COORDINATES:

Corresponding formula for volume element ( dV) is

dV = (dx)(dy)(dz)………….. Cartesian
= (dZ)(rdr)(d θ)………… Cylindrical
= ρ2Sin(φ)( dρ)(d φ)(d θ)…Spherical
Unsolved Problems:
(1) Calculate the area of the sphere by using spherical coordinates?
(2) Calculate the curved surface area of the cylinder by using cylindrical
coordinates?
Multiple choice questions
1) Volume element in spherical co-ordinate systems( )?
(a)
(b) r2
(c) r3
(d)
2) Volume element in cylindrical co-ordinate systems( )?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
3) which of the following is true for Area vector in the case of cylindrical
coordinates( )
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d) all of the above
4) which of the following is true for Area vector in the case of cylindrical
coordinates( )
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d) all of the above
5) Express Cartesian coordinates in terms of cylindrical coordinates( )?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d) none of the above
Module-2 : Differential Calculus

VECTOR DIFFERENTIAL OPERATOR

(Gradient, Del and Curl operators & significance)
In the study of Physics many a times we come across physical quantities which are
either scalar or vector quantities. In order to understand the vector operators one
must have knowledge of Scalar and Vector point functions. Let us first define what
are these functions.
Scalar point function
In a region in 3 dimensional space each point P can be identified with its position
coordinates (x,y,z). We associate a ‘unique real number ‘ (φ) to the point. As we
know this number is a scalar quantity and it is function of x, y and z coordinates of
the point. We write the scalar as φ(x, y, z). This quantity is called ‘Scalar point
function’ in the space.
For example, the temperature distribution in a region around a source of heat. The
temperature is a scalar quantity and is a function of position coordinates of a point
as we all experience, in the region under consideration. The temperature is a scalar
point function.
Vector point function
In the space we associate a unique vector F at any point in the region. This vector
is a function of position of the point. i.e. position coordinates. This quantity F(x, y,
z) is called ‘Vector point function’ in the space.
For example, consider a particle moving in space. it will have certain velocity (V)
which is a vector point function. The particle may also have certain acceleration
(a) which is also a vector point function. Other example is the electric and
magnetic fields in the space.
We come across several scalar and vector point functions in various branches of
science.
Vector differential operator
The vector differential operator, read as ‘del’ and represented by symbol and is
defined as
This operator will have properties similar to those of ordinary vector.
Remember that this operator has no meaning on its own, unless and until it
operates on some function in a suitable manner. This differential operator is
also called ‘nabla’. its capable of differentiating both vector and scalar functions
with equal ease. It has many important applications in physics.
There are three possible operations with ‘del’ operator corresponding to three types
of vector multiplication. Each of these operations has its own physical significance.
The three operations are :
1) Gradient of a scalar function ( this corresponds to multiplication of a vector
by a scalar quantity) is a vector.
2) Divergence of a vector function ( this corresponds to scalar or dot-product of
two vectors) is a scalar.
3) Curl of a vector function ( this corresponds to vector or cross-product of two
vectors) is a vector.
Now we will study these three operations in detail.
Gradient of a scalar function
Let φ(x,y,z) is a scalar point function defined in some region of space. Now let us
operate the vector differential operator ( ) on the scalar function just like
multiplication of vector by a scalar. This operation is known as ‘Gradient of a
scalar function’ and is abbreviated as ‘Grad φ’
It is defined as

The Grad φ is a vector quantity. So the gradient of a scalar function φ at point

P(x,y,z) is a vector along the normal to the level surface φ(x,y,z) = c at point the
point P and is in increasing direction.
In your earlier course in physics, you have been introduced to the electric field
vector( E) as the negative gradient of electric potential (V).
i.e
Properties of gradient:
i) If F and G are any two scalar functions then
Grad(F±G) = Grad(F) ± grad(G)
ii) The necessary condition for a scalar point function φ to be constant is
Grad φ = 0 i.e. a null vector.
iii) Grad(FG) = F[Grad(G)] + G[Grad(F)]
iv) Grad(cF) = c[Grad(F)] where c is constant.
v) Grad(F/G) = {G[Grad(F)]-F[Grad(G)]}/G2
vi) Let Then . If φ is a scalar point function
then
Physical significance of Gradient:
Let us consider the heat transfer in space from a source of heat. The scalar function
φ here is the temperature. Then represents the ‘temperature gradient ‘ or
‘rate of change of temperature with distance’. Therefore even though the
temperature is a scalar quantity ( having magnitude alone), its gradient is a vector
quantity having both magnitude and direction. The direction of gradient is the
direction in which the rate of change of scalar function is maximum. That is, the
gradient of a scalar function gives the particular direction in which the scalar
function changes most rapidly or the maximum space rate of change of that
function.
In the Figure-1 below, a source of heat and a observing point P and two points P1
and P2 in two different directions from the source are shown.

Figure-1

We can observe that the change in temperature will be maximum in the direction
of point P2 i.e. in the direction of source from the point P, while the change in
direction of point P1 is less.

Problem 1: If , then find

Solution
Gradient interms of spherical coordinates:

Gradient interms of cylindrical coordinates:

Divergence of vector
The second kind of ‘del’ operation is the multiplication of del-operator by another
vector so that the resultant is the dot or scalar product.
Let F be any continuously differentiable vector function. If the operator operates
on F to get the scalar or dot product and F , then the resultant is called
‘Divergence of vector F’. It is abbreviated as ‘del F’.

This kind of operation of the operator ‘del’ results in a scalar point function.
Now consider a vector
The divergent of this vector is

Problem 2: If , then find

solution
Physical significance divergence:
Vector analysis is of much use in simplifying mathematical forms of relations that
exist in three dimensional fields. Depending on the vector function F in a physical
problem, we can interpret the divergence of the vector.
Consider the flow of a fluid ( flow of gas in a pipe line or water in a river). Imagine
a small rectangular box in the flow and would like to measure the rate per unit
volume at which the fluid flows out at any given time.
Suppose V(x,y,z) is the velocity of the fluid flow at point P(x,y,z) at time t.
remember the time (t) has no role to play un computing the divergence , but it is
considered because the velocity vector depends on time. Then if the velocity vector
is operated upon by del-operator, it gives the measure of the outward flow or
expansion of the fluid at any time.
Now for simplicity, let us consider an incompressible fluid (like water) of density
ρf . We can imagine an infinitesimal volume element within the fluid as a
rectangular parallelopiped of dimensions Δx, Δy and Δz as shown in the following
Figure-2.

Figure-2
Let Vy be the average of the y-component of the fluid velocity through the face
ABCD. Now the flow into the parallelopiped through this face will be equal to ρf
Vy Δx Δy Δ z .
The rate of flow out through the face EFGH will be equal to

The net outward flow in y-direction in unit time

In the same way,

the net outward flow in x-direction in unit time

the net outward flow in z-direction in unit time

Now if we consider all the three directions, then the net flow in unit time will
be equal to

So, the net outward flow per unit volume in unit time is

The above equation gives the divergence of the fluid at any point P(x, y, z).

At any point if the outflow of the fluid is greater than the inflow then the
divergence of the fluid is said to be positive( i.e. diverge). On the other hand if
at any point if the outflow of the fluid is less than the inflow then the
divergence of the fluid is said to be negative(i.e. converge)

Similarly the flux rate around positive charge is positive and negative around a
negative electric charge (Recollect your knowledge in earlier physics course about
the flux around an electric charge)
A vector point function F is said to be ‘solenoidal’ only if Div F = 0

What we can conclude now is that, given a scalar field Φ, we can find a vector
field Φ and given a vector field F, we have produce a scalar field

Divergence interms of spherical coordinates :

Divergence interms of cylindrical coordinates :

Curl of vector
The third important operation with the vector operator ‘del’ is to take cross or
vector product with a vector function. The curl of a vector also mean its ‘rotation’
Let A is a continuously differentiable vector function. the ‘Curl ‘ of vector A
is defined by

We can write curl of a vector in the determinant form as

It is evident that the curl of a vector is also a vector. If vector A is a constant vector
then CurlA = 0, a null vector
Other property of Curl of a vector is that

Physical significance of Curl

In the case of motion of a rotating rigid body about a fixed axis, the linear
velocity of a particle (point) on the body is related to the angular velocity of
the body as

That is the angular velocity of rotation at any point in the body is equal to half of
the curl of the linear velocity vector .
The concept of curl of a vector can be clearly illustrated in the stream flow
problems. Suppose a leaf floats on the surface of a stream as shown in figure
below.
Let the surface is in x-y plane. If the velocity of the flow is entirely in the y-
direction and is uniform over the surface then the leaf will have only a translational
motion. But in general there will be rotational as well as translational motion
because of the disturbances in the stream flow. The rate of rotation at any point is
measured by the curl of velocity of water at that point. If the rotation is about the z-
axis, the curl of velocity in the z-direction is denoted by . [Remember a
rotation from y to x is clockwise, while the rotation from x to y is anticlockwise].

Figure : A leaf floats in the x-y plane

The positive value of will tend to rotate the leaf in clockwise rotation, where
as a positive value of will tend to rotate the leaf in anticlockwise direction.
Therefore, the rate of rotation about the z-axis is proportional to . Hence,
We can write .
Similarly, the corresponding components in x and y directions respectively are
and
The net rate of rotation which is nothing but the angular velocity of a body about
any axis can be written as

Suppose the motion of the body is such the curl of velocity vector is a null vector,
i.e. ( = 0 Then the motion of the body is said to be ‘irrotational’
Problem 3: If , then find
solution
Curl interms of spherical coordinates :

Curl interms of cylindrical coordinates :

Some Important Vector Identities

Unsolved Problems:
1) Find the value of C for which the vector
is solenoidal?
2) Find the value of
 3) Find the value of
4) Find the gradient of the following scalar fields
(a)
(b)
(c)
5) Determine the divergence & Curl of the following vector fields?
(a)
(b)
(c)

Multiple Choice Questions:

1) The divergence of the vector is

(a)
(b)
(c) xy
(d) 0(zero)
2) If F (x, y, z) = yz2 + xy + yz , then div curl F=?
(a) 2yz
(b) b)xy
(c) 0
(d) yz

3) The curl of is
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
4) Which of the following is correct for an irrotational flow of F(x,y,z)?
(a) div F= 0
(b) div F
(c) Curl F= 0
(d) curl F
5) What is the gradient of a scalar field F(x, y, z)= xy2-yz.
(a) 2xy
(b) –yz
(c) (2xy-yz)
(d) y2 + (2xy-z) - y
6) The value of for which the vector is solenoidal
(a)
(b) 2
(c) -2
(d) 3
7) Given , the value of at point (3,4,1) is
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
8) If and , then is
(a) Perpendicular to
(b) Parallel to
(c) Null vector
(d)
9) If , then grad at the point (1, 2, -1) is
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
10) The Curl of position vector is
(a) 1
(b) 0
(c) -1
(d) 2
Module-3 : Integral Calculus

In this module we will discuss, two vector integral theorems namely (i) Gauss
divergence theorem and (ii) Stokes theorem, which have important applications in
physical and engineering problems. For example, in solid mechanics, fluid
mechanics, quantum mechanics, electrical engineering and various other fields,
these theorems will be of great use. Evaluation of an integral of one type may be
difficult and using one of the appropriate theorems we will be able to evaluate the
equivalent integral easily. These theorems deal with conversion of one type of
integral into other kind of integral. First we define different kinds of integrals

1.2.1: LINE INTEGRAL

The integration of a vector along a curve is called the ‘line integral’ of the
vector. Let PQ be acurve drawn between any two points P and Q in a vector
field. Let dl be an element of length along the curve at point R and A is the
vector at this point as shown in Fig.1 below

Let the vector makes an angle θ with the direction of line element.
Then ------(1)
The value of for the complete curve PQ can be obtained by integrating Equ(1)
between the points P and Q. Hence, ------(2)
This equation is the line integral of A along the curve PQ.
For example:
(1) If A represents the force acting on a particle moving along the curved path PQ, then
the line integral given by Eqn.(2) gives the total work done by the force.
(2) If A represents the electric field intensity at any point, then the line integral given by
Eqn.(2) gives the potential difference between the points P and Q
SURFACE INTEGRAL (DOUBLE INTEGRAL)
Consider a surface S bounded by a closed curve in a vector field as shown in Fig.2 below.
Let ds be an infinitesimal element of the surface and can be represented by area vector
. Let be a unit vector drawn outward the surface then
Suppose A is a vector at middle point of the surface element dS and making an angle θ
with unit vector . Now the scalar product gives the flux of vector
field across the area element dS.

The total flux of the vector field across the entire surface area S is given by
-----(3)
This Eqn.(3) defines the ‘Surface integral’.
For example:
If A denotes the velocity vector of a moving fluid then its surface integral gives the
amount of fluid flowing per unit time normal to the surface. The surface integral is taken
as ‘positive’ if the fluid flows outside the closed surface and ‘negative’ when the fluid
flows into the closed surface.

VOLUME INTEGRAL (TRIPLE INTEGRAL)

Consider a closed surface in space enclosing a volume V. If A be a vector point function
at a point in a small element of volume dV, then the integral is called the
‘volume integral’ of vector A.

STOKE’S THEOREM
Stoke’s theorem states that the line integral of a vector field A around a closed curve is
equal to the surface integral of the curl of vector A taken over the surface S surrounded
by the closed curve. This theorem is the transformation between the Line and Surface
Integrals. For a vector field A Stoke’s theorem can be written as
It gives a method to convert a surface integral into a line integral and vice versa. When
curl of the vector A is zero then the line integral of the vector over the closed path is zero,
hence the field is said to be conservative.

GAUSS DIVERGENCE THEOREM

The divergence theorem is an important result for the mathematics of physics, in
particular in electrostatics and fluid dynamics. The divergence theorem is thus a
conservation law, stating that the volume total of all sinks and sources, i.e. the volume
integral of the divergence, is equal to the net flow across the volume's boundary.
Gauss theorem of divergence states that the surface integral of the normal component of
vector A taken over a closed surface S is equal to the volume integral of the divergence
of vector A over the volume V enclosed by the surface S. Its mathematical form is

Hence this theorem is the transformation between the surface and volume integrals.
Gauss divergence theorem is useful only for closed surfaces.
Applications Of Gauss law:
( a ) Electrostatics: Applied to an electrostatic field it gives the divergence and is equal to
a constant times the volume charge density.
( b ) It can be applied to gravitational field and explain why a hollow sphere does not
produce any gravity inside. Also an infinite hollow cylinder does not produce any gravity
inside
( c ) Gauss' theorem can be used to calculate the electric field intensity due to
(i) an infinitely long straight charged wire
(ii) a uniformly charged infinite plane sheet
(iii) a uniformly charged thin spherical shell

Multiple Choice Questions:

2
1) +z2) dV =?
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e) )
2) When a vector is irrotational, which of the following condition holds good?
(a) Stoke’s theorem gives non zero and invalid
(b) Stoke’s theorem gives zero
 (c) Gauss divergence theorem valid
(d) Gauss divergence theorem invalid
3) Gauss divergence theorem converts?
(a) Surface to volume integral
(b) line to volume integral
(c) surface to line integral
(d) line to surface integral
4) , where P is a vector, is equal to?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
5) If F = ax i +by j+ cz k, a, b, c are constants, , where S is
surface of a unit sphere is
a. 0
b. 4(a+b+c)/ 3
c. 4(a+b+c)2/ 3
d. (a+b+c )3
6) The Gauss Divergence theorem represented as
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Module 4 : Second Derivatives

In this module, we will discuss about Laplacian and d`Alembert Operator

Laplacian:
the divergence of gradient of scalar function represent as Laplacian
i.e
is called as Laplacian of scalar function T
Laplacian can be represented as three coordinates form
Cartesian form(x,y,z) Of Laplacian:

Cylindrical form Of Laplacian:

ρ
ρ ρ ρ ρ φ
Spherical form Of Laplacian:
θ
θ θ θ θ φ
Minkowski space:
It can be represented as (x,y,z,t)
d`Alembert Operator:
It can be represented as follows

Multiple Choice Questions:

1) If a vector field is irrotational as well as solenoidal, then the scalar field from
which the vector filed is derived obeys which among the following partial
differential equations?
(a) Poisson`s equation
(b) Laplace`s equation
(c) Gauss`s law
(d) Coulomb’s law
2) Laplacian of f(x,y,z)= 5x4+3y3+2z2 ?
(a) 120x2+9y+4z
 (b) 60 x2+18y+5
(c) 60 x2+18y+4
(d) 60 x2+18y+2
3) D’Alembertian operator
2
(a) –c
2
(b) – c2
2
(c) –
2
(d) –
4) The Laplacian operator is actually?
(a) Grad (Div V)
(b) Div (Grad V)
(c) Curl (Div V)
(d) Div (Curl V)