Lecture 4: Operations on vectors (2) and Vector parametric equation of a straight line

4.1 Lecture overview

We shall proceed with more operations on vectors. Later we will discover that a straight line
can be represented in other forms besides the gradient intercept form representation. The
equation of a plane will also be described.
Recall that in lecture one, we distinguished between a scalar and a vector quantity. In this
lecture we proceed to define vector functions as either scalar fields or vector fields.

4.2 Specific learning outcomes

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:
 Discuss the vector equation of a straight line and the Vector parametric equation of a
straight line
 Describe and formulate the equation of a plane
 Describe a vector valued function, its limit and continuity
 Evaluate derivatives of vector valued functions
 Compute partial and total derivatives of scalar and vector fields
 Compute the tangent, normal and binormal vectors to space curves
 Describe and compute the directional derivative of a scalar field

4.3 Vector parametric equation of a straight line

Consider a point p0  x0 , y0 , z0  on a line parallel to the vector v  a, b, c . Let p  x, y, z  be
a general point on the straight line. Then p0 p is a vector parallel to v and thus p0 p is a
 x   x0   a 
     
scalar multiple of v . Let t be a scalar then  y    y0   t  b  or
 z  z  c
   0  
 x   x0   a 
     
 y    y0   t  b  .............(i)
 z  z  c
   0  
Equation (i) is called the vector form of the equation of a straight line also written as
 x  x0 
   
r  r0  tv . Where r   y  and r0   y0 
z z 
   0
x  x0  ta 

Writing in component form we have y  y0  tb  ..........(ii ) .
z  z0  tc 
Equations (ii) are called the parametric form of the equation of a straight line. Making t the
x  x0 y  y0 z  z0
subject of the formula (ii) we have   .............(iii ) . Equation (iii) is
a b c
called the symmetric form of the equation of a straight line.
A vector equation for a line requires 2 pieces of information:
a. A point on the line

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 b. The direction of the line

Example 1
Write the vector equation of a straight line passing through the points P  2, 1,3 and
Q 1, 4, 3
Solution
 1   2   1 
     
A vector parallel to the line is QP   4    1   5 
 3   3   6 
     
 x   1   1   x   1   1 
           
The vector equation is  y    4   t  5  or  y    4   t  5 
 z   3   6   z   3   6 
           
 x   2   1   x   2   1 
           
Nb. We could have used the other point i.e.  y    1  t  5  or  y    1  t  5 
 z   3   6   z   3   6 
           
Note that the two equations are the same. It is the value of t that is changing eg. In the first
equation the points P and Q are got when t=-1 and t=0 respectively while in the second
equation the values are obtained when t=0 and t=1 respectively.

Example 2
Find the equation of a straight line passing through the point  2,3, 5 and is parallel to the
line given by x  4  3t , y  1  2t and z  1  t .
Solution
 x  4   3 
     
The given straight line is  y    1    2  t
 z   1  1 
     
 x  2   3 
     
The required line parallel to this line is  y    3    2  t
 z   5   1 
     
Example 3
Determine the straight line that passes through P  0, 3,8 and is parallel to the line given by
x  10  3t , y  12t and z  3  t and passes through the xz-plane. If it does, give the
coordinates of that point.
Solution

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  x   10   3 
     
The given straight line is  y    0    12  t . The vector parallel to the given line is
 z   3   1
     
v  3,12, 1 and also parallel to the required line. The equation of the required line is thus
 x  0   3 
     
 y    3    12  t or x  3t , y  3  12t , z  8t
 z   8   1
     
1
If the line passes through the xz-plane, then y  0 and  3  12t  0  t  and the
4
coordinates of point are
3 3 3 3
x  3t  , y  0, z  8  t  7 x  3t , y  3  12t , z  8  t or  x, y, z    , 0, 7 
4 4 4 4
Equations of planes
Given the equation of a plane as ax  by  cz  d , then the normal vector to the plane is
n  a, b, c . Here a, b, c and d are constants. Let a point p0   x0 , y0 , z0  be on the plane.
Consider a general point p   x, y, z  on the plane, then p0 p is on the plane
 x   x0   x  x0 
     
p0 p   y    y0    y  y0 
z z   zz 
   0  0 

Since n  a, b, c is perpendicular to the plane then it must be perpendicular to the vector and
 x  x0   a 
   
we have the dot product n  p0 p  0 i.e.  y  y0    b   0 which is the equation of the
 z z  c
 0   

plane.

Example 4
Find the equation of the plane containing the points P  1, 2,0  , Q   3,1, 4  , R  0, 1, 2 
Solution
 3  1   2  0   1   1
           
PQ   1    2    3  PR   1    2    1 
 4  0   4  2   0   2 
           
n  PQ  PR
iˆ ˆj kˆ
 2 3 4  2iˆ  8 ˆj  5kˆ
1 1 2
The equation of the plane is

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  x   1    2 
      
 y    2     8   0
 z   0    5 
 x 1   2 
  
 y   2   .  8   0 or 2  x  1  8  y  2   5 z  0
 z 0   5 
  
i.e. 2 x  8 y  5 z  18
n.b in the solution we have used point P. We could also have used point Q or point R but in
either case the result will be the same. (This is left as an exercise)

Example 5
Find the equation of the plane containing the point P  1,3, 2  and having the normal
vector n  2, 1, 4
Solution
Using the normal vector given, the equation of the plane is 2 x  4 y  z  d  0 .
Since P is on the plane, it must satisfy the equation of the plane. Substituting the values of x,y
and z in the equation we have 2(1)  4(3)  (2)  d  0, 2  12  2  d  0  d  12 and the
equation of the plane is 2 x  4 y  z  12  0 .

4.4 Vectors in a plane and in space

Recall that when you are given the equation x=2, the interpretation depends on the space
under consideration.
a. In the one dimensional space (which is a straight line), x  2 is a point two units to
the right of the origin.
b. In the two dimensional space (which is a plane), x  2 represents a straight line. In
particular considering the xy- plane, this will be the straight line with coordinates
(2,y)
c. In the three dimensional space (which is the space) x  2 represents a plane with
coordinates (2,y,z). This is the plane parallel to the yz- plane and crossing the x axis at
the point x  2 . Generally, the coordinate planes are of the form
z  0, y  0 and x  0 . Here z  0 is the xy-plane, y  0 is the xz-plane and
x  0 is the yz-plane.

The 2 dimensional coordinate system consists of the x axis and the y axis intersecting at right
angles and forming the xy-plane. A point on the plane is specified by the ordered pair (x,y).
The yz and xz- planes are similarly defined such that points on the yz and xz- plane will have
coordinates (y,z) and (x,z) respectively.

y 1
2

x
3 4
5
Figure 3.1 The two dimensional xy- plane

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The two dimensional coordinate plane is divided into four parts called quadrants. These are
numbered as shown in the figure 3.1 from the first to the fourth quadrants.
The 3 dimensional Cartesian coordinate system consists of the x, y and z axes intersecting at
right angles. Taken as pairs, these axes determine three coordinate planes namely xy-plane,
xz-plane, and yz-plane. A point in space is specified by an ordered triple (x,y,z).
A 3 dimensional coordinate system can either have a right handed or left handed orientation.
These can be determined by the right and left hand rules respectively.

y y

x x
z z

Right handed space Left handed space

Figure 3.2 The three dimensional space

4.5 Vector Valued Function

 
A function h  t   f  t  i  g  t  j is called a vector valued function of one variable in two
dimensions where the components functions f(t) and g(t) are real valued functions of the
parameter t. In three dimensions, we define a curve in space as the function
  
h  t   f  t  i  g  t  j  p  t  k where the components functions f ,g and p are continuous
functions of the parameter t in an interval I.

4.6 Limit of a vector-valued function

 
If h(t ) is a vector valued function such that h  t   f  t  i  g  t  j , then the limit
  
  
lim h  t   lim  f  t  i  g  t  j   lim f  t   i  lim g  t  j , provided f and g have limits
t a t a    t a   t a 
as t  a .
If h(t ) approaches the vector L as t  a then the length of the vector h(t )  L  0 as
t a.
  
In space (3 dimensions) if we have a vector valued function h  t   f  t  i  g  t  j  p  t  k

then lim h  t   lim  f  t  i  g  t  j  p  t  k   lim f  t  i  lim g  t  j  lim p t  k

     

t a t a    t a   t a   t a 
provided f (t), g(t) and p(t) have limits as t  a .

4.7 Continuity of a vector-valued function

A vector valued function h(t ) is continuous at the point given by t  a if the limit of
h(t ) exists as t  a and lim h  t   h( a )
t a

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A vector valued function h(t ) given in two or three dimensions is continuous on an interval I
if it is continuous at every point in the interval.

Lemma
A vector valued function h(t ) is continuous at t  a iff each of its component function is
continuous at t  a

Example 6
Discuss the continuity of the vector valued function given by h(t )  tan t i  t  1 j at t  0
and t  3 .

Solution

(i). t 0
 t 0
 
lim h(t )  lim tan t i  lim t  1 j  0i  j  j
t 0
 Hence h(t ) is continuous at
h(0)  tan 0 i  1 j  0i  j  j
t  0.
(ii). g (t )  t  1 is not defined at t  3 i.e. 2 is not defined in the set of real
numbers, hence h(3) is not defined and h(t ) is therefore not continuous at
t  3 .
Example 7 (3 dim)

4.8 Derivative of a vector-valued function

or h (t ) is
dh
The ordinary derivative of a vector valued function h(t ) , denoted by
dt
h(t  t )  h(t )
defined by h (t )  lim for all t for which the limit exists.
t 0 t
N.B. differentiation can be done on a component by components basis such that if
   
h  t   f  t  i  g  t  j then h  t   f   t  i  g   t  j
     
If h  t   f  t  i  g  t  j  p  t  k then h  t   f   t  i  g   t  j  p t  k

Example 8
Find the derivatives of the following vector-valued functions
 
a) h  t   t 3 i  4 j
2 
b) g  t   i  ln t j  5t 2 k
t
Solution
d 3  d 
a) h  t  
dt
 t  i   4  j  3t 2 i
dt
d 2 d   2  1 
b) g   t     i   ln t  j   5t 2  k  2 i  j  10tk
d
dt  t  dt dt t t
Nb. Higher order derivatives of vector-valued functions are obtained by successive
differentiation of each component function.

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Example 9
d2 f d3 f 3
Compute 2
and 3
given that f (t )  t 2 i  j   Cos 2t  k
dt dt t
Solution
d 3
f (t )  2ti  2 j  2  Sin 2t  k
dt t
2
d 6
2
f (t )  2i  3 j  4  Cos 2t  k
dt t
3
d 18
3
f (t )  4 j  8  Sin 2t  k
dt t
4.8.1 Velocity and acceleration vectors

In the two dimensional space, if x and y are twice differentiable functions of t and
 
r  t   x  t  i  y  t  j (which is the displacement vector), then the velocity vector,
acceleration vector and speed at time t are given by
 
velocity v(t )  r   t   x  t  i  y   t  j
 
acceleration a (t )  r   t   x  t  i  y   t  j

speed v(t )  r   t    x  t     y   t  
2 2

In three dimensions, if , y and z are differentiable functions of t and r  t  is a vector valued

  
function (which is the displacement vector) given by r  t   x  t  i  y  t  j  z  t  k then
  
velocity v(t )  r   t   x  t  i  y   t  j  zy   t  j
  
acceleration a(t )  r   t   x  t  i  y   t  j  zy   t  j

speed v(t )  r   t    x t     y t     zy t  
2 2 2

Properties of the derivative of vector valued functions

d
Using the notation Dt  for the differential operator with respect to t we have
dt
i. Dt  k h(t )   k  Dt h(t )   k h(t )

ii. Dt  h(t )  u (t )   h(t )  u (t )

iii. Dt  h(t )u (t )   h (t )u (t )  h(t )u (t ) product of scalar and vector function

iv. Dt  h(t )  u (t )   h(t )  u (t )  h(t )u (t ) product rule

 
Dt h u (t )   h u (t )  u (t ) chain rule
v.
i.e.
d
dt
 
h u (t )  
d h(u ) du (t )
du

dt
vi. Dt  h(t )  u (t )   h(t )  u (t )  h(t )  u (t )

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vii. Dt  h(t )  u (t )  v(t )   h(t )  u (t )  v(t )  h(t )  u (t ) v (t )  h(t )  u (t ) v (t )

viii. Dt  h(t )  u (t )  v(t )   h(t )  [u (t )  v (t )]  h(t )  [u (t ) v (t )]  h (t )  [u (t ) v (t )]

Example 10
2 
Given h  t   i  j , u (t )  t 2 i  2t j, f (t )  3t , find
t
i. Dt  h(t )  u (t ) 

ii. Dt  f (t )h(t ) 

iii. Dt u  f (t )  
Solution
i. Using the product rule,
Dt  h(t )  u (t )   h (t )  u (t )  h(t )  u (t ) ( note the dot products )

d h 2 du
 i,  2ti  2 j
dt t 2 dt
 2 
t 
 
2 
Dt  h(t )  u (t )   h (t )  u (t )  h(t )  u (t )   2 i   t 2 i  2t j   i  j   2ti  2 j
t 
 
 2  4  2  4
u sin g column vectors we have
 2 2   t 2   2   2t 
Dt  h(t )  u (t )   h (t )  u (t )  h(t )  u (t )   t       t 
0   2t   1   2 
   
  2  0    4  2   4
alternatively
 2  t2 
h(t )  u (t )   t     2t  2t  4t
 1   2t 
 
d
Dt  h(t )  u (t )    4t   4
dt
  2   6    0 
Dt  f (t )h(t )   Dt 3t  t    Dt        3 j
  1     3t    3 
or
ii.
 2  2 
Dt  f (t )h(t )   f (t )h(t )  f (t )h(t )  3t  2 i   3 i  j
t  t 
6 6
 i  i  3 j  3 j
t t
iii.

Prof E. Mwenda Vector Analysis 2021 8

Dt u  f (t )    Dt  3t  i  2  3t  j   Dt 9t 2 i  6t j   18t i  6 j (composite functions )
2

 
or
d
dt
 
u  f (t )  
du ( f ) df (t )
df

dt
df (t ) d
  3t   3
dt dt
u (t )  t i  2t j , u ( f )  f 2 i  2 f j
2

du ( f )
 2f i2 j
df


d
dt
 
u  f (t )  
du ( f ) df (t )
df dt
   
 2 f i  2 j  3  2  3t  i  2 j  3

 18t i  6 j

If R(u)  x(u )i  y(u ) j  z (u )k where x, y and z are differentiable functions of a scalar u

d d d d
then R(u )  i x(u )  j y (u )  k z (u )
du du du du

Example 11
Given that R(t )  i sin t  j cos t  t k , find
dR
a)
dt
d2R
b)
dt 2
dR
c)
dt
d2R
d)
dt 2
Solution
dR
a)  iCos t  jSint  k
dt
d 2 R d  dR 
b)     i Sin t  jCos t
dt 2 dt  dt 
dR
 iCos t  jSin t  k
dt
c)  Cos 2 t  Sin 2 t  12  2
dR
 2
dt

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 d2 R
d)  Sin2 t  Cos 2 t  1
dt 2

4.8.2 Tangent, normal and bi normal vectors

Definition: Tangent vector
The tangent line to a curve at a point is defined as the line passing through the point and is
parallel to the unit tangent vector at that point.
Let C be a smooth curve represented by r (t ) on an open interval I. If r (t )  0 then the
tangent vector of the space curve r (t ) is r (t ) and the unit tangent vector T (t ) is defined by
r (t )
T (t ) 
r (t )
Definition: Principal normal vector
Le C be a smooth curve represented by r (t ) on an open interval I. if T (t )  0 then the
principal normal vector is T (t ) and the principal unit normal vector at t is defined by
T (t )
N (t ) 
T (t )
Example 12
Fin the unit tangent vector, and the principal unit normal to the curves given by
a) r (t )  ti  t 2 j
b) r (t )  3ti  2t 2 j when t  1
Solution
a)

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 r (t ) 
d
dt

ti  t 2 j  i  2t j 
r (t )  12  (2t ) 2  1  4t 2

r (t )
T (t ) 
r (t )

1
1  4t 2
i  2t j 
at t  1 , T (1) 
1
5
i  2 j 
     
1

8t
 2j 1  4t 2
 i  2t j 1  4t 2 2
d 
T (t )  
1
i  2t j    2
 1  4t 
2
dt  1  4t 2  2

 
   
3



1  4t 2
 2 j  4ti  8t 2 j 1  4t 2 2

 
  

 
2
1  4t 2

 
j 1  4t 
3



 2 j  4ti  8t 2 2 2

 
 
1  4t 2
T (t ) 
b)
r (t ) 
d
dt

3ti  2t 2 j  3i  4t j 
r (t )  32  (4t ) 2  9  16t 2

r (t )
T (t ) 
r (t )

1
9  16t 2
3i  4t j 
at t  1 , T (1) 
1
5

3i  4 j 
Example 13
Find the tangent line and principal unit normal vector to the helix given by

r  t   2iˆ cos t  2 ˆj sin t  tkˆ at the point corresponding to t  .
4
Solution

Prof E. Mwenda Vector Analysis 2021 11

r   t   2iˆ sin t  2 ˆj cos t  kˆ
r   t   4sin 2 t  4 cos 2 t  1  5
r (t )
T (t ) 
r (t )

1
5

2iˆ sin t  2 ˆj cos t  kˆ 
  1  ˆ   ˆ 1
T 
 
4
 2i sin  2 ˆj cos  k  
5 4 4  5
 2iˆ  2 ˆj  kˆ  
   
Using a parameter s and the point r     2, 2,  the equation of the tangent line is
4  4

given by x  2  s 2, y  2  s 2, z  s
4
T  (t ) 
1 d
5 dt

2iˆ sin t  2 ˆj cos t  kˆ 

1
5

2iˆ cos t  2 ˆj sin t 
T  (t ) 
2
5

T (t )
1
5

2iˆ cos t  2 ˆj sin t 
N (t )    iˆ cos t  ˆj sin t

T (t ) 2
5

Binormal vector

Example 14

Example 15

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