LINES AND PLANES IN

SPACE USING VECTOR

EQUATION
Prepared by: CATHLINE M. AUSTRIA
 TOPIC
OUTLINE:
 Represents lines and planes
in space using vector
equation.
Objectiv
es
Vector Equation of a Line in Space
 Parametric Equations for a line
 Symmetric Equations for a line
Vector Equation of a Plane in Space
 Standard Form of a plane
 General Form of a plane
 Distance in Space
 The distance between a point and a plane
 The distance between a point and a line
 Line in
Space
A line in three-dimensional space is
a set of points that extends infinitely
in both directions along a given
direction. It can be uniquely defined
using a point and a direction vector.
Consider the line L through
the point P = ⟨⟩ that is parallel
to the vector = ⟨⟩.

The line L consists of all points

of Q = ⟨⟩ for which the vector
is parallel to v.
 = ⟨⟩

Since is parallel to = ⟨⟩, then:

=
where:
– is a scalar
Thus, ⟨⟩ = = = ⟨⟩

Rewriting this equation gives:

⟨⟩ ⟨⟩ = ⟨⟩

Solving the vector ⟨⟩ gives:

⟨⟩ ⟨⟩ + ⟨⟩

Setting:
⟨⟩ , ⟨⟩ , and ⟨⟩
Vector Equation of a Line
The vector equation of a line is:

where:
• = ⟨⟩ is the position vector of any point on the line.
• = ⟨⟩ is a known point on the line.
• = ⟨⟩ is a direction vector that indicates the direction of the
line.
• = is a real number (scalar parameter) that varies to generate
different points on the line.
If we take the vector equation
⟨⟩ ⟨⟩ + ⟨⟩

And rewrite the right hand side of this equation as

one vector, we obtain
⟨⟩ ⟨ + , + , + ⟩

Equating components of this vector gives the

Parametric Equations of a Line.
 Parametric Equations of a
Line
The parametric equations of a line L in 3D space are given by:

where:
• ⟨⟩ is a point on the line
• ⟨⟩ is a direction vector
• is a real number parameter
Assuming , if we take each parametric equation and
solve for the variable , we obtain the equations:
, ,

Equating each of these equations gives the

Symmetric Equations of a Line.
 Symmetric Equations of a
Line
The symmetric equations of a line L in 3D space are given by:

, ,
where:
• ⟨⟩ is a point passing through the line

direction vector for the line L and its components are called
• = ⟨⟩ is a vector that the line is parallel and called the

the direction numbers

NOTE
!
To write the equation
of a line in 3D space,
we need a point on the
line and a parallel
vector to a line
Vector Equation:

Parametric Equations:

Symmetric Equations:
, ,
 Example
Find the vector, parametric, and symmetric equations of the
1
line through the point (1, 0, 3) and parallel to the vector
2i – 4j + 5k.

• 𝑟⃗ =⟨𝑥,𝑦,𝑧⟩ represents the position vector of any point on the line

Givens:

• ⃗=⟨1,0,3⟩ is the position vector of the given point through which the

• 𝑣⃗=⟨2,−4,5⟩is the direction vector of the line (parallel to the given

line passes

• 𝑡 is the parameter.
vector)
Solution:
a. Vector (

So, the vector equation of the line is:

𝑟⃗=⟨1,0,3⟩ + 𝑡⟨2,−4,5⟩

This can be written as:

𝑟⃗=⟨1+2𝑡, 0−4𝑡, 3+5𝑡⟩

Solution:
b. Parametric Equations ( , ,)

The parametric equations are simply the individual

equation: 𝑟⃗=⟨1+2𝑡, 0−4𝑡, 3+5𝑡⟩, we get the following

components of the vector equation. From the vector

parametric equations:

𝑥 = 1 + 2𝑡
𝑦 = −4𝑡
𝑧 = 3 + 5𝑡
Solution:
c. Symmetric Equations ( , , )

equation for 𝑡 and then equating them. From the parametric

The symmetric equations can be found by solving each parametric

equations:

Now, we set the expressions for t equal to each other:

 Plane in
Space
A plane in three-dimensional space
is a flat, two-dimensional surface
that extends infinitely in all
directions. It is uniquely determined
by a point and a normal vector.
the point P = ⟨⟩ and normal
Consider the plane containing

vector = ⟨⟩ perpendicular to
the plane.

Q = ⟨⟩ for which the vector is

The plane consists of all points

orthogonal to the normal

vector = ⟨ ⟩.
 Plane in
Space
The vector equation of a plane is:

where:
• = ⟨⟩ is the position vector of any point on the plane.
• = ⟨⟩ is a known point on the plane.
• ⟨A⟩ is a normal vector, which is perpendicular to the plane
Since and are orthogonal, the following equations hold:

⟨⟩ ∙ ⟨⟩ =

⟨⟩ + ⟨⟩ + ⟨⟩ =

This gives the

Standard Equation of a Plane.
 Standard Equation of a
Plane
The standard equation of a plane in 3D space has the form of:

where:
• ⟨⟩ is a point on the plane
• n = ⟨⟩ is a vector normal (orthogonal) to the plane
If we expand this equation, we obtain the following
equation:

Constant d

Setting gives the General Form of the Equation of a Plane

in 3D space.
 General Form Equation of a
Plane
The general form of the equation of a plane in 3D space has the
form of:

where:
• ⟨⟩ are the components of the normal vector to the plane
• is a constant
NOTE
!
To write the equation
of a plane in 3D space,
we need a point on the
plane and a vector
normal (orthogonal) to
Vector Equation:

Standard Equation:

General Form:
 Example
of the plane passing through the point 𝑃⟨1,2,3⟩ and normal
Find the vector, standard, and general form of the equation
1
to the vector 𝑛⃗=⟨4,−2,5⟩.

• 𝑟⃗ =⟨𝑥,𝑦,𝑧⟩ represents the position vector of any point on the

Givens:

• ⃗=⟨1,2,3⟩ is the position vector of a known point on the plane

plane

• n=⃗ ⟨4,−2,5⟩is the normal vector to the plane

Solution:
a. Vector (

⟨𝑥,𝑦,𝑧⟩⋅⟨4,−2,5⟩ = ⟨1,2,3⟩⋅⟨4,−2,5⟩
The vector equation becomes:

⟨1,2,3⟩⋅⟨4,−2,5⟩ = 1(4)+2(−2)+3(5) = 4−4+15 = 15

Now, compute the dot product on the right-hand side:

⟨𝑥,𝑦,𝑧⟩ ⋅ ⟨4,−2,5⟩ = 15
So, the vector equation becomes:
Solution:
b. Standard Equation ()

The standard equation of a plane is derived from the vector

equation. The vector equation we just found can be rewritten
as:

4𝑥 − 2𝑦 + 5𝑧 = 15
Solution:
c. General Form Equation ()

To get this form, we need to rearrange the standard equation to make

the right-hand side equal to 0. So:

4𝑥 − 2𝑦 + 5𝑧 = 15

Thus, the general form of the plane equation is:

4𝑥 − 2𝑦 + 5𝑧 − 15 = 0
Distance Between a Point and a Plane

n, normal

Projection of PQ
onto the normal
to the plane

P
Distance Between a Point and a Plane

If the distance from Q to the plane is the length or the

magnitude of the projection of the vector PQ onto the
normal, we can write that mathematically:
Distance from Q to the plane  projn PQ

Now, recall:
 
 PQ n 
projn PQ  2  n
 n 
 
Distance Between a Point and a Plane

So taking the magnitude of this vector, we get:

  PQ n PQ n
 PQ n 
projn PQ   2  n  2
n 
 n  n n
 
Distance Between a Point and a Plane

The distance from a plane containing the point P to a

point Q not in the plane is:

PQ n
D  proj n PQ 
n

where:
n = is a normal to the plane.
 Example
1
Find the distance
4x + 2y – z = 8
between the point Q (3, 1, -5) to the plane

Solution: We know the normal to the plane is <4, 2, -1>

from the general form of a plane. We can find a point in
the plane simply by letting x and y equal 0 and solving for
z: P (0, 0, -8) is a point in the plane.

Thus the vector PQ = <3-0, 1-0, -5-(-8)> = <3, 1, 3>

Example
1
Now that we have the vector PQ and the normal, we
simply use the formula for the distance between a point
and a plane.
PQ n
D  proj n PQ 
n

3,1,3  4, 2,  1
D 
4 2  2 2   1
2

12  2  3 11
D   2.4
16  4  1 21
 Example
2
Find the distance
6x – 3y + 4z = 12
between the point Q (2, 3, 1) to the plane

Solution: We know the normal to the plane is <6, -3, 4>

from the general form of a plane. We can find a point in
the plane simply by letting x and y equal 0 and solving for
z: P (0, 0, 3) is a point in the plane.

Thus the vector, PQ = <2-0, 3-0, 1-3> = <2, 3, -2>

Example
2
Now that we have the vector PQ and the normal, we
simply use the formula for the distance between a point
and a plane.
PQ n
D  proj n PQ 
n

2,3,  2  6,  3, 4
D 
6 2   32  4 2

12  9  8  5
D    0.64
36  9  16 61
Distance Between a Point and a Line

D = Distance from Q to the line


P u

Obviously,
D
sin  or D  PQ sin
PQ
We know on cross products that
u v  u v sin , where  is the anglebetweenu andv .

Thus, PQ u  PQ u sin

or dividingboth sides by u

PQ u
 PQ sin
u

PQ u
So if, D  PQ sin  then from above, D 
u
Distance Between a Point and a Line

The distance D on the line is given by:

PQ u
D
u
where:
u = is the direction vector of the line
P = is a point on the line.
 Example
1
Find the distance between the point Q (1, 3, -2) and the line
given by the parametric equations:
x 2  t , y   1 t and z 3  2t

Solution: From the parametric equations we know the

direction vector, u is < 1, -1, 2 > and if we let t = 0, a point P
on the line is P (2, -1, 3).

Thus PQ = < 2-1, -1-3, 3-(-2) > = < 1, -4, 5 >

 Example
1
Find the cross product:
i j k
PQ u  1  4 5   3i  3j  3k
1 1 2

Using the distance formula:

PQ u  3  3  3
2 2 2
27 3 3
D    2.12
1   1  2 2 6 2
2 2
u
 Example
2
Find the distance between the point Q (3, -2, 5) and the line
given by the parametric equations:
x 1  2t , y 4  t , and z  1  3t
Solution:
Given:
u = < 2, -1, 3> ;t=0 ; P (1, 4, -1)

Thus PQ = < 3-1, -2-4, 5-(-1)> = < 2, -6, 6 >

 Example
1
Find the cross product:
i j k
PQ u  2  6 6  12i  6 j  10k
2 1 3

Using the distance formula:

PQ u  12  6  10
2 2 2
2 70
D   2 5 4.47
1   1  32 2 5
2 2
u
Thank you CMCians.