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Vectors - Part 2: Products: AB AB

The document summarizes dot products and cross products of vectors. The dot product produces a scalar value that depends on the magnitude of the vectors and the cosine of the angle between them. The cross product produces a vector that is perpendicular to the two original vectors and has a magnitude equal to the product of the magnitudes times the sine of the angle between them. Both products have various properties and applications, such as finding the angle between vectors, expressing vector magnitudes, and proving trigonometric identities for triangles.

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nisairfan
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50 views

Vectors - Part 2: Products: AB AB

The document summarizes dot products and cross products of vectors. The dot product produces a scalar value that depends on the magnitude of the vectors and the cosine of the angle between them. The cross product produces a vector that is perpendicular to the two original vectors and has a magnitude equal to the product of the magnitudes times the sine of the angle between them. Both products have various properties and applications, such as finding the angle between vectors, expressing vector magnitudes, and proving trigonometric identities for triangles.

Uploaded by

nisairfan
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Vectors - Part 2: Products

Dot Product (scalar product)


r r
If the angle between two vectors A and B is θ, then we define the dot product
r r
A ⋅ B = AB cos(θ )

This product is a scalar. The angle between two vectors is always between 0
and 180°.

This product obeys the commutative and distributive rules.

Special cases:
r r
θ = 0 (parallel vectors): A ⋅ B = AB (the product of the magnitudes, positive)
r r
θ = 90° (perpendicular): A⋅ B = 0
r r
θ = 180° (anti-parallel): A ⋅ B = − AB (negative)
r r
A ⋅ A = A2 (any vector, dotted with itself, = the magnitude squared)

Applied to unit vectors:

iˆ ⋅ iˆ = ˆj ⋅ ˆj = kˆ ⋅ kˆ = 1 iˆ ⋅ ˆj = ˆj ⋅ kˆ = kˆ ⋅ iˆ = 0

This makes it easy to find the dot product of vectors in component form. For
example, ( )( )
2iˆ − 3 ˆj ⋅ 5iˆ + ˆj = 2 ⋅ 5 − 3 ⋅ 1 = 7

One use of the dot product is to find the angle between two vectors. From the
definition above, the angle θ between two vectors is found from
r r
A⋅ B
cos(θ ) =
AB
As an example, let’s find the angle between the face diagonal and body diagonal
of a cube. Let the cube have side = s with the edges aligned in a Cartesian CS.
Then we can represent the face diagonal as siˆ + sjˆ and the body diagonal as
r r r r
siˆ + sjˆ + skˆ . If these vectors are respectively A and B , then A ⋅ B = 2 s 2 ,
2
(magnitudes) A = 2 s , and B = 3s . Thus, cos(θ ) = , and θ = 35.3°.
6

Another use of the dot product is that it gives us a new way to express the
r r r r
magnitude of a vector. Since A ⋅ A = A2 , then A = A ⋅ A .

The dot product is useful in proving the law of cosines – namely that if θ is the
exterior angle between two sides of a triangle, A and B, and C is the 3rd side,
then C2 = A2 + B2 + 2 A b cos(θ). To see this, consider a triangle of
r r r
vectors expressing the addition A + B = C . Now, square both sides (meaning,
since the sides are vectors, to dot each side with itself)
r r r r r r
( A + B) ⋅ ( A + B) = A
2
+ B 2 + 2 A ⋅ B = A2 + B 2 + 2 AB cos(θ ) = C 2
Cross Product (vector product)

This is a different way to multiply vectors, yielding a product which is a vector. If


r r r
the angle between two vectors A and B is θ, then we define C , the cross
r r r r r
product of A and B , C = A × B as a vector of magnitude C = A B sin(θ),
r r
whose direction is perpendicular to the plane defined by A and B . This does
not completely define the direction, since there are two (opposite) such
directions. In order to choose, we say in the right-hand sense. This means that
we use a right-hand rule to specify which of the two possible directions we mean.

Properties:

Cross products are necessarily three-dimensional. Because of the RH rule, the


r r r r
multiplication is not commutative A × B = − B × A (it is anticommutative), and not
r r r r r r
( ) ( )
associative A × B × C ≠ A × B × C , although it does satisfy the distributive law.

Special Cases:
r r
θ = 0 or 180° : A × B = 0 (sin(θ) = 0)
r r
θ = 90° (perpendicular): A × B = AB
r r
A× A = 0

Unit Vectors:

iˆ × iˆ = ˆj × ˆj = kˆ × kˆ = 0 iˆ × ˆj = kˆ ˆj × kˆ = iˆ kˆ × iˆ = ˆj this assumes a RH
co-ordinate system

As with the dot product, the unit vector products make it easy to cross two
vectors in component form. For example,
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ()
2iˆ − 3 ˆj × iˆ + 5kˆ = 2 ⋅ 5 ⋅ − ˆj − 3 ⋅ 1 ⋅ − kˆ − 3 ⋅ 5 ⋅ iˆ = −15iˆ − 10 ˆj + 3kˆ
The cross product can be used to prove the law of sines: in the triangle,

B
γ

α
A
C

β
sin(α ) sin( β ) sin(γ )
= =
A B C
r r r
By making the sides into the vector sum A + B + C = 0 , we can cross one vector
r r r r r r r r
( )
with the sum: A × A + B + C = A × B + A × C . Taking magnitudes,
AB sin(γ ) − AC sin( β ) = 0 , divide by ABC to get the law of sines.

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