VECTORS

INTRODUCTION
Scalars: Scalars are quantities that can be completely specified by magnitude (size) and a unit.

Examples of scalar quantities: Speed, time, density, energy, area, temperature,

length, etc

Vectors: Some physical quantities need to be expressed more definitely by specifying magnitude
and direction. Vector quantities have both magnitude and direction.

Examples of vector quantities: Force, displacement, velocity, momentum, impulse,

etc

VECTOR NOTATION

AB  AB  Vector AB whose dircetion is from A to B

BA   AB Vector BA whose dircetion is from B to A
A Vector A
a Vector a

In print vectors may be indicated by boldface such as:

AB Vector AB. Direction from A to B

A Vector A
a Vector a

ADDITION OF VECTORS (CONCURRENT, COPLANAR VECTORS)

Vectors may be added using the following methods:
 Graphical (placing the vectors nose-to-tail) using
- parallelogram of forces
- triangle & polygon of forces
 Analytical
- Component method
- Sine & cosine rules

Y r 2  x2  y2 Pythagoras' Th m

 y
  Tan 1    inclination to the x  axis
r x
y
 x  rCos and y  rSin
X
0 x
Horizontal & vertical components

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UNIT VECTORS ( i, j and k OR iˆ, ˆj and kˆ )

Components in perpendicular directions can be expressed more simply if we use the symbols
iˆ, ˆj and kˆ where:

iˆ  unit vector of magnitude one along 0X

ĵ  unit vector of magnitude one along 0Y
k̂  unit vector of magnitude one along 0Z

VECTORS IN TWO DIMENSIONS

Y Vector F can be written as:

F  ( F , ) Polar coordinates
b
F F  ( a, b ) Rectangular Coordinates
ĵ 
a X a
0
iˆ F    Column vector form
b 
Or F  aiˆ  bˆj In terms of unit vectors

where F  F  a 2  b 2  magnitude of vector F

VECTORS IN THREE DIMENSIONS

The axes x, y and z below are mutually perpendicular.

Z Vector r can also be written as:

a
 
c r  b 
c 
(a, b, c)  
r
Y
d b Or r  aiˆ  bˆj  ckˆ
a
r  d 2  c2
X
 a 2  b 2  c 2 sin ce d 2  a 2  b 2

ADDITION OF VECTORS (IN TERMS OF UNIT VECTORS)

If F 1  a1i  a2 j  a3k and F 2  b1i  b2 j  b3k

then F 1  F 2  (a1i  a2 j  a3 )  (b1i  b2 j  b3k )

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 F 1  F 2  ( a1  b1 )i  ( a2  b2 ) j  ( a3  b3 ) k

and F 1  F 2  ( a1  b1 )i  ( a2  b2 ) j  ( a3  b3 ) k

Example 1 Given that F 1  4i  3 j  k and F 2  i  2 j  3k , find:

(a) F1  F 2 (b) F1  F 2 (c) F1  F 2

Solution

(a) F 1  F 2  (4i  3 j  k )  (i  2 j  3k )  5i  j  4 j

(b) F 1  F 2  (4i  3 j  k )  (i  2 j  3k )  3i  5 j  2 j

(c) F 1  F 2  32  52  22  38  6.16 units

UNIT VECTOR (along vector F denoted by F̂ )

Vector
Unit vector 
Magnitude of the vector
ai  bj
For F  ai  bj , Fˆ 
a2  b2
ai  bj  ck
For F  ai  bj  ck , Fˆ 
a2  b2  c2
Where Fˆ  unit vector along vector F
6i
Examples 6i : Unit vector  i
6
10k
10k : Unit vector  k
10

F 1  4i  3 j and F 2  16i  12 j have the same unit vector

12 (16, 12) Vectors F 1 & F 2 are parallel

4i  3 j 1
8 F1   4i  3 j 
2
4 3 2 5
16i  12 j 4
4 F2   4i  3 j 
(3, 4) 16 2  12 2 20
1
 4i  3 j 
4 8 12 16 5

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Parallel vectors have the same unit vector

Example 2 If v , of magnitude 26 units, is in the direction of the vector 5i  12 j , calculate

v.

Solution
Let d  5i  12 j
5i  12 j 1
 dˆ   5i  12 j  direction vector
52  122 13
v
vˆ 
v

 v  vˆ v

1
 dˆ v  5i  12 j   26
13
 10i  24 j

Example 3 A particle whose speed is 50 ms-1 moves along the vector AB from A(2, 1) to
B(9, 25). Find its velocity vector.

Solution

AB  OB  OA Or AB  OA  OB
 (9i  25 j )  (2i  j )  7i  24 j
30
AB 1
ABˆ   7i  24 j 
AB 25 25 B

direction vector  20

v  v ABˆ
15
1 
 50 7i  24 j  10
 25 
5
 14i  48 j ms 1
A
0 4 8
1 2 3 5 6 7 9 10

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SCALAR PRODUCT OF VECTORS

The scalar product of two vectors A and B (also known as the dot product) is defined as:

B
A  B  A B Cos

A  B  ABCos
 A
0

Where  is the angle between the two vectors.

If A  a1i  a 2 j  a 3 k and B  b1i  b2 j  b3 k

Then A  B  (a1i  a 2 j  a 3 k )  (b1i  b2 j  b3 k )

 a1i  b1i  a1i  b2 j  a1i  b3k 

a2 j  b1i  a2 j  b2 j  a2 j  b3k 
a3k  b1i  a3k  b2 j  a3i  b3k

 a1b1i  i  a1b2i  j  a1b3i  k 

a2b1 j  i  a2b2 j  j  a2b3 j  k 
a3b1k  i  a3b2 k  j  a3b3k  k

But i  j  i  k  j  k  (1)(1)Cos90o  0
and i  i  j  j  k  k  (1)(1)Cos 0o  1

 A  B  a1 b1  a 2 b 2  a 3 b3

DIRECTION COSINES
The direction cosines of a vector in three dimensions are determined by the angles which the
vector makes with the three axes of reference.

Z
Let OP  ai  bj  ck
a
P
Then Cos   a  rCos
r r

  b
Y
Cos   b  rCos
O r
c
X Cos   c  rCos
r
Also a2  b2  c2  r2
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i.e. r 2Cos 2  r 2Cos 2   r 2Cos 2  r 2
 Cos 2  Cos 2   Cos 2  1

If l  Cos , m  Cos , n  Cos

then l 2  m2  n 2  1
where l , m and n are direction cosines for the axes x, y and z respectively.

Therefore for r  ai  bj  ck
l a/r, m  b/r , nc/r

and r  a2  b2  c2

Example 4 Find the direction cosines of the vector r  3i  2 j  6k

Solution

r  a 2  b 2  c 2  32  ( 2) 2  6 2  49  7
3 2 6
 l , m , n
7 7 7

THE ANGLE BETWEEN 2 VECTORS

F 1  F 2  F 1 F 2 Cos

F1  F 2
 Cos  where  = angle between F1 & F 2 .
F1 F 2

Example 5 Find the angle between F 1  4i  3 j  k and F 2  i  2 j  3k in example 1.

Solution

F 1  F 2  (4)(1)  (3)(2)  (1)(3)  4  6  3  5

F 1  4 2  32  (1) 2  26

F 2  12  (2) 2  32  14

5
 Cos   0.2621
26  14
   Cos 1 (0.2621)  105.2o

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Work Done (Application of the scalar product)

The amount of work done is the product of the applied force and the distance in the direction of
the applied force

If a point A moves to B, through d, by

d applying a force F at  AB

then work done W  Fx

 F B
W  FdCos 
A
x W  F d

Example 6
Find the work done by a force F Newtons acting at a point A on a body, when A is displaced to
B, the coordinates A and B being (3, 1, -3) and (4, -1, 0) metres respectively and when
F  i  2 j  k Newtons.

Solution

d  AB  OB  OA
 (4i  j )  (3i  j  2k )
 i  2 j  2k

Work done, W  F d
= (-1)(1) + (-2)(-2) + (-1)(2)
= 1 J (Nm)

Evaluation Exercise 4.1

1. Points A, B and C have position vectors 4i  2 j  0k , 2i  j  0k and 5i  3 j  0k

respectively. Show that triangle ABC is right-angled.

2. Find the direction cosines of the vectors whose direction ratios are (3, 4, 5) and (1, 2,
-3). Hence find the acute angle between the vectors.
 1 1
 50 3, 4, 5, 1, 2,  3,   85o5'
 14 

3. Find the modulii and direction cosines of the vectors 3i  7 j  4k , i  5 j  8k and

6i  2 j  12k .
 1
 Moduli : 74 , 3 10 , 2 46 , Direction Co sin es : 3, 7,  4 
 74 

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4. If OA  4i  3 j , OB  6i  2 j , OC  2i  j , find AB, BC and CA and deduce
the lengths of the sides of the triangle ABC.
2i  5 j,  4i  j , 2i  4 j , AB  29 , BC  17 , CA  20 
5. The centroid of the triangle ABC is denoted by G. If O is the origin and
OA  4i  3 j and OB  6i  j , find OG in terms of the unit vectors i and j .
 1 
OG  3 10i  2 j 
 

6. Given the points A(1, -1, 2), B(-1, 2, 2) and C(4, 3, 0), find the direction cosines of
BA and BC , and hence show that the angle ABC  69o14' .
 2 3 1
 13 , , 0; 5, 1,  2
 13 30 

7. Find the work done by a constant force F Newton acting on a body at a point A,
when A is displaced to point B, in metres:

(a) F  i  2 j  k , A(2, 0, 0), B(1,  2,  3) 2 J 

(b) F  4i  5 j , A(2, 1, - 3), B(4, 4, 1)  7 J 
(c) Comment on the answer in (b)

8. A body of mass 3 kg is acted upon by two forces F1  3i  j  4k and

F 2  2i  3 j  2k respectively. Find:

(a) the acceleration of the body

1 o
(b) the angle between the two forces  3 5i  4 j  2k , 87.3 
 

9. A force of F = -4i +6j + 2k Newtons displaces a body from A(5, 3, 2) metres to B(6,
5, -1) metres.

(a) Find the acute angle between the force and the displacement.
(b) Find the work done by the force

 x  1   3 
     
10. Find the coordinates of the point where the line  y    2   1  meets the plane
 z  1   4 
     
x  2 y  3 z  26 .

11. At noon, two boats P and Q at points where position vectors are 4i  8 j and 4i  3 j
respectively. Both vectors are moving with constant velocity. The velocity of P is 4i  j
and the velocity of Q is 2i  5 j (all distances are in kilometres and time is in hours).

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 Find the position vector of P and Q , and PQ between the boats in terms of time t .
Show that the least distance between the boats is 5 km.

Additional Problems

12. A man can row a boat at 5 km/h in still water. He wishes row North when the current is
running in a direction due East at 2 km/h. In which direction should he point the boat?
23.58 
o

13. An aircraft is capable of flying at 500 km/h. It is required to fly 300 km SW when the
wind is blowing at 60 km/h from due West. In what direction should the pilot set course?
S 49.87 W 
o

14. Find the value of b such that the vectors p  2i  j  2k and q  i  bj  k are
orthogonal. Find the angle between q and the vector v  3i  j  k .
b  0 &   64.79 o

15. A ship A is sailing South at 18 km/h and another ship B is sailing NE at 22 km/h. An
observer on ship A first sees B when it is at a distance 12 km due South. Find the
velocity of A relative to B. How close are they when they pass each other and how long is
this after the first sighting?

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VECTOR PRODUCT OF VECTORS

The vector product of two vectors A and B (also known as the cross product) is A  B
(pronounced as “ A cross B ”) and is defined as a vector a vector having magnitude ABSin ,
where  is the angle between the two given vectors. The product vector acts in a direction
 
perpendicular to A and B in such a sense that A , B and A  B form a right-handed set
in that order

A  B
A
A  B  A B Sin

A  B  ABSin

B
0

Note that B  A reverses the direction of rotation

and the product vector would now sct downward,
i.e. B A


B A   B A 
If A  a1i  a 2 j  a 3 k and B  b1i  b2 j  b3 k

Then A  B  (a1i  a 2 j  a 3 k )  (b1i  b2 j  b3 k )

 a1i  b1i  a1i  b2 j  a1i  b3 k 

a 2 j  b1i  a 2 j  b2 j  a 2 j  b3 k 
a 3 k  b1i  a 3 k  b 2 j  a 3 i  b3 k

 a1b1i  i  a1b2 i  j  a1b3 i  k 

a 2 b1 j  i  a 2 b2 j  j  a 2 b3 j  k 
a 3 b1 k  i  a 3 b2 k  j  a 3 b3 k  k

But i  i  j  j  k  k  (1)(1) Sin0 o  0 (i)

and i j  k
jk  i (ii)
k i  j

Therefore
i  j  ( j  i )
j  k  ( k  j ) since the sense of rotation is reversed.
k  i  (i  k )

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 The vector products of the unit vectors above can easily be remembered by using the circle
below:

k
Examples
i j  k j is equal to the next letter i.e. k . The result is  ve because
( i cross
movement is in the  ve direction)

k  j  i j is equal to the next letter i.e.  i . The result is  ve because

( k cross
movement is in the  ve direction)

 A  B  a1 b1 0  a1 b 2 k  a1 b3 (  j ) 3 

a 2 b1 (  k )  a 2 b 2 0  a 2 b 3 i 
a3b1 j  a3b2(i)  a3b30

 ( a 2 b3  a 3 b1 )i  ( a 3 b1  a1 b3 ) j  ( a 1 b 2  a 2 b1 ) k
We could rearrange the middle term a little as follows:

 A  B  ( a 2 b3  a 3 b1 )i  ( a1 b3  a 3 b1 ) j  ( a1 b 2  a 2 b1 ) k
This pattern can be recognised as the expansion of a determinant’

If A  a1i  a 2 j  a 3 k and B  b1i  b2 j  b3 k

i j k
then A  B  a1 a2 a 4  (a 2 b3  a 3 b1 )i  (a1b3  a 3 b1 ) j  (a1b2  a 2 b1 )k
b1 b2 b4

This is the easiest way to determine the vector product of two vectors where:

(i) the top row consists of the unit vectors in order i, j , k

(ii) the second row consists of the coefficients of A
(iii) the third row consists of the coefficients of B

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Example 6

Find the vector product of A  4i  3 j  k and B  i  2 j  3k

Solution

i j k
3 1 4 1 4 3
A B  4 3 1  i  j  k
2 3 1 3 1 2
1 2 3

 (3)(3)  (2)(1)i  (4)(3)  (1)(1) j  (4)(2)  (1)(3)k

 7i  13 j  11k

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