ENGR-1100 Introduction to

Engineering Analysis

Lecture 3

POSITION VECTORS & FORCE VECTORS

Today’s Objectives:
Students will be able to :
a) Represent a position vector in Cartesian
coordinate form, from given geometry. In-Class Activities:
• Applications /
b) Represent a force vector directed along
Relevance
a line.
• Write Position Vectors
• Write a Force Vector
along a line

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 DOT PRODUCT
Today’s Objective:
Students will be able to use the vector dot
product to:
a) determine an angle between In-Class Activities:
two vectors, and, •Applications / Relevance
b) determine the projection of a vector • Dot product - Definition
along a specified line. • Angle Determination
• Determining the Projection

APPLICATIONS

This ship’s mooring line,

connected to the bow, can
be represented as a
Cartesian vector.

What are the forces in the

mooring line and how do
we find their directions?

Why would we want to

know these things?

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 APPLICATIONS (continued)

This awning is held up by three chains. What are the forces in

the chains and how do we find their directions? Why would
we want to know these things?

POSITION VECTOR
A position vector is
defined as a fixed vector
that locates a point in space
relative to another point.

Consider two points, A and B, in 3-D space.

Let their coordinates be (XA, YA, ZA) and (XB, YB, ZB),
respectively.

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 POSITION VECTOR

The position vector directed from A to B, rAB , is defined as

rAB = {( XB – XA ) i + ( YB – YA ) j + ( ZB – ZA ) k }m
Please note that B is the ending point and A is the starting point.
ALWAYS subtract the “tail” coordinates from the “tip”
coordinates!

FORCE VECTOR DIRECTED ALONG A LINE

(Section 2.8)
If a force is directed along a
line, then we can represent the
force vector in Cartesian
coordinates by using a unit
vector and the force’s
magnitude. So we need to:
a) Find the position vector, rAB , along two points
on that line.
b) Find the unit vector describing the line’s
direction, uAB = (rAB/rAB).
c) Multiply the unit vector by the magnitude of
the force, F = F uAB .

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 EXAMPLE

Given: The 420 N force

along the cable AC.
Find: The force FAC in the
Cartesian vector form.

Plan:
1. Find the position vector rAC and its unit vector uAC.
2. Obtain the force vector as FAC = 420 N uAC .

EXAMPLE (continued)

As per the figure, when relating A to

C, we will have to go 2 m in the x-
direction, 3 m in the y-direction, and
-6 m in the z-direction. Hence,
rAC = {2 i + 3 j − 6 k} m.
(We can also find rAC by subtracting
the coordinates of A from the
coordinates of C.)
rAC = {22 + 32 + (-6)2}1/2 = 7 m
Now uAC = rAC/rAC and FAC = 420 uAC = 420 (rAC/rAC )

So FAC = 420{ (2 i + 3 j − 6 k) / 7 } N
= {120 i + 180 j - 360 k } N

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 GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING

Given: Two forces are acting on

a flag pole as shown in
the figure. FB = 700 N
and FC = 560 N
Find: The magnitude and the
coordinate direction
angles of the resultant
force.
Plan:
1) Find the forces along AB and AC in the Cartesian vector form.
2) Add the two forces to get the resultant force, FR.
3) Determine the magnitude and the coordinate angles of FR.

GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (continued)

rAB = {2 i − 3 j − 6 k} m
rAC = {3 i + 2 j − 6 k} m
rAB = {22 + (-3)2 + (-6)2}1/2 = 7 m
rAC = {32 + 22 + (-6)2}1/2 = 7 m

FAB = 700 (rAB / rAB) N

FAB = 700 ( 2 i – 3 j – 6 k) / 7 N
FAB = (200 i – 300 j – 600 k) N

FAC = 560 (rAC / rAC) N

FAC = 560 (3 i + 2 j – 6 k) / 7 N
FAC = {240 i + 160 j – 480 k} N

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 GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (continued)

FR = FAB + FAC
= {440 i – 140 j – 1080 k} N

FR = {4402 + (-140)2 + (-1080)2}1/2

= 1174.6 N
FR = 1175 N

α = cos-1(440/1174.6) = 68.0°
β = cos-1(–140/1174.6) = 96.8°
γ = cos-1(–1080/1174.6) = 156.8°

APPLICATIONS

If you know the physical

locations of the four
cable ends, how could
you calculate the angle
between the cables at the
common anchor?

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 APPLICATIONS (continued)

For the force F being applied to the wrench at

Point A, what component of it actually helps turn
the bolt (i.e., the force component acting
perpendicular to arm AB of the pipe)?

DEFINITION

The dot product of vectors A and B is defined as A•B = A B cos θ.

The angle θ is the smallest angle between the two vectors and is
always in a range of 0º to 180º.
Dot Product Characteristics:
1. The result of the dot product is a scalar (a positive or
negative number).
2. The units of the dot product will be the product of the units
of the A and B vectors.

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 DOT PRODUCT DEFINITON
(continued)

Examples: By definition, i • j = 0
i•i = 1

A•B = (Ax i + Ay j + Az k) • (Bx i + By j + Bz k)

= Ax Bx + AyBy + AzBz

USING THE DOT PRODUCT TO DETERMINE THE

ANGLE BETWEEN TWO VECTORS

For these two vectors in Cartesian form, one can find the angle by
a) Find the dot product, A • B = (AxBx + AyBy + AzBz ),
b) Find the magnitudes (A & B) of the vectors A & B, and
c) Use the definition of dot product and solve for θ, i.e.,
θ = cos-1 [(A • B)/(A B)], where 0º ≤ θ ≤ 180º .

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 DETERMINING THE PROJECTION OF A VECTOR

You can determine the components of a vector parallel and

perpendicular to a line using the dot product.
Steps:
1. Find the unit vector, uaa´ along line aa´
2. Find the scalar projection of A along line aa´ by
A|| = A • uaa = AxUx + AyUy + Az Uz

DETERMINING THE PROJECTION OF A VECTOR

(continued)

3. If needed, the projection can be written as a vector, A|| , by

using the unit vector uaa´ and the magnitude found in step 2.
A|| = A|| uaa´

4. The scalar and vector forms of the perpendicular component

can easily be obtained by

A ⊥ = (A 2 - A|| 2) ½ and
A ⊥ = A – A||
(rearranging the vector sum of A = A⊥ + A|| )

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 EXAMPLE
Given: The force acting on the hook
at point A.
Find: The angle between the force
vector and the line AO, and
the magnitude of the
projection of the force along
the line AO.

Plan:
1. Find rAO
2. Find the angle θ = cos-1{(F • rAO)/(F rAO)}
3. Find the projection via FAO = F • uAO (or F cos θ )

EXAMPLE (continued)

rAO = {−1 i + 2 j − 2 k} m
rAO = {(-1)2 + 22 + (-2)2}1/2 = 3 m

F = {− 6 i + 9 j + 3 k} kN
F = {(-6)2 + 92 + 32}1/2 = 11.22 kN

F • rAO = (− 6)(−1) + (9)(2) + (3)(−2) = 18 kN m

θ = cos-1{(F • rAO)/(F rAO)}
θ = cos-1 {18 / (11.22 × 3)} = 57.67°

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 EXAMPLE (continued)

uAO = rAO/rAO = (−1/3) i + (2/3) j + (−2/3) k

FAO = F • uAO = (− 6)(−1/3) + (9)(2/3) + (3)(−2/3) = 6.00 kN

Or: FAO = F cos θ = 11.22 cos (57.67°) = 6.00 kN

ATTENTION QUIZ
1. The dot product can be used to find all of the following except
____ .
A) sum of two vectors
B) angle between two vectors
C) component of a vector parallel to another line
D) component of a vector perpendicular to another line

2. Find the dot product of the two vectors P and Q.

P = {5 i + 2 j + 3 k} m
Q = {-2 i + 5 j + 4 k} m
A) -12 m B) 12 m C) 12 m 2
D) -12 m 2 E) 10 m 2

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 GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING

Given: The 300 N force

acting on the bracket.
Find: The magnitude of the
projected component of
this force acting along
line OA
Plan:
1. Find rOA and uOA
2. Find the angle θ = cos-1{(F • rOA)/(F × rOA)}
3. Then find the projection via FOA = F • uOA or F (1) cos θ

GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (continued)

F´

rOA = {−0.450 i + 0.300 j + 0.260 k} m

rOA = {(−0.450)2 + 0.3002 + 0.2602 }1/2 = 0.60 m
uOA = rOA / rOA = {-0.75 i + 0.50 j + 0.433 k }

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 GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (continued)
F´

F´ = 300 sin 30° = 150 N

F = {−150 sin 30°i + 300 cos 30°j + 150 cos 30°k} N

F = {− 75 i + 259.8 j + 129.9 k} N
F = {(-75)2 + 259.82 + 129.92}1/2 = 300 N

GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (continued)

F • rOA = (-75) (-0.45) + (259.8) (0.30) + (129.9) (0.26)

= 145.5 N·m
θ = cos-1{(F • rOA)/(F × rOA)}
θ = cos-1{145.5 /(300 × 0.60)} = 36.1°
The magnitude of the projected component of F along line
OA will be
FOA = F • uOA
= (-75)(-0.75) + (259.8) (0.50) + (129.9) (0.433)
= 242 N
Or
FOA = F cos θ = 300 cos 36.1° = 242 N

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