1 Chapter 3

Chapter 3

1. We note that the set of choices for unit vector directions has correct orientation (for a right-
handed coordinate system). Students sometimes confuse “north” with “up”, so it might be
necessary to emphasize that these are being treated as the mutually perpendicular directions of our
real world, not just some “on the paper” or “on the blackboard” representation of it. Once the
terminology is clear, these questions are basic to the definitions of the scalar (dot) and vector (cross)
products.

(a) 늿
i  k=0 since 늿
ik

늿  (  j)=0 since k늿 j .

(b) (  k)

(c) 늿
j  (  j)=  1.

(d) k늿 j=  ?i (west).

i)  (  j)=  k? (u pw ard).
(e) (  늿

늿  (  j)=  ?
(f) (  k) i (west).

2. LetA denote
 the magnitude of A ; similarly for the other vectors. The vector equation is
A  B = C where B = 8.0 m and C = 3A. We  are also told that the angle (measured in the
‘standard’ sense) for A is 0° and the angle for C is 90°, which makes this a right triangle (when
drawn in a “head-to-tail” fashion) where B is the size of the hypotenuse. Using the Pythagorean
theorem,
B  A2  C 2  14  A2  9 A2
which leads to A = 14/10 = 4.43 m.

3. (a) This is one example of an answer: (33 ^i – 26 ^j + 35 k^ ) m, with ^i directed anti-parallel to the
first path, ^j directed anti-parallel to the second path, and k^ directed upward (in order to have a
right-handed coordinate system). Other examples include (33 ^i + 26 ^j + 35 k^ ) m and (33i^ – 26 ^j
– 35 k^ ) m (with slightly different interpretations for the unit vectors). Note that the product of the
components is positive in each example.

(b) Using the Pythagorean theorem, we have (33 m) 2  (26 m) 2 = 42.01 m  42 m.

4. We choose +x east and +y north and measure all angles in the “standard” way (positive ones

counterclockwise from +x, negative ones clockwise). Thus, vector d1 has magnitude d1 = 5.70
 2 Chapter 3


(with the unit meter and three significant figures assumed) and direction 1 = 90°. Also, d 2 has

magnitude d2 = 3.40 and direction 2 = –45°, and vector d 3 has magnitude d3 = 0.91 and direction
3 = –135°. We add the x and y components, respectively:
x : d1 cos 1  d 2 cos  2  d3 cos  3  1.76 m
y : d1 sin 1  d 2 sin  2  d 3 sin  3  2.65 m.
  
(a) The magnitude of the direct displacement (the vector sum d1 + d 2 + d3 ) is
(1.76 m)2  (2.65 m)2  3.2 m.

(b) The angle (understood in the sense described above) is tan–1 (2.15/1.76) = 56°. That is, the first
putt must aim in the direction 69° north of east.

r
5. THINK This problem involves finding scalar and vector products between two vectors a and
r
b.

EXPRESS We apply Eqs. 3-20 and 3-24 to calculate the scalar and vector products between two
vectors:
 
a  b  ab cos 
 
| a  b |  ab sin  .

r r
ANALYZE (a) Given that a  | a |  9.5 , b  | b |  7.5 and   55  , the scalar (dot) product of
r r
a and b is
 
a  b  ab cos   (9.5) (7.5) cos 55  41.

(b) Similarly, the magnitude of the vector (cross) product of the two vectors is
 
| a  b |  ab sin   (9.5) (7.5) sin 55  58.

r r
LEARN When two vectors a and b are parallel (   0 ), their scalar and vector products are
   
a  b  ab cos   ab and | a  b |  ab sin   0 , respectively. However, when they are
   
perpendicular (   90  ), we have a  b  ab cos   0 and | a  b |  ab sin   ab .

  
6. Applying Eq. 3-23, F  qv  B (where q is a scalar) becomes

i  Fy j  Fz k늿 q  v y Bz  vz B y  i  q  vz Bx  vx Bz  늿
Fx 늿 j  q  v x B y  v y Bx  k

which — plugging in values — leads to three equalities:

 3 Chapter 3

4.0  2.0 (4.0 Bz  6.0 Bx )

32  2.0 (6.0 Bx  2.0 Bz )
20  2.0 (2.0 Bx  4.0 Bx )

Since we are told that Bx = By, the third equation leads to By = –5.0. Inserting this value into the
first equation, we find Bz = –7.0. Thus, our answer is

B  5.0 늿 ?
i  5.0 j  7.0 k.

    
7. First, we rewrite the given expression as 16( dplane · dcross ) where dplane = d1 + d2 and in
      
the plane of d1 and d 2 , and d cross  d1  d 2 . Noting that dcross is perpendicular to the plane of d1

and d 2 , we see that the answer must be 0 (the scalar or dot product of perpendicular vectors is
zero).

8. THINK This problem deals with the displacement of a sailboat. We want to find the
displacement vector between two locations.
r
EXPRESS The situation is depicted in the figure below. Let a represent the first part of his actual
r
voyage (50.0 km east) and c represent the intended voyage (90.0 km north). We look for a vector
r r r r
b such that c  a  b .

ANALYZE (a) Using the Pythagorean theorem, the distance traveled by the sailboat is

b  (50.0 km) 2  (90.0 km) 2  103 km.

(b) The direction is

 50.0 km 
  tan 1    29.1 
 90.0 km 
 4 Chapter 3

west of north (which is equivalent to 60.9 north of due west).

9. Noting that the given 130 is measured counterclockwise from the +x axis, the two vectors can
be written as

A  5.00(cos130 늿 i  sin130 j)  3.21i늿 3.83 j

B  Bx 늿
i  By j  4.31i늿 6.60j.


(a) The angle between the negative direction of the y axis (  ĵ ) and the direction of A is


 A  (ˆj)   3.83 
  cos 
1 1
  cos    140.
 A   (3.21) 2  (3.83) 2 
 
 
(b) Since the y axis is in the xy plane, and A  B is perpendicular to that plane, then the answer is
90.0.

(c) The vector can be simplified as

 
늿  (3.21i  3.83 늿
A  ( B  3.00 k) j)  (4.31i  6.60늿
j  3.00 k)
 11.49i늿 9.641 j  37.72 k?
 
ˆ |  40.6. The angle between the negative direction of the y axis
Its magnitude is | A  ( B  3.00k)
(  ĵ ) and the direction of the above vector is

 9.64 
  cos 1    104.
 40.6 

10. Angles are given in ‘standard’ fashion, so Eq. 3-5 applies directly. We use this to write the
vectors in unit-vector notation before adding them. However, a very different-looking approach
using the special capabilities of most graphical calculators can be imagined. Wherever the length
unit is not displayed in the solution below, the unit meter should be understood.

(a) Allowing for the different angle units used in the problem statement, we arrive at
 5 Chapter 3


E  3.11 늿
i  3.92 j

F  1.55 늿
i  5.80 j

G  2.54 늿
i  6.52 j

H  3.46 늿i  2.00 j
   
E  F  G  H  3.73 늿
i  6.65 j.

(b) The magnitude of the vector sum found in part (a) is (3.73 m)2  (6.65 m) 2  7.62 m .

(c) Its angle measured counterclockwise from the +x axis is tan–1(6.65/3.73) = 60.7°.

(d) Using the conversion factor  rad = 180 , 60.7° = 1.06 rad.

     
11. Let c  b  a . Then the magnitude of c is c = ab sin . Since c is perpendicular to a the
    
magnitude of a  c is ac. The magnitude of a  (b  a ) is consequently

  
| a  (b  a ) |  ac  a 2b sin  .
Substituting the values given, we obtain
  
| a  (b  a ) |  a 2b sin   (3.90)2 (2.70)sin 27.0  18.6 .

12. We orient i eastward, j northward, and k upward.


(a) The displacement is d  (800 m)i늿 ( 700 m) j  (  300 m)k? .

(b) The displacement for the return portion is d   (800 m)i늿 ( 700 m) j and the magnitude is
d   (800 m) 2  (  700 m)2  1.06 103 m =1.06 km. .

The net displacement is zero since his final position matches his initial position.

 
13. The vector sum of the displacements dstorm and d new must give the same result as its originally

intended displacement d o  (90.0 km)jˆ where east is i , north is j . Thus, we write
r r
d storm  (60.0 km) 늿
i , d new  A i  B ?j.
 6 Chapter 3

  
(a) The equation dstorm  d new  d o readily yields A = –60.0 km and B = 90.0 km. The magnitude
 
of d new is therefore equal to | d new |  A2  B 2  108 km .

(b) The direction is

tan–1 (B/A) = –56.3° or 180° + ( –56.3°) = 123.6°.

We choose the latter value since it indicates a vector pointing in the second quadrant, which is
what we expect here. The answer can be phrased several equivalent ways: 123.6° counterclockwise
from east, or 33.6° west from north, or 56.3° north from west.

14. The point P is displaced vertically by 2R, where R is the radius of the wheel. It is displaced
horizontally by half the circumference of the wheel, or R. Since R = 0.220 m, the horizontal
component of the displacement is 0.691 m and the vertical component of the displacement is 0.440
m. If the x axis is horizontal and the y axis is vertical, the vector displacement (in meters) is


r  0.691 늿 
i + 0.440 j . The displacement has a magnitude of


 R    2 R 
2 2
r   R  2  4  0.819 m
and an angle of
 2R  1  2 
tan 1    tan    32.5
R   

above the floor. In physics there are no “exact” measurements, yet that angle computation seemed
to yield something exact. However, there has to be some uncertainty in the observation that the
wheel rolled half of a revolution, which introduces some indefiniteness in our result.

15.
 The diagram shows the displacement vectors for the two segments of her walk, labeled A and

B , and the total (“final”) displacement vector, labeled r . We take east to be the +x direction and
north to be the +y direction. We observe that the angle between A and the x axis is 65°. Where the
units are not explicitly shown, the distances are understood to be in meters. Thus, the
 components
of A are Ax = 310 cos 65° = 131 and Ay = 310 sin 65° = 281. The components of B are Bx = 175
and By = 0. The components of the total displacement are

rx = Ax + Bx = 131 + 205 = 336

ry = Ay + By = 281 + 0 = 281.
 7 Chapter 3

(a) The magnitude of the resultant displacement is


| r |  rx2  ry2  (336 m)2  (281 m) 2  438 m.

(b) The angle the resultant displacement makes with the +x axis is

 ry  1  281 m 
tan 1    tan    39.9.
 rx   336 m 

The direction is 39.9 north of due east.

(c) The total distance walked is d = 310 m + 205 m = 515 m.

(d) The total distance walked is greater than the magnitude of the resultant displacement. The
diagram shows why: A and B are not collinear.


16. The vector can be written as d  (5.70 m)jˆ , where we have taken ĵ to be the unit vector
pointing north.
 
(a) The magnitude of the vector a  4.00 d is (4.00)(5.70 m) = 22.8 m.

  
(b) The direction of the vector a = 4.00d is the same as the direction of d (north).
 
(c) The magnitude of the vector c =  5.00d is (5.00)(5.70 m) = 28.5 m.
  
(d) The direction of the vector c =  5.00d is the opposite of the direction of d . Thus, the

direction of c is south.

17. Although we think of this as a three-dimensional movement, it is rendered effectively two-

dimensional by referring measurements to its well-defined plane of the fault.

(a) The magnitude of the net displacement is

 8 Chapter 3


| AB |  | AD |2  | AC |2  (13.0 m) 2  (18.0 m) 2  22.2 m.


(b) The magnitude of the vertical component of AB is |AD| sin 48.0° = 9.66 m.

18. The two vectors are given by


A  11.0(cos100 늿 i  sin100 j)  1.91i늿 10.8 j

B  Bx 늿
i  By j  6.50 늿i  8.40 j.

 
(a) The dot product of 5A  B is
 
3 A  B  3( 1.91i늿 10.8 j)  (6.50 늿
i  8.40 j)  3[(1.91)(6.50)  (10.8)(8.40)]
 236.

(b) In unit vector notation

   
4 A  3B  12 A  B  12(1.91i늿 10.8 j)  (6.50 늿 늿  1.04  103 k
i  8.40 j)  12(86.4 k)

(c) We note that the azimuthal angle is undefined for a vector along the z axis. Thus, our result is
“1.04103,  not defined, and  = 0.”
  
(d) Since A is in the xy plane, and A  B is perpendicular to that plane, then the answer is 90.
 ^
(e) Clearly, A + 3.00 k = –1.91 ^i + 10.8 ^j + 3.00 k^ .

(f) The Pythagorean theorem yields magnitude (1.91) 2  (10.8) 2  (3.00) 2  11.4 . The

azimuthal angle is  = 100, just as it was in the problem statement ( A is the projection onto the
xy plane of the new vector created in part (e)). The angle measured from the +z axis is

 = cos1(3.00/11.4) = 74.7.

   
19. The two vectors d1 and d 2 are given by d1   d1 늿
j and d 2  d 2 i.

(a) The vector d 2 / 5  (d 2 / 5) ˆi points in the +x direction. The 1/5 factor does not affect the result.

(b) The vector d1 / ( 5)  (d1 / 5)ˆj points in the +y direction. The minus sign (with the “5”) does
affect the direction: (–y) = + y.
 9 Chapter 3

 
(c) d1  d 2  0 since 늿
i  j = 0. The two vectors are perpendicular to each other.
   
(d) d1  ( d 2 / 5)  ( d1  d 2 ) / 5  0 , as in part (c).
 
j  i) = d1d 2 k? , in the +z-direction.
(e) d1  d 2  d1d 2 (늿
 
(f) d 2  d1   d 2 d1 (i늿 j) = d1d 2 k? , in the z-direction.

(g) The magnitude of the vector in (e) is d1d2 .

(h) The magnitude of the vector in (f) is d1d2 .


(i) Since d1  (d 2 / 5)  (d1d 2 / 5)kˆ , the magnitude is d1d 2 / 5.
 
(j) The direction of d1  (d 2 / 5)  ( d1d 2 / 5)kˆ is in the +z-direction.

20. We find the components and then add them (as scalars, not vectors). With d = 5.60 km and 
= 27.0° we find d cos  + d sin  = 7.53 km.

21. Where the length unit is not displayed, the unit meter is understood.


(a) We first note that the magnitudes of the vectors are a  | a |  (4.0) 2  (2.0) 2  4.47 and

b  | b |  (0.75) 2  (3.3) 2  3.38 . Now,

 
a  b  axbx  a y by  ab cos 
(4.0)(0.75)  (2.0)(3.3)  (4.47)(3.38) cos 

which leads to  = 51° (the inverse cosine is double-valued as is the inverse tangent, but we know
this is the right solution since both vectors are in the same quadrant).
 
(b) Since the angle (measured from +x) for a is tan–1(2.0/4.0) = 26.6°, we know the angle for c
is 26.6° –90° = –63.4° (the other possibility, 26.6° + 90° would lead to a cx < 0). Therefore,

cx = c cos (–63.4°) = (8.0)(0.45) = 3.6 m.

(c) Also, cy = c sin (–63.4°) = (8.0)( –0.89) = – 7.2 m.


(d) And we know the angle for d to be 26.6° + 90° = 116.6°, which leads to
 10 Chapter 3

dx = d cos(116.6°) = (8.0)( –0.45) = –3.6 m.

(e) Finally, dy = d sin 116.6° = (8.0)(0.89) = 7.2 m.

    
22. Examining the figure, we see that a + b + c = 0, where a  b .

(a)  a  b = (6.0)(8.0) = 48 since the angle between them is 90º.
 

 
(b) Using the Right-Hand Rule, the vector a  b points in the 늿
i  j  k? , or the +z direction.

      
(c) | a  c | = | a  ( a  b )| = |  a  b )| = 
 
(d) The vector  a  b points in the 늿
i  j  k? , or the z direction.

        
(e) | b  c | = | b  ( a  b )| = |  b  a ) | = |  a  b ) | = 48.

(f) The vector points in the +z direction, as in part (a).

 
23. The two vectors a and b are given by


a  1.70(cos 50 늿
j  sin 50 k)  1.09 늿
j  1.30 k

b  2.90(cos 70 늿
i  sin 70 k)  0.992i늿 2.73 k

 
The components of a are ax = 0, ay = 1.09, and az = 1.30. The components of b are bx = 0.992, by
= 0, and bz = 2.73.

(a) The scalar (dot) product is therefore

 
a  b  ax bx  a y by  az bz   0  0.992   1.09  0   1.30  2.73   3.55.

(b) The vector (cross) product is

 
a  b   a y bz  az by  늿
i +  a z bx  ax bz  j +  a x by  a y bx  k?
  1.09  2.73  0   늿 
i +  1.30  0.992   0  j   0  1.09  0.992   k?

i + 1.29 j  1.08k? .
 2.98 늿

 
(c) The angle  between a and b is given by
 11 Chapter 3

   
a b 3.55
  cos 1 1
  cos    44.0 .
 ab   1.70  2.90  

24. A sketch of the displacements is shown. The resultant (not shown) would be a straight line
from start (Bank) to finish (Walpole). With a careful drawing, one should find that the resultant
vector has length 29.5 km at 35° west of south.

25. Reference to Figure 3-18 (and the accompanying  material in that section) is helpful. If we

convert B to the magnitude-angle notation (as A already is) we have B  14.4  33.7 b g
(appropriate notation especially if we are using a vector capable calculator in polar mode). Where
the length unit is not displayed in the solution, the unit meter should be understood. In the
magnitude-angle notation, rotating the axis by +30° amounts to subtracting that angle from the
 
angles previously specified. Thus, A  18.0  30.0  and B  (14.4  3.70) , where the
‘prime’ notation indicates that the description is in terms of the new coordinates. Converting these
results to (x, y) representations, we obtain
r
(a) A  (15.6 m) 늿
i  (9.00 m) j .
r
(b) Similarly, B  (14.4 m) 늿
i  (0.929 m) j .

26. The three vectors are


d1  3.0 늿i  4.0j  7.0 k?

i  4.0j+3.0 k?
d 2   1.0 늿

d3   5.0 늿i  3.0j+2.0 k?

   
(a) r  d1  d 2  d3  ( 1.0 m)i늿 (11 m) j  ( 8.0 m)k? .
 12 Chapter 3

 
(b) The magnitude of r is | r | (  1.0 m) 2  (11 m) 2  (  8.0 m) 2  13.6 m. The angle

between r and the z-axis is given by

r  k̂  8.0 m
cos       0.588
| r | 13.6 m
which implies   126  .
  
(c) The component of d1 along the direction of d 2 is given by d  d1  û= d1cos  where  is the
  
angle between d1 and d 2 , and û is the unit vector in the direction of d 2 . Using the properties of
the scalar (dot) product, we have
   
 d1  d 2  d1  d 2 (3.0)(  1.0)  (4.0)( 4.0)  ( 7.0)(3.0)
d  d1  = 
 d1d 2  d2 ( 1.0) 2  ( 4.0) 2  (3.0) 2
  7.845 m   7.8 m.

(d) Now we are looking for d  such that d12  (3.0)2  (4.0) 2  ( 7.0)2  74.0  d2  d2 . From (c),
we have

d   74.0 m 2  (  7.845 m) 2  3.5 m.

This gives the magnitude of the perpendicular component (and is consistent with what one would
get using Eq. 3-24), but if more information (such as the direction, or a full specification in terms
of unit vectors) is sought then more computation is needed

r r r
27. If we wish to use Eq. 3-5 directly, we should note that the angles for Q, R, and S are 100°,
250°, and 310°, respectively, if they are measured counterclockwise from the +x axis.

(a) Using unit-vector notation, with the unit meter understood, we have

P  13.0 cos  25.0  늿 i  13.0sin  25.0  j

Q  10.0 cos 100  늿 i  10.0sin 100  j

R  9.00 cos  70  늿
i  9.00sin  70  j

S  8.00 cos  310  늿i  8.00 sin  310  j
   
P  Q  R  S  (18.3 m )i늿 (17.7 m) j

(b) The magnitude of the vector sum is (18.3 m) 2  (17.7 m) 2  25.4 m .

 13 Chapter 3

(c) The angle is tan–1 (17.7 m/18.3 m)  44.1° measured counterclockwise from the +x axis.

28. The ant’s trip consists of three displacements:


d1  (0.30 m)(cos 225 늿i  sin 225 j)  ( 0.21 m) 늿i  (0.21 m) j

d 2  (0.20 m) ˆi

d3  (0.60 m)(cos 40 늿
i  sin 40 j)  (0.46 m) 늿i  (0.39 m ) j,

where the angle is measured with respect to the positive x axis. We have taken the positive x and
y directions to correspond to east and north, respectively.

(a) The x component of d1 is d1x  (0.30 m) cos 225  0.21 m .

(b) The y component of d1 is d1 y  (0.30 m) sin 225  0.21 m .


(c) The x component of d 2 is d 2 x  0.20 m .

(d) The y component of d 2 is d 2 y  0 m .


(e) The x component of d 3 is d3 x  (0.60 m) cos 40  0.46 m .

(f) The y component of d 3 is d 3 y  (0.60 m) sin 40  0.39 m .


(g) The x component of the net displacement dnet is

d net , x  d1 x  d 2 x  d 3 x  (  0.21 m)  (0.20 m)  (0.46 m)  0.45 m.


(h) The y component of the net displacement dnet is

d net , y  d1 y  d 2 y  d 3 y  ( 0.21 m)  (0 m)  (0.39 m)  0.17 m.

(i) The magnitude of the net displacement is

d net  d net,
2
x  d net, y 
2
(0.45 m)2  (0.17 m)2  0.48 m.

(j) The direction of the net displacement is

 14 Chapter 3

 d net , y  1  0.17 m 
  tan 1    tan    21 (north of east)
 d net , x   0.45 m 

If the ant has to return directly to the starting point, the displacement would be d net .

(k) The distance the ant has to travel is | d net |  0.48 m.

(l) The direction the ant has to travel is 21 (south of west) .

29. (a) and (b) The area of a triangle is half the product of its base and altitude. The base is the side
  
formed by vector a. Then the altitude is b sin  and the area is A  12 ab sin   12 | a  b | .
Substituting the values given, we have

1 1
A ab sin   (4.30)(6.20) sin 50  10.2 .
2 2

30. The two vectors can be found be solving the simultaneous equations.
   
(a) If we add the equations, we obtain 2a  8c , which leads to a  4c  24i늿 16j .
 
(b) Plugging this result back in, we find b  c  6i늿 4 j .

31. We choose +x east and +y north and measure all angles in the “standard” way (positive ones

are counterclockwise from +x). Thus, vector d1 has magnitude d1 = 6.00 m (with the unit meter)
 
and direction 1 = 225°. Also, d 2 has magnitude d2 = 4.00 m and direction 2 = 0°, and vector d 3
has magnitude d3 = 8.00 m and direction 3 = 60°.

(a) The x-component of d1 is d1x = d1 cos 1 = –4.24 m.

(b) The y-component of d1 is d1y = d1 sin 1 = –4.24 m.

(c) The x-component of d 2 is d2x = d2 cos 2 = 4.00 m.

(d) The y-component of d 2 is d2y = d2 sin 2 = 0.

(e) The x-component of d 3 is d3x = d3 cos 3 = 4.00 m.
 15 Chapter 3


(f) The y-component of d 3 is d3y = d3 sin 3 = 6.93 m.

(g) The sum of x-components is

dx = d1x + d2x + d3x = –4.24 m + 4.00 m + 4.00 m = 3.76 m.

(h) The sum of y-components is

dy = d1y + d2y + d3y = –4.24 m + 0 + 6.93 m = 2.69 m.

(i) The magnitude of the resultant displacement is

d  d x2  d y2  (3.76 m)2  (2.69 m)2  4.62 m.

(j) And its angle is

 = tan–1 (2.69/3.76) = 35.6°,

which (recalling our coordinate choices) means it points at about 35.6° north of east.

(k) and (l) This new displacement (the direct line home) when vectorially added to the previous
(net) displacement must give zero. Thus, the new displacement is the negative, or opposite, of the
previous (net) displacement. That is, it has the same magnitude (4.62 m) but points in the opposite
direction (36° south of west).

32. The three vectors given are


a  3.0 늿 i  4.0 j  3.0 k?

b   2.0 늿
i  2.0 j  3.0 k?

c  4.0 늿 i  3.0 j  4.0 k?
   
(a) The vector equation r  a  b  c is


r  [3.0  ( 2.0)  4.0]i늿 (4.0  2.0  3.0) j  ( 3.0  3.0  4.0)k?
늿
=9.0i+5.0j  2.0k.?

  Noting that
(b) We find the angle from +z by “dotting” (taking the scalar product) r with k.

Eq. 3-20 with Eq. 3-23 leads to

 
r  k   2.0  10.49 1 cos     101 .

(c) To find the component of a vector in a certain direction, it is efficient to “dot” it (take the scalar
product of it) with a unit-vector in that direction. In this case, we make the desired unit-vector by
 16 Chapter 3


b 늿 2.0 j + 3.0k?
2.0i+
ˆ
b   .
|b |  2.0 
2
 (2.0)  (3.0)
2 2

We therefore obtain


ab  a  bˆ 
 3.0  2.0    4.0  2.0    3.0  3.0    1.7 .
 2.0   (2.0)2  ( 3.0) 2
2

(d) One approach (if all we require is the magnitude) is to use the vector cross product, as the
problem suggests; another (which supplies more information) is to subtract the result in part (c)

(multiplied by b ) from a . We briefly illustrate the first method. We note that if a cos  (where 
 
is the angle between a and b ) gives ab (the component along b ) then we expect a sin  to yield
the orthogonal component:

 
a b
a sin    5.6
b

(alternatively, one might compute  form part (c) and proceed more directly).

33. The x axis runs from west to east and the y axis runs from south to north. Then ax = 7.00 m, ay
= 0,

bx = –(5.00 m) sin 35° = –2.87 m, by = (5.00 m) cos 35° = 4.10 m.

  
(a) Let c  a  b . Then cx  ax  bx = 7.00 m  2.87 m = 4.13 m and
cy  a y  by = 0 + 4.10 m = 4.10 m . The magnitude of c is

 4.13 m    4.10 m   5.82 m.

2 2
c  cx2  c 2y 

  
(b) The angle  that c  a  b makes with the +x axis is

 cy  1  4.10 
  tan 1    tan    44.8.
 cx   4.13 

The second possibility ( = 44.8° + 180° = 225°) is rejected because it would point in a direction

opposite to c .
      
(c) The vector b  a is found by adding  a to b . Let c  b  a. The components are
 17 Chapter 3

cx  bx  ax  2.87 m  7.00 m  9.87 m

c y  by  a y  4.10 m.


The magnitude of c is c  cx2  c y2  10.7 m. .


(d) The tangent of the angle  that c makes with the +x axis (east) is

cy 4.10 m
tan     4.15.
cx 9.87 m

  
There are two solutions: –22.5° and 157.5°. The second solution is correct. The vector c   a  b
is 22.5° north of west.

34. Solving the simultaneous equations yields the answers:

 
(a) d1 = 5 d3 = 15 ^i + 25 ^j , and
 
(b) d2 = d3 = 3 ^i + 5 ^j.

 
35. The vectors can be written as a  a 늿
i an d b  b j where a, b  0.

(a) We are asked to consider


F
G I
HJK
b b 
 j
d d

in the case d > 0. Since the coefficient of j is positive, then the vector points in the –y direction.

(b) If, however, d < 0, then the coefficient is negative and the vector points in the +y direction.
 
(c) Since cos 90° = 0, then a  b  0 , using Eq. 3-20.

(d) Since b / d is along the y axis, then (by the same reasoning as in the previous part)

a  (b / d )  0 .

 
(e) By the right-hand rule, a  b points in the –z direction.
 18 Chapter 3

     
(f) By the same rule, b  a points in the +z direction. We note that b  a  a  b is true in this
case and quite generally.
  
(g) Since sin 90° = 1, Eq. 3-24 gives | a  b |  ab where a is the magnitude of a .

   
(h) Also, | a  b |  | b  a |  ab .

 
(i) With d > 0, we find that a  ( b / d ) has magnitude ab/d.

 
(j) The vector a  ( b / d ) points in the –z direction.


36. The strategy is to find where the camel is ( C ) by adding the two consecutive displacements

described in the problem, and then finding the difference between that location and the oasis ( B ).
Using the magnitude-angle notation

C = (24   25) + (8.0  90) = (21.85  -5.63)
so
 
B  C  (55  0)  (21.85  -5.63)  (33.3 3.68)

which is efficiently implemented using a vector-capable calculator in polar mode. The distance is
therefore 33 km.

    
37. From the figure, it is clear that a + b + c = 0, where a  b .
 
(a) a · b = 0 since the angle between them is 90º.

2
(b) a · c = a · ( a  b ) =  a  = 
     

 
(c) Similarly, b · c = 36 .

38. The three vectors are


d1  2.0 늿i  3.0 j  4.0 k?

i  4.0 j  3.0 k?
d 2  2.0 늿

d  2.0 늿 ?
i  3.0 j  2.5 k.
3

 
(a) Since d 2  d3  0 늿
i  1.0 j  5.5 k? , we have
 19 Chapter 3

  
d1  (d 2  d 3 )  (2.0 늿 늿  (0 i  1.0 늿
i  3.0 j  4.0 k) j  5.5 k)
 0  3.0 + 22  19 m 2 .
 
? Thus,
(b) Using Eq. 3-27, we obtain d 2  d3  19i늿 11 j  2.0 k.
  
d1  (d 2  d 3 )  (2.0 늿 늿  ( 19 i  11 늿
i  3.0 j  4.0 k) j  2.0 k)
 38  33  8.0  79 m3 .

 
(c) We found d2 + d3 in part (a). Use of Eq. 3-27 then leads to
  
d1  (d 2  d3 )  ( 2.0 늿 늿 (0 i  1.0 늿
i  4.0 j  2.0 k) j  5.5 k)
= (21i늿+11 j + 2.0 k? ) m 2

39. THINK This problem deals with addition and subtraction of two vectors.

EXPRESS From the problem statement, we have

r r r r
A  B  (1.0)i늿 (6.0) j, A  B  (5.0)i늿 (2.0) j
r r
Solving the simultaneous equations gives A and B .
r
ANALYZE Adding the above equations and dividing by 2 leads to A  (2.0)i늿 (4.0) j . The
r
magnitude of A is

A  | A |  Ax2  Ay2  (2.0)2  (4.0) 2  4.5

40. We orient i eastward, j northward, and k upward, and use the following fundamental
products:
늿
ij  늿 j  i  k?
늿
jk   k늿 j  ?i
k늿 i  늿i  k  ?j

(a) “south cross west” = (늿

j)  (i)  k? = “down.”

늿  ( j)  0 .
(b) “down dot south” = (k)

(c) “east cross up” = 늿

i  (k)   ?j = “south.”
 20 Chapter 3

(d) “east dot east” = 늿

i  i  1.

(e) “south cross south” = ( 늿

j)  ( j)  0 .

41. We apply Eq. 3-23 and Eq. 3-27.

   
(a) a  b  (a x by  a y bx ) kˆ since all other terms vanish, due to the fact that neither a nor b have
any z components. Consequently, we obtain ((6.0)(4.0)  (5.0)(3.0))k늿 .0k .

(b) a  b  ax bx + a y by yields (6.0)(3.0) + (5.0)(4.0) = 38.

    
(c) a  b = (6.0  3.0) 늿
i  (5.0  4.0) j  (a + b )  b = (9.0) (3.0) + (9.0) (4.0) = 63 .

(d) Several approaches are available. In this solution, we will construct a b unit-vector and “dot”

it (take the scalar product of it) with a . In this case, we make the desired unit-vector by

b 3.0 늿
i  4.0 j
bˆ    .
|b | (3.0)2  (4.0) 2
We therefore obtain
 (6.0)(3.0)  (5.0)(4.0)
ab  a  bˆ   7.60.
(3.0) 2  (4.0) 2

 
42. The vector d (measured in meters) can be represented as d  (1.5 m)(  ˆj) , where  ĵ is the unit

vector pointing south. Therefore, 6.0 d  6.0(  1.5 m 늿
j)  ( 9.0 m) j.

(a) The positive scalar factor (6.0) affects the magnitude but not the direction. The magnitude of

6.0d is 9.0 m.

(b) The new direction of 6d is the same as the old: south.
 
The vector 2.0d can be written as 2.0 d  (3.0 m) ˆj.

(c) The absolute value of the scalar factor (|2.0| = 2.0) affects the magnitude. The new magnitude
is 3.0 m.

(d) The minus sign carried by this scalar factor reverses the direction, so the new direction is  ĵ ,
or north.
 21 Chapter 3


43. The desired result is the displacement vector, in units of km, A = (7.0 km), 90º (measured

counterclockwise from the +x axis), or A  (7.0 km)jˆ , where ĵ is the unit vector along the
positive y axis (north). This consists of the sum of two displacements: during the whiteout,

B  (10.5 km), 60 , or

B  (10.5 km)(cos 60 늿
i  sin60 j)  (5.25 km)i늿 (9.09 km) j
   
and the unknown C . Thus, A  B  C .
  
(a) The desired displacement is given by C  A  B  ( 5.25 km) 늿
i  (2.09 km) j . The
magnitude is ( 5.25 km) 2  ( 2.09 km) 2  5.65 km.

(b) The angle is tan  1[( 2.09 km) / ( 5.25 km)]  21.7 , south of due west.

44. THINK This problem deals with the displacement and distance traveled by a fly from one
corner of a room to the diagonally opposite corner. The displacement vector is three-dimensional.

EXPRESS The displacement of the fly is illustrated in the figure below:

A coordinate system such as the one shown (above right) allows us to express the displacement as
a three-dimensional vector.

ANALYZE (a) The magnitude of the displacement from one corner to the diagonally opposite
corner is
r
d  | d |  w2  l 2  h 2

Substituting the values given, we obtain


d  | d |  w2  l 2  h 2  (5.25 m) 2  (4.90 m) 2  (3.00 m) 2  7.78 m.
 22 Chapter 3

(b) The displacement vector is along the straight line from the beginning to the end point of the
trip. Since a straight line is the shortest distance between two points, the length of the path cannot
be less than d, the magnitude of the displacement.

(c) The length of the path of the fly can be greater than d, however. The fly might, for example,
crawl along the edges of the room. Its displacement would be the same but the path length would
be   w  h  13.2 m.

(d) The path length is the same as the magnitude of the displacement if the fly flies along the
displacement vector.

(e) We take the x axis to be out of the page, the y axis to be to the right, and the z axis to be upward
(as shown in the figure above). Then the x component of the displacement is w = 5.25 m, the y
component of the displacement is 4.90 m, and the z component is 3.00 m . Thus, the displacement
vector can be written as

d  (5.25 m) 늿 ?
i  ( 4.90 m) j  (3.00 m )k.

(f) Suppose the path of the fly is as shown by the dotted lines on the diagram (below left). Pretend
there is a hinge where the front wall of the room joins the floor and lay the wall down as shown
(above right).

The shortest walking distance between the lower left back of the room and the upper right front
corner is the dotted straight line shown on the diagram. Its length is

 w  h  5.25 m  3.00 m 
2 2
smin   l2   (4.90 m) 2  9.60 m.

LEARN To show that the shortest path is indeed given by smin , we write the length of the path as
s y 2  w 2  (l  y ) 2  h 2 .

The condition for minimum is given by

 23 Chapter 3

ds y ly
   0.
dy y w
2 2
(l  y ) 2  h 2

A little algebra shows that the condition is satisfied when y  lw /( w  h) , which gives

 l2  2 l2 
smin  w 1 
2
2 
 h 1  2 
 ( w  h) 2  l 2 .
 ( w  h)   ( w  h) 

Any other path would be longer than 9.60 m.