Air University Multan Campus

Lecture 3,4
dated 17-02-2025
Course Title:- Multi-Variable Calculus
Class:- BS-Computer Science – Fall-23-A
Semester : Spring 25

Topic:- Three-Dimensional Coordinate Systems,

Vectors dot product and cross product

Instructor:- Dr.Ammara Omer Khakwani

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12.2 Vectors
Vectors
The term vector is used by scientists to indicate a quantity
(such as displacement or velocity or force) that has both
magnitude and direction.

A vector is often represented by an arrow or a directed line

segment. The length of the arrow represents the magnitude
of the vector and the arrow points in the direction of the
vector.

We denote a vector by printing a letter in boldface (v) or by

putting an arrow above the letter .

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Vectors
For instance, suppose a particle moves along a line
segment from point A to point B.

The corresponding displacement vector v, shown in

Figure 1, has initial point A (the tail) and terminal point B
(the tip) and we indicate this by writing

Figure 1
Equivalent vectors
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Vectors
Notice that the vector has the same length and the
same direction as v even though it is in a different position.

We say that u and v are equivalent (or equal) and we

write u = v.

The zero vector, denoted by 0, has length 0. It is the only

vector with no specific direction.

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Combining Vectors

6
Combining Vectors
Suppose a particle moves from A to B, so its displacement
vector is . Then the particle changes direction and
moves from B to C, with displacement vector as in
Figure 2.

The combined effect of these

displacements is that the particle
has moved from A to C.

The resulting displacement

vector is called the sum of
and and we write Figure 2

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Combining Vectors
In general, if we start with vectors u and v, we first move v
so that its tail coincides with the tip of u and define the sum
of u and v as follows.

The definition of vector addition

is illustrated in Figure 3. You can
see why this definition is
sometimes called the Triangle Law.
Figure 3
The Triangle Law
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Combining Vectors
In Figure 4 we start with the same
vectors u and v as in Figure 3
and draw another copy of v with
the same initial point as u.
Figure 4

Completing the parallelogram, The Parallelogram Law

we see that u + v = v + u.

This also gives another way to construct the sum: If we

place u and v so they start at the same point, then u + v
lies along the diagonal of the parallelogram with u and v as
sides. (This is called the Parallelogram Law.)
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Example 1
Draw the sum of the vectors a and b shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5

Solution:
First we translate b and place its tail at the tip of a, being
careful to draw a copy of b that has the same length and
direction.

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Example 1 – Solution cont’d

Then we draw the vector a + b

[see Figure 6(a)] starting at the
initial point of a and ending at the
terminal point of the copy of b.
Figure 6(a)

Alternatively, we could place b so it

starts where a starts and construct
a + b by the Parallelogram Law as in
Figure 6(b).
Figure 6(b)

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Combining Vectors
It is possible to multiply a vector by a real number c. (In this
context we call the real number c a scalar to distinguish it
from a vector.)

For instance, we want 2v to be the same vector as v + v,

which has the same direction as v but is twice as long. In
general, we multiply a vector by a scalar as follows.

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Combining Vectors
This definition is illustrated in Figure 7.

Figure 7
Scalar multiples of v

We see that real numbers work like scaling factors here;

that’s why we call them scalars. 13
Combining Vectors
Notice that two nonzero vectors are parallel if they are
scalar multiples of one another.

In particular, the vector –v = (–1)v has the same length as

v but points in the opposite direction. We call it the
negative of v.

By the difference u – v of two vectors we mean

u – v = u + (–v)

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Combining Vectors
So we can construct u – v by first drawing the negative of
v, –v, and then adding it to u by the Parallelogram Law as
in Figure 8(a).

Alternatively, since v + (u – v) = u, the vector u – v, when

added to v, gives u. So we could construct u – v as in
Figure 8(b) by means of the Triangle Law.

Figure 8(a) Figure 8(b)

Drawing u – v 15
Components

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Components
For some purposes it’s best to introduce a coordinate
system and treat vectors algebraically.

If we place the initial point of a vector a at the origin of a

rectangular coordinate system, then the terminal point of a
has coordinates of the form (a1, a2) or (a1, a2, a3),
depending on whether our coordinate system is
two- or three-dimensional (see Figure 11).

Figure 11 17
Components
These coordinates are called the components of a and we
write
a = a1, a2 or a = a1, a2, a3

We use the notation a1, a2 for the ordered pair that refers
to a vector so as not to confuse it with the ordered pair
(a1, a2) that refers to a point in the plane.

For instance, the vectors shown

in Figure 12 are all equivalent to
the vector = 3, 2 whose
terminal point is P(3, 2).
Representations of the vector a = 3, 2
Figure 12 18
Components
What they have in common is that the terminal point is
reached from the initial point by a displacement of three
units to the right and two upward.

We can think of all these geometric vectors as

representations of the algebraic vector a = 3, 2.

The particular representation from the origin to the

point P(3, 2) is called the position vector of the point P.

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Components
In three dimensions, the vector a = = a1, a2, a3 is the
position vector of the point P(a1, a2, a3). (See Figure 13.)

Representations of a = a1, a2, a3

Figure 13
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Components
Let’s consider any other representation of a, where the
initial point is A(x1, y1, z1) and the terminal point is
B(x2, y2, z2).

Then we must have x1 + a1 = x2, y1 + a2 = y2, and

z1 + a3 = z2 and so a1 = x2 – x1, a2 = y2 – y1, and
a3 = z2 – z1.

Thus we have the following result.

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Example 3
Find the vector represented by the directed line segment
with initial point A(2, –3, 4) and terminal point B(–2, 1, 1).

Solution:
By , the vector corresponding to is

a = –2 – 2, 1 – (–3), 1 – 4

= –4, 4, –3

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Components
The magnitude or length of the vector v is the length of
any of its representations and is denoted by the symbol | v |
or || v ||. By using the distance formula to compute the
length of a segment OP, we obtain the following formulas.

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Components
How do we add vectors algebraically? Figure 14 shows that
if a = a1, a2 and b = b1, b2, then the sum is
a + b = a1 + b1, a2 + b2, at least for the case where the
components are positive.

In other words, to add algebraic

vectors we add their components.
Similarly, to subtract vectors we
subtract components.

Figure 14

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Components
From the similar triangles in Figure 15 we see that the
components of ca are ca1 and ca2.

So to multiply a vector by a scalar we multiply each

component by that scalar.

Figure 15

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Components

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Components
We denote by V2 the set of all two-dimensional vectors and
by V3 the set of all three-dimensional vectors.

More generally, we will consider the set Vn of all

n-dimensional vectors.

An n-dimensional vector is an ordered n-tuple:

a = a1, a2, . . . , an

where a1, a2, . . . , an are real numbers that are called the
components of a.
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Components
Addition and scalar multiplication are defined in terms of
components just as for the cases n = 2 and n = 3.

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Components
Three vectors in V3 play a special role. Let

These vectors i, j, and k are called the standard basis

vectors. They have length 1 and point in the directions of
the positive x-, y-, and z-axes. Similarly, in two dimensions
we define i = 1, 0 and j = 0, 1. (See Figure 17.)

Figure 17

Standard basis vectors in V2 and V3 29

Components
If a = a1, a2, a3, then we can write
a = a1, a2, a3 = a1, 0, 0 + 0, a2, 0 + 0, 0, a3
= a11, 0, 0 + a20, 1, 0 + a30, 0, 1

a = a 1 i + a 2 j + a3 k

Thus any vector in V3 can be expressed in terms of i, j, and

k. For instance,
1, –2, 6 = i – 2j + 6k
Similarly, in two dimensions, we can write
a =  a 1 , a2  = a 1 i + a 2 j 30
Components
See Figure 18 for the geometric interpretation of Equations
3 and 2 and compare with Figure 17.

Standard basis vectors in V2 and V3

Figure 17

Figure 18 31
Components
A unit vector is a vector whose length is 1. For instance, i,
j, and k are all unit vectors. In general, if a  0, then the
unit vector that has the same direction as a is

In order to verify this, we let c = 1/| a |. Then u = ca and c is

a positive scalar, so u has the same direction as a. Also

| u | = | ca | = | c | | a | = =1

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Applications

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Applications
Vectors are useful in many aspects of physics and
engineering. Here we look at forces.

A force is represented by a vector because it has both a

magnitude (measured in pounds or newtons) and a
direction.

If several forces are acting on an object, the resultant

force experienced by the object is the vector sum of these
forces.

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Example 7
A 100-lb weight hangs from two wires as shown in
Figure 19. Find the tensions (forces) T1 and T2 in both wires
and the magnitudes of the tensions.

Figure 19

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Example 7 – Solution
We first express T1 and T2 in terms of their horizontal and
vertical components. From Figure 20 we see that

T1 = –| T1 | cos 50 i + | T1 | sin 50 j

T2 = | T2 | cos 32 i + | T2 | sin 32 j

Figure 20

The resultant T1 + T2 of the tensions counterbalances the

weight w and so we must have

T1 + T2 = –w = 100 j
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Example 7 – Solution cont’d

Thus
(–| T1 | cos 50 + | T2 | cos 32) I + (| T1 | sin 50 + | T2 | sin 32) j

= 100 j

Equating components, we get

–|T1|cos 50 + |T2| cos 32 = 0

|T1|sin 50 + |T2|sin 32 = 100

Solving the first of these equations for | T2 | and substituting

into the second, we get
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Example 7 – Solution cont’d

So the magnitudes of the tensions are

and

Substituting these values in and we obtain the tension

vectors

T1  –55.05i + 65.60j T2  55.05i + 34.40j

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