Name:

First MI Last
Student ID #
Section:
Math 32A Sections 2 & 4 Fall 2013 Score
Problem Set # 2
Problem (1) For the vectors a and

b given below, nd the quantities:

||a||, a +

b, a

b, 3a, ||a +

b|| and 2a + 3

b.
a = 2, 3

b = 6, 1.
Problem (2) For the vectors a and

b given below, nd the quantities:

||a||, a +

b, a

b, 3a, ||a +

b|| and 2a + 3

b.
a = 2i 3j

b = i + 5j
1
Problem (3) A twodimensional vector u lies in the rst quadrant and has length (with > 0.)
The vector u makes a 30

angle with the yaxis. Write u in component form.

Problem (4) Write, in the language of (2D) vectors the equation for the set of points r = x, y
that form a circle of radius a and is centered at the point r
0
= x
0
, y
0
Your nal expression should
involve only vectors, vectorstyle symbols and the scalar a.
2
Problem (5) (Hard) Let

P and

Q denote two 2D vectors. It was found that the line segment,
joining

P and

Q can be written
= {r R
2
| r =

P + (1 )

Q for some : 0 1}.

Consider now the triangle T formed by

P,

Q (both assumed nonzero) and the origin. Write a similar
expression as the one above for all the points including, especially the interior of T. (Rigorous
proof is not required but provide some justication.)
Problem (6) Let A, B, C and D denote four distinct points in the plane. Let u
AB
denote the
vector pointing from A to B, and similarly u
BC
points from B to C while u
CD
points from C to D
and u
DA
points from D back to A. Evaluate the vector sum
u
AB
+u
BC
+u
CD
+u
DA
.
3
Problem (7) Let a and

b denote two 2D vectors:

a = a
1
, a
2

b = b
1
, b
2

Show directly (that is by algebraic manipulations, without invoking the formula relating dot products
and angles between) that
a

b ||a|| ||

b||.
Problem (8) The triangle inequality, valid for general ncomponent vectors reads
||a|| + ||

b|| ||a +

b||.
Use the above to show that
||a

b|| ||a|| ||

b||.
4
Problem (9) A set in the plane which can now be thought of as a set of vectors is called a
convex set if the following holds: Whenever u and v belong to the set, so does u +(1 )v for any
scalar between 0 and 1. Consider the set R
a,b
with one corner at the origin and the far corner
at the point a, b. Explicitly
R
a,b
= {x, y | 0 x a, 0 y b}.
Use the above denition to show that R
a,b
is a convex set.
Problem (10) A set in the plane which can now be thought of as a set of vectors is called a
convex set if the following holds: Whenever u and v belong to the set, so does u +(1 )v for any
scalar between 0 and 1. Consider the disk of radius a centered at the point x
0
, y
0
. Show that
this disk set is convex.
5
Problem (11) Show that the points (x, y, z) which satisfy
x
2
+y
2
+z
2
= 4y 2z
are a sphere by rewriting this equation in the standard form for a sphere. Identify explicitly the
center and the radius of the sphere.
Problem (12) Show that the points (x, y, z) which satisfy
x
2
+y
2
+z
2
6x + 4y 2z = 11
are a sphere by rewriting this equation in the standard form for a sphere. Identify explicitly the
center and the radius of the sphere.
6
Problem (13) Show that the following three points in 3D space:

A = 2, 4, 0

B = 1, 2, 1

C = 1, 1, 2 form the vertices of an equilateral triangle.

Problem (14) For the vectors a and

b given below, nd the quantities:

||a||, a +

b, a

b, 3a, ||a +

b|| and 2a + 3

b.
a = 1, 2, 3,

b = 3, 2, 3
7
Problem (15) For the vectors a and

b given below, nd the quantities:

||a||, a +

b, a

b, 3a, ||a +

b|| and 2a + 3

b.
a = 3i + 2j + 7k,

b = i + 2j 4k
Problem (16) Let r = a, b denote an arbitrary nonzero 2D vector. Find the vector which is
unique up to a scale factor of 1 that is orthogonal to r and has the same length as r.
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Problem (17) Use vectors to demonstrate the following fact: On a circle any two diametrically
opposed points along with an arbitrary third point (on the circle) form a right triangle.
Hint: Assume without loss of generality that the circle is centered at the origin and let v, v and w denote the three
points in question. Show that the vector connecting w to v is orthogonal to the vector connecting w to v.
Problem (18) Consider two lines in the plane described in the (primitive) form
y = mx +b, y = x +.
It is assumed that m = so that the lines intersect somewhere. Find an expression for the (cosine
of) the angle that these lines make on intersection.
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Problem (19) For a > 0 consider, in d = 2 the vectors r
1
:= x a, y and r
2
:= x + a, y. If
B > 2a, show that the set of points points which satisfy
||r
1
|| + ||r
2
|| = B
form an elipse.
Problem (20) In d = 3, let a and

b denote two vectors and consider the points r in R

3
that satisfy
(r a) (r

b) = 0.
Show that these points form a sphere and identify the radius and center.
Hint: d = 3 does not really enter into the problem; consider, in general, the vector form of the equation for a sphere.
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