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Contents
1
Vector-Valued Functions
1.1
1.2
1.2.1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.2
Cross Product
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.3
1.4
Curves in 3-Space: Arclength; Tangent, Normal, and Binormal Vectors; Curvature and Torsion
. . .
Vector-Valued Functions
1.1
We denote the
where the
ai
n-dimensional
(a1 , a2 , , an )
as
v = ha1 , a2 , , an i,
are scalars.
hi
()
v ),
~v
The typical way to think of vectors is as directed line segments: the length of the line segment gives the
magnitude of the vector, and the direction the segment is pointing gives the direction of the vector.
Note/Warning: Vectors are a little bit dierent from directed line segments, because we don't care where
a vector starts: we only care about the dierence between the starting and ending positions. Thus: the
directed segment whose start is
same vector,
(0, 0) and end is (1, 1) and the segment starting at (1, 1) and ending at
h1, 1i. This distinction is rarely necessary in most applications, however.
We can add vectors (provided they are of the same dimension!) in the obvious way, one component at a time:
if
v = ha1 , , an i
and
w = hb1 , , bn i
then
v + w = ha1 + b1 , , an + bn i.
r v = hra1 , , ran i.
1/2,
for example, produces a new vector in the same direction, but with
Scaling a vector by
1 produces a new vector with the same length but pointing in the opposite direction
Example: If
2w = h7, 2, 10i
, and
v+w = h2, 2, 2i
. Furthermore,v
1.2
1.2.1
If
32
02
and
(0, . . . , 0)
(a1 )2 + + (an )2
to the point
w = h3, 0, 4i,
we have
out a
v = h1, 2, 2i
+ (4)2 = 5 .
Example: For
This is just an application of the distance formula: the norm of the vector
of the line segment joining the origin
v = ha1 , . . . , an i as ||v|| =
r2 = |r|
From any nonzero vector we can nd a unit vector (that is, a vector of norm 1) in the same direction of
by scaling
as
v.
This vector
~u
v
~u =
||v||
v.
just
1 2 2
is a unit vector in the same direction
Example: For v = h1, 2, 2i, we see that ~u1 = , ,
3 3 3
3
4
and for w = h3, 0, 4i we see that ~
u2 =
, 0,
is a unit vector in the direction of w.
5
5
v,
If we have two vectors, we now know how to nd their lengths. But another thing we might want to know
about two vectors is the angle
as
v1 v2 = a1 b1 + a2 b2 + + an bn
v1 = ha1 , . . . , an i
and
v2 = hb1 , . . . , bn i
h1, 2i h3, 4i
h1, 2, 2i h3, 0, 4i
Remark:
is
(1)(2) + (3)(4) = 14
is
The dot product obeys several very nice properties reminiscent of standard multiplication.
v, v1 , v2 , w,
r,
denition:
~v1
and
~v2
vw =wv
forming an angle
(r v) w = r (v w)
2
v v = ||v||
Proof: To prove this statement, we use the Law of Cosines in the triangle formed by
which states that
v1 , v2 ,
and
v2 v1 ,
norm is the dot product of a vector with itself so we can apply this and the other dot product properties
to see that
||v2 v1 ||
(v2 v1 ) (v2 v1 )
Denition: We say two vectors are orthogonal if their dot product is zero.
1.2.2
cos
Cross Product
vector
Important Note: The cross product is only dened for vectors with 3 components, and outputs another
vector with 3 components. Contrast with the dot product, which is dened for vectors of any length,
and outputs a scalar.
A way to remember the cross product formula (aside from memorization) is the determinant formula
i
v1 v2 = det x1
x2
y1
=
y2
k
z1
z2
x
z1
i 1
x2
z2
j
y1
y2
and
x
z1
j + 1
x2
z2
y1
k
y2
i, j, k
, where
k = h0, 0, 1i.
It's a little unusual to have vectors inside a determinant, but it works out to the correct answer.
Don't forget the minus sign on the middle term.
Unlike the dot product, the cross product is NOT commutative! Indeed, we can see from the denition
that
v1 v2 = (v2 v1 )
v.
Theorem: If
vv =0
We still do have a distributivity property, like with the dot product: it is fairly easy to check from the
denition that
v1
v1
and
and
v2 ,
then
(r v) w = r (v w)
, where
is the area
v2 .
2
v1 v2 =
For the statement about the area, we can just use geometry to see that the area of the triangle with
sides
~v1
and
~v2
is
1
||v1 || ||v2 || sin().
2
Remark: This quite nice property is one reason we chose the denition we did for the cross product.
1.2.3
and
Proof: There is a unique line between two points, by the axioms of geometry. So we just need to check
P1
and
P2 .
Note: This procedure works to nd the parametrization of a line in any space, not just 3-space.
Remark: We call the vector
ax+by +cz = d
ha, b, ci.
there is a unique plane normal to that vector passing through a given point
Proof: Suppose
is a line in the plane. All we need to show is that its direction vector is orthogonal to
n.
and so we have uniquely determined the equation of the plane, and hence the plane. We can rewrite
the equation as
Remark: This proposition says that a plane is specied by its normal vector along with a point that the
plane passes through.
Example:
2(x 2) + 3(y 2) (z 7) = 0
h2, 3, 1i
n.
We have
Then
has equation
and
P3 = (2, 1, 4).
To nd it, we just need to nd two vectors lying in the plane, and then
n.
v 1 = P2 P1
and
v 2 = P3 P1 .
Sanity check:
(2, 2, 7)
and
or
7x 5y + 8z = 13
For an extra error check, we verify that all three points do lie in this plane: we have
and
7(3) 5(0) +
1.3
Example:
r(t) = t2 , 2t
r(t)
t.
.
We can add and scalar-multiply vector-valued functions in the same manner as normal vectors.
and
2
2
t
Example: For
and
t.
for two
The next question to ask is: can we take derivatives of vector-valued functions? The answer is yes:
r(t)
is given by
r(t + h) r(t)
h0
h
r0 (t) = lim
, provided the
limit exists.
Note the extreme similarity of this denition with the denition of the derivative of a (scalar) function
of one variable
f (t),
which reads
f 0 (t) = lim
h0
f (t + h) f (t)
.
h
r0 (t) =
More generally, we can see that taking the derivative of a vector function is the same thing as
dierentiating each component.
Example: For
r(t) = et , cos(t), t2 1 ,
we have
r0 (t) = et , sin(t), 2t
By the limit part of the denition, we see that the derivative of a vector function tells us in which direction
t.
More specically,
r0 (t)
f (t):
r(t).
the derivative
f 0 (t)
and so forth.
r(t) = et , cos(t), t2 1 , we have r0 (t) = het , sin(t), 2ti, so r00 (t) = et , cos(t), 2
r000 (t) = et , sin(t), 0 , and so on.
Example: For
and
The derivatives of vector-valued functions have the same physical interpretations as we are used to:
r0 (t + h) r0 (t)
,
h0
h
r0 (t)
The magnitude
00
r (t)
||r0 (t)||
t.
t.
Derivatives of vector functions satisfy rules strongly reminiscent of the product rule with regard to the dot
and cross products:
d
[r1 r2 ] = r1 (r02 ) + (r01 ) r2
dt
and
d
[r1 r2 ] = r1 (r02 ) + (r01 ) r2
dt
These properties can be veried by expanding out the dot and cross products of
[r2 (t + h) r2 (t)],
[r1 (t + h) r1 (t)]
with
1.4
Curves in 3-Space: Arclength; Tangent, Normal, and Binormal Vectors; Curvature and Torsion
and quantities:
v(t) = r0 (t)
The velocity
and acceleration
t = t1
and
given by
t2 q
s=
t1
t2
||v(t)|| dt.
t1
v(t)
||v(t)||
r0 (t).
T(t) =
||T(t)|| = 1,
and
T(t)
Thus, it is a unit vector, in the same direction as the tangent vector. (Whence the name.)
N(t) =
T0 (t)
||T0 (t)||
To see that
gives
v(t) a(t)
||v(t) a(t)||
By its denition via the cross product, the binormal vector is orthogonal to both the (unit) normal
and (unit) tangent vectors, and since those vectors have length 1, so does
B.
Thus, we see that the unit tangent, unit normal, and unit binormal vectors are all orthogonal to each
other provided that the normal and binormal vectors are dened (which is not always guaranteed
because of the division by
||T0 (t)||
in the denition of
N).
T(t)
and
N(t),
r(t).
It is
The curvature
||T0 (t)||
||v(t) a(t)||
=
3
||v(t)||
||v(t)||
T(t)
||T0 (t)|| = 0.
Conversely, from
essentially the same observation, the only curves whose curvature is zero everywhere are lines, since
a curve with curvature zero must have
T(t)
be constant.
(e.g., parametrized by
1
(t)
1
.
r
aN = ||v||
a = aT T + aN N,
where
aT =
d
||v||
dt
and
and
ds
= ||v||,
dt
dT
= N
ds
T, N, B, , , aT , aN .
q
||v|| = 9 cos2 (3t) + 9 sin2 (3t) + 16 = 5.
Hence
N = h sin(3t), cos(3t), 0i
so that
Curvature is given by
dB
=
dt
We have
Finally, we have
||dT/dt||
9/5
9
=
=
||v||
5
25
12 sin(3t) 12 cos(3t)
,
,0 .
5
5
aT = 0
As a sanity check, we
dT 9
dt = 5 .
i
3 cos(3t)
We compute the cross product B = TN =
5
sin(3t)
is one of the
nd
dB
= N . This
ds
dN
= B T .
ds
dN
dT
formula follows from the denition of , while the
formula can be proven by writing
ds
ds
dN
dB
dT
N = B T and then taking the derivative with respect to s: one obtains
=
T+B
=
ds
ds
ds
(N T) + B (N) = B T.
We have
1 dB
.
||v|| dt
The
and
N =
j
3 sin(3t)
5
cos(3t)
k
4
5
0
4 cos(3t) 4 sin(3t) 3
,
,
=
5
5
5
aN = 9 .
compute a(t) = h9 sin(3t), 9 cos(3t), 0i,
dB
N
12
= dt
=
||v||
25
and
and indeed
a(t) = 0 T + 9 N.