13 - VECTOR ALGEBRA Page 1

( Answers at the end of all questions )

(1) If C is the midpoint of AB and P is any point outside AB, then

→ → → → → →
( a ) PA + PB = 2 PC ( b ) PA + PB = PC
→ → → → → → → →
( c ) PA + PB + 2 PC = 0 ( d ) PA + PB + PC = 0 [ AIEEE 2005 ]

om
→ → ^ 2 → ^ 2
(2) For any vector a , the value of ( a × i ) + ( a × k ) is equal to

.c
→2 →2 →2 →2
(a) 3 a (b) a (c) 2a (d) 4a [ AIEEE 2005 ]

ce
^ ^ ^
(3) Let a, b and c be distinct non-negative numbers. If the vectors a i + a j + k ,
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
i + k and c i + c j + b k

( a ) the Geometric Mean of a and b

( c ) equal to zero
ra
lie in a plane, then c is

( b ) the Arithmetic Mean of a and b

( d ) the Harmonic Mean of a and b
m
[ AIEEE 2005 ]
xa

→ → →
(4) If a , b , c are non-coplanar vectors and λ is a real number , then
→ → 2
→ → → → → →
λ ( a + b ) · [ λ b × λ c ] = a · [ ( b + c ) × b ] for
.e

( a ) exactly one value of λ ( b ) no value of λ

( c ) exactly three values of λ ( d ) exactly two values of λ [ AIEEE 2005 ]
w

→ ^ ^ → ^ ^ ^ → ^ ^ ^
w

(5) Let a = i - k, b = xi + j + (1 - x) k and c = yi + x j + (1 + x - y) k.

→→→
Then [ a b c ] depends on
w

( a ) only y ( b ) only x ( c ) both x and y ( d ) neither x nor y [ AIEEE 2005 ]

(6) Let a, b, c, be three non-zero vectors such that no two of these are collinear. If the
vector a + 2b is collinear with c , and b + 3c is collinear with a , then
a + 2b + 6c , for some non-zero scalar λ equals

( a ) λa ( b ) λb ( c ) λc (d) 0 [ AIEEE 2004 ]

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( Answers at the end of all questions )

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
(7) A particle is acted upon by constant forces 4 i + j - 3k and 3i + j - k which
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
displace it from a point i + 2 j + 3 k to the point 5i + 4 j + k. The work done in
standard units by the forces is given by

om
( a ) 40 ( b ) 30 ( c ) 25 ( d ) 15 [ AIEEE 2004 ]

(8) If a, b, c are non-coplanar vectors and λ is a real number, then the vectors

.c
a + 2b + 3c , λb + 4c and ( 2λ - 1 ) c are non-coplanar for

( a ) all values of λ ( b ) all except one value of λ

ce
( c ) all except two values of λ ( d ) no value of λ [ AIEEE 2004 ]

(9) Let u, v, w
along u is equal to that of
then l u - v + w l equals
ra
be such that l u l = 1, l v l = 2 and l w l = 3. If the projection of v
w along u and v, w are perpendicular to each other,
m
(a) 2 (b) 7 (c) 14 ( d ) 14 [ AIEEE 2004 ]
xa

1
( 10 ) Let a, b, c be non-zero vectors such that (a × b) × c = l b l l c l a . If θ is
3
the acute angle between the vectors b and c , then sin θ equals
.e

1 2 2 2 2
(a) (b) (c) (d) [ AIEEE 2004 ]
3 3 3 3
w

a a2 1 + a2
w

2 2 2
( 11 ) If b b2 1 + b2 = 0 and vectors ( 1, a, a ), ( 1, b, b ) and ( 1, c, c ) are
c c2 1 + c2
w

non-coplanar, then the product abc equals

(a) 2 (b) -1 (c) 1 (d) 0 [ AIEEE 2003 ]

→ → → → → → → → →
( 12 ) a , b , c are three vectors, such that a + b + c = 0, l a l = 1, l b l = 2, l c l = 3,
→ → → → → →
then a⋅b + b ⋅c + c ⋅a is equal to

(a) 0 (b) -7 (c) 7 (d) 1 [ AIEEE 2003 ]

 13 - VECTOR ALGEBRA Page 3
( Answers at the end of all questions )

→ → → → → →
( 13 ) A particle acted on by constant forces 4 i + j - 3 k and 3 i + j - k is
→ → →
displaced from the point 5 i + 4 j + k . The total work done by the forces is

( a ) 20 units ( b ) 30 units (c) 40 units ( d ) 50 units [ AIEEE 2003 ]

om
→ → →
( 14 ) If u, v and w are three non-coplanar vectors, then
→ → → → → → →
( u + v - w ). ( u - v ) × ( v - w ) equals

.c
→ → → → → → → → →
(a) 0 (b) u . v ×w (c) u .w × v (d) 3 u . v ×w [ AIEEE 2003 ]

ce
→ → → → → → →
( 15 ) The vectors AB = 3 i + 4 k and AC = 5 i - 2 j + 4k are the sides of a
triangle ABC. The length of a median through A is

(a) 18 (b) 72 (c)

ra 33 (d) 288

→ → →
[ AIEEE 2003 ]
m
( 16 ) Consider points A, B, C and D with position vectors 7 i - 4 j + 7k ,
→ → → → → → → → →
i - 6 j + 10 k , - i - 3 j + 4 k and 5 i - j + 5 k respectively. Then ABCD is a
xa

( a ) square ( b ) rhombus ( c ) rectangle ( d ) parallelogram [ AIEEE 2003 ]

.e

→ → → → → → → → → → ^
( 17 ) Let u = i + j , v = i - j and w = i + 2 j + 3 k . If n is a unit vector
→ ^ → ^ → ^
such that u ⋅ n = 0 and v ⋅ n = 0, then w ⋅n
w

(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) 2 (d) 3 [ AIEEE 2003 ]

w

( 18 ) The angle between any two diagonals of a cube is

w

( d ) tan -
1
( a ) 45° ( b ) 60° ( c ) 90° 2 2 [ AIEEE 2003 ]

→ → → → → → → → → → → →
( 19 ) If vector a = i + j - k ; b = i - j + k and c = i - j - k , then the
→ → →
value of a ×( b × c) is

→ → → → →
(a) i - j + k (b) 2 i - 2 j
→ → → → → →
(c) 3 i - j + k (d) 2 i +2 j - k [ AIEEE 2002 ]
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( Answers at the end of all questions )

→ → → → → → → → → → → →
( 20 ) If a = i + j - 2k ; b = - i + 2 j + k and c = i - 2 j + 2 k , then a
→ → →
unit vector parallel to a + b + c is

→ → → → → →
i + j + k i - 2 j + k

om
(a) (b)
3 6
→ → → → → →
i - j + k 2 i + j + k
(c) (d) [ AIEEE 2002 ]
3 6

.c
→ → → → → → → → →
( 21 ) If a = 2 i + j + 2k and b = 5 i - 3 j + k , the orthogonal projection of a
→

ce
on b is

→ → → → → →
(a) 5 i - 3 j + k ( b ) 9 (5 i - 3 j + k )
→ → → → → →
(c)
5 i - 3 j + k
35
(d)
ra
9(5 i - 3 j + k)
35

→ → → → →
[ AIEEE 2002 ]
m
π
( 22 ) If the angle between two vectors i + k and i - j + ak is , then the value
3
of a is
xa

(a) 2 (b) 4 (c) -2 (d) 0 [ AIEEE 2002 ]

→ → → → → → → → → →
( 23 ) If a = i + 2 j - 3k and b = 3 i - j + 2 k , then angle between ( a + b ) and
.e

→ →
( a - b ) is

( a ) 0° ( b ) 30° ( c ) 60° ( d ) 90° [ AIEEE 2002 ]

w
w

→ → → → → →
( 24 ) The value of sine of the angle between the vectors i - 2 j + 3 k and 2 i + j + k
is
w

5 5 5 5
(a) (b) (c) (d) [ AIEEE 2002 ]
21 7 14 2 7

→ → → → → → → → →
( 25 ) If vectors a i + j + k , i + b j + k and i + j + ck are coplanar, then

(a) a + b + c = 0 ( b ) abc = - 1
( c ) a + b + c = abc + 2 ( d ) ab + bc + ca = 0 [ AIEEE 2002 ]
 13 - VECTOR ALGEBRA Page 5
( Answers at the end of all questions )

→ →
( 26 ) If
→
a, b, c
→ →
are three non-zero, noncoplanar vectors and
→
b1 =
→
b -
b ⋅ a →
a ,
→
l a l2
→ → → → → →
→
b2 = b +
→ b ⋅ a →
a ,
→ →
c1 = c -
c ⋅ a →
a -
c ⋅ b →
b ,

om
→ → →
l a l2 l a l2 l b l2
→ → → → → → → →
→ → c⋅ a → c ⋅ b1 → → → c ⋅ a → c ⋅ b2 →
c2 = c - a - b1 , and c3 = c - a - b2 ,
→ → → →
la l 2 l b1 l 2 l a l2 l b2 l 2

.c
then the set of orthogonal vectors is

→ → → → → →

ce
( a ) ( a , b1 c1 ) ( b ) ( a , b1 c 2 )
→ → → → → →
( c ) ( a , b1 c 3 ) ( d ) ( a , b2 c2 ) [ IIT 2005 ]

( 27 ) If
→ ^
a = i + j + k,
^ ^ →
a ⋅
→
b = 1ra and
→
a × b =
→ ^
j - k,
^
then
→
b is equal to
m
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
(a) 2 i (b) i - j + k (c) i (d) 2j - k [ IIT 2004 ]
xa

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
( 28 ) A unit vector is orthogonal to 5 i + 2 j + 6k and is coplanar to 2i + j + k and
^ ^ ^
i - j + k , then the vector is
.e

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
3j - k 2i + 5j 6 i - 5k 2i + 2j - k
(a ) (b) (c) (d) [ IIT 2004 ]
3
w

10 29 61

^ ^ ^
( 29 ) The value of a so that the volume of parallelopiped formed by vectors i + a j + k,
w

^ ^ ^ ^
j + ak and a i + k becomes minimum is
w

1
(a) 3 (b) 2 (c) (d) 3 [ IIT 2003 ]
3

→ → → → → →
( 30 ) If a and b are two unit vectors such that a + 2b and 5a - 4 b are
→ →
perpendicular to each other, then the angle between a and b is

1 2
( c ) cos - -1
1
( a ) 45° ( b ) 60° ( d ) cos [ IIT 2002 ]
3 7
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( Answers at the end of all questions )

→ → → → → → → →
( 31 ) If V = 2 i + j - k, W = i + 3k and U is a unit vector, then the maximum
→ → →
value of the scalar triple product [ U V W ] is

om
(a) -1 (b) 10 + 6 (c) 59 (d) 60 [ IIT 2002 ]

→ → → → → → → → →
( 32 ) If a , b and c are unit vectors, then l a - b l2 + l b - c l2 + l c - a l2

.c
does not exceed

(a) 4 (b) 9 (c) 8 (d) 6 [ IIT 2001 ]

ce
→ ^ ^ → ^ ^ ^ → ^ ^ ^
( 33 ) If a = i - k, b = xi + j + ( 1 - x ) k and c = y i + x j + ( 1 + x - y ) k ,

then

( a ) only x
→ → →
[a b c ] depends on

( b ) only y
ra
( c ) neither x nor y ( d ) both x and y [ IIT 2001 ]
m
Let the vectors a, b, c and d be such that ( a × b ) × ( c × d ) = 0. Let P1 and P2 be
xa

( 34 )
planes determined by the pairs of vectors a, b and c, d respectively, then the angle
between P1 and P2 is

π π π
.e

(a) 0 (b) (c) (d) [ IIT 2000 ]

4 3 2
w

( 35 ) If a, b and c are unit coplanar vectors, then the scalar triple product
[ 2a - b, 2b - c, 2c - a ] =
w

(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) - 3 (d) 3 [ IIT 2000 ]

w

→ → →
( 36 ) If the vectors a , b and c form the sides BC , CA and AB of a triangle ABC, then

→ → → → → → → → → → → →
(a) a⋅b + b⋅c + c⋅a = 0 (b) a×b + b×c + c×a = 0
→ → → → → → → → → → →
(c) a⋅b = b ⋅c = c⋅a (d) a×b + b×c ×a = 0 [ IIT 2000 ]
 13 - VECTOR ALGEBRA Page 7
( Answers at the end of all questions )

→ ^ ^ ^ → ^ ^ →
( 37 ) Let a = 2 i + j - 2k and b = i + j. If c is a vector such that
→ → → → → → → →
a ⋅ c = l c l, lc - al = 2 2 and the angle between (a × b ) and c is 30°,
→ → →
then l(a × b ) × c l =

om
2 3
(a) (b) (c) 2 (d) 3 [ IIT 1999 ]
3 2

→ ^ ^ ^ → ^ ^ ^ → →
( 38 ) Let a = 2i + j + k, b = i + 2j - k and a unit vector c be coplanar. If c

.c
→ →
is perpendicular to a , then c =

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

ce
1 1
(a) (- j + k) (b) (- i - j - k)
2 3

1 ^ ^ 1 ^ ^ ^
(c) ( i -2j ) (d) (i - j - k) [ IIT 1999 ]

( 39 ) Let
→
5

a and b
→
3
ra
be two non-collinear unit vectors. If
→
u =
→
a - (a⋅b)b
→ → →
and
m
→ → → →
v = a × b , then v is

→ →
xa

→ →
(a) l u l (b) l u l + l u⋅ a l
→ → → → → → →
(c) l u l + l u⋅ b l (d) l u l + u ⋅( a + b ) [ IIT 1999 ]
.e

→ ^ ^ ^ → ^ ^ ^ → ^ ^ ^
( 40 ) If a = i + j + k, b = 4 i + 3j + 4 k and c = i + αj + β k are linearly
→
w

dependent vectors and l c l = 3 , then α and β respectively are

( a ) 1, - 1 ( c ) - 1, ± 1
w

( b ) 1, ± 1 ( d ) ± 1, 1 [ IIT 1998 ]

→ → →
w

( 41 ) For three vectors u , v w which of the following expressions is not equal to any
of the remaining three ?

→ → → → → → → → → → → →
( a ) u ⋅( v × w ) ( b ) ( v × w )⋅ u (c) v ⋅ ( u × w ) ( d ) ( u × v )⋅ w [ IIT 1998 ]

( 42 ) Which of the following expressions are meaningful questions ?

→ → → → → → → → → → → →
(a) u ⋅( v ×w) (b) ( u ⋅ v )⋅ w (c) ( u ⋅ v )w (d) u × ( v ⋅w) [ IIT 1998 ]
 13 - VECTOR ALGEBRA Page 8
( Answers at the end of all questions )

( 43 ) Let p, q, r be three mutually perpendicular vectors of the same magnitude. If a

vector x satisfies the equation
p × [ ( x - q ) × p ] + q × [ ( x - r ) × q ] + r × [ ( x - p ) × r ] = 0, then x is given by

1 1
( p + q - 2r ) (p + q + r )

om
(a) (b)
2 2
1 1
(c) (p + q + r ) (d) ( 2p + q − r ) [ IIT 1997 ]
3 3

→ ^ ^ → ^ ^ → ^ ^ ^
( 44 ) Let a = i - j, b = j - k and c = k - i . If d is a unit vector such that

.c
→ → → → → ^
a ⋅ d = 0 = [ b , c , d ] , then d equals

ce
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
i + j - 2k i + j - k i + j + k ^
(a) ± (b) ± (c) (d) ± k [ IIT 1995 ]
6 3 3

( 45 ) Let
→

→
→ →
u , v and w be vectors such that u + v + w = 0 .

and l w l = 5, then the value of u . v + v . w + w . u

ra → →
→

→ →
→

→ →
→

is
If
→
lu l = 3,
→
l v l = 4
m
( a ) 47 ( b ) - 25 (c) 0 ( d ) 25 [ IIT 1995 ]
xa

→ → →
( 46 ) If A , B and C are three non-coplanar vectors, then
→ → → → → → →
( A + B + C ) ⋅ ( A + B ) × ( A + C ) equals
.e

→ → → → → → → → →
(a) 0 ( b ) [ A, B , C ] ( c ) 2 [ A, B , C ] ( d ) - [ A, B , C ] [ IIT 1995 ]
w

→ →
→ → → → → → b×c
( 47 ) If a, b, c are non-coplanar unit vectors such that a × (b × c ) = , then the
w

2
→ →
angle between a and b is
w

3π π π
(a) (b) (c) (d) π [ IIT 1995 ]
4 4 2

^ ^ ^ ^ ^
( 48 ) Let a, b, c be distinct non-negative numbers. If the vectors a i + a j + c k, i + k
^ ^ ^
and c i + c j + b k lie in a plane, then c is

( a ) AM of a and b ( b ) GM of a and b ( c ) HM of a and b (d) 0 [ IIT 1993 ]

 13 - VECTOR ALGEBRA Page 9
( Answers at the end of all questions )

→ ^ ^ ^ → ^ ^ ^ → ^ ^ ^
( 49 ) Let a = 2 i - j + k, b = i + 2j - k and c = i + j - 2k be three vectors.
→ → → 2
A vector in the plane of b and c whose projection on a is of magnitude is
3

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

om
( a ) 2 i + j - 3k ( b ) 2 i + 3j + 3 k
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
(c) - 2 i - j + 5k ( d ) 2 i + j + 5k [ IIT 1993 ]

.c
→ → → → → →
( 50 ) If a, b, c be three non-coplanar vectors and p, q, r are vectors defined by
→ → → → → →

ce
→ b × c → c × a → a × b
the relations p = ; q = ; r = ,
→ → → → → → → → →
[ a b c ] [ a b c ] [ a b c ]

then the value of the expression

→ → → →
( a + b ). p + ( b + c ). q + ( c + a ). r
→ → ra
→ → →
is equal to
m
(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) 2 (d) 3 [ IIT 1988 ]
xa

( 51 ) The number of vectors of unit length perpendicular to vectors

→ →
a = ( 1, 1, 0 ) and b = ( 0, 1, 1 ) is
.e

( a ) one ( b ) two ( c ) three ( d ) infinite ( e ) none of these [ IIT 1987 ]

w

→ ^ ^ ^ → ^ ^ ^ → ^ ^ ^
( 52 ) Let a = a1 i + a 2 j + a 3 k , b = b1 i + b 2 j + b 3 k and c = c 1 i + c 2 j + c 3 k be
w

→
three non-zero vectors such that c is a unit vector perpendicular to both the
→ → → → π
vectors a and b . If the angle between a and b is , then
w

6
a1 a2 a3
b1 b2 b3 is equal to
c1 c2 c3

3
(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) ( a 12 + a 2 2 + a 3 2 ) ( b 12 + b 2 2 + b 3 2 ) ( c 12 + c 2 2 + c 3 2 )
4
1
(d) ( a 12 + a 2 2 + a 3 2 ) ( b 12 + b 2 2 + b 3 2 ) ( e ) none of these [ IIT 1986 ]
4
 13 - VECTOR ALGEBRA Page 10
( Answers at the end of all questions )

→
( 53 ) A vector a has components 2p and 1 with respect to a rectangular Cartesian
system. This system is rotated through a certain angle about the origin in the
→
counterclockwise sense. If, with respect to the new system, a has components p + 1
and 1, then

om
1 1
(a) p = 0 ( b ) p = 1 or p = - ( c ) p = - 1 or p =
3 3
( d ) p = 1 or p = - 1 ( e ) none of these [ IIT 1986 ]

.c
→
( 54 ) The volume of the parallelepiped whose sides are given by OA = 2i - 3j,

ce
→ →
OB = i + j - k, OC = 3i - k, is

4 2
(a) (b) 4 (c) ( d ) none of these [ IIT 1983 ]
13

ra
7
m
( 55 ) The points with position vectors 60i + 3j, 40i - 8j, ai - 52j are collinear if

( a ) a = - 40 ( b ) a = 40 ( c ) a = 20 ( d ) none of these [ IIT 1983 ]

xa

→ → → → → → → → →
( 56 ) For non-zero vectors a, b, c , l( a × b ) ⋅ c l = l a l l b l l c l holds if and
.e

only if

→ → → → → → → →
(a) a ⋅ b = 0, b ⋅ c = 0 (b) c ⋅ a = 0, a ⋅ b = 0
w

→ → → → → → → → → →
(c) b ⋅ c = 0, c ⋅ a = 0 (d) a ⋅ b = b ⋅ c = c ⋅ a = 0 [ IIT 1982 ]
w

→ → → → → →
A ⋅ ( B + C ) × ( A + B + C ) equals
w

( 57 ) The scalar

→ → → → → → → → →
(a) 0 (b) [ A B C] + [ B C A] (c) [ A B C] ( d ) none of these [ IIT 1981 ]
 13 - VECTOR ALGEBRA Page 11
( Answers at the end of all questions )

Answers

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
a c a b d d a c c d b b c c c b d d b a

om
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
d d d d c b c a c b c b c a a b b a b,c d

41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
c a,c b a b d a b c d b d b b a d a

.c
ce
ra
m
xa
.e
w
w
w