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Vectors
Table of Contents
4.1.1 Concept of a Vector
4.1.2 Representation of Vectors Using Directed Line Segments
4.1.3-4 Unit Vectors and Base Vectors
4.1.5 Algebraic and Geometric Vector Calculations
Sum and Difference of Two Vectors
Special Vectors
Scalar Multiplication
Magnitude of a Vector
Position Vectors
4.2.1 Scalar Product of Two Vectors
4.2.2 Properties of the Scalar Product
4.2.3 The angle between two vectors
4.2.4 Perpendicular and Parallel Vectors
4.3.1 Vector Equation of a Line
4.3.2 The Angle Between Two Lines
4.4.1 Distinguishing Between Geometric Cases of Lines Using Vectors
Coincident Lines
Parallel Lines
Intersecting Lines
Skew Lines
4.4.2 Points of Intersection
4.5.1 Vector Product of Two Vectors
4.5.2 Properties of the Vector Product
4.6.1 Vector Equation of a Plane
4.6.2 Vector Equation Normal Form
4.6.3 Cartesian Equation of a Plane
4.7.1 Intersections With Planes
4.7.1.1 A Line With a Plane
4.7.1.2 Two Planes
4.7.2 Angle of Intersections with Planes
4.7.2.1 Line and Plane
4.7.2.2 Plane and Plane
Vectors are commonly found in both physics and mathematics, and is used to represent movements in space. The
concept of 2D movement using vectors is easily handled as our methods of representing 2D are fairly developed.
However the concept of 3D movement is not so much.
The standard level course will focus more on the 2D vectors whereas the higher level course will also incorporate
complex 3D vectors
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When writing vectors, we consider only one plane at a time, and the point's distance away from the origin, (0,0,0).
v = v1 i + v2 j + v3 k
x i x+i
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
y + j = y+j
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
z k z+k
Geometrically, using arrow representation, we can put the two arrows together to end up with the same resulting vector. It
does not matter which arrow is placed first, the end result will be the same.
Example:
4
⎛ ⎞
a = −3
⎝ ⎠
2
5
⎛ ⎞
b = 7
⎝ ⎠
−1
Solution:
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4+5 9
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
a+b = −3 + 7 = 4
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
2−1 1
Special Vectors
There are two special vectors the IB wants you to know about. The zero vector is one, all of it's components are equal to
zero, and therefore has no length or direction.[1] It is represented by the symbol 0. The other is -v, a negative vector,
which is not really special, but travels in the opposite direction to positive vectors in the plane.
Scalar Multiplication
This is the multiplication of vectors by an arbitrary number. This is the same as normal multiplication, each component is
multiplied by the scalar.
x kx
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
k y = ky
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
z kz
The geometric representation gives a better idea of what is happening, the same vector is being added k times, resulting
in the multiplication of each component by k.
Example:
Solve:
2
⎛ ⎞
3 4
⎝ ⎠
6
Solution
2 3∗2 6
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
3 4 = 3∗4 = 12
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
6 3∗6 18
Magnitude of a Vector
If v represents a vector, then its magnitude is written as |v|, which is the same as the modulus symbol. Therefore the
modulus of a vector stands for its magnitude. Magnitude is a vector's travel distance, how far the end point of the vector is
away from the start point. The magnitude is found using the following equation:
− − −−−−−−−−
2 2 2
|v| = √ x + y + z
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Using Pythagoras:
2 2 2
w = x +y
2 2 2
a = z +w
2 2 2 2
a = x +y +z
Example:
2
⎛ ⎞
v = 3
⎝ ⎠
2
Find |v|.
Solution:
− − −−−−−−−− −−
2 2 2
|v| = √ 2 + 3 + 2 = √17
Position Vectors
Position vectors points to a point in space, or a co-ordinate, that is relative to the origin ((0,0,0) in 3D space). Position
vectors can be directly translated to a co-ordinate, the x component of the vector is the x co-ordinate, so on. Position
vectors are usually written with the letter O with another arbitrary letter following, indicating the point at which it points to.
The IB express this as:
→
OA = a
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Component of a
To find the scalar product, there are two methods that can be used, both in the formula booklet.
You can either use the angle between the two vectors and their magnitude in this formula:
v ⋅ w = |v||w| cos θ
Or alternatively:
v1 w1
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
v ⋅ w = v 1 w1 + v 2 w2 + v 3 w3 , v = v2 ,w = w2
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
v3 w3
v⋅u = u⋅v
u ⋅ (v + w) = u ⋅ v + u ⋅ w
(kv) ⋅ w = k(v ⋅ w)
2
v ⋅ v = |v|
These are actually just simple multiplication rules, except written with respect to vectors.
.
Example:
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5 3
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
v = 2 ,w = 4
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
1 3
Solution:
v⋅w = 5∗3+2∗4+1∗3
− − −−−−−−−− − − −−−−−−−−
2 2 2 2 2 2
v ⋅ w = √ 5 + 2 + 1 ∗ √ 3 + 4 + 3 cos θ
26 = 31.9 cos θ
θ = 0.620(rad)
v ⋅ w = |v||w| cos 90
v⋅w = 0
v ⊥ w
|v ⋅ w| = |v||w|
r = a + λb
To find the equation of a line, two things must be known.[4] A position must first be given on the line, put into the equation
as a position vector. In this example, the red arrow is the position vector that points at a. Secondly the direction that the
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line is traveling must be known, the vector b. Through vector addition, the position vector plus the direction vector of the
line gives us a point on the line. To get ANY point on the line, we multiply the direction vector by lambda. The resulting
vector equation for this line is:
4 2
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
r = 1 +λ 2
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
3 2
Alternatively there are two additional forms that must be known for this course, the parametric form which is very similar to
the previous:
x = x0 + λl, y = y + λm, z = z0 + λn
0
The example line shown before will have the following parametric vector equation:
x = 4 + λ2, y = 1 + λ2, z = 3 + λ2
And the Cartesian form which is a rearrangement of the parametric form into one single equation:
Where the example shown will have the following Cartesian equation:
Example:
−1 1
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
a = 6 +λ 1
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
0 1
2 3
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
b = 9 +α 3
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
3 3
Parallel Lines
Parallel lines head in the same direction geometrically, but are in different locations. This means they will have
independent position vectors but have direction vectors that are multiples of each other.
Example:
2 1
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
a = 5 +λ 1
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
7 1
2 3
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
b = 9 +α 3
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
3 3
Intersecting Lines
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See 4.4.2
Skew Lines
If the lines does not intersect and is not parallel, then the line is skew, meaning they will never meet in 3D space.
Example:
4 2
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
a = −5 +λ 4
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
1 3
2 1
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
b = −1 +α 3
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
0 2
Example:
Find the point of intersection between lines a and b with vector equations:
1 1
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
a = 1 +λ 2
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
1 3
4 2
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
b = 6 +α 3
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
5 1
Solution:
1 + λ1 = 4 + α2
1 + λ2 = 6 + α3
λ = 1, α = −1
1 + 1 ∗ 3 = 5 + (−1) ∗ 1
The definition of this cross product is, if v and w are both 3D vectors:
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v × w = |v||w| sin θn
The n is a unit normal vector, a vector that is at right angles to v and w but also of a length of one. This gives the vector
the direction, the other components gives the vector its length.
Most of the times however, we are not given n, so to quickly work out the vector product, we can use a 3 by 3 matrix as a
'cheat'[6] . This should be done as follows, using the notation of i, j and k:
∣ i j k ∣ i j
∣ ∣
v×w = vi vj vk vi vj
∣ ∣
∣ wi wj wk ∣ wi wj
Normally we would have a 3 by 3 matrix and then find the determinant for the cross product but this 'cheat' repeats the
first two columns for ease of calculation. To calculate the determinant and thereby the cross product, we multiply
diagonally to the right first, adding up all the results of the multiplication. Then we multiply diagonally to the left,
subtracting all the results of the multiplication.
Example:
Find the cross product between the two vectors:
1 2
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
v = 2 ,w = 3
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
3 1
Solution:
Using the 'cheat' from before:
∣ i j k∣ i j
∣ ∣
v×w = 1 2 3 1 2
∣ ∣
∣2 3 1 ∣2 3
v × w = 2i + 6j + k − j − 9i − 4k
v × w = −7i + 5j − 3k
v × w = −w × v
u × (v + w) = u × v + u × w
(kv) × w = k(v × w)
v×v = 0
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r = a + λb + μc
With the vector equation, a plane can be expressed as a combination of a position vector a, and two non parallel vectors
in the plane b and c. Any point on the plan can be changed by multiplying b and c by a certain numbers.
Example:
Find the vector equation for the plane with the point (2,3,2) and vectors v and w.
4 2
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
v = 2 ,w = −1
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
2 1
Solution:
2 4 2
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
r = 3 +λ 2 +μ −1
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
2 2 1
r⋅n = a⋅n
Recall that from previously, we know that the dot product between perpendicular vectors is zero. This means that the
normal vector has a dot product of zero with any vector in the plane. Thus using the other vector equation for a plane, we
can conclude that (since vectors b and c are in the plane):
r ⋅ n = (a + λb + μc) ⋅ n
r ⋅ n = a ⋅ n + λb ⋅ n + μc ⋅ n
r⋅n = a⋅n
Note: To find this normal vector, use the cross product of two vectors on the plane.
Note: To find the unit vector for the normal vector, find it's magnitude and divide each component by the magnitude.
ax + by + cz = d
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r ⋅ n = d, d = a ⋅ n
x a
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
y ⋅ b = d
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
z c
ax + by + cz = d
In this form, we can easily find the vector normal to the plane, n is expressed as, (a,b,c) so we can make this a vector.
a e
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
r = b +λ f
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
c g
hx + iy + jz = d
The line equation is substituted directly into the equation of the plane and solved to find lambda.
Whatever lambda value is found must be substituted into the equation of a line to find co-ordinates of intersection.
Example:
Find the point of intersection between the line u and plane k.
1 2
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
u = 3 +λ 2
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
3 2
k = 3x + 6y + 5z = 8
Solution:
λ = −1
1 2
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
u = 3 + −1 2
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
3 2
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Intersection at (-1,1,1).
When two planes intersect, their intersection is not a point but a line, It is commonly asked that you find this line of
intersection from two planes given. The best form of equation for the two planes is again in Cartesian form or r.n form,
where the two normal vectors to the planes are apparent. This will allow you to find the direction vector of the line of
intersection. A point is also commonly given, but if not, there is another way to find the parametric equation of the line.
You will find the normal vector to be immensely useful in this section.
Previously, the cross product was explained. The normal vector gained from the cross product of two normal vectors of a
plane is the direction vector for the line of intersection. Combined with the point that is given, a full line of intersection is
already known.
Example:
Find the intersection between the two planes u and v.
u = 2x − 5y + 3z = 12
v = 3x + 4y − 3z = 6
Solution:
Simultaneous equations are used after setting x, y or z to zero.
if x = 0
−5y + 3z = 12
4y − 3z = 6
−y = 18
y = −18
4 ∗ −18 − 3z = 6
z = −26
If...
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a
⎛ ⎞
u×v = b
⎝ ⎠
c
a 0
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
r = b +λ −18
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
c −26
If the question does not explicitly state that the planes intersect, you must check it yourself. There are intersecting and
parallel planes. To recognize the difference, the normal vectors for the planes are used. A set of parallel planes will have
parallel normal vectors, and hence they will be scalar multiples of each other.
We can see that the n vector can be dotted with the direction vector of the line to give the angle of intersection between
those two vectors. Using triangles, 90 degrees minus that angle gives us the remaining angle, which is what we are trying
to find.
Example:
Find the angle of intersection between line u and plane k.
1 2
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
u = 3 +λ 2
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
3 2
k = 3x + 6y + 5z = 8
Solution:
n⋅u = 2∗3+6∗2+5∗2
= 28
28 = |n||u| cos θ
28 = 28.98 cos θ
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Angle is 1.31.
Like with the angle between line and plane, to find the angle between two planes, 180 degrees minus theta will give you
the required angle. However, theta is still a valid answer to the angle between a plane and a plane as there are two
answers to this. The other angle is on the other side of one plane.
Example:
Find the angle of intersection between plane l and plane k.
l = 2x + 7y + −2z = 12k = 3x + 6y + 5z = 8
Solution:
nl ⋅ nk = 2 ∗ 3 + 7 ∗ 6 + −2 ∗ 5
= 38
28 = 28.98 cos θ
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