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Vectors PDF
Vectors PDF
1 C4 Vectors
1.1 What is a vector
A vector is a quantity that has both magnitude and a direction in space.
:B
A
1
1.6 Unit vector
A unit vector is a vector whose modulus is 1. The vector a has magnitude |a|.
So a unit vector in the same direction as a is |a
a| .
~ =b+
OM 1
− b)
2 (a
~ = 1 (a + b)
OM 2
2
Since the vectors are the same the angle between them is zero.
a.a = |a||a| cos 0 = a.a.1 = a2
3. a.b = b.a
a.b = |a||b| cos θ = |b||a| cos θ = b.a
4. λ(a.b) = (λa).b = a.(λb)
5. a.(b+c) = a.b + a.c
2 Example questions
2.1 Question 1
Relative to a fixed origin, O, the line l has the equation
r = (i + pj − 5k) + λ(3i − j + qj),
Where p and q are constants and λ is a scalar parameter.
Given that the point A with coordinates (-5, 9, -9) lies on l,
(a) find the values of p and q,
Working
r = (1 + 3λ)i + (p − λ)j + (−5 + qλ)k
(1 + 3λ) = −5
λ = −2
(p + 2) = 9
p=7
(−5 − 2q) = −9
3
q=2
(b) show that the point B with coordinates (25, -1, 11) also lies on l.
Working
Put values of p and q into equation
r = (1 + 3λ)i + (7 − λ)j + (−5 + 2λ)k
Equate each coordinate of the equation to the relative coordinate of the point
to find value of λ.
(1 + 3λ) = 25
(7 − λ) = −1
(−5 + 2λ) = 11
Therefore when λ = 8 the point (25, -1, 11) lies on l.
The point C lies on l and is such that OC is perpendicular to l.
(c) find the coordinates of C.
Working
Use the dot product on the direction vector of the line and the line itself, the
idea behind doing this is to find a value of λ for which the new equation of
the line equals zero. This will allow us to find a point whose position vector is
parrallel to the line.
(1 + 3λ)i + (7 − λ)j + (−5 + 2λ)k.(3, −1, 2) = 0
(3 + 9λ)i + (−7 + λ)j + (−10 + 4λ)k = 0
when λ = 1
12 − 6 − 6 = 0
Put λ = 1 back into (1 + 3λ)i + (7 − λ)j + (−5 + 2λ)k giving the point (4,6,-3).
(d) find the ratio AC:CB.
There are two ways of doing this question the first way is to find the magni-
tude(length) of AC ~ and CB~ by finding the modulus of both these vectors.
We first need to find the vectors AC~ and CB~ we do this by doing C - A for AC~
~
B - C for CB.
AC~ = (4, 6, −3) − (−5, 9, −9)
~
AC = (9, −3, 6)
CB~ = (25, −1, 11) − (4, 6, −3)
CB~ = (21, −7, 14)
√
~ = 92 + 32 + 62
|AC| √
~ = 126
|AC| √
~ = 212 + 72 + 142
|CB| √
~ = 686
|√CB|
√686 = 7
126 3
Therefore the ratio AC:CB = 3:7
The second method for doing this question is simple we know that the points
A,B and C lie on the line
r = (i + 7j − 5k) + λ(3i − j + 2j),
but each point is produced using a different value of λ as shown in previous
parts of the question, these values of λ are.
for point A λ = −2
for point B λ = 8
for point C λ = 1
To find the ratio AC:CB we calculate C-A and B-C.
C −A=3
4
B−C =7
So the ratio AC:CB = 3:7