Mathematics II first semester Second class

Assist. Prof. Dr. Haider Ali Al- mussawy

The distance from a point to a plane:

To find the distance from the point (S) to the plane passes through point (p),
assume the vector (N) is normal to the plane, and then the normal distance from the
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ onto N. that is the
point S to the plane is the length of the vector projection of 𝑷𝑺
distance d from S to the plane is:

⃗⃗⃗⃗
⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑷𝑺 . ⃗𝑵
𝑷𝑺
𝒅 = |𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋⃗𝑵⃗ |= | |
|⃗𝑵|

⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ . 𝑵
𝑷𝑺 ⃗⃗ = 𝟏 ∗ 𝟑 + (−𝟐 ∗ 𝟐) + 𝟑 ∗ 𝟔 = 𝟏𝟕

𝟏𝟕
𝒅=
𝟕

1
Mathematics II first semester Second class

Assist. Prof. Dr. Haider Ali Al- mussawy

Example2: find the distance between the two parallel planes

𝒙 + 𝟐𝒚 − 𝟐𝒛 = 𝟐 And 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟒𝒚 − 𝟒𝒛 = 𝟖

Solution
Assume point (s) through the first plane while point (p) through the second plane,
then:
If x = y = 0 →-2z = 2 → z = -1
⁖ S (0, 0,-1)

If x = y = 0 → -4z = 8 → z = -2
⁖ P (0, 0,-2)
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑷𝑺 = (𝟎 − 𝟎)𝒊 + (𝟎 − 𝟎)𝒋 + (−𝟏 − (−𝟐))𝒌

⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑷𝑺 = 𝒌

From the plane 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟒𝒚 − 𝟒𝒛 = 𝟖 → ⃗⃗

𝑵 = 𝟐𝒊 + 𝟒𝒋 − 𝟒𝒌

⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑷𝑺 . ⃗⃗
𝑵 = 𝟎 ∗ 𝟐 + 𝟎 ∗ 𝟒 + 𝟏 ∗ (−𝟒) = −𝟒

|𝑵| = √22 + 42 + (−4)2 = 𝟔

⃗⃗⃗⃗
⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑷𝑺 . ⃗𝑵 −𝟒 𝟐
𝑷𝑺
𝒅 = |𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋⃗𝑵⃗ |= | |=| |=
|⃗𝑵| 𝟔 𝟑

HOME WORK: find the distance from the point (1, 0,-1) to the plane

−𝟒𝒙 + 𝒚 + 𝒛 = 𝟒

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Mathematics II first semester Second class

Assist. Prof. Dr. Haider Ali Al- mussawy

Angle between planes

The angle 𝜽 between two intersecting planes is defined to be the acute angle
between their normal vectors (N1 and N2) as follows:

−1
𝑁1 . 𝑁2
𝜃 = cos
|𝑁1 ||𝑁2 |
Where
𝑁1 , 𝑁2 : The vectors perpendicular to the
interesting planes
|𝑁1 |, |𝑁2 |: The length of the vectors 𝑁1 , 𝑁2

𝑁1 . 𝑁2
𝜃 = cos −1
|𝑁1 ||𝑁2 |
𝑁1 . 𝑁2 = 3 ∗ 2 + (−6)(1) + (−2)(−2) = 6 − 6 + 4 = 4

|𝑵𝟏| = √32 + (−6)2 + (−2)2 = 𝟕, |𝑵𝟐| = √22 + 12 + (−2)2 = 𝟑

4 4
𝜃 = cos −1 = cos −1 ≈ 79𝑜
7∗3 21