UNDERSTANDING VECTOR ALGEBRA

By Peter Martin Jones BSc (hons) BA(hons)

© 2017 All RIGHTS RESERVED

FIRST EDITION 18.04.2018

This booklet is designed to give a thorough grounding in Vector Algebra.
A good understanding in this topic is essential for all those people who
wish to go on and study Mathematics and other science subjects like,
Physics, Chemistry and Engineering.
Often the fundamental concepts like these are frequently not completely
understood leading to confusion and often dissatisfaction and can result
in people giving up on the subject altogether.
This is a shame because such confusion can often be attributed to poor
teaching or unexplained misconceptions. This series of booklets sets out
to explain fully and clearly every step throughout with everything
presented in an easy to understand format through a wide variety of fully
worked solutions covering most exam type questions.
This booklet is the Vector Algebra Module 1 and contains the following
topics:
Vectors in two and three dimensions
Cartesian coordinates
Conventions and definitions
Scalars
Vectors
Magnitude and direction of vectors
Modulus of a vector
Equal vectors
Parallel vectors
Negative vectors
Zero vectors
Triangle addition rule
Unit vectors
Multiplication by a scalar
Fully worked solutions for extra clarity
Other booklets in this series will be published shortly so keep a lookout
for these as they become available.

UNDERSTANDING VECTOR ALGEBRA

MODULE VA1
Revision Notes
First, you need to know the conventions and definitions that are used in
Vector Algebra. Just as in any other field of mathematics it is vital to
know these first and then you will be already in possession of around
75% of what you need to know for solving problems on this subject.
VECTORS AND SCALARS
Scalars
A Scalar can best be thought of as quantity or magnitude.
For example:
The distance to the station is 2 kilometres
The car is travelling at 50 km h-1
An aircraft flew 2000 m
None of these examples specify a direction and therefore they are not
vectors.
Vectors
Vectors specify both magnitude and direction.
For example:
A ship is travelling at15 knots due north
The shops are two km south of us
A river is travelling at 5 km h-1 due east to the sea
The velocity of the car was 40 km h-1
These examples are vectors because they have both magnitude and
direction. Note that velocity possesses both speed and direction.

Conventions

The line in Fig1 is called a displacement from P to Q. Displacement is a

vector.
Q Q

200 m a
PQ

P P
Fig 1 Fig 2 Fig 3

The line in fig 2 is called a directed line segment. The arrow on the line
shows the direction of vector and the vector is written as PQ (which is
sometimes in bold). The length of the line represents the distance. If an
accurate diagram is required a scaled drawing could be used.
Sometimes, instead of using end points P and Q and the vector notation
PQ , a lower-case letter is used. These lower-case letters are written in
bold font in print but when you handwrite these you should use an
underlined letter to show you mean it is a vector like this: a or a . We
have enlarged these below for greater clarity.
 PQ or PQ a or a

Vectors that have the same magnitude and direction are equal

In fig 4 below, we have two vectors PQ and RS that are identical in

magnitude and direction and therefor equal. Hence PQ = RS

S
P

R
Fig 4

The Triangle Rule for Vector Addition

Q
b
a
R

a+b

P Fig 5 Fig 6
Two vectors may be added together as show in fig 5. The direction of
PQ and QR have the arrows in the same direction whereas PR is in the
opposite direction. Hence PQ + QR = PR . Think of it as a journey from
P to Q and then from Q to R. The resultant is a journey from P to R.
In fig 6, we have used lower case letters to show the alternative notation.
So, when you add two vectors a and b together, the resultant vector
goes from the start of vector a to the end of vector b.

In vector addition, the order in which vectors are added does not matter.
All we need to ensure is that the tail of one vector starts from the head of
the vector we are joining it to, so that the arrows follow each other. Like
this:

Vector 2
Vector 1

Vector 2 tail joins onto

head of vector 1

Suppose we have five vectors a, b, c, d, e as shown below:

b c d
a e

a c a
R R
b b R e b
a
c e
e
d d d
c

As shown above, whatever the order we choose does not affect the
resultant shown in red – it is always the same. i.e.
a + b + c + d + e = c + b + a + d + e = e + a+ b +d + c.
Each resultant has the same magnitude and direction as the others. It is
always in the opposite direction to all the other vectors in every vector
polygon. It represents the single vector for the combination of all the
other vectors.
Modulus
The modulus of a vector is another name for its magnitude.

The modulus of vector of the vector AB is AB and of a would be a

Equal Vectors
Vectors with the same magnitude and direction are called equal vectors.
i.e.
a  b  a  b and their directions are the same.

Negative Vectors
If vectors a and b have the same magnitudes but opposing directions to
each other then b  a
Zero Vectors

A B

If you go from A to B and then return to A, you are back where you
started from so your total displacement would be zero. The Zero
displacement vector is 0. This is shown in bold type in print or as 0 or 0
in hand written work.

AB  BA  0 . BA can also be written as  AB so that AB  AB  0

The Unit Vector
A unit vector is a vector that has a magnitude (or modulus) of 1 unit.
If vector p has a magnitude of 15. The unit vector that is parallel to p is
15 p
. In general, the unit vector is
p p
Multiplication of a Vector by a Scalar
If  is a positive real number, then  a is a vector having the same
direction as a and of magnitude  a

Vector 3a is a + a+ a. It is 3 times the magnitude of a

Vector 4a  a  a  a  a . It is in the opposite direction to a and has 4
times its magnitude.
Parallel Vectors
Any vector that is parallel to vector a is written as  a where  is a non-
zero scalar.
4a + 6b and 8a + 12b are parallel since 8a  12b  2  4a  6b  . In this
case   2
If  a   b   a   b and the vectors a and b are not parallel and
non-zero, then    and   

Worked Examples
Example 1

Fig 7 below shows three vectors a, b and c. Draw a vector diagram to

show the vector addition a + b + c.

Fig 7

Solution
First draw the triangle for a  b as shown in fig 6 above (shown in
orange here). and then use the triangle rule and apply it again using the
blue triangle shown in fig 8:
 b
a

a+b
c

a+b+c

Fig 8

Now we have (a +b) + c = a +b + c . In this case, the resultant starts at

the beginning of a and finishes at the end of c.
Example 2
In fig 9 below, the vector a is directed due west and has a  8 . Vector b
has b  6 . Find a  b .

b
c

Fig 9

Solution
Clearly, as the triangle is right angled, we can use Pythagoras Theorem
to determine the modulus of vector c:
2
a + b = 82 + 62 = 64 + 36 = 100

 a  b  100  10

Example 3

In fig 10 we have A B  a , A D  b , C D  c , A E  f
Find in terms of a, b, c and f
 (i) D E (ii) B D (iii) B C (iv) C E
A

b f B

c
C
Fig 10

Solution

DE  AD  AE  b  f Using  ADE

BD  AD  AB  b  a Using  ABD

BC  B D  CD  (b  a)  c  b  a  c = a + b  c Using  BCD

C E  C D  D E  c  b  f = b  c  f Using  CDE

Example 4
Fig 11 shows the vectors a, b, c,d, e and f. Draw a vector diagram to
show the vector addition f = a + b + c + d + e.

a e

b d
c
 Fig 11
Solution

f
a

e
b
c d

Fig12

f=a+b+c+d+e
Example 5

In fig 13 three forces are acting on a hinge S P  a, SQ = b and S R  c

,find the resultant d.
Solution
The vector diagram for this shown below

P Q
b
a b
b+c c

S d = a+b+c
a
c Fig 13

R Vector Diagram

Example 6.

Fig 14 consists of four equal squares with FG = a and G H = b .

Establish whether each of the following are true or false.

 a b BC  a AB  a AB b
AH  b A C  2b HD  2 b C D  b

B F  2b AB  BD BA  a a b

A B C

H D
O

a
E
G F

Fig 14

Solution
a  b is true since they both have the same magnitude.

B C  a is false since FG = BC  a

A B  a is false since FG = A B  a

A B  b is false since A B  FG  a

A H  b is false since A H  G H  b

A C  2 b is false since A C  2FG  2 a (different directions)

H D  2 b is false since b is not a vector

C D  b is true since C D   G H = b

B F  2b is false since 2 b is not a vector

A B  B D is true since AO  A H  HO  a  b =   a  b  and

B D  BO  DO  a  b    a  b 

BA  a is false since BA  FG  a

a  b is false since G H  FG (different directions)

Example 7
In fig 15, the four vertices of the trapezium are A, B, C, D.

Q R

S
Fig 15

Reduce the following vectors to their simplest form.

(i) PQ  Q R  R S
(ii) PR  QR

(Iii) SQ  PQ  P R  S R

(IV) PQ  Q P  PQ  PQ  0

Solution

(i) PQ  Q R  R S  P S Using parallelogram PQRS

(ii) P R  QR  PQ Using  PQR
 (III) SQ  PQ  P R  S R Using  PSQ and  PRS

(IV) PQ  Q P  PQ  PQ  0 Equal and opposite vectors

Example 8
The vector diagram in fig 16 has M as the mid-point of BC. Establish an
expression for A M in terms of p and q.

M
p

C
A q

Fig 16

Solution
From the diagram, we can see that:

AM  A B  BM  p + BM
As M is the mid-point of BC, we obtain:
1 1
BM  B C   q  p 
2 2
Substituting for B M in the first equation we have:
1 1
AM  p   q  p   p  q 
2 2
Example 9

Fig 17 shows the triangle PQR where PQ  2a and Q R  2b . M is

the mid-point of PR.
 Q
2b
2a
R

P M

Fig 17

Find in terms of a and b, the following vectors:

P R; PM and QM .
Solution

P R  2a  2b From  PQR
1 1
PM  P R   2a  2b    a  b 
2 2
QM  b  a from Ex 8 with p = 2a & q =2b

Example 10
In fig 18 M is the mid-point of BC.

b
A

M
a

Fig 18

O c C

Determine O B; B C; AM and OM
Solution

OB  a b from  OAB

B C  b  a  c from trapezium ABCO

 1 1 1 1 1
AM  b + B C  b +  b  a  c   b  a  c from  ABM
2 2 2 2 2
1 1 1 1 1
OM  c  B C  c   b  a  c   b  a  c from  OMC
2 2 2 2 2

Example 10
In fig 19, the point P divided AB in the ratio 1:2. Find an expression for

OP

A
P

a B

b
O Fig 19

Solution
From the diagram, we can see that:

O P  OA  A P  a + A P
As P is one third of AB, we obtain:
1 1
AP  A B  b  a 
3 3

Substituting for A P in the first equation we have:

1 2 1
OP  a  b  a   a  b
3 3 3

Example 11
Fig 20 shows a pentagon ABCDE. Find the resultants of:

(a) A B, B C and C D ; B C and B D ; A B  A E

(b) Find two sets of components of A D
A

Fig 20

Solution
Part (a)
(i) A B  BC  C D  A D from ABCDE

(ii) B C  A B  A B  B C  A C from  ABC

(iii) A B  A E  A B  E A  E A  A B  E B from  ABE

Part (b)
A D  A B  BC  C D from ABCD

AD  AB BD from  ABD

Note: These are not the only components that could have been chosen
e.g.:

AD  AE ED from  AED

A D  AC  C D from  ACD
Example12

In fig 21. A B  2a, B C  2 b, C D = 4a and A P  kA C .

Determine in terms of a, b, and k, A C, A D, BD, D P, A P and find the

value of k.
A 3a B

2b
P

C
D 4a

Fig 21

Solution

AC  A B  BC from  ABC
  3a  2b 

A D  AC  C D from  ACD
   3a  2b   4a  a  2b

BD  A D  A B from  ABD
 a  2b  3a
 4a  2b

A P  kA C  k  3a  2 b  given

D B  4a  2b from  BCD

D P  DA  AP  a  2b  k  3a  2 b  from  ADP

The point P lies on D B so D B and D P are parallel and therefore

one is a scalar multiple of the other. So, we can write:
 a  2 b  k  3a  2 b 
 a  2 b  3ka  2kb
  3k  1 a   2k  2  b factorising

Since a and b are not parallel and non-zero, we can equate their
coefficients. So, we have:

 3k  1 a   2k  2 b    5a  b 
  3k  1 a   2k  2  b  5 a  b
  3k  1  5 and  2k  2   

Now we need to eliminate  . We now have two equations:

3k  1  5 (1)

 2k  2   (2)/

Multiplying (2) by 5 we get:

10k  10  5 (3)

Then adding (1) and (3) we obtain:

13k  9  0
9
k 
13

POSITION VECTORS
The position vector of a point in two (or three) dimensions describes its
position to its position in space. The position vector of a point A is the
vector OA where O is the origin. It is usual to user lower case letters for
these types of vectors so that for example OA would be written as a.

A
a
OA = a

O
AB  b  a

B
a
b AB  AO+OB=  a  b  b  a
O

where a and b are the position vectors of A and B

CARTESIAN COMPONENTS OF VECTORS IN TWO DIMENSIONS

The vectors i and j are unit vectors parallel to the x axis and y axis
respectively. These are written in bold in print.
Example 13
Two points A and B in diagram ( fig 22), have coordinates (6,4) and
(10,2). Find in terms of i and J, The position vectors of 0A , 0 B and the
vector AB
Solution
Representing the position vectors on a graph is the same as you would
do for normally for plotting coordinates. E.g. position vector 0A is plotted
at 6 units along the x axis and 4 units along the y axis.
The position vector of A is 6i +4J
The position vector of B is 10i  2j

The vector AB is b  a  10i  2 j   6i +4J   4i  2J because vector AB

starts at 6 units across and goes 4 units downwards.
The simplest way of determining this is to take the finish position of the
vector and subtract the start position from it.
The position of A (the start point) is (6,4) and the finish position is (10,2)

So we require (10,2) – (6, 4) = (4, –2). Hence AB = 4i  2J

Column Matrix
Vectors with Cartesian coordinates are frequently written in the form of a
column matric: It is easier to read and avoid the necessity of writing long
6
expressions involving i and J terms. E.g. we can write 6i +4J as  
 4
Example 14
If a  3i+5J; b = 7i  6J; c  3i  2J find:

a b c
3a  2b  c
4a  3b  c
2a  b  2c
Solution
 3   7   3  13 
a  b  c           
 5   6   2   9 

 3   7   3   9  14   3   2 
3a  2b  c = 3    2      =           
 5   6   2  15  12   2   1 

 3   7   3  12   21  3   30 
4a  3b  c = 4    3                
 5   6   2   20  18   2   40 

 3   7   3   6   7   6   5 
2a  b  2c = 2       2         
 5   6   2   10   6   4   0 
Modulus

The modulus of xi +yJ is x 2  y 2 from Pythagoras Theorem.

Example 15
The points P, Q and R have coordinates at  6, 4  , 8,6  and  4,4  . This
is show graphically in fig 23 below.
Determine:
The position vectors of P, Q and R

PQ and QR

P Q , QR and 0R

Solution
The position vector of P is 6i  4J (direct from coordinates)
The position vector of Q is 8i +6J (direct from coordinates)
The position vector of R is  4i +4J (direct from coordinates)

PQ = 8i +6J  (6i  4J) = 2i +10J (Coords of Q - Coords of P)

QR  4i +4J   8i +6J   12i  2J (Coords of R - Coords of Q)

P Q  22  10   4  100  104  2 26

2
(sqr root of PQ coords)

 12    2   144  4  148  2 37

2 2
QR  (sqr root of QR coords)

 4    4   16  16  32  2 8
2 2
0R  (sqr root of 0 R coords)

Note: you can see quite easily that each one of the vectors shown in fig
23 is a hypotenuse of a right-angle triangle and the modulus
values can be directly established from them using Pythagoras
Theorem.
Example 16
Four points O, A, B and C are such that: .
OA=10a, O B =5b and O C = 4a+3b , Show that A, B and C are collinear.

Solution
Note: If O, A, B and C are to be collinear, then AB and BC must have the
same direction.

A A

10a B C
5b

O C B
4a + 3b O
Fig 24 a Fig 24 b

A B  OA+O B  10a+5b  5 b  2a 
B C = BO+O C=  5b+4a +3b
 4a  2b  2 b  2a 

Since AB and BC both have a direction given by λ b  2a  they must be

parallel. And since C is a common point then A, B and C are collinear.
 2
It should be noted that B C=  A B tells us that although being parallel,
5
B C and AB are in opposite directions (indicated by the negative sign
above). Hence the actual vector diagram looks like fig 24b rather than
like our initial assumption in fig 24a

Example 17

OPQR is a parallelogram where vector O P =p and vector OR  r . M is

the midpoint of QR and X is the point on OQ such that OX:OQ is 2:1
Find expressions for:

(i) OQ, OX, OM ,PM and PX

(ii) Show that PM and PX are parallel
(iii) Show that P, X, and M are collinear.

P Q

X
p

Fig 25

O r R

Solution (i)

OQ = p + r from  OQR (QR = OP = p)

2 2
OX =  p +r  since OX = OQ
3 3
1 1
RM = QR= a Since QR = OP
2 2
1
OM =OR+RM  r  p from  OMR
2
 2 1 2
PX= PO + OX=  p+ p+r    p+ r from  OPX
3 3 3
1 1
PM = PO  OM  p  p  c   p  r from  PMO
2 2
Solution (ii) and (iii)
To show that the points PXM lie on a straight line we need to show that
PM is a multiple of P X.
3 3 1 2 
PM    p  r 
2 2 3 3 

Hence PM and PX are parallel. Additionally, they share a common point

P and are therefore collinear.

CARTESIAN COMPONENTS OF VECTORS IN THREE DIMENSIONS

Cartesian coordinate axes in three dimensions usually have x, y and z
axes, each of which is at right angle to the others. Coordinates of a point
in three dimensions are written as  x,y,z 
z
14

12
y  z plane
10

8
ne
z pla 6
x
4
 4,6,5
2
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 y
0
2
4
8
6  4,6 
10 Fig 26
12
x  y plane
14
x
Fig 26 shows how the point (4, 6, 5) is positioned. First, the point (4, 6) is
positioned in the x-y plane. Then this point is projected 5 units vertically
upwards along the z axis.

Example 18
Fig 27 shows the point C which has coordinates (6, 9, 8). Find the
distance from the origin O to point C

Solution
We can use Pythagoras Theorem to solve this problem.
 OAB in the x-y plane is right angled at A so we can find OB.

 OB =  OA  +  AB 
2 2 2

 OA  +  AB 
2 2
 OB =

 OB  62  92
 36  81
 117
The blue  OBC can now be found which is also right angled at B.
Hence, we have:
 OC  =  OB  +  BC 
2 2 2

 OB  +  BC 
2 2
 OC 

 
2
 117  82

 117  64
 181
There is a quicker way to arrive at this result. We used Pythagoras
Theorem in two dimensions. However, we could have used Pythagoras
in three dimensions:

The distance from the origin to the point  x , y, z  is x 2

+ y2 + z2 

So, in the above solution, we could have used:

OC  62  92  82
 36  81  64
 181

The distance between the points x , y

1 1, z1  and  x2 , y2, z2  is

 x1 - x1  +  y2 - y2  +  z1 - z2 
2 2 2

Example 19
Find the distance between the points (4, 3,7) and (1, 5, 2)
Solution
Using the last result, we have:

 4  1   3  5   7  2 
2 2 2

 9  4  25
 38
Unit Vectors in three dimensions
A unit vector is a vector whose magnitude is one unit.

If i is a unit vector in the direction of Ox

j is a unit vector in the direction of Oy
k is a unit vector in the direction of Oz
Then the position vector, relative to O of any point P can be given in
terms of I, j and k.
So, we can write the point with coordinates (4, 2, 5) as 4i + 2j + 5k.
4 
This is also frequently written in column vector form  2 

5 
 

Generally, if P is a point  x , y, z  and O P = r then

x
r = xi + yj + zk or r =  y 
z 
 
Where r is the position vector of the point P.

Addition and subtraction of vectors in i, j, k form

To add or subtract vectors, the respective coefficients of I, j and k are
collected together.
va  3i +4J + 2k and vb  6i  3J + 5k then
va  vb   3i +4J + 2k    6i  3J + 5k 
=  3  6  i   4  3 J   2  5  k
 3i  7J  7k  3k
Modulus of vectors in i, j, k form

In general, if v  ai +bj + ck then v  a 2 +b2 +c2

Example 20
Find The modulus of v where v = 6i, 9j, 8k is the length of OP where P
is the point (6, 8, 9). This is the same as example 18 but in i, j, k form.
v  6 2  9 2  82
 36  81  64
 181
Parallel Vectors in i, j, k form
Two vectors va and vb are parallel if va  vb

3i +2J + 4k is parallel to 6i +4J + 8k = 2  3i +2J + 4k  (  2)

6i  9j  8k is parallel to  2i  3j  4k  = 3 2i  3j  4k     3

Equal Vectors in i, j, k form

If two vectors va  a1i +b1 j + c1k and vb  a 2i +b2 j + c2k are equal then

a1=a 2 and b1=b2 and c1=c2

Example 21
A triangle PQR has vertices at the points P (4, -3, 4), Q (4, -2, 5) and at

R (-2, 5, 2). Find in the vectors PQ, PR and R P in the form ai +bj + ck .
and find the lengths of the triangle OPR.
Solution
Figure 29 shows the points P, Q and R as a triangle inclined to all three
planes. (note) a 3D view of this problem has not been included as it
would be too cluttered and confusing to be interpreted.

P
Q

Fig 29
O

PQ  OQ  OP
  4i  2 j + 5k    3i  3j + 4k  from  OPQ
 i  jk

QR  OR  OQ
  2i + 5j  2k    4i  2 j + 5k  from  ORQ
 6i  7 j  3k

RP  OP  OR
  3i  3j + 4k    2i + 5j  2k  from  OPR
= 5i  8 j + 2k

To find the lengths of the triangle, we need to find the modulus values of
PQ, PR and R P.

PQ  PQ  12  12  12  3

 6    7    3  36  49  9  94
2 2 2
QR  QR 

RP  RP  52   8   22  25  64  4  93
2
Example 22
Find the coordinates of point P if OP is of 7 units and is parallel to the
vector 3i  2 j  5k .

Solution
A vector parallel to 3i  2 j  5k can be in the same direction or opposite in
direction.i.e.
  3i  2 j  5k  . Hence:

OP    3i  2 j  5k  so that

OP  7 2   2  32  22  52 

 49   2  9  4  25 
 49   2  38 
49
 2 
38
49

38
7

38
Hence:
7 7
OP =  3i  2 j  5k  or   3i  2 j  5k  .i.e.
38 38
21 14 35 21 14 35
i j k or  i j k
38 38 38 38 38 38

Example 23
P, Q, R and S are the points  0,0,2  ,  1,3,2  , 1,0,4  and  1,2, 2 
respectively. Find the vectors PQ , QR , RS , QS and SP and find the
magnitude of the resultant. Also find the unit vector of QR
Solution
To find each of these vectors, you take the end coordinates and subtract
the beginning coordinates of each vector that you are finding. E.g. to find
PQ , you take the coordinates of Q and subtract the coordinates of P.

Q  1,3,2 

R 1,0,4 
P
 0,0,2 
Fig 30

S  1,2, 2 

PQ   i  3j  2k    2k   i + 3j

QR   i + 4k    i + 3j + 2k    2i  3j + 2k 

RS   i  2 j  2k    i  4k   2i  2 j  6k

SP  PS    i  2 j  2k    2k   i  2 j
QS   i  2 j  2k    i  3j + 2k    j  4k

The magnitude of the resultant is

SP  12   2   1  4  5
2

v
The unit vector in the direction of v is given by
v

Therefore, the unit vector in the direction of QR is:

QR 2i  3 j + 2k 2i  3 j + 2k
 
2 2   3   2 2 17
2
QR
The Unit Vector
v
A unit vector in the direction of v is given by vˆ 
v

Example 24
Find the vector v if
(i) v is parallel to the vector 8i + j + 4 and equal in magnitude to
the vector i  2 j  2k
1 2 2
(ii) v  30 and vˆ = i  j  k
3 3 3

Solution
(i)
If v is parallel to the vector 8i  j  4k then v    8i  j  4k 

Let u be the unit vector of i  2 j  2k then

12   2   22  1  4  4  9  3 hence
2
u

1 1
   v   8i  j  4k 
3 3
8 1 4
 i + j+ k
3 3 3
(ii)
The unit vector is given by
v
vˆ   v  vˆ v
v

1 2 1
In this case we have vˆ = i  j  k Hence we have:
3 3 3

1 2 2 
v  vˆ v   i  j  k   30
3 3 3 
 10i  20 j  10k
Length of Line joining two Points

B ( x2 , y2 , z2 )
A
( x1 , y1 , z1 ) b
a
O
y

x Fig 31

Fig 31 shows the line joining the points A ( x1 , y1, z1 ) and B ( x2 , y2 , z2 ) .

OA  x1i  y1 j  z1k and OB  x2i  y2 j  z2k

AB  AO  OB  (OA  OB )  OB  OA

 AB   x2  x1  i   y2  y1  j   z2  z1  k

So AB   x2  x1  i   y2  y1  j   z2  z1  k

So, the length of the line joining ( x1 , y1, z1 ) and ( x2 , y2 , z2 ) is

 x2 - x1  +  y2 - y1  +  z2 - z1 
2 2 2

Example 25
Two points have the coordinates P (1, 3, 2) and Q (2, 3,1). Find the
length of the line PQ.
Solution
This is simply a question of inserting these values into the above
expression:

 2  1   3  3  1  2   12  0   1  2
2 2 2 2
Position Vector of the midpoint of PQ

p 1
p + q R
2
Fig 32

q Q
O

We saw earlier that if R is the mid-point of PQ then the position vector of

R is
1
2

PQ  OQ 
If P is the point  x1, y1, z1  and Q is the point  x2 , y2 , z2  , the coordinates of
R are:
1 1 1 
  x 1 + x 2  ,  y 1 + y 2 ,  z 1 + z 2  
2 2 2 
The coordinates of the mid-point are the averages of the respective
coordinates of the end points

Example 26
In Fig 32 The coordinates of the mid-point R of the line PQ are  4, 3,5 .
If Q is the point  3, 2,4  and P is the point  a, b, c  , find the values of a, b
and c.
Solution

Since R is the mid-point of PQ then R is the point:

1 1 1
 3  a  ,  2  b  ,  4  c  setting these equal to R   4, 3,5 we have:
2 2 2
1 1 1
 3  a   4,  2  b   3,  4  c   5
2 2 2
 a  5, b  4 and c  6
Example 27
The points P, Q and R are  2, 3,6  ,  4,2,5 and  3, 2,1 respectively. If
S is the mid-point of PQ and T is the mid-point of QR, find the length of
ST.

Fig 33

Solution
S is the point
1 1 1
 4  2  ,  2   3  ,  5  6 
2 2 2
 1 11 
  3,  , 
 2 2

T is the point
1 1 1
 3  4  ,  2  2  , 1  5 
2 2 2
7 
  ,0,3 
2 
Hence the length of ST is
2 2 2
7   1   11 
  3   0     3  
2   2  2
2 2 2
1 1 5
      
2 2 2
1 1 25
  
4 4 4
27 3 3
 
4 2

The Scalar Product

This is an operation with relating to two vectors and the angle between
them. The result is called a scalar (or dot) product. It had no relationship
with the product of real numbers.

θ
b Fig 34

The scalar product of two vectors a and b is defined as

a  b = a b cosθ

Where a is the modulus (or magnitude) of vector a

b is the modulus (or magnitude) of vector b

and θ is the angle between them.

Not that the scalar product is commutative.
a  b cos  b  a cos  a  b  b  a
The scalar product is also distributive over addition.i.e.
a  b  c   a  b  a  c

Or equivalently
b  c   a  b  a  c  a
The scalar product of two perpendicular vectors

Fig 35

In fig 35 we have two vectors a and b at right angles (or perpendicular or

orthogonal) to each other.
Using the scalar product definition a  b = a b cosθ we have:

π
a  b = a b cos  
2
0
So, if a and b are perpendicular then:
ab = 0
And for unit vectors i, j and k we have:

i  j = j k = k i

The scalar product of two parallel vectors

If a and b are parallel, then either:

a  b  ab cos or a  b cos
 a a


b b a
Like vectors Unlike vectors
Fig 36

So, for;
Like parallel vectors
a  b = ab
Unlike parallel vectors
a  b = ab
In cases where a = b then :
a  b = a  a = a2
For the Cartesian unit vectors i, j and k :
i  i  j j  k  k 1

Example 28
Two vectors a and b are shown in Fig 37. If a has a modulus of 3 and b
has a modulus of 5 and the angle between them is 60 , find the scalar
product of a and b

60 Fig 37

Solution
Using a  b = a b cosθ we have:
3  5  cos 60
15  0.5  7.5
Scalar products in Cartesian form
If a  x1i  y1j  z1k and b = x2i  y2 j  z2k then

a  b = x1x2  y1 y2  z1z2 hence:

 x1i + y1j + z1k    x 2i + y 2 j + z 2k  = x1x 2 + y1y 2 + z1z 2

Example 29
Find the scalar product of a  3i  4j  2k and b  2i  3j  3k and hence
find the angle between them.
Solution
a  b  3  2   4   3  2   3
 6  12  6
 12
We now use the result a  b = a b cos to determine the angle:

a  32   4   22
2

 9  16  4
 29

b  22  32   3
2

 499
 22
Now we have:

 
29  22 cos  14
12
 cos 
 29  22 
12
  0.4751
25.26
  118.364
Note it is often easier to use column vectors as we will see in the next
example.
Example 30
If p = 4i  3j  2k and q  2i  3j  5k find p  q, q  p,p  p and q  q

Solution
 4  2
p  q =  3   3   4  2  3  3  2  5  27
 2 5 
  
We saw earlier that q  p is commutative, hence q  p = p  q and therefore
q  p = 27

 4  4
p  p =  3    3  = 4  4  3  3  2  2  29
 2  2
   
 2  2
q  q =  3    3   2  2  3  3  5  5  38
5 5
   
Example 31
Points P, Q and R have coordinates of (3, 2, 1), (5, 4, 2) and (-4, 2, 1)
respectively. Find the scalar product AB  AC , the modulus of BC and
the angle between AB and AC .
Solution
Writing these coordinates in column form we have:
3 5  4 
A   2  B   4  C   2 
   
1   2 1 
     
Hence:
 5  3   2
AB   4    2    2 
 2  1  1 
     
 2i  2j  k in Cartesian form.

 4   3   7 
AC   2    2    0 
1  1   0 
     

 7i in Cartesian form.

So that
 2   7 
AB  AC   2    0   14
1   0 
   
 4   5   9 
BC   2    4    2 
1   2   1 
     

 9    2    1
2 2 2
BC 

 81  4  1
 86

AB  22  22  12

 9
3
Now

AB  AC  AB AC Cos

AB  AC
 Cos 
AB AC
  7 
2
AC 
7
14  2 
Cos   
3 7  3 
 2 
   cos 1  
 3 
 131.81
The component of a vector in the direction of another vector
We can use the scalar product to find the component of one vector in the
direction of another. In fig 38, we can think of vector b as being made up
 
of a component in the direction of a OA together with a perpendicular

 
component AB . The component in the direction of a is the projection
of b on to a represented by L in the diagram.


O a A
L Fig 38

From the right angled triangle OAB.we can see that:

L
cos θ=
b
 L  b cos θ

Remember that the scalar product is defined as:

a  b = a b cosθ
 ab
So cos θ =
a b

So, we can now write

a b
L b
ab
a b

a

a
Remember also that is the unit vector of a, so finally we can say that
a

L  b  aˆ
So, this means that the projection of b onto a can be found by using the
scalar product of b and a unit vector in the direction of a

Example 31
Find the component of b = 2i,4 j,3k in the direction of 2i  j  3k

Solution
A unit vector in the direction of a is
a 2i  j  3k 2i  j  3k
aˆ =  
a 22   1  33
2
14

Then:

 2 2 
1
b  aˆ =  4    1 
 
 3  14  3 
   
1
  4   4   9 
14
9

14
9
So the component of b = 2i,4 j,3k in the direction of 2i  j  3k is
14