EngMaths I: Vectors.

Video 1

EngMaths I: Vectors
Video 1 — Introduction to vectors
Alan Champneys
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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Scalars and Vectors

two very different concepts in engineering:
I SCALAR: something with magnitude only
I VECTOR: something with magnitude and direction

Scalar or vector?

length? force? temperature?

velocity? speed? voltage?

time? volume? displacement?

Note: magnitude = size = modulus = length

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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Directed line segments

Represent vectors as directed line segments

O
magnitude is the length of line segment
arrow is the direction from O to A (so O is as important as A.)

Q. How do we represent the direction of a line in 3D?

A. direction cosines (old fashioned method), unit vectors (see next video)
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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Notation
A

O
Many alternative notations:
OA → → a
OA, → , OA, OA, OA, a, a, a, a , →
We typeset a and handwrite a
Magnitude of a written as |a|
(pronounced ‘mod a’)
I Note |a| ≥ 0 (since lengths always ≥ 0)
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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Equality of vectors
Two vectors are equal if:
I they have same magnitude and direction

a b c d

a = b, but c and d are different.

I c has same direction as a, b (different magnitude)

I d has same magnitude as a, b (different direction)
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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Negative vectors

−a has same magnitude as a, but has opposite direction

a −a

So
| − a| = |a|,
(magnitude mops up minus sign)
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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Resultant of two displacement vectors

Q
O

→ → →
Sum (resultant) of OP and PQ is OQ (obvious!)

Needs end of previous vector to coincide with beginning of next vector

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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Exercises

A
D

C
→ → →
Simplify AB + BC − DC

→ → →
Simplify AC − BC + BD
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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Adding vectors
Vectors are added in the same way as ‘journeys’; two ways of thinking about
it: c=a+b
triangle law
b
a
c
parallelogram law

b c

a
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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Properties of addition

Commutativity
p+q=q+p

Associativity
(p + q) + r = p + (q + r)
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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Subtracting vectors

Just add the negative!

a − b = a + (−b)
Graphically:

b
a
c −b
−b

Here c = a − b
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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Scalar multiplication

Scalar multiplication: multiply vector by scalar

I direction stays same
I magnitude stretched by given scalar
I (negative scalar reverses direction)

a
b c

Parallel vectors: a = λb where λ is a scalar

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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Unit vectors and the zero vector

Unit vectors

I If |a| = 1, a is a ‘unit vector’

I Given any old vector b, a unit vector may be made from it:

b
b̂ = , so that |b̂| = 1
|b|

b̂ is pronounced ‘b hat’
I sometimes we use the symbol : n : to mean unit vector

Zero vector

If |b| = 0, then b is the zero vector

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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Coordinate vectors: i, j and k

y

j
z k
i
x

i, j, k are unit√vectors parallel to x, y , z coordinate axes (not to be confused

with i or j = −1)
Follows that |i| = |j| = |k| = 1.
Note: hats are not used
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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Components of a vector

big idea: express all 3D vectors as a combination of i, j and k:

r = xi + yj + zk

This is the position vector (or displacement) of the point (x, y, z) relative
to the origin (0, 0, 0)
Sometimes write
 
x
r = (x, y, z) or r = y 
z

Row and column vector notation.

For now: use is interchangeable. But not when we consider matrices
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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Addition and scalar multiplication again

Revisited in component form. If

a = a1 i + a2 j + a3 k and b = b1 i + b2 j + b3 k

then
a + b = (a1 + b1 )i + (a2 + b2 )j + (a3 + b3 )k

For any scalar λ

λa = (λa1 )i + (λa2 )j + (λa3 )k

These seem clear from geometry

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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Magnitude etc. in component form

Suppose
r = xi + yj + zk
in component form. Then
p
|r| = x2 + y 2 + z 2 (3D version of Pythagoras)

It follows that

r xi + yj + zk
r̂ = =p ,
|r| x2 + y 2 + z 2
x y z
=p i+ p j+ p k.
2
x +y +z2 2 2 2
x +y +z 2 x + y2 + z2
2
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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Exercise

Given two points A and B with position vectors

a = 2i + 2j + k and b = 4i + 3j − 2k ,

1. Find the distance between A and B

−→
2. Find a unit vector that points in the direction AB .

PAUSE THE VIDEO AND I WILL SHOW YOU HOW I DO IT

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EngMaths I: Vectors. Video 1

Summary and next steps

Vectors Useful across engineering. They have magnitude and

direction.
Component form v = v1 i + v2 j + v3 k
Obey rules of addition
p and scalar multiplication.
length: |v| = v1 + v22 + v32 . Unit vector v̂ = v/|v|
2

Confused? more videos: WARNING , EXTERNAL CONTENT !

3blue1brown: (this guy is amazing!!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNk_zzaMoSs
ExamSolutions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Btju9LXLgg
read: James Section 4.1–4.2.5
Don’t Panic! the next video has lots of practice questions
and remember, in maths practice makes perfect