Assignment 14 : Vectors in Three Dimensional Space Page 66

SECTION A
1. Find the coordinates of P in the following cases where r = P1P : PP2 .
(a) P1 = (3, 2, −4) , P2 = (−1, 2, 5) ; r = 1
(b) P1 = (9, −2, −2) , P2 = (−3, 4, 0) ; r = −3

2. Given two points A(2, −3, 4) and B(8, 0, 10) . If P is a point on the line AB
and its x-coordinate equals 4 , find the coordinates of P .

3. Show that the following points are collinear.

(a) A(3, 2, 7) , B(1, 4, 6) , C(7, −2, 9)
(b) P1(1, 0, 2) , P2(2, 3, 1) , P3(3, 6, 0) , P4(0, −3, 3)

4. Find the centre and radius of the following sphere :

x 2 + y2 + z2 + 4x − 6y + 5z + 17 = 0

5. Find the values of a and b such that ai − 8j + 6k would be a linear combination of

6i + bj + 3k and 5i + 4j .

6. Given three linearly independent vectors x , y , z . We construct the vectors

a = 2x + y , b = y − z and c = x + 4y + z . Express the vector d = x + y + z as a
linear combination of a , b and c .

7. Show that each of the following pairs of vectors are linearly independent.
(a) i + 2j + 3k , 2j + k .
(b) −3i + 2j + k , 5i + 7j + 4k .

8. Consider four vectors i , j , k and i + j + k in R3 . Show that these four vectors

are linearly dependent while any three of them are linearly independent.

9. Is it true that if x , y and z are linearly independent vectors then so are the vectors x
+ y , y + z and z + x ?

10. Show that for any three vectors x , y , z of R3 and any scalars r , s , t , the three
vectors rx − sy , ty − rz , sz − tx are linearly dependent.

11. If x1 , x2 , x3 are linearly independent vectors, prove that x1 , ax1 + x2 , bx1 + cx2 + x3
are also linearly independent.

12. Explain why the zero vector 0 alone is a linearly dependent vector.

13. (a) If a , b , c are coplanar vectors, prove that they are linearly dependent.
(b) Prove that any four or more vectors in R3 are linearly dependent.

14. Let a and b be linearly independent vectors of R3 and let u = c11a + c12b ,
v = c21a + c22b . Show that u , v are linearly independent if and only if
c11c22 − c12c21 ≠ 0 .

15. Suppose O is the origin and A is (1, −2, −2) . Find the direction cosines of OA .

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Assignment 14 : Vectors in Three Dimensional Space Page 67

16. If α , β , γ are the direction angles of a certain line, show that

sin2α + sin2β + sin2γ = 2 .

17. Find the direction ratios of the line which passes through A(2, 5, −1) and B(5, 1, 11).

18. (a) Two vectors with magnitudes 15 and 32 make an angle of 2π with each other.
Find the value of their dot product.
(b) Two vectors have magnitudes 6 and 10 , and their difference has magnitude 8 .
Find the value of their dot product.

19. Find the angle between the lines Γ1 : 2 : 3 : 6 and Γ2 : 2 : −1 : 2 .

20. Find the angle between a and b if a + 2b is perpendicular to 5a − 2b and a

− 3b is perpendicular to 5a + 3b .

21. Given that a , b and c are of magnitude 1 such that a + b + c = 0 , find the value
of a⋅b + b⋅c + c⋅a .

22. For each of the following vectors a and b , find prab .

(a) a = 2i + 2j + k and b = 4i − 3j + 4k .
(b) a = 3i + 4j −k and b = 2i + j − 5k .

23. Resolve a = 4i + 3j into components a1 and a2 which are respectively parallel and
perpendicular to b = 3i + j . (i.e. a1 = prba)

24. Resolve a into components a1 and a2 respectively parallel and perpendicular to

b.

25. Show that if a and b are non-zero vectors and a⋅b = 0 , then a and b are
linearly independent.

26. Given three non-zero vectors a , b and c in which b is not perpendicular to a

nor to c . Prove that (a⋅b)c = a(b⋅c) if and only if a and c are linearly
dependent.

27. Prove that for a quadrilateral in space with opposite edges being equal, the line joining the
middle points of the diagonals is perpendicular to both diagonals.

28. Given that a = i + j , b = i − 2k , c = 2i + 3j + 4k , find

(a) a × b (d) (a + b) × (a − b) (g) a × (b × c)
(b) b × c (e) a⋅(a × b) (h) c × (a × b)
(c) c × a (f) a⋅(b × c)

29. (a) Find the area of ∆ABC where A(1, 2, 3) , B(3, 4, 5) and C(2, 4, 7) .
(b) Find the area of ∆ABC where A(1, 2, 3) , B(2, −1, 1) and C(−2, 1, −1) .

30. If P0 , P1 , P2 are three non-collinear points and r0 , r1 , r2 are their position vectors,
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Assignment 14 : Vectors in Three Dimensional Space Page 68

what is the position of the vector r0 × r1 + r1 × r2 + r2 × r0 with respect to the plane

P0P1P2 ?

31. Find the volume of the parallelepiped whose edges are OA , OB , OC where
A(1, 2, 3) , B(1, 1, 2) , C(2, 1, 1) . Hence find the volume of the tetrahedron OABC .

32. Show that (a + b)⋅((b + c) × (c + a)) = 2a⋅(b × c) .

33. Prove that(a) a × (b × c) + b × (c × a) + c × (a × b) = 0

(b) (a × b)⋅(a × b) = (a⋅a)(b⋅b) − (a⋅b)(a⋅b)
(c) (a × b)⋅(c × d) = (a⋅c)(b⋅d) − (a⋅d)(b⋅c) .

34. Simplify (a + b) × (a − b) and hence deduce that if a is perpendicular to b , then

|(a + b) × (a − b)| = 2|a||b| .

35. Let A(x 1, y1) , B(x 2 , y2) , C(x 3, y3) be any three points in the x-y plane.
Denote A' = (x 1, y1, 1) , B' = (x 2, y2, 1) , C' = (x 3, y3, 1) in R3 .
(a) Show, by computation, that area of ∆ABC = ((
1
2 )
OA' × OB' ⋅ OC' )
x1 y 1 1
1
i.e. area of ∆ABC = x2 y2 1 .
2
x3 y3 1
(b) Give a geometric interpretation of the above formula.

36. Consider a triangle with vertices A , B and C , and let a , b and c denote the
lengths of the sides opposite A , B and C , respectively.
Write u = AB , v = BC and w = CA .
(a) Deduce that u + v + w = 0 .
(b) Show that u × v = w × u = v × w .
Hint : Compute u × (u + v + w) and v × (u + v + w)
sin A sin B sin C
(c) Hence deduce the sine law: = = .
a b c

37. Suppose vectors a , b and c are the edges of a triangle such that a = |a| , b = |b| , c
= |c| , a + b + c = 0 and s = 1(a + b + c) .
(a) Show that a⋅b = 1(c2 − a2 − b2) .
(b) By using Question 33(b), deduce the Heron’s formula:
area of triangle = s ( s − a)( s − b )( s − c ) .

38. For any vectors a , b and c in R3 , show that

(a) a⋅(b × c) = (a × b)⋅(c + ma − nb) for any real numbers m and n.
(b) a⋅(b × c) = 0 if and only if (b × c)⋅[(c × a) × (a × b)] = 0 .

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Assignment 14 : Vectors in Three Dimensional Space Page 69

SECTION B
39. Let a = (a1, a2, a3) , b = (b1, b2, b3) , c = (c1, c2, c3) be three vectors in R3 such that
a⋅a = b⋅b = c⋅c = 1 and a⋅b = b⋅c = c⋅a = 0 .
 a1 a 2 a 3 
 
(a) If M =  b1 b2 b3  , show that MM t = I .
c c c 
 1 2 3

Hence show that det M ≠ 0 .

(b) For any u = (u1, u2, u3) ∈ R3 , show that if u⋅a = u⋅b = u⋅c = 0 , then u = 0 .
(c) Use (b) to deduce that for any v ∈ R3 , v = (v⋅a)a + (v⋅b)b + (v⋅c)c .
Hint : Put u = v − ((v⋅a)a + (v⋅b)b + (v⋅c)c) .

40. Let w1 andw2 be two vectors in R3 satisfying

w1⋅w1 = w2⋅w2 = 1 and w1⋅w2 = 0 .
Let S = {α 1w1 + α 2w2 ∈ R3 : α 1 , α 2 ∈ R} .
(a) Show that u = (u⋅w1)w1 + (u⋅w2)w2 for all u ∈ S .
(b) For any v ∈ R3 , let w = (v⋅w1)w1 + (v⋅w2)w2 . Show that
(i) (v − w)⋅u = 0 for all u ∈ S .
(ii) w⋅w ≤ v⋅v where equality holds iff v ∈ S .

41. Let u , v and w be linearly independent vectors in R3 . Show that:

(a) If u = (u1, u2, u3) , v = (v 1, v 2, v 3) and w = (w1, w2, w3) ,
u1 v 1 w1
then u2 v 2 w2 ≠ 0 .
u3 v 3 w3
(b) If s ∈ R3 such that s⋅u = s⋅v = s⋅w = 0 , then s = 0 .
(c) If u × (v × w) = (u × v) × w = 0 , then u⋅v = v⋅w = w⋅u = 0 .
(d) If u⋅v = v⋅w = w⋅u = 0 ,
r⋅u r⋅v r⋅w
then r = u+ v+ w for all r ∈ R3 .
u ⋅u v⋅v w⋅w

42. Let a , b and c be vectors in R3 .

a1 b1 c1
(a) Show that a , b and c are linearly dependent if and only if a2 b2 c2 = 0 ,
a3 b3 c3
where a = (a1, a2, a3) , b = (b1, b2, b3) , c = (c1, c2, c3) .
(b) Suppose a , b and c are linearly independent. Show that for any vector x in
R3 , there are unique x 1 , x 2 , x 3 ∈ R such that x = x 1a + x 2b + x 3c .

43. Let a and b be linearly independent vectors in R3 . Let c = αa + βb for some

α , β ∈ R such that c⋅a = 0 and c⋅b = 1 .
(a) Find α and β in terms of a⋅a , a⋅b and b⋅b .
Hence express c⋅c in terms of a⋅a , a⋅b and b⋅b .
(b) For any x ∈ R3 such that x⋅a = 0 and x⋅b = 1 , prove that
(i) x − c is perpendicular to a and b .
(ii) x = c + λ(a × b) for some λ ∈ R .
(iii) |c| ≤ |x| .
(c) For any real numbers a1 , a2 , a3 , b1 , b2 , b3 such that a1b2 ≠ a2b1 , use (a) and (b)
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Assignment 14 : Vectors in Three Dimensional Space Page 70

∑a 2

a 12 + a 2 2
r

to show that r= 1
≤ .
 3 2 3 2   3 
2
( a 1b2 − a 2 b1 ) 2
 ∑ a r   ∑ br  −  ∑ ar br 
 r =1   r = 1   r =1 

44. Let M be the set of all 3 × 1 real matrices. For any two 3 × 1 matrices
 u1   x1   u2 x 3 − x 2 u3 
     
u =  u2  and x =  x 2  , we define u ⊗ x =  u3 x 1 − x 3 u1  .
u  x  u x − x u 
 3  3  1 2 1 2

(a) Show that for any u , x , y ∈ M , and any α , β ∈ R ,

(i) u ⊗ (αx + βy) = α(u ⊗ x) + β(u ⊗ y) ,
(ii) u ⊗ x = −(x ⊗ u) .
(b) Show that if u ⊗ x = 0 for all x ∈ M , then u = 0 .
Deduce that if u ⊗ x = v ⊗ x for all x ∈ M , then u = v .
(c) Let A be a 3×3 real matrix and u ∈ M such that
Ae1 = u ⊗ e1 , Ae2 = u ⊗ e2 and Ae3 = u ⊗ e3
 1  0  0
     
where e1 =  0 , e2 =  1 , e3 =  0 .
 0  0  1
     
Show that Ax = u ⊗ x for all x ∈ M .
 p
 
(d) Let u =  q  . Find the matrix A such that Ax = u ⊗ x for all x ∈ M .
 r
 

 1 2 3
 
45. Consider the following matrix A =  3 4 5 .
 4 6 8
 
(a) Show that detA = 0 . Hence show that the column vectors of matrix A , namely, v1
 1  2  3
     
=  3 , v2 =  4 , v3 =  5 are linearly dependent.
 4  6  8
     
Express v3 in terms of v1 and v2 .
(b) Consider the following homogeneous system of equations:
 1 2 3  x1   0
    
(H)  3 4 5  x 2  =  0 .
 4 6 8  x   0
  3   
(i) Find the general form of the solution vectors of system (H) .
 1  3  4
     
(ii) Show that the row vectors of A , namely, u1 =  2 , u2 =  4 , u3 =  6
 3  5  8
     
are orthogonal to any solution vector of system (H) .

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Assignment 14 : Vectors in Three Dimensional Space Page 71

46. Let a = i − j + 2k , b = −i + j + k , c = j + 2k be three vectors in R3 and P be the

plane containing a and b .
(a) Prove that a and b are orthogonal.
(b) Find the volume of the parallelepiped formed by a , b and c .
(c) Find a unit vector n$ perpendicular to the plane P .
(d) Find the angle between c and P .
(e) Find the two vectors u and v such that u + v = c , where u is perpendicular
to P , and v lies on P .
(f) Express c as a linear combination of a , b and n$ where n$ is the vector
obtained in (c) .

ANSWERS
1. (a) ( 53 , 2, −1) (b) (−9, 7, 1) 2. (4, −2, 6) 4. (−2, 3, − 52 ) ; G
5. 12+5µ, −4−2µ, µ ∈ R 6. d = 2a − Bb + 2c
9. Yes
12. Because we can find α ≠ 0 s.t. α0 = 0 .
15. 2 : −B : −B 17. 3:−4:12 or −3:4:−12
18. (a) 240 (b) 36 19. 51°51’
20. 76.8° 21. −G
22. (a) Ji + Jj + Bk (b) 45/26i + 30/13j − 15/26k
a ⋅b a⋅ b
23. 9/2i + 3/2j , −1/2i + 3/2j 24. 2
b , a− 2 b
| b| | b|
28. (a) −2i + 2j − k (b) 6i − 8j + 3k (c) −4i + 4j − k
(d) 4i − 4j + 2k (e) 0 (f) −2
(g) 3i − 3j − 14k (h) −11i − 6j + 10k
29. (a) √ 14 (b) 5√ 3
30. normal vector 31. 2 ; 2
−b ⋅ a a ⋅a
43. (a) α = , β=
( a ⋅ a )( b ⋅ b ) − ( a ⋅ b ) 2
(a ⋅ a )(b ⋅ b) − ( a ⋅ b) 2
 − a2   a1 
(c) Consider x =  i+  j and note that c ⋅ c = β
 a1 b2 − a2 b1   a1 b2 − a2 b1 
45. (a) v3 = −v1 + 2v2
(b) (i) {(t, −2t, t) : t ∈ R}
1 1
46. (b) 3 (c) i+ j (d) 18°26’
2 2
1
(e) u = 1i + 1j , v = −1i + 1j + 2k (f) c = 1a + b + n$
2

The HKTA Ching Chung Secondary School F.6 Pure Mathematics