Scalar projection

In mathematics, the scalar projection of a

vector on (or onto) a vector also
known as the scalar resolute of in the
direction of is given by:

If 0° ≤ θ ≤ 90°, as in this case, the scalar projection

of a on b coincides with the length of the vector
projection.
 Vector projection of a on b (a 1),
and vector rejection of a from b
(a 2).

where the operator denotes a dot

product, is the unit vector in the direction
of is the length of and is the
angle between and .

The term scalar component refers

sometimes to scalar projection, as, in
Cartesian coordinates, the components of
a vector are the scalar projections in the
directions of the coordinate axes.
The scalar projection is a scalar, equal to
the length of the orthogonal projection of
on , with a negative sign if the
projection has an opposite direction with
respect to .

Multiplying the scalar projection of on

by converts it into the above-mentioned
orthogonal projection, also called vector
projection of on .

Definition based on angle θ

If the angle between and is known,

the scalar projection of on can be
computed using
 ( in the
figure)

The formula above can be inverted to

obtain the angle, θ.

Definition in terms of a and b

When is not known, the cosine of can

be computed in terms of and by the
following property of the dot product
:

By this property, the definition of the scalar

projection becomes:
Properties

The scalar projection has a negative sign if

. It coincides with the
length of the corresponding vector
projection if the angle is smaller than 90°.
More exactly, if the vector projection is
denoted and its length :

if
if
See also

Scalar product
Cross product
Vector projection

Sources

Dot products - www.mit.org (http://www.

mit.edu/~hlb/StantonGrant/18.02/detail
s/tex/lec1snip2-dotprod.pdf)
Scalar projection - Flexbooks.ck12.org
(https://flexbooks.ck12.org/cbook/ck-1
2-college-precalculus/section/9.6/prima
ry/lesson/scalar-and-vector-projections-
 c-precalc#:~:text=The%20definition%20
of%20scalar%20projection%20is%20th
e%20length%20of%20the%20vector%20
projection.&text=A%20scalar%20projecti
on%20is%20given,is%20less%20than%2
090%E2%88%98.)
Scalar Projection & Vector Projection -
medium.com (https://medium.com/linea
r-algebra-basics/scalar-projection-vecto
r-projection-5076d89ed8a8)
Lesson Explainer: Scalar Projection |
Nagwa (https://www.nagwa.com/en/ex
plainers/792181370490/)

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