UNIT 1

REPRESENTING VECTORS IN R2
 Unit 1: Representing Vectors in R2
Lesson 1: Vector Addition
Homework

1. Which of these physical quantities is a vector and which is a scalar?

a) 26 km/h b) 9 cm Up c) 27 g d) 88 km North

2. The points A, B, C, D, E, F, and G are equally spaced along a line. Name a vector equal to:
1 5
a) 3 BD b) EA c) DF d) − 2 AD
4 2
3. Copy each pair of vectors and draw u + v .
a) b) c)
u v v u
u v

4. In the diagram, ∆ABC is equilateral and D, E, F are the midpoints of its sides. Express each sum
as a single vector.

a) AF + DB b) DE + DB c) FA + EB
d) DA + EC e) AF + DE f) EC + FD

5. In any ∆ABC, determine the sum of AB + BC + CA .

6. ABCD is a square of side length 3 cm.

a) State whether each statement is true or false:

i. AB = BC ii. | AB | = | BC | iii. | BA | = - | CB |
b) Calculate | AC |.

7. a) If u = v , is it always true that | u | = | v |?

b) If | u | = | v |, is it always true that u = v ?

Answers
1. a) scalar b) vector c) scalar d) vector
2. a) AG b) GF c) AF d) GA
4. a) AE b) AE c) CD d) BF e) AC f) 0
5. 0
6. a) i. False ii. True iii. False b) 18 cm 7. a) yes b) no
 Unit 1: Representing Vectors in R2
Lesson 2: Vector Subtraction
Homework

1. Copy each pairs of vectors and draw u - v .

a) b) c) u
u v u v
v

2. Using the diagram below, express each difference as a single vector.

a) BA - BC b) BA - BD
c) CE - AE d) AE - ED

S R
3. PQRS is rectangle shown to the right. Express each vector
as a difference of two other vectors. It may be possible to T
do this in more than one way.
a) TQ b) RT c) PS d) PR P Q

4. In parallelogram ABCD, AB = u and BC = v . State a single A D

vector equal to each of the following:
u
a) u + v b) u - v c) - u - v d) v - u
v
B C

5. What conditions must be satisfied by the vectors a and b for the following to be true?
a) | a + b | = | a - b | b) | a + b | > | a - b | c) | a + b | < | a - b |

6. If | x | = 11, | y | = 23, and | x - y | = 30, determine | x + y |.

Answers
2. a) CA b) DA c) CA d) CE
3. a) TR - QR b) RS - TS c) TS - TP d) TR - TP
4. a) AC b) DB c) CA d) BD
5. a) a ⊥ b b) 0º ≤ θ < 90º c) 90º < θ ≤ 180º
6. 20
 Unit 1: Representing Vectors in R2
Lesson 3: Adding and Subtracting Vectors (Continued)
Homework

1. In rectangle ABCD, AE = u , and AD = v . Express each vector in terms of u or v .

D C

a) AB b) AC c) CE d) BE
v

A u E B

2. Given u and v shown to the right, draw each of the following:

1
a) 3 u b) − v c) 2 u + 3 v d) 2 u - 3 v
2 v

u
3. Simplify the following expressions using the properties of vector operations.
a) 2 a - 4( a - b ) b) 3(2 a ) - a + 2( a - 5 a ) + b

4. Vectors AB , AC , and AD can be represented by i , j , and k , respectively.

Express each vector in terms of i , j , and k .

a) FG , the diagonal along the front face of the cube.

b) FE , the diagonal along the top face of the cube.
c) BE , a body diagonal of the cube.
d) DG , another body diagonal of the cube.

5. ABCD is a square. The midpoints of BC and CD are M and N respectively.

N
a) Express AM and AN as linear combinations of AB and AD . D C

b) Express AB and AD as linear combinations of AM and AN . M

Hint: Re-arrange your equations from part a) algebraically.
A B

6. ABCDEF is a regular hexagon. Determine the equivalent vector

for AB + AC + AD + AE + AF .
Answers
1. a) 2 u b) 2 u + v c) -( u + v ) d) - u
3. a) -2 a + 4 b b) -3 a + b
4. a) j - k b) j - i c) j + k - i d) i + j - k
5. a) AM = AB + 0.5 AD , AN = AD + 0.5 AB
4 2 4 2
b) AB = AM - AN , AD = AN - AM
3 3 3 3
6. 3 AD
 Unit 1: Representing Vectors in R2
Lesson 4: Applications of Vectors – Force Problems
Homework

1. Mack is pulling a toboggan using a rope that makes an angle of 25º with the ground. If Mack is
pulling with a force of 70 N, what horizontal force is he exerting on the toboggan?

2. Mick is cutting his grass, pushing on the lawnmower handle with a force of 19 lbs at an angle of
18º from the ground. Determine the horizontal and vertical components of this force.

3. Vicki is trying to open a trap door on the floor by tying a rope to the handle and pulling on the
rope. If Vicki is pulling at an angle of 35º to the vertical, and the trap door can resist up to 25 lbs
in the vertical direction, with what force does Vicki need to pull?

4. Three forces of 5 N, 7 N, and 8 N are applied to an object. If the object is in a state of equilibrium,
calculate the angle between the 5 N and 7 N forces.

5. Three Mexican brothers have tied a rope to a buoy floating in a small lake. Paco pulls towards the
east with a force of 40 N. Pablo pulls towards the southwest with a force of 30 N. With what
force and direction should Pedro pull on his rope to maintain equilibrium?

6. A mass of 10 kg is suspended from a ceiling by two chords that make angles of 30º and 45º with
the ceiling. Determine the tension in each of the chords.

7. Two cables hold a 225 N crate as shown in the diagram to the right. 24º 35º
Determine the tension in each cable.
225 N

8. Three forces are being exerted on an object as shown in the

13 N
diagram to the right.
22.62º 24 N
a) What is the magnitude and direction of the resultant force?
36.87º
•
b) In what direction will the object move?

15 N

Answers

1. 63.4 N 4. 81.8º 7. T1 = 239.8 N, T2 = 215.0 N

2. Fh = 18.1 lbs, Fv = 5.9 lbs 5. 28.3 N, N41.5ºW 8. a) 4 N up
3. 30.5 lbs 6. T1 = 87.9 N, T2 = 71.7 N b) up (same as force)
 Unit 1: Representing Vectors in R2
Lesson 5: Applications of Vectors – Velocity Problems
Homework

1. A search and rescue aircraft, travelling at a speed of 240 km/h, starts out at a heading of N 20º W.
After travelling for 1 hour 15 minutes, it turns to a heading of N 80º E and continues for another 2
hours before redirecting to base.
a) Determine the displacement vector for each leg of the trip.
b) Find the total distance the aircraft travelled and how long the trip took.

2. A plane is pointed southeast with a constant speed of 900 km/h. The wind is blowing towards the
north at 100 km/h. Determine the resultant velocity of the plane relative to the ground.

3. A plane has an airspeed of 300 km/h, N55ºE. Due to the wind, the resultant velocity of the plane
is 285 km/h, S68ºE. What is the magnitude and direction of the wind?

4. A boat wants to travel straight across the river from point A to point B, 12 km/h
as shown in the diagram. If the current in the river is 12 km/h, and the
boat can travel at a speed of 25 km/h relative to the water, A B

a) What heading should the boat take to end up directly across the river?
b) What will be the velocity of the boat relative to the ground?

5. A pilot wishes to fly from Toronto to Montreal, a bearing of N75ºE. The cruising speed of the
plane is 550 km/h and an 80 km/h wind is blowing on a bearing of S55ºE.
a) In what direction should the pilot aim the nose of the plane?
b) What will be the speed of the plane relative to the ground?

6. A cruise liner is heading to the next island which is in the direction of S48ºW. The top cruising
speed of the vessel is 75 km/h, and the ocean current is moving at 12 km/h in the direction of
N23ºW.
a) In what direction should the captain aim the bow of the boat?
b) What will be the speed of the cruise liner relative to the islands?

Answers

1. a) 300 km N20ºW, 480 km N80ºE, 520 km SW 4. a) 28.7º upstream.

b) approx. 1300 km, 5 h 25 m. b) 21.9 km/h
2. 832.3 km/h, S49.9ºE 5. a) N68.6ºE b) 598 km/h
3. 279.4 km/h, S3.8ºE 6. a) S39.3ºW b) 70.2 km/h
 Unit 1: Representing Vectors in R2
Lesson 6: Cartesian Vectors (Part 1)
Homework

1. Let u = [3, 2].

a) Determine each vector:
i. 2 u ii. 5 u iii. -4 u

b) Determine the length of each vector in part a.

2. Determine the unit vector in the direction of:

a) [-3, 7] b) [10, 10] c) [5, -8]

3. Find a vector that has the same direction as v = [4, 3] and:

a) is half as long as v . b) is 3 times as long as v .
c) has a length of 1. d) has a length of 10.

4. If u = [-2, 4], and v = [3, -1], determine:

a) u + v b) u - v c) - u + 2 v d) 2 u - 3 v

5. Given a = [2, -3] and b = [-5, 1], determine a vector that:

a) is opposite in direction to a with a length of 1.
b) is in the direction of a + b with a length of 8.
c) is in the direction of a - b with a length of 5.

6. Given iˆ = [1, 0] and ĵ = [0, 1], determine the following if u = 3 iˆ + 2 ĵ , and v = 2 iˆ + ĵ .

a) 2 u b) -3 v c) 4 u - 2 v d) -2 u + 3 v

7. For each set of points, A, B, C, D, determine whether AB is parallel to CD and if | AB | = | CD |.

a) A(2, 0), B(3, 6), C(4, 1), D(5, -5).

b) A(-5, -2), B(-7, 4), C(5, 0), D(1, 12).
Answers

1. a) i. [6, 4] ii. [15, 10] iii. [-12, -8]

b) i. 52 ii. 325 iii. 208
 −3 7   10 10   5 −8 
2. a)  ,  b)  ,  c)  , 
 58 58   200 200   89 89 
 4 3
3. a) [2, 1.5] b) [12, 9] c)  ,  d) [8, 6]
5 5
4. a) [1, 3] b) [-5, 5] c) [8, -6] d) [-13,11]
 −2 3   − 24 − 16   35 − 20 
5. a)  ,  b)  ,  c)  , 
 13 13   13 13   65 65 
6. a) [6, 4] b) [-6, -3] c) [8, 6] d) [0, -1]
7. a) not parallel, but equal length.
b) yes parallel, but not equal length.
 Unit 1: Representing Vectors in R2
Lesson 7: Cartesian Vectors (Part 2)
Homework

1. Determine the unit vector with the opposite direction to the vector from E(5, -2) to F(-1, 1).

2. Given the vectors u = [3, 0] and v = [-1, 2], express the vector w = [2, 8] as a linear combination
of u and v .

3. Given the vectors u = [2, 1] and v = [-1, 3], express the vector w = [12, -1] as a linear combination
of u and v .

4. Given the vectors i = [1, 0] and j = [0, 1], express the vector a = [-3, 6] as a linear combination
of i and j .

5. The vector w = [9, 6] can be expressed as a linear combination of u = [1, 4] and v = [-3, y] by the
expression w = 3 u + z v . Determine y and z.

6. Determine the vector with a magnitude of 4 and an x-component that is twice the y-component.

7. A vector’s y-component is 7 more than the x-component, and it has a magnitude of 13. Determine
the vector.

8. If a = [2, -1] and b = [x, 3], determine all values of x such that | a + b | = 5.

9. Why can’t w = [3, -5] be expressed as a linear combination of u = [2, -1] and v = [-6, 3]?

Answers

 2 −1  8 4  − 8 − 4
1.  ,  6.  ,  or  , 
 5 5  5 5  5 5
2. w = 2 u + 4 v 7. [5, 12] or [-12, -5]
3. w = 5 u - 2 v 8. x = − 2  21
4. a = -3 i + 6 j 9. Because u and v are collinear.
5. y = 3, z = -2
 Unit 1: Representing Vectors in R2
Lesson 8: Dot Product
Homework

1. Calculate the dot product, u • v , given the magnitudes and the angle between the vectors.
a) | u | = 3, | v | = 4, θ = 45º. b) | u | = 8, | v | = 2, θ = 90º.

2. Use the dot product to determine if the following vectors are perpendicular:
a) a = [4, 1], b = [-1, 4] b) a = [5, 2], b = [-5, -2]

3. Calculate the angle between the given vectors.

a) u = [0, 4], v = [5, 1] b) u = [3, -2], v = [-1, 2]
c) u = [4, -1], v = [-2, -5] d) u = [6, 3], v = [2, -4]

4. The vectors iˆ = [1, 0] and ĵ = [0, 1] define unit vectors along the x and y axis, respectively.
Determine the following dot products:
a) iˆ • iˆ b) ĵ • ĵ c) - iˆ • iˆ d) iˆ • ĵ

5. Determine the value of k such that each pair of vectors is perpendicular.

a) a = [k, -2], b = [-1, 2] b) a = [-3, 4], b = [5, k]

6. The length of a rectangle is double its width. The vector [4, 2] represents the shorter side of this
rectangle. Determine the vector to represent the longer side.

7. Determine the two unit vectors perpendicular to m = [2, -3].

Answers
12
1. a) b) 0
2
2. a) yes b) no
3. a) 78.7º b) 150.3º c) 97.8º d) 90º
4. a) 1 b) 1 c) -1 d) 0
15
5. a) k = -4 b)
4
6. [4, -8] or [-4, 8]
 3 2   −3 −2 
7.  ,  and  , 
 13 13   13 13 
 Unit 1: Representing Vectors in R2
Lesson 9: Dot Product Properties and Projections
Homework

1. Expand and simplify:

a) a • ( b + c ) b) a • ( a + b ) c) 3 u • (2 u - 3 v )

2. Expand and simplify:

a) ( a + b ) • ( a - b ) b) ( a - b ) • ( a + 2 b ) c) (2 a + 3 b ) • (3 a - 2 b )

3. Using m = [2, -3] and n = [-1, 2] as examples, verify the following properties:
a) m • n = n • m b) m • m = | m |2, n • n = | n |2

4. Given a = [6, 4] and b = [8, -4], illustrate a  b and b  a on the same diagram.

5. Determine the projection of a on b . Draw a diagram to illustrate each result.

a) a = [3, 0], b = [2, 3] b) a = [4, 5], b = [-5, 4] c) a = [-4, -2], b = [3, 1]

6. Given u = [3, -6] and v = [-5, -2], determine | u  v | and | v  u |.

7. Vectors a and b are such that | a | = 4, | b | = 7, and the angle between them is 60º.
Determine a  b . (Express answer as a scalar multiple of b ).

8. Two vectors 2 a + b and a - 3 b are perpendicular. Determine the angle between a and b , if
| a | = 2| b |.

Answers
1. a) a • b + a • c b) | a |2 + a • b c) 6| u |2 - 9 u • v
2. a) | a |2 - | b |2 b) | a |2 + a • b - 2| b |2 c) 6| a |2 + 5 a • b - 6| b |2
4. See diagram to right.
12 18   21 7  a = [6, 4]
5. a)  ,  b) 0 c) − ,−  4.
13 13   5 5 ba

3 1 ab
6. | u  v | = and | v  u | = .
29 5
b = [8, -4]
2
7. b 8. 60º
7
 Unit 1: Representing Vectors in R2
Review

1. Given the following vectors, determine u + v .

a) b)
u v u v

2. Given the following vectors, determine u - v .

a) b) u
u

v v

3. In the diagram, ∆ABC is equilateral and D, E, and F are the midpoints of its sides. Express each
C
vector as the difference of two other vectors.
a) FD b) EB
F E
c) CB d) AE

A B
D
4. Given u = [2, -5], v = [3, 0], determine the following:
a) -3 u b) u + v c) 2 u + 3 v d) | u | e) | u + v |

5. Given a = [0, 2] and b = [1, -3], express the vector c = [4, 8] as a linear combination of a and b .

6. Norbet is pulling his toboggan with a force of 80 N at an angle of 40º to the ground. What
horizontal force is being exerted on the toboggan?

7. A 10 kg mass is supported by two strings of length 5 m and 7 m attached to two points in the
ceiling 10 m apart. Determine the tension in each string.

8. A plane flies on a heading of S60ºE at a constant speed of 550 km/h. If the velocity of the wind is
50 km/h on a bearing of S40ºW, what is the velocity of the plane with respect to the ground?

9. The pilot of an airplane that flies with an airspeed of 800 km/h wishes to travel to a city 800 km
due east. There is a 80 km/h wind from the northeast.
a) What should the plane’s heading be?
b) How long will the trip take?
10. Given a = [2, -5], determine a vector in the same direction that:
a) has a length of 1 unit. b) has a length of 5 units.

11. Calculate the angle between the vectors.

a) a = [2, 0], b = [4, 3] b) a = [-2, 1], b = [3, 5]

12. Expand and simplify:

a) ( u + 3 v ) • (2 u + v ) b) (3 a - 4 b ) • (3 a + 4 b )

13. Given u = [2, 5] and v = [6, 4], determine u  v .

14. Vectors a and b are such that | a | = 5, | b | = 3, and the angle between them is 150º.
a) Determine a  b . Express your answer as a scalar multiple of b .

15. A vector with magnitude 68 has a y-component that is 4 times the x-component. Determine the
vector.

Answers

3. a) AD - AF b) DB - DE c) AB - AC d) BE - BA
4. a) [-6, 15] b) [5, -5] c) [13, -10] d) 29 e) 50
5. c = 10 a + 4 b
6. 61.3 N
7. 9.6 kg (94 N), 8.2 kg (80 N)
8. 543.5 km/h, at S54.8ºE
9. a) N86ºE b) 1h 5m
 2 −5   10 − 25 
10. a)  ,  b)  , 
 29 29   29 29 
11. a) 36.9º b) 94.4º
12. a) 2| u |2 + 7 u • v + 3| v |2 b) 9| a |2 – 16| b |2
 48 32 
13.  , 
 13 13 
5 3
14. − b
6
15. [2, 8], or [-2, -8]