Section 8.

Vectors in Plane and Space

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 OUTLINE
• Concepts of Vectors
• Linear Operation on Vectors
• Rectangular Coordinate System
• Vectors in Plane and Space
• Norm, Direction Angles and Projection of
Vectors

School of Science, BUPT 2

 1.Vectors
Scalars
Some of the quantities these we measure are determined
by their magnitudes. we need only write down a number
and name and appropriate unit of measure. The associated
real numbers are scalars ( 数量或标量 ).
Example length, area, mass, temperature, etc. .

Vectors
Some of the quantities these we measure are determined by
their directions and magnitudes. They are represented by
directed line segments ( 有向线段 ). These quantities are
called vectors ( 向量或矢量 ).
Example force, displacement, etc. .
School of Science, BUPT 3
 1.Vectors
Definition Vectors are quantities that possess both magnitude
and direction.
P Terminal point
a magnitude (or length )
& direction
O
Initial point
A vector is usually represented by a directed line segment, denoted by
or A.

Definition The magnitude of a vector is called the length or

norm ( 模 ) of the vector.
 
 
The length of vectors OP and a is written as | OP | and |a|, respectively.

School of Science, BUPT 4

 1.Vectors

a b -b

Definition Two vectors are equal ( 相等的 ) or the same if they

have the same magnitude and direction.

Definition The negative vector ( 负矢量 ) is a vector which has

the same magnitude with the original b, and has an opposite
direction with b , denoted by –b.

School of Science, BUPT 5

 1.Vectors
Definition If two vectors a and b have same or opposite
direction, we say that they are parallel ( 平行 ) or collinear ( 共
线 ), denoted by a//b.

Definition If the directions of two vectors a and b are orthogonal,

we say that they are orthogonal ( 正交 ) or perpendicular ( 垂
直 ), denoteda by
 b.

Definition Suppose that a1, a2, …, ak(k>2) are k vectors

with a common initial point. If they line in the same plane,
then we say that these vectors are coplanar ( 共面 ).

School of Science, BUPT 6

 1.Vectors
Definition A vector whose length is 1 is called a
unit vector ( 单位向量 ), a unit vector whose
direction is the same as that of a is written as
a。 .

Definition
Note A vector whose length is 0 is called
In textbooks, vectors are usually written in lowercase, boldface letters,
the zero vector ( 零向量 ), and is written as 0 .
for example, u,v and w. Sometimes we use uppercase boldface letters,
such as F, to denote a force vector. In handwritten form, it is customary
   
to draw small arrows above the letters, for example u, v , w and F .

School of Science, BUPT 7

 2.Operations on Vectors
Definition Triangle law of addition of vectors
( 向量加法的三角形法则 )
Suppose a and b are two vectors. If we draw
a vector, which is equal to b, from the initial
point of a, then the sum a+b Bof a and b is the
vector extending from b
the terminal point of a
a+ 
to the initial point of b. b
a  b  OB
O A
a

School of Science, BUPT 8

 2.Operations on Vectors
Parallelogram law of addition of vectors ( 向量
加法的平行四边形法则 )
C B

b 
b a+ a  b  OB

O a A

School of Science, BUPT 9

 2.Operations on Vectors
The addition of vectors satisfies the following laws:
(1) Commutative law a  b  b  a;
(2) Associative law (a  b)  c  a  (b  c);
(3) a  0  a;
(4) a  ( a)  0.
b
a
c
b+
b a a c
b+ b +b
b a
a+
a+b+c
a

School of Science, BUPT 10

 2.Operations on Vectors
a-b
Definition The difference( 减法 ) of two vectors
a and b is given by a  b  a  ( b). b a
-b

a-b

Definition Scalar Multiplication ( 数乘向量 )

The product of a scalar m and a vector a

)
l>0
expressed by ma is a vector. Its length is |

la(
a

)
<0
ma|. Its direction is the same as that of a if

m
a(
m is positive and is opposite to that of a if

m
m is negative.

School of Science, BUPT 11

 2.Operations on Vectors
The scalar product satisfy the following laws:
(1) Associative law l(ma)=(lm)a

(2) Distributive law l(a+b)=la+lb

C
(l+m)a=la+ma
D
(3) 1a=a. lb
b

O B
a A la

School of Science, BUPT 12

 2.Operations on Vectors
Addition and scalar product of vectors are called by a joint
name linear operation ( 线性运算 ) on vectors.
By the above discussion we known that the length of a vector has the
following basic properties:
(1) Nonnegativity | a | 0, and | a | 0  a  0;
(2) Absolute homogeneity |  a ||  || a |;
(3) Triangle inequality | a  b || a |  | b |, where the sign of
equality holds iff a and b have the same direction.

School of Science, BUPT 13

 3.Rectangular Coordinate System
z

O j y
i

These three coordinate axes make a Their positive direction is

rectangular coordinate system in space, determined by the right-hand
denoted by Oxyz. rule.
School of Science, BUPT 14
3.Rectangular Coordinate System

Three coordinate planes ( 坐标面 ): xOy, yOz and xOz

Eight octants ( 卦限 ):
Where the octants I, II, III, IV lie over the quadrants 1,2,3,4 of the
xOy plane, respectively. The octants V, VI, VII, VIII lie below the
xOy plane.
School of Science, BUPT 15
 3.Rectangular Coordinate System
z
      
C (0,0,z) D r  OP  OA  AF  FP  OA  OB  OC
  
E Suppose OA  xi , OB  yj , OC  zk , then
P
r 
r  OP  xi  yj  zk
B (0,y,0)
y
O
the coordinate (or component )
A (x,0,0) F
decomposition ( 坐标分解式 )
x
of the vector r



point P  r  OP  xi  yj  zk  ( x, y, z ) (Page 88 Theorem 8.1.14)

School of Science, BUPT 16

 3.Rectangular Coordinate System
z

C (0,0,z)

D Any nonzero vector OP with initial point

E 
at the origin O is called the radius vector
P 
r ( 向径 ) of the point P, or radius vectorOP.
B (0,y,0)
y
O

A (x,0,0) F 
x 
The components ( x , y , z ) of the radius vector OP

are defined as the components of the vector r, denotes

by
r =(x, y, z).

School of Science, BUPT 17

 4.Vectors in Plane and Space
• Component Representation of Linear
Operations on Vectors
Let
a  x1i  y1 j  z1k, b  x2 i  y2 j  z2k

By means of linear operations on vectors we get

a  b  ( x1  x2 )i  ( y1  y2 )j  ( z1  z2 )k

a  (  x1 )i  ( y1 )j  (  z1 )k
or
a  b  ( x1  x2 , y1  y2 , z1  z2 ),

  a  ( x1 ,  y1 ,  z1 )

a  b  x1  x2 , y1  y2 , z1  z2
School of Science, BUPT 18
 4.Vectors in Plane and Space
Example 1 If A  4i  3 j  5k and B  2i  j  4k find

3 A, 4 B , 3 A  4 B and 3 A  4 B .

School of Science, BUPT 19

 4.Vectors in Plane and Space
Let a  ( x1 , y1 , z1 ),b  ( x2 , y2 , z2 ). It is not difficult to obtain that, a and b
are collinear (or parallel) if and only if there is a real number λ, such

that
a  b.
That is,
( x1 , y1 , z1 )   ( x2 , y2 , z2 )  (  x2 ,  y2 ,  z2 )
Then
x1 y1 z1
 
x2 y2 z 2

This expression implies that two nonzero vectors to be parallel

iff their corresponding components are proportional.

School of Science, BUPT 20

 4.Vectors in Plane and Space
Example 2 Given points P(2,5,6) and Q(6,9,-2), please
 find
 the  
point M (x, y, z) on the line segment PQ such PM  3MQ.
that z
Solution
      P (2,5,6)
Since PM  OM  OP , MQ  OQ  OM, we
   
OM
have OP  3(OQ  OM ).

3
 1 
Then OM  (OP  3OQ ). O y
 4 M

1
OP  2i  5 j  6k , OQ  6i  9 j  2k, thus
x
 1 Q (6,9,-2)
OM  [(2i  5 j  6k )  3(6i  9 j  2k )]
4 point of division in definite
 5i  8 j  0k. proportion ( 定比分点 )
Hence , the coordinates of point M are (5, 8, 0).
Finish. School of Science, BUPT 21
 5.Length, Direction Angles and Projection


Let a  xi  yj  zk be a vector;
 then a  OP
 2  2  2
| OP | | OP  |  | P P |
  
 2  2  2
| OA |  | OB |  | OC |
 x2  y2  z2
Hence,
| a | x2  y2  z2 ,
and this is the component representation of the length of vector a.


For the vector AB , where A( x1 , y1 , z1 ) and B( x2 , y2 , z2 ), the distance
between two points A and B is

d ( A, B ) | AB | ( x2  x1 )2  ( y2  y1 )2  ( z2  z1 )2 .

School of Science, BUPT 23

 Direction cosines of a vector
Since the direction of a vector (that is, the included angles between the
vector and the basic unit vectors i, j, k) is fixed when the vector is moved

parallel to itself, when a vector a is moved to the corresponding radius

uuuv
vector OP vector, then the direction
uuuv
α,β,γ of the radius vector OP
are just the direction angles of the vector
a, and the cosines of the direction
angles cos  ,cos  ,cos  are called the
direction cosines of the vector a.

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 Direction cosines of a vector
Obviously, the direction of a vector a is determined completely by the
direction cosines of the vector. Hence, to determine the direction of

a vector a, we need only determine the direction cosines of a.

Component Representations of the

Direction Cosines:
x x
cos    ,
|a| 2
x  y z 2 2

y y
cos    ,
|a| 2
x  y z 2 2

z z
cos    ,
|a| 2
x  y z 2 2

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 Direction cosines of a vector
By the last formula, it is easy to see the following conclusions:
(1) The quadratic sum of the direction cosines of any nonzero vector

is equal to 1, that is
cos 2   cos 2   cos 2   1.
(2) The three components of the unit
vector a are just its three direction
cosines, that is
a  x y z 
a   , ,
| a |  | a | | a | | a | 
 (cos  ,cos  ,cos  ).

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 Find the Length and Direction Cosines of a
Vector
Example 3 Suppose A  (1, 2,3) and B  (3, 2,1). Find the length and
uuuv
direction cosines of the vector AB .

Solution Since
uuuv
AB  (3  1, 2  ( 2),1  3)  (2,4, 2),
so
uuuv
| AB | 22  42  ( 2)2  2 6.
uuuv
Therefore, the direction cosines of the vector AB are
2 6 4 6 2 6
cos    ,cos    ,cos    .
2 6 6 2 6 3 2 6 6

Finish.
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 Direction number( 方向数 )
We know that the direction of a vector can be determined by

its direction cosines.

x x
cos    ,
|a| 2
x  y z 2 2

y y
cos    ,
|a| 2
x  y z 2 2

z z
cos    ,
|a| 2
x  y z 2 2

But sometimes we need only to consider the azimuth( 方位 ) of the vector

and are not interested in its sense( 指向 ) (vector a and -a have the same
azimuth but opposite sense).

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 Direction number
If we need only to consider the azimuth and are not interested in the sense

In this case, we need only know three numbers proportional to the direction
cosines and it is not necessary to find the direction cosines of the vector.

Suppose that the three numbers A, B, C are proportional to the direction

cosines of a vector a, namely

A B C
   k,
cos  cos  cos 

where k is a proportional constant.

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 Direction number
Then
A  k cos  , B  k cos  , C  k cos  . These express
two parallel
Thus directions with
opposite
A2  B 2  C 2  k 2 (cos 2   cos 2   cos2  )  k 2 .
sense.
Thus, we have
A B
cos   , cos   ,
2 2 2 2 2 2
 A  B C  A  B C
C
cos   .
2 2 2
 A  B C

By the three numbers A, B, C, we may determine two sets of direction

cosines.
30
 Direction number
A B
cos   , cos   ,
2 2 2 2 2 2
 A  B C  A  B C
C
cos   .
2 2 2
 A  B C

Three numbers which are proportional to the direction cosines of a

vector a are called direction numbers of the vector a or that of the
straight line on which the vector a lines.

Obviously, a set of direction cosines or the components of a vector can

be regarded as a set of special direction numbers; two vectors are
parallel iff they have a common set of direction numbers.

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 Application of the Direction of a Vector
Example 4 Suppose that a set of direction numbers of the vector a is
1, 2, 1, and the included angle between a and the Oz axis is an acute angle.

Find the unit vector a .

Solution We know
1 1
cos    .
 1  2  1 2
Since, γ is an acute angle, cos γ > 0, so that the denominator of the
above fraction is negative. Thus
1 2 1
cos    ,cos    ,cos   ,
2 2 2
and

 1 2 1
a    , , .
 2 2 2
Finish.
32
 Angle between two vectors
Suppose that a and b are any two nonzero vectors. Taking any point
uuuv uuuv
M in the space, we can draw vectors MA  a , MB  b. Then the angle
AMB (not greater thanπ) is called the
b B
included angle( 夹角 ) between the vectors a
and b, denoted by a, b  .
M θ
If the included angle between a and b is
 A
, then a and b are said to be perpendicular, a
2
denoted by a  b.

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 The Projection of Vectors （投影
向量）
Suppose that a and b are any two nonzero vectors which are not
perpendicular. Draw two planes through the initial point B1 and the
terminal point B2 of the vector b
respectively, such that both of them
are perpendicular to the oriented
straight line which the vector a lies
on and has the same direction as
a. Let B1 and B2 be the intersection
points of the planes and the straight
uuuuv
line; then the vector B1 B2 is called
the projection vector of b onto a,
denoted by proja b. It is easy to see that proja b | b | cos  a .

34
 The Projection of Vectors
Definition Orthogonal projection vector, orthogonal projection
Suppose that the included angle between the vectors a and b is θ.
Then the vector
proja b | b | cos  a
is called the orthogonal projection vector of b onto a (or onto the unit vector
with the same direction as a), or simply the projection vector( 投影向量 ).
The scalar
(b)a | b | cos 

is called the orthogonal projection of b onto a (or onto the unit vector
with the same direction as a), or simply the projection( 投影 ).

35
 The Projection of Vectors
Let the vector
v  b  proja b, b
then v  proja b and
v  b  proja b
b  proja b  v.

This formula shows that the vector a

proja b
b can be decomposed into the sum
of two perpendicular vectors proja b and v.

This is called the orthogonal decomposition( 正交分解 ) of b;proja b

is called the component of b along a and v is called the component of b
Orthogonal to a.

36
 The Projection of Vectors
Properties: Projections have the following properties (where a, b, c are vectors,
k is a real number):
(1) ( kb)a  k (b)a ;

(2) (b  c)a  (b)a  (c)a .

The first formula is obviously true from the definition of the projection.
(b)a | b | cos 
The second formula can be proved as following. We have
(b  c)a | b  c | cos   OC ,
(b)a  (c)a | b | cos   | c | cos 
 OB  BC   OC ,
Therefore, (b  c)a  (b)a  (c)a .

37
Section 8.2

Products of Vectors

d
cli
Eu
38
 OUTLINE
• Dot Product
• Vector Product
• Triple Scalar Product

39
 The Dot Product( 点积 , 数量积 , 内积 ) of Two
Vectors
Definition Let a and b be two vectors, and suppose θ is the angle
between a and b, denote by   (a,b). Then the real number
| a || b | cos 
is called the dot product (scalar product, inner product) of a and b,
denoted by a  b, that is,
a  b | a || b | cos  or a  b | a | (b)a | b | (a)b .

The dot product can be used to

express the work done by a given
force.
40
 The Basic Properties of Dot
Product
The dot products have the following basic properties:
(1) 0a  a0  0

(2) Nonnegativity: a  a | a |2  0, and a  a  0  a  0;

(3) Commutative law: a  b  b  a;

(4) Distributive law: (a  b)  c  a  c  b  c,

a  (b  c)  a  b  a  c,
(5) Associative law with the scalar multiple: ( ka)  b  k (a  b);

41
 The Component Representation of The Dot
Product
Since the basic unit vectors i, j, k are perpendicular to one another, using the
definition of the dot product we have
i  i  j j  k  k  1 and i  j  j  k  k  i  0.

If
a  a x i  a y j  az k and b  bx i  b y j  bz k
then
a  b  (a x i  a y j  a z k)  (bx i  b y j  bzk)  a x bx  a y by  az bz .

Examples
(1) (1, 2, 2)  ( 6, 2,1)  (1)( 6)  ( 2)(2)  (2)(1)  6  4  2  8.
1  1
(2) 2 i  3j    4i  j    2  (4)  (3)( 1)  2  3  1.
   
42
 Some Applications of The Inner Product in
Geometry
(1) The norm of a vector
By the definition of the norm of a vector, we have

| a | a  a  a x2  a 2y  az2 .

(2) The included angle between two nonzero vectors

Let a and b be two nonzero vectors. We have
a b
a  b | a || b | cos   cos   ,
|a ||b |
a x bx  a y by  az bz
cos   a  b
a x 2  a y 2  az 2 bx 2  by 2  bz 2

ab a x bx  a y by  a z bz  0

43
 Some Applications of The Inner Product in
Geometry
(3) The Projection

Since a  b | a | (b)a | b | (a)b , then we have

a b a b
(b)a   b  a and (a)b   a  b
|a| |b|
therefore the projection vector of b onto a is
a b 
proja b  a  (b  a )a .
|a|
and the projection vector of a onto b is
a b 
projb a  b  (a  b )b .
|b|

44
 Some Applications of The Inner Product in
Geometry
Example Suppose that a  (1,1, 4) and b  (1, 2, 2).

(1) Find a  b (2) Find the angles between a and b

(3) Find the projection of a onto b.

Solution

(1) a  b  1  1  1  ( 2)  ( 4)  2  9.

a x bx  a y by  a z bz 1 3
(2) cos    ,   .
a x 2  a y 2  az 2 bx 2  by 2  bz 2 2 4

a b
(3) a  b | b | (a)b  (a)b   3.
|b|
Finish.
45
 Some Applications of The Inner Product in
Geometry
Example For the points A  (1, 4, 3), B  (3, 1, 2), C (6,1,9) and
D  (1, 2, 2), prove that the line through A and B is perpendicular to
the line through C and D.

School of Science, BUPT 46

 Some Applications of The Inner Product in
Geometry
Example Prove that the vectors A  2i  3 j  4k and B  6i  9 j  12k
are parallel.

School of Science, BUPT 47

 Some Applications of The Inner Product in Geometry

Example Let ai , bi  R( i  1, 2, 3); Prove the Cauchy inequality:

1 1
3
 3 2  3 2
2 2

i 1
ai bi    ai    bi 
 i 1   i  1 
Proof Let the vector a  (a1 , a2 , a3 ) and b  (b1 , b2 , b3 ). Since
a  b | a || b | cos  , we have
| a  b || a || b | .
By the component representation of dot product, we will obtain the

Cauchy inequality.

Finish.

48
 The Vector Product of Two Vectors in Space

We start with two nonzero vectors u and v in space. If u and v are not
parallel, they determine a plane. We select a unit vector n perpendicular
to the plane by the right-hand rule.
This means that we choose n to
be the unit (normal) vector that
points the way your right thumb
points when your fingers curl
through the angle θ from u to v.

Then the vector product u  v can be defined

as following.

49
The Vector Product of Two Vectors in
Space
Definition Vector (Cross, outer) Product( 向量积 , 叉积 , 外积 )
u  v  (| u | | v | sinθ )n

The vector u  v is orthogonal to both u and v because it is scalar

multiple of n. The vector product of u and v is often called the cross
product of u and v because of the cross in the notationu  v.

If one or both of u and v are zero, we also defineu  v to be zero.

Since the sines of 0 and π are both zero, it makes sense to define the

cross product of two parallel nonzero vector to be 0.

50
 The Vector Product of Two Vectors in Space
Theorem
Two vectors a and b are parallel (or collinear) if and only if
a  b  0.

Proof If a=0(or b=0), then this conclusion obviously holds.

We assume that a and b are both nonzero vectors. Two vectors a
and b are parallel (or collinear) if and only if
( a , b)  0 or  ,
that is,
sin( a , b)  0.

We have that,
a / / b  a  b  0.
51
 Properties of the Vector Product
If u, v and w are any vectors and r, s are scalars, then
(1) Anti-commutative law u  v   v  u;

(2) Associative law with respect to the scalar multiple

( ru)  v  u  ( rv)  r (u  v);
( ru)  ( sv)  ( rs )(u  v);

(3) Distributive law u  (v  w)  u  v  u  w;

(v  w)  u  v  u  w  u.

52
 The Component Representation of the Vector
Product
Suppose that
u  u1i  u2 j  u3k, v  v1i  v2 j  v3 k.

Then the distributive laws and the rules for multiplying i, j, and
k tell us that
uuvv
 ((uu1 iv u2uj v u)i3 k)
2 3 3 2  (u(vv1 iuv2vj )jv3 k)
1 3 3 1 ( u1v2  u2 v1 )k.
 u1v1i  i  u1v2 i  j  u1v3 i  k
 u2 v1 j  i  u2 v2 j  j  u2 v3 j  k
 u3 v1k  i  u3 v2k  j  u3 v3k  k
 ( u2 v 3  u3 v2 )i  ( u1v3  u3 v1 )j  ( u1v2  u2 v1 )k.

53
 The Component Representation of the Vector
Product
u  v  ( u2 v 3  u3 v 2 )i  ( u1v 3  u3 v1 )j  ( u1v 2  u2 v1 )k

The terms in the last line are the same as the terms in the expansion
of the symbolic determinant
i j k
u1 u2 u3 .
v1 v2 v3

54
 The Component Representation of the Vector
Product
Example If u  2i  j  k and v  4i  3j  k, find u  v and v  u.

Solution
i j k
1 1 2 1 2 1
u v  2 1 1  i j k
3 1 4 1 4 3
4 3 1
 2i  6j  10k.

v  u   (u  v)  2i  6j  10k.

Finish.

55
 The Component Representation of the Vector
Product
Example Let θ be the angle between the vectors u  6i  2j  3k
and v  2i  j  2k, find sin .
Solution
i j k
2 3 6 3 6 2
u  v  6 2 3  i j k
1  2 2 2 2 1
2 1 2
 7i  6j  10k.

|u v | ( 7)2  ( 6)2  ( 10)2 37

sin     .
| u || v | 7 5 7

Finish.

56
 The Geometric Meaning of the Norm of the
Vector Product u  v  (| u | | v | sinθ )n

Because n is a unit vector, the magnitude of u  v is

| u  v || u |  | v |  | sin  |  | n || u |  | v | sin  .

This is the area of the parallelogram

determined by u and v, |u| being the
base of the parallelogram and
| v |  | sin  | the height.

57
 The Component Representation of the Vector
Product
Example Find the area of the triangle whose vertices are
A(1,1,1), B(2,0,1), C ( 1, 1, 3).
Solution The area S of the triangle ABC is half the area of the parallelogram
with adjacent sides AB and AC, that is
1
Since S | AB  AC |
2
i j k
AB  AC  (1, 1,0)  ( 2, 2, 2)  1  1 0  2i  2 j  4k ,
2  2 2
We have
1
S 4  4  16  6.
2
Finish.
58
 Vector Product
Example A rigid body rotates around a fixed axis l with angularvelocity w .
Find the line speed vector v at any point P on the body.

Solution We take a vector w in the axis l, such

that | ω |  , and its positive direction is determined

by the right-hand rule. Let O be a point on the axis

uuuv uuuv
l, then the line speed | v |  | P0 P | . Let r  OP ;
uuuv
then | P0 P || r | sin(ω,r). The line speed vector v
is perpendicular to both w and r, and w, r, v satisfies
the right-hand rule. Therefore
v  ω  r.
Finish.
59
 Torque
When we turn a bolt by applying a force F to a wrench, the torque we
produce acts along the axis of the bolt to drive
the bolt forward. The magnitude of the torque
depends on how far out on the wrench the
force is applied and on how much of the
force is perpendicular to the wrench at the
point of application. The number we use to
measure the magnitude is the product of the
length of the lever arm r and the scalar component
of F perpendicular to r.

60
 Torque
In the right figure, we have

Magnitude of torque vector | r |  | F | sin  ,

or | r  F | . If we let n be a unit vector along
the axis of the bolt in the direction of the
torque, then a complete description of the
torque vector is r  F, or
Torque vector  (| r |  | F | sin  )n.
It is well known that if the force F is parallel
to the wrench, the torque produced is zero.

61
Triple Scalar or Box Product
Definition Triple Scalar or Box Product
Suppose u, v and w are three vectors, then the product (u  v)  w is

called the triple scalar product of u, v and w.

Sometimes the triple scalar product can be denoted by

[abc]  (a  b)  c.

It is easy to see from the formula

| (u  v)  w || u  v |  | w |  | cos  |,
the absolute value of the product is the volume of the parallelepiped
determined by u, v and w.

62
The Geometric Meaning of the
Triple Scalar Product

63
 The Component Representation of The Triple
Scalar Product
The triple scalar product can be evaluated as a determinant:

 u2 u3 u1 u3 u1 u2 
(u  v)  w   i j k w
 v2 v3 v1 v3 v1 v2 

u2 u3 u u3 u u2
 w1  w2 1  w3 1
v2 v3 v1 v3 v1 v2

u1 u2 u3
 v1 v2 v3 .
w1 w2 w3

64
 The Properties of Triple Scalar Product
By means of the properties of the determinants, it is easy to obtain the
following properties of the triple scalar product:

(1) (u  v)  w  (v  w)  u  (w  u)  v.

(2) (u  v)  w   (v  u)  w.

(3) u, v and w are coplanar if and

only if (u  v)  w  0.

65
 Triple Scalar Product

Example Find the volume of the parallelepiped whose edges are

A  i  j  k , B  2i  3 j , C  2i  j .

School of Science, BUPT 66

 Triple Vector Product
(u  v )  w

( u  v )  w  ( uw )v  (v w )u

School of Science, BUPT 67

 Review

The Dot Product and Vector Product of vectors

The Triple Scalar Product of vectors

68