Vectors - The Dot Product and Cross Product of Two Vectors

Vector
1
Objectives
 The dot product of two vectors.
 Find the angle between two vectors using the

dot product.
 Find the direction cosines of a vector in space.
 Find the projection of a vector onto another

vector.
 Find the cross product of two vectors in space.
 Use the triple scalar product of three vectors in

space. 2
The Dot Product
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Example 15 – Finding Dot Products
Given , and , find each
of the following.
Solution:
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Example 15 – Solution cont’d
Notice that the result of part (b) is a vector quantity,

whereas the results of the other three parts are scalar
quantities.
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Angle Between Two Vectors
o o
If the angle θ (for 0 < θ < 180 ) between two vectors is
known, then
produces an alternative way to calculate the dot product.
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Angle Between Two Vectors
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Example 16 – Finding the Angle Between Two vectors
For u = 3, –1, 2 and v = –– 4, 0 ,2 ,

o o
find the angle θ between u and v for 0 < θ < 180
Solution:
o o
Because u . v < 0, and 0 < θ < 180 ,
so, the angle between u and v is
8
Direction Cosines
In 3-D space, it is convenient to measure direction in terms
of the angles between the nonzero vector v and the three
unit vectors i, j, and k, and as shown below.
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Direction Cosines
The angles α , β and γ are the direction angles of v, and
cos α, cos β, and cos γ are the direction cosines of v.
Because
and
it follows that
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Direction Cosines
By similar reasoning with the unit vectors j and k, you have
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Example 17 – Finding Direction Angles
Find the direction cosines and angles for the vector
v = 2i + 3j + 4k, and
verify that cos2 α + cos2 β + cos2 γ = 1.
Solution:
Because
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And, the sum of the squares of the direction cosines is
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Projection
and
Vector Component
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Projections and Vector Components
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Figure 18
Projections and Vector Components
Then
When v is along the positive x-axis direction, =i

( )
And then, is the horizontal component ,
is the vertical component.

The scalar multiplier k is called the
(vector) component of u in the direction of v, as is a unit vector of v. 16
Example 19 – Finding a Vector Component of u Orthogonal to v
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11.4 The Cross Product
of Two Vectors in Space
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The Cross Product
Consider
– – – + + +
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The three vectors u, v and u × v form a right-handed system.
Example 22
Given u = i – 2j + k and v = 3i + j – 2k, find each of the
following.
a. u × v b. v × u c. v × v
Solution:
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21
Algebraic Properties of The Cross Product
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Geometric Properties of The Cross Product
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The Cross Product
The three vectors u, v and u × v Both u × v and v × u are
work in a right-handed system. perpendicular to the
plane determined by u
and v.
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Example 23
Find a unit vector that is orthogonal to both
u = i – 4j + k and v = 2i + 3j.
Solution:
Consider
A unit vector orthogonal to both u and v is
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Application of The Cross Product
In physics, the cross product can be used to measure
torque — the moment M of a force F about a point P, as
shown in Figure 21. If the point of application of the
force is Q, the moment of F about P is given by
The magnitude of the moment M measures

the tendency of the vector to rotate
counterclockwise (using the right-hand
rule) about an axis directed along the
vector M. Figure 21
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Example 24
A vertical force (F) of 50 kgf is applied to the end of
a 1 metre lever that is attached to an axle at point P,
as shown in the figure below. Find the moment of
this force about the point P when θ = 60 o .
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Example 24 - Solution
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The Triple Scalar Product
For vectors u, v, and w in space, the dot product of
u and v × w
u  (v × w)
is called the triple scalar product.
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If the vectors u, v, and w do not lie in the same plane, the
triple scalar product u  (v × w) can be used to determine the
volume of the parallelepiped (a polyhedron, all of whose
faces are parallelograms) with u, v, and w as adjacent
edges, as shown in figure below.
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Example 25
Find the volume of the parallelepiped shown in Figure 24
having u = 3i – 5j + k, v = 2j – 2k, and w = 3i + j + k as
adjacent edges.
Solution:
Figure 24
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The volume of the parallelepiped is 0 if and only if the three
vectors are coplanar.
That is, if the vectors
have the same initial point, then they lie in the same plane
if and only if
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What are the different ways to calculate the dot product of two vectors?

How can you find the angle between two vectors?

Vector

 Find the angle between two vectors using the

 Find the direction cosines of a vector in space.

 Find the projection of a vector onto another

 Use the triple scalar product of three vectors in

Notice that the result of part (b) is a vector quantity,

produces an alternative way to calculate the dot product.

For u = 3, –1, 2 and v = –– 4, 0 ,2 ,

so, the angle between u and v is

And, the sum of the squares of the direction cosines is

When v is along the positive x-axis direction, =i

is the vertical component.

A unit vector orthogonal to both u and v is

The magnitude of the moment M measures

That is, if the vectors

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