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Complete Study Guide & Notes On
VECTOR ALGEBRA


If there is a God, He has to be a Mathematician!


IMPORTANT TERMS, DEFINITIONS & RESULTS

01. Vector - Basic Introduction: A quantity having magnitude as well as the direction is called vector. It is
denotedas AB

or

a .Itsmagnitude(ormodulus)is AB

or

a otherwise,simply ABor a .
Vectorsaredenotedbysymbolssuchas

a or a ora.
[Pictorial representation of vector]
02. Initial and Terminal points: The initial and terminal points mean that point from which the vector
originatesandterminatesrespectively.
03. Position Vector:Thepositionvectorofapointsay P( , , ) x y z is OP

= = + +

r x y z i j k andthe magnitude
is
2 2 2
= + +

r x y z .Thevector OP

= = + +

r x y z i j k issaidtobeinitscomponent form.Here , , x y z are
called the scalar components or rectangular components of r

and

, , x y z i j k arethe vectorcomponents of
r

alongx-, y-, z-axesrespectively.

Also,
( ) ( )
AB Position Vector of B Position Vector of A =

.Forexample,let

1 1 1
A( , ) x y ,z and
2 2 2
B( , ) x y , z .Then,
2 2 2 1 1 1

AB ( ) ( ) = + + + +

x i y j z k x i y j z k .
Here ,

i j and

k aretheunitvectorsalongtheaxesOX,OYandOZrespectively.(The
discussionaboutunitvectorsisgivenlaterinthepoint05(e).)
04. Direction ratios and direction cosines: If

, r x y z i j k + + =

thencoefficients of

, , i j k in r

i.e., , , x y z
are called the direction ratios (abbreviated as d.r.s) of vector r

. These are denoted by , , a b c (i.e.

, , = = = a x b y c z ; in a manner we can say that scalar components of vector r

and its d.r.s both are the

same).
Also,thecoefficientsof

, , i j k in r (whichistheunitvectorof r

)i.e.,
2 2 2
+ +
x
x y z
,
2 2 2
+ +
y
x y z
,
2 2 2
+ +
z
x y z
arecalleddirection cosines(whichisabbreviatedasd.c.s)ofvector r

.
These directioncosinesaredenotedbyl, m, nsuchthat cos , cos , cos o | = = = l m n and

2 2 2 2 2 2
1 cos cos cos 1 o | + + = + + = l m n .
Itcanbeeasilyconcludedthat cos , cos , o | = = = =
x y
l m
r r
cos = =
z
n
r
.
Therefore, cos cos

(cos ) | o + + + + = =

r mr nr lri j k r i j k .(Here =

r r .)
[Seethe OAP A inFig.1]
Angles , , o | aremadebythevector r

withthepositivedirectionsofx, y,z-axes
respectivelyandtheseanglesareknownasthedirection anglesofvector r

).
Forabetterunderstanding,youcanvisualizetheFig.1.
05. TYPES OF VECTORS
a) Zero or Null vector: Its that vector whose initial and terminal points are coincident. It is denoted
by 0

.Ofcourseitsmagnitudeis 0(zero).
Anynon-zerovectoriscalledaproper vector.
A Formulae Guide By OP Gupta (Indira Award Winner)
BASIC ALGEBRA OF VECTORS
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b) Co-initial vectors: Those vectors (two or more) having the same initial point are called the co-
initialvectors.
c) Co-terminous vectors: Those vectors (two or more) having the same terminal point are called the
co-terminousvectors.
d) Negative of a vector:The vectorwhichhasthe same magnitudeasthe r

butopposite direction.It
isdenotedby r

.Henceif, AB BA = =


r r .Thatis AB BA, PQ QP = =

etc.
e) Unit vector: Itis avector withthe unit magnitude.The unitvectorinthe directionofvector r

is
givenby
r
r
r =

suchthat 1 r =

.So,if

r x y z i j k = + +

thenitsunitvectoris:

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

x y z
i j k
x y z x y z x y z
r + +
+ + + + + +
= .
Unitvectorperpendiculartotheplaneof

a and

b is:

a b
a b
.
f) Reciprocal of a vector: It is a vector which has the same direction as the vector r

but magnitude
equaltothereciprocalofthemagnitudeof r

.Itisdenotedas
1
r

.Hence
1
1
r
r

.
g) Equal vectors: Two vectors are said to be equal if they have the same magnitude as well as
direction,regardlessofthepositionsoftheirinitialpoints.
Thus

a b
=

a b
and havesamedirection

a b .
Also,if
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 1 2 2 3 3

, , = + + = + + = = =

a b a i a j a k bi b j b k a b a b a b .
h) Collinear or Parallel vector: Twovectors

a and

b arecollinearorparallelifthereexistsa non-
zeroscalar suchthat a b =

.
Itis importantto notethatthe respective coefficients of

, , i j k in

a and

b areproportional
providetheyareparallelorcollineartoeachother.
Consider
1 2 3 1 2 3

, = + + = + +

a a i a j a k b b i b j b k , then by using a b =

, we can conclude
that:
3 1 2
1 2 3
a a a
b b b
= = = .
Thed.r.sofparallelvectorsaresame(orareinproportion).
Thevectors

a and

b willhavesameoroppositedirectionas ispositiveornegative.
Thevectors

a and

b arecollinearif 0 =

a b .
i) Free vectors:The vectors whichcanundergoparalleldisplacement withoutchangingits magnitude
anddirectionarecalledfreevectors.
06. ADDITION OF VECTORS
a) Triangular law:Iftwoadjacentsides (say sidesABandBC)ofa triangleABC arerepresentedby

a and

b takeninsameorder,then the thirdsideofthe triangletaken inthereverse order givesthe

sumofvectors

a and

b i.e., AC AB BC = +

AC = +

a b .SeeFig.2.
Alsosince AC CA AB BC CA AA 0 = + + = =

.
And AB BC AC + =

AB BC AC 0 AB BC CA 0 + = + + =

.
b) Parallelogram law:Iftwovectors

a and

b arerepresentedin magnitudeandthe directionbythe

two adjacent sides (say AB and AD) of a parallelogram ABCD, then their sum is given by that
diagonal of parallelogram which is co-initial with

a and

b i.e., OC OA OB = +

. For the
illustration,seeFig.3.

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07. PROPERTIES OF VECTOR ADDITION
Commutative property: a b b a + = +


.
Consider
1 2 3

a a i a j a k = + +

and
1 2 3

b b i b j b k = + +

beanytwogivenvectors.
Then
( ) ( ) ( )
1 1 2 2 3 3


a b a b i a b j a b k b a + = + + + + + = +


.
Associative property:
( ) ( )
a b c a b c + + = + +

Additive identity property: 0 0 a a a + = + =

.
Additive inverse property: ( ) 0 ( ) + = = +

a a a a .

08. Section formula:The positionvectorofa pointsayPdividinga line segmentjoiningthe points A andB
whosepositionvectorsare a

and b

respectively,intheratiom:n
(a) internally,is OP
+
=
+

mb na
m n
(b)externally,is OP

=

mb na
m n
.
AlsoifpointPisthemid-pointoflinesegmentABthen, OP
2
+
=

a b
.

IMPORTANT TERMS, DEFINITIONS & RESULTS
01. PRODUCT OF TWO VECTORS
a) Scalar product or Dot product:Thedotproductoftwovectors a

and b

isdefinedby,
. cos a b a b u =


whereistheanglebetween a

and b

, 0 u t s s .SeeFig.4.
Consider
1 2 3 1 2 3


, a a i a j a k b bi b j b k = + + = + +

.Then
1 1 2 2 3 3
. a b a b a b a b = + +

.
Properties / Observations of Dot product



. cos 0 1 . 1 . . i i i i i i j j k k = = = = = .



. cos 0 . 0 . .
2
i j i j i j j k k i
t
= = = = = .
. R, e

a b where R isrealnumberi.e., anyscalar.

. . a b b a =


(Commutative property of dot product).
. 0 a b a b =


.
If 0 = then, . =


a b a b .Also
2
2
. = =

a a a a ;as inthiscaseis 0.
Moreoverif t = then, . =


a b a b .

( )
. . . a b c a b a c + = +


(Distributive propertyof dot product).

( ) ( )
( )
. . . a b a b a b = =


.
(

PRODUCT OF VECTORS
DOT PRODUCT & CROSS PRODUCT

Multiplication of a vector by a scalar
Let

a be any vector and k be any scalar.Then the product

ka is defined as a vector whose

magnitudeis k timesthatof

a andthedirectionis
(i)sameasthatof

a if k ispositive,and (ii)oppositetothatof

a if k isnegative.

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Angle between two vectors a

and b

canbefoundbytheexpressiongivenbelow:

.
cos

a b
a b
= or,
1
.
cos

a b
a b

( )
.
Projection of a vector a

ontheothervectorsay b

isgivenas
. a b
b

( )
i.e.,

. a b

.
ThisisalsoknownasScalar projectionorComponent of a

along b

.
Projection vectorof a

ontheothervectorsay b

isgivenas
.

.
a b
b
b

( )
.
ThisisalsoknownastheVector projection.
Work done WinmovinganobjectfrompointAtothepointBbyapplyingaforce F

is
givenas W F. AB =

.
b) Vector product or Cross product: The cross product of two vectors a

and b

is defined by,
sin a b a b uq =


,where u is the anglebetweenthe vectors a

and b

, 0 u t s s and q is aunit
vector perpendicular to both a

and b

.Forbetterillustration,seeFig.5.
Consider
1 2 3 1 2 3


, a a i a j a k b bi b j b k = + + = + +

.
Then,
( ) ( ) ( )
1 2 3 2 3 3 2 1 3 3 1 1 2 2 1
1 2 3

i j k
a b a a a a b a b i a b a b j a b a b k
b b b
= = +

.
Properties / Observations of Cross product



sin 0. 0 0 i i i i j i i j j k k = = = = =

.



sin .
2
i j i j k k
t
= =


, , i j k j k i k i j = = = .
Fig.6attheendofchaptercanbeconsideredformemorizingthevectorproductof

, , i j k .
a b

isavector c

(say)andthisvector c

is perpendicular to both the vectors a

and b

.
sin sin uq u = =


a b a b a b i.e., sinu =

a b ab .
0 a b =

// a b

or, 0, 0 = =

a b .
0 a a =


.
=


a b b a (Commutative property does not hold for cross product).

( ) ( )
; a b c a b a c b c a b a c a + = + + = +

(Distributive property of the vector product or cross product).

Angle between two vectors a

and b

intermsofCross-productcanbefoundbythe
expressiongivenhere: sin

a b
a b

= or,
1
sin

a b
a b

( )
.
If a

and b

representtheadjacent sides of a triangle,thenthearea of trianglecanbe

obtainedbyevaluating
1
2

a b .
If a

and b

represent the adjacent sides of a parallelogram, then the area of parallelogram

canbeobtainedbyevaluating

a b .
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If p

and q

representthetwo diagonals of a parallelogram,thenthearea of

parallelogramcanbeobtainedbyevaluating
1
2


p q .

02. Relationship between Vector product and Scalar product [Lagranges Identity]
Considertwovectors a

and b

.Wealsoknowthat sin a b a b uq =


.
Now, sinuq =


a b a b
sinu =


a b a b

2 2
2
2
sin u =


a b a b

( )
2 2
2
2
2 2 2
2 2
2
1 cos
cos
u
u
=
=




a b a b
a b a b a b


( )
( )
2 2 2
2
2 2 2
2
cos
.
u =
=




a b a b a b
a b a b a b

or,
( )
2 2 2
2
. a b a b a b + =


.
Notethat
2 . .
. .
a a a b
a b
a b b b
=

.HeretheRHSrepresentsadeterminant of order 2.
03. Cauchy- Schwartz inequality:
Foranytwovectors a

and b

,wealwayshave . a b a b s


.
Proof:The giveninequality holds trivially wheneither 0 =

a or 0 =

b i.e.,insucha case . 0 a b a b = =


.
So,letuscheckitfor 0 = =

a b .
Asweknow, . cos a b a b u =

( )
2 2
2
2
. cos a b a b u =

Alsoweknow
2
cos 1 u s forallthevaluesofu .

2 2
2 2
2
cos a b a b u s

( )
2 2
2
. a b a b s

. a b a b s


. [H.P.]
04. Triangle inequality:
Foranytwovectors a

and b

,wealwayshave + s +


a b a b .
Proof: The given inequality holds trivially when either 0 =

a or 0 =

b i.e., in such a case
0 + = = +


a b a b .So,letuscheckitfor 0 = =

a b .
Thenconsider
2 2
2
2 . + = + +


a b a b a b
If

a and

b represent the adjacent sides of a parallelogram, then the

diagonals
1

d and
2

d of the parallelogram are given as:

1
= +

d a b ,
2
=


d b a .
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2 2
2
2 cosu + = + +


a b a b a b
For cos 1 u s ,wehave: 2 cos 2 a b a b u s

2 2
2 2
2 cos 2 a b a b a b a b u + + s + +

( )
2 2
+ s +


a b a b
+ s +


a b a b . [H.P.]

IMPORTANT TERMS, DEFINITIONS & RESULTS
01. SCALAR TRIPLE PRODUCT:
If a

, b

and

c areanythreevectors,thenthescalarproductof

a b with

c iscalledscalartripleproduct
of a

, b

and

c .
Thus, ( ).


a b c iscalledthescalartripleproductof a

, b

and

c .
Notation for scalar triple product: The scalar triple product of a

, b

and

c is denoted
by [ ]

a b c .Thatis, ( ). [ ] =


a b c a b c .
Scalar triple product is also known as mixed product because in scalar triple product, both the signs
of dot and cross are used.
Consider
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

, , = + + = + + = + +

a a i a j a k b b i b j b k c c i c j c k .
Then,
1 2 3
1 2 3
1 2 3
[ ] =

a a a
a b c b b b
c c c
.
Properties / Observations of Scalar Triple Product
( ). .( ) =


a b c a b c . That is, the position of dot and cross can be interchanged without
change in the value of the scalar triple product (provided their cyclic order remains the
same).
[ ] [ ] [ ] = =


a b c b c a c a b . That is, the value of scalar triple product doesnt change
whencyclicorderofthevectorsismaintained.
Also [ ] [ ]; [ ] [ ] = =


a b c b a c b c a b a c .Thatis,thevalueofscalartriple
product remains the same in magnitude but changes the sign when cyclic order of the
vectorsisaltered.
Foranythreevectors a

, b

c andscalar ,wehave[ ] [ ] =


a b c a b c .
Thevalueofscalartripleproductiszeroifanytwoofthethreevectorsareidentical.That
is, [ ] 0 [ ] [ ] = = =


a a c a b b a b a etc.
Valueofscalartripleproductiszeroifanytwoofthethreevectorsareparallelor
collinear.
Scalartripleproductof

, i j and

k is1(unity)i.e.,

[ ] 1 = i j k .
If[ ] 0 =

a b c then,thenon-parallelandnon-zerovectors a

, b

and

c arecoplanar.
SCALAR TRIPLE PRODUCT OF VECTORS
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Volume Of Parallelopiped
If a

, b

and

c represent the three co-terminus edges of a parallelopiped, then its

volumecanbeobtainedby: [ ] ( ). =


a b c a b c .Thatis,
( ). BaseareaofParallelopiped HeightofParallelopipedonthisbase a b c =

.
If for any three vectors a

, b

and

c , we have [ ] 0 =

a b c , then volume of
parallelepipedwiththeco-terminusedgesas a

, b

and

c ,iszero.Thisispossible
onlyifthevectors a

, b

and

c areco-planar.
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VARIOUS FIGURES RELATED TO THE VECTOR ALGEBRA