Homework 1 - Vectors

N. Traktman
June 21, 2018

1
So we want a directed vector from A = (0, 6, -1) to B = (3, 4, 4). That
vector is the difference between the end point and the start point:

~v = (3 − 0)î + (4 − 6)ĵ + (4 − (−1))k̂

= 3î − 2ĵ + 5k̂

or

< 3, −2, 5 >

1
 z
~ Position
AB

y
x A

2
Given ~u = 8î + ĵ − 4k̂ and ~v = 5î − 2ĵ + k̂ find:

a) 2~u − ~v

2~u = 2 < 8, 1, −4 >=< 16, 2, −8 >;

< 16, 2, −8 > − < 5, −2, 1 >=< (16 − 5), (2 − (−2)), (−8 − 1) >

=< 11, 4, −9 > or 11î + 4ĵ − 9k̂

b) |~u| + |~v |
p √
|~u| = 82 + 12 + (−4)2 = 81 = 9 (a magnitude is always positive)
p √
|~v | = 52 + (−2)2 + 12 = 30
√
|~u| + |~v | = 9 + 30

2
c) |~u + ~v |

~u + ~v =< (8 + 5), (1 − 2), (−4 + 1) >=< 13, −1, −3 >

p √
132 + 1 + (−3)2 = 179
√
179

d) ~u • ~v

~u • ~v = ui vi + uj vj + uk vk

(8)(5) + (1)(−2) + (−4)(1) = 40 − 2 − 4 = 34

34

JUST FOR FUN: use the dot product to find is the angle between ~u and ~v ?

We know that ~u • ~v = 34 = |u||v|cos(θ)

√
We also know that |u| = 9 and |v| = 30

~u•~v 34
cos(θ) = |u||v| = √
9 30

θ = cos−1 ( 9√3430 ) ≈ 0.81rad

3
e) ~u × ~v

~u × ~v is the determinant of the following matrix:

 
î ĵ k̂
8 1 −4
5 −2 1
That determinant is (1 − 8)î − (8 − (−20))ĵ + (−16 + −5)k̂ - remember that
the second term, the ĵ term, is negative!

The resulting vector is −7î − 28ĵ − 21k̂ or < −7, −28, −21 >

JUST FOR FUN PT.II: use the cross product to find the angle between
the vectors (no surprises, this should be the same angle as in part 1).

|~u × ~v | = |u||v|sin(θ)
p √
(−7)2 + (−28)2 + (−21)2 = (9)( 30)sin(θ)
√
1274
θ = sin−1 ( 9√ 30
) = 0.81rad, as expected

f ) proj~v ~u

First thing you have to remember is which vector is being projected onto
which, as the notation is a bit...ambiguous. It’s the projection of the big one
onto the little subscript. So we want the projection of ~u onto ~v

~u•~v
proj~v ~u = |v 2 | ~
v

We already know all the components of this from previous sections so:

34 17
30
< 5, −2, 1 >=< 3
, − 34 , 17
15 15
>

17
< 3
, − 34 , 17
15 15
>

4
3
~ with a magnitude of 4
Find a vector in the direction of AB

A = (1, 5, 0) B = (3, 11, 2)

~ iself:
First we need AB

~ =< (3 − 1), (11 − 5), (2 − 0) >=< 2, 6, 2 >

AB

~ is, so we need to find the magnitude

Right now we have no idea how long AB
√ √
|AB| = 22 + 62 + 22 = 2 11

We want to have length of four; if we divide the vector by its magnitude it

will have a length of one (it’ll be a unit vector in our direction), and then we
just multiply by four. So, in total, we multiply the vector by (4)( 2√111 )

Our desired vector:

( √211 ) < 2, 6, 2 > or < √4 , √12 , √4

11 11 11
>

4
Determine whether the given vectors are orthogonal, parallel or neither.

a) ~u =< −5, 4, −2 > ~v =< 3, 4, −1 >

To be parallel they must be scalar multiples of each other, whith they are
not (there is no scalar C such that C~u = ~v )

To be orthogonal their dot product must be zero

~u • ~v = (−5)(3) + (4)(4) + (−1)(−2) = 3 6= 0

So they are neither || nor ⊥. If you wanted to check or determine what angle
IS between them you could use the dot product and the vectors’ magnitudes

5
 ~u•~v 3√ √ 3 ;θ
cos(θ) = |u||v| = √
52 +42 +22 32 +42 +1
= 1170
≈ 1.48rad

b) u =< c, c, c > v =< c, 0, −c >

They are clearly not parallel, as the only scalar that could make the second
terms equal is 0

~u • ~v = (c)(c) + (c)(0) + (c)(−c)c2 − c2 = 0

The vectors are orthogonal.

5
Given:

~a = î − 3ĵ − k̂
~b = î + ĵ + 2k̂
~c = −2î − ĵ + k̂
d~ = −î − ĵ + k̂

Which pair (if any) of the vectors...

(a) are orthogonal?
(b) are parallel?
(c) Have an angle less than π2 between them?
(d) Have an angle greater than π2 between them?

First check if the vectors are parallel by determining if they are scalar mul-
tiples. If not, the dot products tell the whole story. If the dot product is 0,
the vectors are orthogonal. If it is positive, θ > π2 . If it is negative, θ < π2
~a • ~b = 4
~a • ~c = 0
~a • d~ = 1
~b • ~c = −1
~b • d~ = 0
~c • d~ = 4

6
So:

a) ~a ⊥ ~c; ~b ⊥ d~

b) No vectors are ||

c) ~a&~b, ~a&d,
~ ~c&d~

d) ~b&~c

6
True or False.

a) There is exactly one unit vector parallel to a given nonzero vector ~v

FALSE

There are exactly two. The first is found by dividing the vector by its mag-
nitude. The second is the opposite of the first.

~v
v̂1 = |v|

v̂2 = −v̂1

b) The vector < √1 , − √1 , √2 > is a unit vector

3 3 3

FALSE
√
It has a magnitude of 2, whereas a unit vector has a magnitude of 1.
q
1 1 4
√
3
+ 3 + 3 = 2 6= 1

7
c) The length of 2v is twice the length of the vector v

TRUE

Given some vector ~v ;

If ~v =< x, y, z >, then 2~v =< 2x, 2y, 2z >

p
|v| = x2 + y 2 + z 2
p p
|2v| = 4x2 + 4y 2 + 4z 2 = 2 x2 + y 2 + z 2 = 2|v|

d) The vectors 2î − ĵ + k̂ and î − 2ĵ + k̂ are parallel

FALSE

If they were parallel, they would be scalar multiples of each other. You can
see as they are that there is no constant that would make one equal the other.
To be more thorough, you could also check by finding the angle between them.

cos(θ) = 16 ; θ = 1.4rad 6= 0 so they aren’t parallel