Lect 5

CODE
NUMBER
POPUPS
Lecture 5
VECTORS
Be
Superio
r
Programme 6: Vectors
Introduction: scalar and vector quantities

Vector representation
Components of a given vector
Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Scalar product of two vectors
Vector product of two vectors
Angle between two vectors
Direction ratios

Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Direction ratios
Physical quantities can be divided into two main groups, scalar

quantities and vector quantities.
(a) A scalar quantity is defined completely by a single number with

appropriate units
(b) A vector quantity is defined completely when we know not only its
magnitude (with units) but also the direction in which it operates

Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Direction ratios
A vector quantity can be represented graphically by a line, drawn so
that:
(a) The length of the line denotes the magnitude of the quantity
(b) The direction of the line (indicated by an arrowhead) denotes the
direction in which the vector quantity acts.
The vector quantity

____ AB
is referred to asAB or
a
Two equal vectors
Types of vectors
Addition of vectors
The sum of a number of vectors
Two equal vectors
If two vectors, a and b, are said to be equal, they have the same
magnitude and the same direction
If two vectors, a and b, have the same magnitude but opposite

direction then a = −b
Types of vectors
____
(a) A position vectorAB occurs when the point A is fixed
(b) A line vector is such that it can slide along its line of action
(c) A free vector is not restricted in any way. It is completely defined

by its length and direction and can be drawn as any one of a set
of equal length parallel lines
Addition of vectors
____ ____ ____

The sum of two vectorsAB and
BC is defined as the single vector
AC
____ ____ ____

AB + BC = AC
or a + b = c
Draw the vectors as a chain.
____ ____ ____ ____ ____

AB + BC + CD+ DE = AE
____
or a + b + c + d = AE
If the ends of the chain coincide the sum is 0.
a+b +c+d = 0

Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Direction ratios
____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

Just asAB + BC + CD+ DE AEby
can be replaced so any singlePT
vector
can be replaced by any number of component vectors so long as
the form a chain beginning at P and ending at T.
____
PT = a + b + c + d

Components of a vector in terms of unit vectors
____
The position vectorOP , denoted by r can be defined by its two
components in the Ox and Oy directions as:
r = a (along Ox) + b (along Oy)
If we now define i and j to be

unit vectors in the Ox and Oy
directions respectively so that
a = ai and b = bj
then:
r = ai + bj

Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Direction ratios
Vectors in space
In three dimensions a vector can be defined in terms of its

components in the three spatial direction Ox, Oy and Oz as:
r = ai + bj + ck
where k is a unit vector in the Oz direction
The magnitude of r can then be

found from Pythagoras’
theorem to be:
r = a 2 +b 2 + c 2

Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Direction ratios
Direction cosines
The direction of a vector in three dimensions is determined by the

angles which the vector makes with the three axes of reference:
r = ai + bj + ck so that
a
= cosα therefore a = r cosα
r
b
= cos β therefore b = r cos β
r
c
= cos γ therefore c = r cos γ
r
Direction cosines
Since:
a2 + b2 + c2 =r 2 then
r 2 cos2 α + r 2 cos2 β + r 2 cos2 γ = r 2
then
cos2 α + cos2 β + cos2 γ = 1

Direction cosines
Defining: l = cosα
m = cos β
n = cos γ
then:
l 2 + m2 + n 2 = 1
where [l, m, n] are called the

direction cosines.

Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Direction ratios
If a and b are two vectors, the scalar

product of a and b is defined to be the
scalar (number):
ab cosθ
where a and b are the magnitudes of
the vectors and θ is the angle
between them.
The scalar product (dot product) is

a.b = ab cosθ
denoted by:
If a and b are two parallel vectors, the scalar product of a and b is

then:
a.b = ab cos0 = ab
Therefore, given:
a = a1i + a2 j + a3k and b = b1i + b2 j + b3k
then:
a.b = a1b1 + a2b2 + a3b3

Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Direction ratios
The vector product (cross product) of

a and b, denoted by:
a×b
is a vector with magnitude:
ab sinθ
a×b
and a direction such that a, b and
form a right-handed set.
If n̂ is a unit vector in the direction

of:
a×b
then:
a × b = ab sinθ nˆ
Notice that:
b × a = −a × b
Since the coordinate vectors are mutually perpendicular:
i× j = k
j× k = i
k ×i = j
and
i × i = j× j = k × k = 0
So, given:
a = a1i + a2 j + a3k and b = b1i + b2 j + b3k

then:
a × b = (a2b3 − a3b2 )i − (a1b3 − a3b1) j + (a1b2 − a2b1)k
That is:
i j k
a × b = a1 a2 a3
b1 b2 b3

Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Direction ratios
Let a have direction cosines [l, m,

n] and b have direction cosines [l′,
m′, n′]
____ ____
OP OP′
Let and be unit vectors
parallel to a and b respectively.
( PP′)2 = (l − l ′)2 + (m − m′)2 + (n − n′)2
= 2 − 2(ll ′ + mm′ + nn′)
= 2 − 2cosθ by the cosine rule
therefore cosθ =ll ′ + mm′ + nn′


Vectors in space
Direction cosines
Direction ratios
Direction ratios
Since
r = ai + bj + ck and
a b c
l = , m= , n=
r r r
the components a, b and c are proportional to the direction cosines

they are sometimes referred to as the direction ratios of the vector.
Learning outcomes
Define a vector
Represent a vector by a directed straight line
Add vectors
Write a vector in terms of component vectors
Write a vector in terms of component unit vectors
Set up a system for representing vectors
Obtain the direction cosines of a vector
Calculate the scalar product of two vectors
Calculate the vector product of two vectors
Determine the angle between two vectors
Evaluate the direction ratios of a vector
CLICK HERE TO ADD TITLE
• CLICK HERE ADD TEXT
CLICK HERE TO ADD TITLE
• CLICK HERE TO ADD TEXT
TRANSITIONAL PAGE
ELEMENTS

Lect 5

Transféré par

Informations du document

Description originale:

Titre original

Copyright

Formats disponibles

Partager ce document

Partager ou intégrer le document

Options de partage

Avez-vous trouvé ce document utile ?

Ce contenu est-il inapproprié ?

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

Lect 5

Transféré par

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

CODE

Introduction: scalar and vector quantities

Introduction: scalar and vector quantities

Introduction: scalar and vector quantities

Physical quantities can be divided into two main groups, scalar

(a) A scalar quantity is defined completely by a single number with

Introduction: scalar and vector quantities

The vector quantity

If two vectors, a and b, have the same magnitude but opposite

(c) A free vector is not restricted in any way. It is completely defined

____ ____ ____

____ ____ ____

Draw the vectors as a chain.

____ ____ ____ ____ ____

If the ends of the chain coincide the sum is 0.

Introduction: scalar and vector quantities

Components of a given vector

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

Components of a given vector

r = a (along Ox) + b (along Oy)

If we now define i and j to be

Introduction: scalar and vector quantities

In three dimensions a vector can be defined in terms of its

The magnitude of r can then be

Introduction: scalar and vector quantities

The direction of a vector in three dimensions is determined by the

r 2 cos2 α + r 2 cos2 β + r 2 cos2 γ = r 2

cos2 α + cos2 β + cos2 γ = 1

where [l, m, n] are called the

Introduction: scalar and vector quantities

Scalar product of two vectors

If a and b are two vectors, the scalar

The scalar product (dot product) is

Scalar product of two vectors

If a and b are two parallel vectors, the scalar product of a and b is

Introduction: scalar and vector quantities

Vector product of two vectors

The vector product (cross product) of

is a vector with magnitude:

Vector product of two vectors

If n̂ is a unit vector in the direction

Vector product of two vectors

Since the coordinate vectors are mutually perpendicular:

Vector product of two vectors

a = a1i + a2 j + a3k and b = b1i + b2 j + b3k

a × b = (a2b3 − a3b2 )i − (a1b3 − a3b1) j + (a1b2 − a2b1)k

Introduction: scalar and vector quantities

Angle between two vectors

Let a have direction cosines [l, m,

therefore cosθ =ll ′ + mm′ + nn′

Introduction: scalar and vector quantities

the components a, b and c are proportional to the direction cosines

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi