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Vector Representation - 084102

The document discusses vector representation and defines key vector concepts: - Vectors are quantities defined by both magnitude and direction, while scalars are defined only by magnitude. Examples of vectors include displacement, velocity, and force. - Displacements in 1D, 2D, and 3D spaces can be represented by ordered pairs or triples of real numbers, with the magnitude given by the Pythagorean theorem. - Vector addition and scalar multiplication follow the same algebraic rules as for real numbers. - Components allow representing a vector in terms of basis vectors like unit vectors i and j. Magnitude and direction cosines can be defined in terms of components.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
42 views

Vector Representation - 084102

The document discusses vector representation and defines key vector concepts: - Vectors are quantities defined by both magnitude and direction, while scalars are defined only by magnitude. Examples of vectors include displacement, velocity, and force. - Displacements in 1D, 2D, and 3D spaces can be represented by ordered pairs or triples of real numbers, with the magnitude given by the Pythagorean theorem. - Vector addition and scalar multiplication follow the same algebraic rules as for real numbers. - Components allow representing a vector in terms of basis vectors like unit vectors i and j. Magnitude and direction cosines can be defined in terms of components.

Uploaded by

monyeidavid13
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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VECTOR REPRESENTATION

Physical quantities can be divided into two groups- scalars and vectors.

A scalar quantity is one that is defined only by its magnitude. Examples of scalar quantities are

distance, speed etc.

A vector quantity is defined completely by both its magnitude and direction. Examples of vectors

are displacement, velocity, acceleration, force etc.

A displacement along a coordinate line can be specified by a real number and depicted by

an arrow. For a displacement of a1 units, we can use the number a1 and an arrow that begins at

any number x and ends at a number x  a1 . From the diagram below the magnitude a1 of the

displacement is defined to be the length of the arrow.

x x+a1 x+a1 x
+
a1 > 0 a1 < 0

This is a vector on a real line with dimension 1.

Displacements in the plane are more interesting. They have infinite number of possible

directions specified by ordered pairs of real numbers. The displacement (a1 , a2 ) begins at a point

( x, y ) on a plane and ends at ( x  a1 , y  a2 ) . Its magnitude is given by || (a1 , a2 ) || a12  a22 .

2
This is a vector on a plane with dimension 2.

The most general displacements take place in space with ordered triples of numbers. A

displacement of a1 units in x-coordinate, a2 units in y-coordinate and a3 units in z-coordinate

can be indicated by an arrow that begins at a point ( x, y, z ) and ends at ( x  a1 , y  a2 , z  a3 ) .

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This displacement is represented by the ordered triple (a1 , a2 , a3 ) and with magnitude

a12  a22  a32 .

3
This is a vector in space with dimension 3.

A displacement (a1 , a2 , a3 ) followed by (b1 , b2 , b3 ) results in a total displacement

(a1  b1 , a2  b2 , a3  b3 ) . It can be gotten by (a1 , a2 , a3 )  (b1 , b2 , b3 )  (a1  b1 , a2  b2 , a3  b3 ) .

A displacement (a1 , a2 , a3 ) and a scalar  (real number) can form a new displacement

expressed as  (a1 , a2 , a3 )  ( a1 ,  a2 ,  a3 ) .

These algebraic patterns arise naturally in other settings including the analysis of forces.

Vector Notations

A vector quantity can be written as AB or a and its magnitude given by || AB || or || a || . The

vector AB can be represented by a line segment starting from A and ending at B as shown below

NB

In printed work, a vector can be shown in bold print as a.

2|Page
Types of Vectors

1. Position vector AB occurs when the point A is fixed. A fixed vector could start from the

origin of the coordinates.

2. Line vector is such that it can slide along its line of action.

3. Free vector is an unrestricted vector. Such vector can start at any point in space.

DEFINITIONS

The Zero Vector

A zero vector is a vector with zero magnitude. It is sometimes called a null vector.

The Negative Vector

A negative vector of vector a is a vector with the same magnitude as a but in an opposite

direction to a . It is represented by  a . The negative vector of AB is  AB and it can be written

as BA .

The Unit Vector

A unit vector is a vector with magnitude 1 that acts in the direction of a particular vector. It is

given by

a
a .
|| a ||

This formula is used for the normalisation (unit vector) of vector a .

3|Page
COMPONENTS OF VECTORS

Components of Vector in Two Dimensions

Consider the diagram below that forms a parallelogram of vectors.

R
A

la r

mb B
O

From the parallelogram formed by the vectors, OA  la and OB  ma . Then r  la  mb .

Hence la and mb are called the components of the vector r in the directions of a and b

respectively.

Now consider the components of a vector in directions which are mutually perpendicular to each

other. Take the plane where the position of a point is completely specified by its x and y

coordinates.

R(x, y)
D

r
y

X
O
x N

4|Page
Let i and j be unit vectors in the direction of OX and OY respectively. Thus,

OR  ON  NR

 xi  y j

 r  xi  y j

 x
The vector r  xi  y j can be written as   , called column vector.
 y

Magnitude of Vectors in terms of Components

Consider the vector r  xi  y j in the figure below.

R(x, y)
D

X
O
x N

|| OR ||2  x 2  y 2

|| OR || x 2  y 2

|| r || x 2  y 2

|| r || is called the magnitude or modulus of the vector r  xi  y j .

5|Page
Direction Cosines of Vector in terms of Components

Consider the vector r  xi  y j in the diagram below.

R(x, y)
D

X
O
x N

The direction of the vector r  xi  y j is specified by the angles which r makes with the X and

Y axes.

Let  and  represent these angles respectively. Then

x
Cos  
|| r ||

y
Cos  
|| r ||

Cos  and Cos  are called the direction cosines of r .

Vectors in Space (3 Dimensional Vectors)

Many of the formulae established for two-dimensional coordinate system can be extended to

three dimensional vectors.

Consider the figure below.

6|Page
Z

5
R(2, 3, 5)

O Y
3
2

Let i be the unit vector in the OX direction, j the unit vector in the OY direction and k the

unit vector in the OZ direction.

Then OR  xi  y j  zk .

Magnitude of Vectors in 3 Dimensions

If r  xi  y j  zk , then the magnitude of r is given by

|| r || x 2  y 2  z 2

Direction Cosine of Vectors in 3 Dimensions

Let  ,  and  represent the angles in which r  xi  y j  zk makes with OX, OY and OZ

respectively as shown in the figure above. Then

x
Cos  
|| r ||

7|Page
y
Cos  
|| r ||

z
Cos  
|r|

Cos  , Cos  and Cos  are called the direction cosines of r .

EXAMPLE

Find the magnitude of each of the following vectors:

1. r1  2i  3 j

2. r2  i  j  k

3. r3  3i  5 j  k

Solution

1. | r1 | 13

2. | r2 | 3

3. | r3 | 35

CLASSWORK

Find the direction cosines of each of the following vectors:

1. r1  2i  5 j

2. r2  3i  2 j  6k

3. r3  10i  j  2k

8|Page
EXERCISES FOR THE WEEKEND

1. If r1  7i  3 j  4k and r2  2i  5 j  k , find the magnitude of the following:

a. r1  r2

b. r1  r2

2. Find the direction cosines of the following vectors:

a. v1  3i  9 j  2k

b. v2  i  7 j  5k

c. v3  4i  3 j  11k

MAGNITUDE (Norm) OF VECTOR

The magnitude of a vector a , called the norm or modulus of a vector, is represented by || a || .

The norm properties of vectors are very similar to the absolute value properties of real numbers.

In particular,

1.) || a ||  0 and || a ||  0 iff a  0

2.) ||  a || |  ||| a ||

3.) || a  b ||  || a ||  || b || (Triangle inequality)

Example

Given that a  (1, 2,3) and b  (4,1, 0) , calculate the following:

a.) || a ||

9|Page
b.) || b ||

c.) || a  b ||

d.) || a  b ||

e.) || 2a  3b ||

Verify the triangle inequality using (a), (b) and (c).

Solution

a.)

|| a || 12  (2) 2  32
 1 4  9
 14

d.)

|| a  b ||  || (1, 2,3)  (4,1, 0) ||


 || (5, 3,3) ||
 52  (3) 2  32
 25  9  9
 43

NORMALISATION OF VECTOR

A normalised vector is a vector whose magnitude is 1. This is referred to as unit vector in a

direction of a vector. It is given by

a
a
|| a ||

10 | P a g e
EXAMPLE

Find the unit vector in the direction of the following vectors:

1. r1  2i  3 j

2. r2  4i  5 j  k

SOLUTION

NB. This simply means the normalization of the vectors.

r1
1. r1 
| r1 |

| r1 | 22  32

 13

r1 
1
13

2i  3 j 

r2
2. r2 
| r2 |

| r2 | 42  (5) 2

 41

r2 
1
41

4i  5 j 

11 | P a g e
ALGEBRA OF VECTORS

Addition and Subtraction of Vectors

The sum (and difference) of two vectors is defined as the resultant vector. The triangle law of

vector addition is used in adding or subtracting two vectors. This is shown below

B
A

AC  AB  BC

NB

From the definition of negative vectors, subtraction is the same as the addition of negative

vector. That is,


AB  BC  AB   BC 

 AB  CB

Addition of Several Vectors

Suppose that there are more than two vectors to be added. The triangle law of vector addition can

be used repeatedly to add more than two vectors.

12 | P a g e
R

Q
S

PQ  QR  RS  ST  TU  PU

This is called polygon of vectors.

Note that the resultant vector (sum of vectors) is equal to zero if the resulting vector diagram

above is a closed figure.

Example

Find the sum of the following vectors:

1. AK  KL  LP  PQ

2. AB  CB  CD  ED

3. AB  BC  DC  AD

4. GH  HJ  JK  KL  LG

Solution

Drawing the vector diagram in each case will ease the work.

1. AQ

2. AE

13 | P a g e
3. 0

4. 0

EXERCISES FOR THE WEEKEND

1. Evaluate 2a  b  c given that a  (1, 2,3) , b  (3, 0, 1) and c  (4, 2,1) .

2. Calculate the norm of the vector v  2i  2 j  4k .

3. Find the vector PQ and determine its norm given P(1, 2,5) and Q(4, 2,3) .

Addition Properties of Vectors

1. Commutative law of vector addition

If a and b are two vectors then a  b  b  a

D
C

a+b
a
a+b

B
A b

AD  AB  BD  b  a

AD  AC  CD  a  b

a  b  b  a

14 | P a g e
2. Associative law of vector addition

If a , b and c are three vectors then

(a  b)  c  a  (b  c)

P a D

PS  PR  RS

( a  b)  c

PS  PQ  QS

 a  (b  c)

Hence, (a  b)  c  a  (b  c)

3. Scalar Multiplication of Vectors

If k is a scalar then k a is a vector parallel to a with magnitude k || a || .

15 | P a g e
a ka

This is a scalar multiplication where k > 0.

In general, the properties of vectors are summarized below.

1. a  b  b  a

  
2. a  b  c  a  b  c 
3. a  0  0

 
4. a  a  0

 
5.   a     a

6.     a   a   a

 
7.  a  b   a   b


8. 1 a  a


9. 0 a  0

EXAMPLE

If r1  7i  3 j and r2  2i  5 j , evaluate the following:

a. r1  r2

16 | P a g e
b. r1  r2
EXAMPLE

If OA  3i  5i and OB  5i  2i , find AB .

Solution

AB  AO  OB

 OA  OB

 (3i  5 j )  (5i  2 j )

 (3  5)i  (5  2) j

 2i  7 j
EXERCISES FOR THE WEEKEND

1. Given that a  7i  3 j  k and b  5i  7 j  2k , find 3a  b .

2. The vectors v1 , v2 and v3 are given by

2
v1   
 3 

1
v2   
5

7
v3   
 4

Evaluate the following:

a. 2v1  3v2  7v3

17 | P a g e
4v1  5v2  3v3

18 | P a g e

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